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communication

2 way radio

John F Dean

master steward

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Location: southern Illinois, USA

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posted 5 years ago

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I am looking for a hand held 2 way radio with a real world range of 7 miles. Any ideas. Cheaper is better.

I figure if someone from the future hasn’t tried to stop me, I can’t be messing up that bad.

Tj Simpson

pollinator

Posts: 405

Location: Central Texas

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posted 5 years ago

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I would check Ebay then Harbor Freight then Costco and if all else fails pony up some real dough someplace.

Anne Miller

steward

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Location: USDA Zone 8a

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posted 5 years ago

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Our 2-way radios are Midland.

Dear hubby is an old CBer and an Electronic technician so I value his choices:

https://www.amazon.com/Midland-LXT600VP3-Channel-Two-Way-Privacy/dp/B007B5ZR4G/

I am not sure this is the exact model we have as we bought these back in 2013.

It is in the price range I remember and looks that ours.

These have a 30-mile range.

We used them to communicate while we were moving then we use them to talk with our hunters and for me to communicate with dear hubby while he is out filling deer feeders.

Invasive plants are Earth's way of insisting we notice her medicines. Stephen Herrod Buhner
Everyone learns what works by learning what doesn't work. Stephen Herrod Buhner

Robert Ray

gardener

Posts: 3512

Location: Cascades of Oregon

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posted 5 years ago

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We use Baofeng radios. We fortunately have a repeater nearby, so you can reach out. With a GMRS license $70.00 for ten years the whole family can use them with a little more power than FMRS radios. An introduction to shortwave radios and a first step if you wanted to go that way. You don't need a license if you broadcast on the FMRS lower power band

https://www.amazon.com/Baofeng-UV-5R-136-174-400-480Mhz-1800mAh/dp/B074XPB313/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3DK4NF6CC7YWJ&dchild=1&keywords=baofeng+uv-5r&qid=1616105462&sprefix=baofeng%2Caps%2C282&sr=8-3

Our inability to change everything should not stop us from changing what we can.

John F Dean

master steward

Posts: 8796

Location: southern Illinois, USA

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posted 5 years ago

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Hi Anne,

Is that 30 mile range what is stated on the package, or has that been verified in the real world.

I figure if someone from the future hasn’t tried to stop me, I can’t be messing up that bad.

John F Dean

master steward

Posts: 8796

Location: southern Illinois, USA

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posted 5 years ago

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Hi Robert,

I suspect you understand what I am looking for. I will follow up on your suggestion.

I figure if someone from the future hasn’t tried to stop me, I can’t be messing up that bad.

Michael Fundaro

pollinator

Posts: 228

Location: Southern Utah

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John F Dean wrote:Hi Anne,

Is that 30 mile range what is stated on the package, or has that been verified in the real world.

Advertised distance is based on flat land with minimal interference from buildings or landscape. If you are in the mountains or a city your signal will have significantly shorter range. If I go on top of the hill across from the neighborhood I can talk to Nevada from Utah, but from the house the signal has trouble traveling through the hills.

When in doubt, doubt the doubt.

Robert Ray

gardener

Posts: 3512

Location: Cascades of Oregon

976

posted 5 years ago

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Most of the handhelds are going to be line of site. I have the handhelds in case of an emergency. With a j-pole/throw antennae you can get higher (altitude) but wattage is still a limiting factor. I can send you down all kinds of rabbit holes but the Baofeng's have served us well, some hate 'em some love 'em.

Not sure of the budget or intended use but a bare bones tracfone with one year of service and 400 minutes of air time might be an answer.
https://www.amazon.com/Tracfone-Rebel-Year-Service-1200MB/dp/B07JZ25FL4/ref=sr_1_20?crid=3QPVMS7V0U8BO&dchild=1&keywords=tracfone+flip+phones&qid=1616110636&sprefix=tracfone%2Caps%2C283&sr=8-20

Our inability to change everything should not stop us from changing what we can.

John F Dean

master steward

Posts: 8796

Location: southern Illinois, USA

3673

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posted 5 years ago

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Hi All,

That is why I said I need a real world 7 miles.

I figure if someone from the future hasn’t tried to stop me, I can’t be messing up that bad.

Anne Miller

steward

Posts: 19376

Location: USDA Zone 8a

4890

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John F Dean wrote:Hi Anne,

Is that 30 mile range what is stated on the package, or has that been verified in the real world.

That is what the ad said. I explained how we used ours. When moving and on our property. I can't say for sure distances because I am not good at that.

We have a 40 acre piece of land, Can you tell me in the real world how far it would be from corner to corner? I got locked out yesterday and had to walk home though I still cannot tell you how far I walked. It took me about 15 minutes so my guess would be a mile? The hardest part of that walk was climbing over a fence.

Invasive plants are Earth's way of insisting we notice her medicines. Stephen Herrod Buhner
Everyone learns what works by learning what doesn't work. Stephen Herrod Buhner

Michael Dotson

pioneer

Posts: 284

posted 5 years ago

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If you want range you could get a couple of HF handhelds. Those operate on the Citizens Band (CB) frequencies and have more range than the UHF handhelds you get with a walkie talkie set. They ain't cheap, but a base station and a handheld would work, as well, and might be cheaper. If the far end station you wish to communicate with is stationary get two base stations. That is as simple as 2 CB radios that are readily available at any decent truck stop. A basic CB radio has 40 channels. Channel 19 is a monitoring hail and switch channel, and I think the police monitor a few channels so one must familiarize themselves with the protocols. I use a Midland 36 mile range UHF handheld around the farm primarily because it monitors 6 weather broadcasting stations.

Nick Mick

Posts: 182

posted 1 month ago

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I have a set of baeofeng walkies that I got for emergencies, however whenever I try to learn how to use them all the info I get are from sources that assume I already have knowledge in the subject and make it difficult to start from scratch.

Douglas Alpenstock

master pollinator

Posts: 5926

Location: Canadian Prairies - Zone 3b

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posted 1 month ago

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Taking a step back, may I ask what is the objective? Who do you want to talk to 7 miles away, and why?

John F Dean

master steward

Posts: 8796

Location: southern Illinois, USA

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posted 1 month ago

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Looks like I need to up date. I went with the BaoFeng. It has a wide range of bands. My intention was for communication between my wife and I in an emergency. I also purchased extra long antennas. What is nice is that it has bands that are seldom used in my area so communication is as secure as can be reasonably expected.

If I wanted to communicate with the outside world, CB may have been the better decision.

I also picked up my HAM license. It provided some education, fun, and added options.

I figure if someone from the future hasn’t tried to stop me, I can’t be messing up that bad.

I agree. Here's the link: http://stoves2.com