My brother and I currently use FRS radios to stay in communication while hunting, but we often find ourselves out of range of one another. We are looking at radios with a little more distance than the 2-mile range we have know. I have seen the GMRS radios have distances of 5, 7 and 10 miles. We have never had a need to desperatly get ahold of each other (animal down, injury, etc..), but would like to know if we really needed to we could contact each other. Has anyone used the GMRS radios? What was your impression? What negatives have you noticed? Which radios are the best? What should I look for in a good radio?

Thanks,

Longneck

 

Well,
If you're interested.. with a little bit of studying, you can get your ham radio license. These days you don't need to know morse code to get the kind of range you would like. It's a fun hobby. For more info on how to begin: http://www.arrl.org

Not interested in studying? Just want to buy something off the shelf? You could go with a CB radio. I would think with a good antenna, it should be able to perform well at that range.

 

1970f2504x4,
Thanks for the suggestions, but we need something portable while we are hiking.

Longneck

 

Well, GMRS you'll have to get a license. Repeaters are available which will extend your range to greater than 10 miles. There may even be repeaters set up in your area! I think the license for GMRS is around 75 bucks. I have one or two friends that use GMRS and both of them use Motorola equipment. I'm sure there is other manufacturers out there that make radio equipment for GMRS, but Motorola is probably the best out there. You can get used stuff on ebay or from radio dealers for a better price than new. If money is no object, might as well go new. I'm guessing any dealer you buy from would be able to set the radio up for what you want to do (They might know of good repeaters to set up for the area you are hunting in). With GMRS you can get both handheld or mobile radios. Mobiles typically have 25 or 50 watts. Handhelds are usually 5-7 watts - giving you that 5-10 mile direct range. If your handhelds are setup for a repeater, your range is extended a great deal (like I said before, if they exist in your area).

 

CB's are out - unless you run an illegal amplifier, your range is severely limited by the "noise" of so many people already on it. We use CBs at my hunt club and the range is 2-3 miles at best (typically 1 mile or less).

The FRS radios work fairly well, but like you said, if you get into a situation where there are hills or trees and such, your range is quickly drops from the advertised 2 miles to half a mile or so (maybe less) - I think these hand help radios are .5 watts.

The handheld GMRS radios (I bought a pair of Motorola's this summer) are 1 watt and do fair a little better than the FRS radios, but are susceptible to the same limitations. If I am at the beach standing on the pier (30' above the water), I could probably talk to someone on the beach up to 5 miles away (clear line of site).

I have also found that both transmission and reception are better if you can get to an elevated position. If I climb into my tree stand (20+ feet off the ground), I can talk to others that I cannot talk to when I'm standing on the ground.

I would get the most powerful radio (wattage) that I could afford if I were you. Also, I would strongly recommend sticking with Motorola - several of my friends have cheaped out and bought other brands trying to save a few bucks only to be disappointed.

 

I have licensed GMRS radios that put out 5 watts, and are effective for about 3 miles in normal operation. With higher elevation than the receiver I get about 5 miles.

The licence is easy to get, just apply, pay the money and you get a call sign. If you do not bother to get one, you may be found out, by any number of means, you will loose the equipment, and you pay considerably more than the license fee in a fine.

Theo

 

There was a newspaper article ealry this year that compared the various common GMRS. The claims of 5-7 mile range were not substantiated with any of the 4 or 5 models they tested, including the Motorola.

The Motorola did have very clear reception and somewhat better range, but in general, range for the models tested was about 2 maybe 3 miles including on a clear day on a flat beach over water.

My experience has been similar. Range is maybe 2 miles and it breaks up with the Midland(2W claimed 5 miles)), Cobra(2W claimed 5 miles)) and Audiovo3W claimed 7 miles) units I have tried. The conditions I used them in were clear weather but some trees in bunches between the radios. I think I was able to get good signals from people high up on hills away from me but could not confirm.

I also used some Motorola FRS units but they were sqwaky and had limited range(less than a mile) too, at least in cars. I have noticed some El Cheapon versions of the Motorola that appear to be Chinese low cost versions, I assume same marginal performance as the rest of the cheap FRS units.

The FRS units(Uniden) seem to do about 1 mile or less. Most FRS units I have tried had more channels than the GMRS and were usually smaller.

Either unit is very handy for keeping track of people in the woods, at malls, state fairs caravans etc.

We always take some with us on bike rides but like I said range drops off pretty quick after 2 miles.

Just my opinion,

Jim Henderson

 

I purchased Midland GMRS for $49.99/pair about two months ago. At first I was disappointed because I was only getting about 1 mile range, and these are supposed to be 7 mile range. Then I figured out how to disable the squelch, and the performance greatly improved (at the cost of more battery consumption and noise). I was talking to someone 3.9 miles away and at 900ft elevation (checked with GPS), I was at 1000ft elevation, and between us was a 1500ft pass. I had tried "full power" CB walkie talkies before, and once they were over the pass, I lost them. Just a few weeks ago, I purchased a pair of Cobras that were on sale for $15 each. So far, a much better deal than the Midlands as the Cobras came with a charger and 4 NiMH batteries. The Midlands only came with a belt clip. The Cobras are only advertised as a 5-Mile range, but the performance seems to be equal and they have basically the same features. I actually like the layout of the Cobras controls a little better.

If you get GMRS radios, you don't need to get a license as long as you transmit only on channels 8-14 which is the same .5 watt FRS frequency. So if you were to get a GMRS, you could just stay on the lower power channels (legally) and tell your buddy, "If we start to break up, we will switch to channel..." Just a suggestion, I doubt the Feds will ever find you in the areas you said you might need the extra power.

 

A question if you're getting a GMRS radio and have to get a license, how long is the license good for? We have business band radios we use and have our own frequency and license. I believe the license is only $150 every five years. We've had it a long time though, and it is getting harder and harder to find your own frequency. We do pick up about 3 other businesses on our channel, but it hasn't been a problem for us yet. We run mostly 40 watt kenwoods and have good luck with them. Unless you are really in a hole, you can talk 15-20 miles easy. It's just something you might check into. I've heard it can be expensive though to have a search done to see what fequencies are available in your area.

 

Wow, thanks for all the replies guys. I am still not sure what we are going to do. I checked out a bunch of radios at a local store and saw what you guys were talking about: More watts = more distance. I saw some with 3 watts that claimed 10 miles of distance, but from what I have read here I am sure half of that would be a little closer to the actual distance. We usually hunt in the same canyons or atleast on the same mountain so the 3 watt radio may work for us, I don't know? You guys have given me a lot to think about.

Thanks,

Longneck

 

Well, here's where I chime in Two ways are my hobby, and I have MANY Motorola portables both on the FRS and GMRS channels. All in all, the range on both suck. Like others said, if range is what you're looking for, then by all means, a repeater is what you'll need. By the slim chance you happen to get on a local repeater that's already set up, then your all set. (you need a license for that). If not, you have to get a repeater yourself. (at least $1500 for the repeater, and another $1000 for the antenna) so, forget that idea The FRS and GMRS are good for talking to someone at the other side of a grocery store. (or somewhere where there's not a lot of obstructions, like trees, buildings, etc.)
As for your 2 way - if you want to use a radio and not have a license, it has to have a permanent mounted antenna, and produce .5 watts or less. (which is why you loose your distance)
I have a Motorola Mobile set up on my truck which produces 45 Watts on the FRS, and I can get a good 3 miles if I'm lucky in the city. If you want more info on two ways (with the main manufacture being Motorola) then I highly suggest this site: www.batlabs.com I'm a long term member there, and have learn lots of info. form that site.
Good luck,

Mike

On edit : My motorola saber is setup on 5 watts on FRS, and I can hardly get 1 1/2 miles out of it.

 

In CBs they have this thing in them that ofers some adjustment of power output so it can be tuned to 4W to make the FCC happy, but i've seen some put out 15W with this adjustment. my midland putout about 9W, before it got stolen with my truck. I'm sure other radios have these too.
and those "illegal amplifiers" are made for AM radio but are converted to use CB bands
I had a cobra 125 I could get about 80 miles with it. it got stolen with my truck too

edit: my midland also had USB (uper side band) and LSB (lower side band) chanels, they had alot less noise than the CB chanels thats 120 total CB chanels and 9 weather chanels.

edit: heres a good CB, you can get better ones
http://www.cobra.com/index.php?page=...535269f5cf.jpg

 

Hello, i am new to this site, looking for some assistance. I have bought two GMRS walkie talkies, and i have also registered and paid for my fcc license, but now dont know how to register my radios so i can use them. I see that a couple of people on this site have delt with them, just wodering if they can give me any help. I would really appreciate it alot. Thanks again

 

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