medium range radios walkies HELP!!

[zspeed130]

I have been searching all over the internet for a way to communicate in the 15-30 mile range without going ham. Money is an object but I know this will cost and thats O.K. I have been told gmrs with a repeater is a good way to go but do not know where to look. Any other suggestions would be helpfull. Thanks in advance from a first time poster!

Z

 

[dw51]

You may find some information to help you here:

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=148116

 

[paulr]

What is the application? Cellular phones might be your best bet.

 

[Mike Painter]

I have been searching all over the internet for a way to communicate in the 15-30 mile range without going ham. Money is an object but I know this will cost and thats O.K. I have been told gmrs with a repeater is a good way to go but do not know where to look. Any other suggestions would be helpfull. Thanks in advance from a first time poster!

Z

If that is a 15 - 30 mile range between fixed locations GMRS with a repeater and good, high antennas might work. Anything else is going to require good everything and power.
It will almoast certainly be cheaper to go ham if they already have repeaters in your area. For the minimum license it took them longer to grade it than it took me to take it. I would have come closs to passing it even if I had not studied.
But at 61 I was probably the kid in the room. They also required two forms of photo ID and the guy that checked me in did *not* look at the guy in front of me or me, just the pictures on the card.

 

[2000xlt]

at work we have these http://www.collier2way.com/radios/icom/icom_f11.asp

and these
http://radioforless.net/radios/MaxPort/sp300.html

They are both ok, the clips on the icoms are kinda cheesy, they are the kind where you invert the radio 180 deg slide it into the slip then pivot it down, it a 1/2 sec deal but thats just how it works.

The maxons have a fixed clip that is revovable from the battery, the bottom of the clip itself has a slight raised edge like a "wing" so it very easy to slide off your belt.

Both have good range, i guess this also depends of the repeater. I know ours has decent range to about 20 miles

 

[magic79]

Realistically, 15-30 miles reliably is not possible without a repeater. Handheld radios with their marginal antennas and low power just won't do it.

A GMRS license is very easy to obtain. There are most likely repeaters in your area. To use them, you will have to contact the owner and get permission.

Generally, permission is pretty easy to get, but you will have to share the costs and pay your way. Monthly cost is probably in the range of $10-$50 (likely toward the lower end).

You may want to get or borrow a scanner and listen to the GMRS frequencies to see how well your local repeaters cover the area you want.

If you are told that a handheld radio will cover that distance without a HIGH external antenna, you should not believe it.