Good Afternoon To All,
I have very little knowledge of radios other than the Motorolas that I use at work and some of the various handhelds of the same brand. Most of the FRS radios I have used have very poor range.
I am going to Yellowstone is summer and would like to be able to communicate for car to car in areas of the park that do not have cell service. I was wonder what folks with more experience might recommend rather than the usual chainstore stuff.
Thanks,
Matt
FRS or GMRS handheld are your likely candidates.
Midland has a variety of MicroMobile vehicle mount GMRS radios that are similar in form factor to a CB but use the GMRS frequency range and therefore can communicate with the handsets too. May see some improved range out of these larger more powerful versions, though I have no personal experience.
CB is another option but tuning the radio can be a hassle and they aren't as common or popular as they once were.
If I were looking for something cheap and easy for car to car in relative close range a pack of hand held Motorola GMRS radios would be my choice. Pick your preference from Amazon using the link at the top of the forum and enjoy your trip!
BaoFeng BF-F8HP. Maybe with ABBREE High Gain Soft Whip Foldable CS Tactical Antenna.
Been able to do direct 3.5mi in suburbia across mass transit tracks, freeways... ABBREE definitely adds range when unfolded but would be a no-go inside a car. Have hit 5.25mi line-of-sight-ish.
Frankly, FRS is only useful over very short distances, well under a mile in flat terrain. My hunting buddies and I used to use FRS in the Appalachian mountains and found it nearly useless once you got more than a half mile from anyone. Why? FRS uses the 440mhz band which doesn't do well with uneven terrain, obstacles, etc. Additionally, FRS is further handicapped by low power and tiny antennas. It's a combination that makes the service virtually useless for backcountry comms. Inside the faraday cage of a car? You would have better luck yelling out the window.Originally Posted by ECVMatt
GMRS, which operates on the same frequencies (with some differences), allows for greater power and larger and/or removable antennas. As a result, you can extend your range, especially with a good antenna. As mentioned below, you can also utilize mobile radios for automobile use.
There's another option...
Study for and take the Amateur Radio Technician License exam. The entire question pool is published, so if you just use online study sites you can pass the exam without a lot of effort. Then you have a much power powerful range of options available to you. You go from single digit distances to 10s of miles. If one endpoint is at elevation, that can extend to upwards of 100 miles with the typical 144mhz mobile radio. If there are repeaters in range, you can go several hundred miles. If they are Internet-linked digital (DMR, Fusion, DStar, etc), you can potentially have a global reach (requires compatible radios though).
Another benefit of the amateur route...That part of the country is popular with Summits On The Air (SOTA) folks. This means you'll likely have a cadre of people (summit activators and summit chasers) who could hear your signal should you run into issues. This gives you a considerable safety net.
Chris
OP mentioned mobile use, so I'd get an external antenna to mount on the car. A small mag-mount would work for temporary use.
I'm not a fan of Baofengs for a number of technical reasons, but as long as you're aware of their limitations, they'll do ok for the OP's needs. Test them thoroughly before assuming they're good-to-go. Also, they tend to have hot receivers and poor filtering, so antennas other than the factory rubber duck may result in overload and desense. A good HT can hit way over 5 miles line-of-site. SOTA activators routinely hit 10s of miles (have seen numbers upwards of 100 miles from a summit with an HT on 144mhz).
I'd stay away from Amazon for chinese radios in general. There are too many counterfeits there (yes, counterfeit chinese radios!). Baofengtech.com seems to be the safe bet for purchases in the US.
If you go with Baofeng or any other radio that isn't FRS/GMRS or CB, you'll need an amateur radio license. If you go GMRS, you'll need a GMRS license (no test, just a fee). FRS and CB require no license.
Chris
https://www.amtacshooting.com/recommended-radio-gear/
I’ve been using this article by Bill Rapier as a base of sorts because I’m looking into the exact subject matter.
The OP would need to pass the HAM test and get a license from FCC to operate one of those legally.
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." - Thomas Jefferson, Virginia Constitution, Draft 1, 1776
For this particular use I would lean toward CB. Lower frequency, so it's less dependent on line of sight, and most of what makes CB suck anywhere populated ( noise, interference, other people) shouldn't be as much of a factor here.
Do they still make SSB CB rigs?
'Nobody ever called the fire department because they did something intelligent'
I was assuming the OP was not interested in a license forncasual use.
That's generally a safe assumption, but once you start talking about comms much beyond visual distance, you really get into more dedicated equipment and installations. Cheap GMRS radios aren't any better than FRS. "Good" GMRS gear approaches ham gear in price. Either flavor is still the same 70cm wavelength and doesn't do well with hills and mountains as distance increases. CB will do better, but is limited to 4.5w and doesn't do any better than FRS if your installation is poor (too short antennas, bad matching, poor grounding, etc).
Maybe the OP can share some expectations. It wouldn't be the first time I've overthought something.
Chris
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