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Posted: 4/23/2020 6:44:39 PM EDT
[#1]
You haven’t listed your price range. Is cost no object?
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Posted: 4/23/2020 6:56:26 PM EDT
[#2]
Quote HistoryQuoted: You haven’t listed your price range. Unlimited? I am not limited by price, at least until someone says 40K. Let's make sure it's under 40K lol. $500 per hand-held radio wouldn't be out of reach, nor would a $5K repeater. Speaking of a repeater, would a repeater actually extend the distance if the repeater was installed at home, and one person was in the same home, and the other person was 2.5 miles away in the suburbs? All the repeaters for sale don't actually mention realistic ranges, except they can link one jobsite to another, or allow many radios on the same network, or add security. I don't mind paying for a license, but I'd rather not have to annually relicense every year or so, and I don't want to read a handbook and take a test. I understand HAM is superior too, but I don't want to read a book and take a test, and even if I did, my family wouldn't. My 11 year old would need to talk to me in an emergency near the home (SHTF example), and I'm not getting a license for each family member, and Mrs. Southpaw wouldn't take a test either. I may get into HAM too, but I still want a nice 2 way system for home base, and travel or evacuations. |
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Posted: 4/23/2020 7:02:54 PM EDT
[#3]
handheld boat vhf will go 5 miles or more and 25 watt base station 20 miles or so depending on antenna height.
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Posted: 4/23/2020 8:33:33 PM EDT
[#4]
Marine radios are great. High quality at a great price. Any good Uniden or Standard Horizon will cost from $100 to $150
A marine radio is VHF and will transmit at 156MHz and up. They do great if it's kinda flat where you live and not too much in the way of trees and other obstacles. A handheld will transmit at 5W and a base unit will be FCC regulated at 25W If you want better penetration of trees, buildings, etc.. it would be best to go with GMRS. This will be UHF in the 462.5500 MHz range A handheld will still transmit around 5W but a base unit can transmit at 50W A GMRS license is only $70 and requires no test https://midlandusa.com/why-gmrs-for-two-way-radio-communication/ If the above link was put in there right, the table will show what you can do with frequencies you decide to use. |
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Posted: 4/23/2020 9:34:42 PM EDT
[#5]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I am not limited by price, at least until someone says 40K. Let's make sure it's under 40K lol. $500 per hand-held radio wouldn't be out of reach, nor would a $5K repeater. Speaking of a repeater, would a repeater actually extend the distance if the repeater was installed at home, and one person was in the same home, and the other person was 2.5 miles away in the suburbs? All the repeaters for sale don't actually mention realistic ranges, except they can link one jobsite to another, or allow many radios on the same network, or add security. I don't mind paying for a license, but I'd rather not have to annually relicense every year or so, and I don't want to read a handbook and take a test. I understand HAM is superior too, but I don't want to read a book and take a test, and even if I did, my family wouldn't. My 11 year old would need to talk to me in an emergency near the home (SHTF example), and I'm not getting a license for each family member, and Mrs. Southpaw wouldn't take a test either. I may get into HAM too, but I still want a nice 2 way system for home base, and travel or evacuations. I had some issues with my edit to make my post more clear. You quoted me before the edit uploaded to the site! Anyway, I think GMRS is what you need for frequencies. Plus, you could built a repeater if you wanted to and a $5k budget for a repeater is doable. With a high enough antenna you should be looking at some decent range |
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Posted: 4/23/2020 10:30:33 PM EDT
[#6]
Also, $500 is an arbitrary number. I see Motorola has some business class ones for around $1,000. That's pricey for a SHTF backup plan for my family, but it's not a dealbreaker.
After a lot of reading, and thanks to you guys: GMRS is the way to go for a SHTF family communication. HAM requires everyone I want to talk to, to have their own license, not going to happen. With GMRS I buy one license, and my entire family is under the same umbrella. A GMRS allows me to have a 50 watt base station, which should go further than the 5 watt handheld. Home base can have a 50 watt, and my SUV could have a 40 watt base station too (right?). I wonder how much distance in a suburban area 50 watt base to 50 watts mobile will get. What I don't know, would the 50 watt base be significantly better than the 5 watt, if the line of site is poor in a suburban area? And will 5 watt handheld take advantage of both communicating to, and receiving, from the 50 watt? |
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Posted: 4/24/2020 1:16:17 AM EDT
[#7]
I just read this, I'm not loving the idea.
§ 95.1751 GMRS station identification. Each GMRS station must be identified by transmission of its FCC-assigned call sign at the end of transmissions and at periodic intervals during transmissions except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section. A unit number may be included after the call sign in the identification. (a) The GMRS station call sign must be transmitted: (1) Following a single transmission or a series of transmissions; and, (2) After 15 minutes and at least once every 15 minutes thereafter during a series of transmissions lasting more than 15 minutes. (b) The call sign must be transmitted using voice in the English language or international Morse code telegraphy using an audible tone. Do I actually have to tell people "this is AR8787" every time I talk? Am I expected to have my little kids fall in line too? |
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Posted: 4/24/2020 3:48:34 AM EDT
[#8]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I just read this, I'm not loving the idea. Do I actually have to tell people "this is AR8787" every time I talk? Am I expected to have my little kids fall in line too? No one does from what I have heard. Most people who use GMRS don’t even have the license. GMRS users don’t have the Ham Nazis monitoring the airwaves and bitching about everything. |
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Posted: 4/24/2020 4:25:01 AM EDT
[#9]
all of the radio gear will work.. at least a bit..
but true shtf is a challenge. think micro burst.. that affects radio waves... wipes out most of current radios unless they are "harden" like some mil spec gear.. I thought a few sats for open frs communication would be nice.. at least till 911... a simple 5 watt handheld radio would work with a sat on the right band... then use digital for security for multi plex on the same fq. basic internet in the sky. the good old days of analog radio is on its way out.. and if analog was all gone then the radio bands would have room for good range digital coms. a good metal trash can works for shielding radio and test gear during a micro burst radiation event. for me listning is a big deal.. so shortwave dx radio or ham hf radios just for rx is nice! sangean makes a few shortwave rx units that are ok. kenwood makes good modern ham gear. so hf, vhf cobra 25 for cb |
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Posted: 4/24/2020 7:47:00 AM EDT
[#10]
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Posted: 4/24/2020 2:07:25 PM EDT
[#11]
I settled on XTS2500 with encryption for my needs. They are front panel programmable so you can change the freq in the field if needed. And the encryption should keep everything secure if case people want to listen in. They are also built like tanks.
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Posted: 4/24/2020 3:15:04 PM EDT
[#12]
If you don't want to do call signs and all that, a marine VHF might be something worth considering.
They're readily available, great quality and price. A base station is limited to 25 Watts but that should be more that good enough for a localized area. You can get a decent base station of under $200 but it might be better to consider a commercial unit for around $450 Remember, you can run a base station as a mobile in your vehicle. You could run a commercial($450) unit in your home, a $200 unit in a vehicle and have a few handhelds for walkabout. |
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Posted: 4/24/2020 5:41:58 PM EDT
[#13]
Quote HistoryQuoted: If you don't want to do call signs and all that, a marine VHF might be something worth considering. They're readily available, great quality and price. A base station is limited to 25 Watts but that should be more that good enough for a localized area. You can get a decent base station of under $200 but it might be better to consider a commercial unit for around $450 Remember, you can run a base station as a mobile in your vehicle. You could run a commercial($450) unit in your home, a $200 unit in a vehicle and have a few handhelds for walkabout. You should never use marine radios as land mobile It’s prohibited, and is a bad idea when there are valid legal methods |
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Posted: 4/24/2020 5:45:01 PM EDT
[#14]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I settled on XTS2500 with encryption for my needs. They are front panel programmable so you can change the freq in the field if needed. And the encryption should keep everything secure if case people want to listen in. They are also built like tanks. What frequencies are you transmitting on? |
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Posted: 4/24/2020 10:29:34 PM EDT
[#15]
Quote HistoryQuoted: You should never use marine radios as land mobile It’s prohibited, and is a bad idea when there are valid legal methods After reading what each channel is for, I was thinking the same thing but I didn't want to be the first to type it. Many channels are prohibited even on boat, some are for coast guard, some are for ship to air, etc. |
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Posted: 4/24/2020 10:30:40 PM EDT
[#16]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I settled on XTS2500 with encryption for my needs. They are front panel programmable so you can change the freq in the field if needed. And the encryption should keep everything secure if case people want to listen in. They are also built like tanks. What kind of range are you getting? And what is the topography and landscape like? |
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Posted: 4/26/2020 7:21:20 PM EDT
[#17]
So, I had a half dozen Baofeng radios and accessories I was planning to dive into for getting my Tech license, but work just got in the way. This post motivated me to just get my GRMS license for now ($70 and had my license in less than two days). My son can use it as well and there's a couple repeaters between my place and where he goes to school. Next up will be getting some vehicle mounted radios (and a home base station) and take advantage of the 50W output for GRMS. It will give us some motivation to play with them now that we can transmit beyond 2W.
ROCK6 |
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Posted: 4/28/2020 10:51:04 PM EDT
[#18]
Quote HistoryQuoted: What kind of range are you getting? And what is the topography and landscape like? I've tested it in open fields and have gotten miles, and then in the Arkansas mountains (hills to ya'll) and have been able to communicate with everyone I needed to, distance unknown. I actually just upgraded to 5000 series radios, so the 2500 are going on the market when I get my new comms up and running. |
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Posted: 4/29/2020 8:49:03 AM EDT
[#19]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I've tested it in open fields and have gotten miles, and then in the Arkansas mountains (hills to ya'll) and have been able to communicate with everyone I needed to, distance unknown. I actually just upgraded to 5000 series radios, so the 2500 are going on the market when I get my new comms up and running. Where are you buying your radios at? Only place I see them is ebay. |
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Posted: 4/29/2020 9:57:17 AM EDT
[#20]
I see radiotronics puts up pricing.
So does grainger. Most stores hide the price. |
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Posted: 4/29/2020 6:18:33 PM EDT
[#21]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By SNAFU-M1A: Where are you buying your radios at? Only place I see them is ebay. I buy my stuff on eBay, and then have a very close friend and fellow ARFcommer that fixes anything wrong with them updates firmware, then once he sends them back to me, I program them and what not. |
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Posted: 4/29/2020 7:27:49 PM EDT
[#22]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By mbpike: I've tested it in open fields and have gotten miles, and then in the Arkansas mountains (hills to ya'll) and have been able to communicate with everyone I needed to, distance unknown. I actually just upgraded to 5000 series radios, so the 2500 are going on the market when I get my new comms up and running. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By mbpike: Originally Posted By SouthpawAR: What kind of range are you getting? And what is the topography and landscape like? I've tested it in open fields and have gotten miles, and then in the Arkansas mountains (hills to ya'll) and have been able to communicate with everyone I needed to, distance unknown. I actually just upgraded to 5000 series radios, so the 2500 are going on the market when I get my new comms up and running. What frequencies are you using? @mbpike |
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Posted: 5/1/2020 12:42:05 AM EDT
[#23]
MURS radios are another option. No license required and legal, unlike some previous suggestions. The VHF frequency should travel farther outdoors compared to UHF.
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