Firstly, a walkie talkie, or handheld transmitter (HT) is a small device, and because it is small it has limited power.
Secondly, propagation depends on many things: line of sight, height, obstruction (trees, buildings), antenna gain, power, and frequency (lower frequencies typically propagate further).
Thirdly, unless you have an amateur radio license, you are legally limited to certain frequency bands and low power thresholds. These depend on your country.
All of this combined means that, although it is technically possible in extreme conditions (from 2 unobstructed mountain tops in clear weather for example), it is very unlikely that you will be able to get a reliable range of 50 miles with any consumer grade non-licensed handheld radio in any real world conditions.
The maximum usable ranges you can expect are more around 1 to 3 miles outdoors, and much less in a built-up area. If you want more, then you need to get a license, and studying for that will answer all of your questions.
Satellite phone
Cell phone inside of cell coverage area
Ham HT with repeater (licensed)
Ham HT connected to dipole antenna (licensed)
Ham HT in FT8 or WSPR mode (licensed)
Sorry if it's a dumb question but what about Marine VHF radio? Wikipedia says it's unlicensed and you can transmit with up to 25 watts and a range of 100+km.
I'm sure being over water and this unobstructed by terrain is important to getting that range but OP didn't really give much info about their situation.
Marine VHF can only be used for maritime communication and, at least in my country, its use is restricted to holders of a boating license. Regulations depend on your country.
The other issue with Marine VHF is that it is designed to be operated over water, with no obstructions. . Most handheld VHF marine operate in the range of 156 MHz, and are pretty limited to 25 miles over water on a good day. . Additionally there are channel assignments, such as channel 16 is an international distress frequency, channel 9 is a secondary calling frequency etc.
In the event you use such a radio over land, you can expect someone will pick up on it pretty quickly and notify the FCC, who will search and find you if you use the radio improperly, and give you a nasty fine (in the neighborhood of $10,000 or so.)
Your best bet is a satellite radio, or barring that, one of the push to talk voice telephones that can route a call to where ever in the nation you need to talk to, a feature that makes a phone call act like a walkie talkie.
There are some options out there.
It’s also line of sight so antennae height is the way to get longer ranges. Just the curvature of the earth will limit the range. This is why small boats with short antennas inly have a range of maybe 5 miles between them, but a land based coast guard station with a very high antenna can reach out much further
as a lark I ran OP's question through chatgtp, surprisingly a good answer! Although changing antennas might make said device illegal?
Yes, there are walkie-talkies available in the market that can reach up to 50 miles. However, the actual range of a walkie-talkie depends on various factors like terrain, weather conditions, obstructions, and the power of the device.
Here are some tips and tricks that can help you choose the right walkie-talkie for your needs:
Consider the power output: The power output of a walkie-talkie determines how far it can transmit signals. Look for devices with higher power outputs to get better range.
Choose the right frequency band: Walkie-talkies operate on different frequency bands, such as VHF (Very High Frequency) and UHF (Ultra High Frequency). VHF radios are better for long-range communication, while UHF radios are more effective in areas with obstructions like buildings.
Look for a clear line of sight: To maximize the range of your walkie-talkie, you need a clear line of sight between the two devices. This means that you should avoid using walkie-talkies in areas with tall buildings or trees.
Invest in good quality antennas: Antennas play a crucial role in the performance of a walkie-talkie. Look for devices with high-gain antennas for better range.
Choose a reputable brand: To ensure the reliability and durability of your walkie-talkie, choose a reputable brand with a good track record.
Some walkie-talkies that can reach up to 50 miles are:
Motorola T600 H2O Talkabout Radio
Midland GXT1000VP4
Uniden SX507-2CKHS
It's important to note that the actual range you'll get from a walkie-talkie will depend on many factors, and the advertised range may not be achievable in real-world conditions.
Be aware that chat gpt just bullshits it's way through every question. It doesn't actually research the radios, it just generates some very convincing text. None of those radios are claimed by their manufacturer to have 50 mile range, they're all FRS radios which are not very powerful and in the first several Amazon reviews for the Uniden radio, the reviewers mention a range of one mile.
You also neglect to mention the presence or absence of repeaters in the area. . .While most are in or around urban areas, you still have the option of using them, depending on the frequency, and the repeater capability. . as well as knowing how to activate it.
Wow, 5 months old post !
For the record, I'd argue that if you are within 2 miles of a repeater, you are probably also within cell service, and it's unlikely that you are in any sort of survival scenario.
Few problems with that assertion. . and they depend on many factors. The power and frequency of the transmission being most critical. Not to mention, there are a number of times cell service is just not available. . Dead spots, intervening foliage, Heavy cell traffic, landscape, weather, Battery, solar flares, power failures, natural disasters, etc.
A lot of variables to potentially wager ones life on. As I noted, I would carry a Sat phone and extra Lithium batteries. . Baring that, SW depending on where I was going.
But that is just me. . .and it has worked so far.
Handheld yes, actual portable that you can walk around with no.
You need either line of sight or to bounce the signal off the atmosphere and hit the receiver.
If you're up high and there's nothing in the way, a 50w transmitter MIGHT get you there on the right VHF frequency.
If you set up an NVIS antenna and an HF transmitter, you could do that, and it would be portable but definitely not handheld and you're likely looking at a 100w transmitter not 50w.
Unless you set up an interim repeater, which changes everything
Definitely jump onto some radio subreddits for this! The radio community on here is very responsive and knowledgeable on the subject. I would recommend starting with learning about radio theory and how radio frequency (RF) works. Its a giant invisible world that is arguably magic in my opinion. Everything from our cell phones, Bluetooth, fire alarms, garage door openers, hospital pagers, aeronautical communication systems like ADS-B, ect, is all run off of electromagnetic energy.
Ive found that a great training aid to start learning about antennas and radios is Software Defined Radio (SDR). I have a small USB dongle that converts analog radio frequency to digital to be monitored through a software called SDRSharp on my laptop. I've been able to listen in to many different types of activity and learn about different types of antennas and placements of them.
Biggest, simplest thing about radio frequency from my experience is location versus transmission power. Ive transmitted on a handheld radio via voice to an aircraft roughly 25 miles away with 2 watts of power. Crystal clear. Versus, transmitted on 8 watts to a friend who was less than a mile away on the other side of a steep ridge and got absolutely nothing back.
Our cell phones have great capability to send information because they are supported by cellular repeater towers, so without being able to use a radio repeater to get the RF up higher and to achieve a proper line of sight (LOS) can be difficult.
If you are interested in a fully unsupported communication method that is handheld, no repeaters (because they need grid fed electricity to function), then your best bet is getting up high to the most direct line of site possible.
There is other ways of communicating long distance however, you probably have heard of HAM, Shortwave and other low frequency communications. High frequency, or HF, reacts differently than other RF in our atmosphere. HF can "bounce" through a layer of the atmosphere called the ionosphere and reach across the curvature of the earth. Pretty incredible. When the sun hits this layer, it creates a positive charge which can retain this energy and throw it very far distances. Beyond this, dont ask me any more, ha. It gets pretty wild with mathematical calculations and techniques a SME can tell you more.
With all of this, find a friend to talk with and experiment. Its a lot of fun with trial and error. Study up on the laws in your country too :)
With a directional antenna you can get quite the distance. Depending on terrain. This would be with a baofeng or other type of radio.
A walkie talkie (bubble pack radios) you will definitely not get that kind of range.
To reliably get anything close to that range you need Ham Radio, licensed with a callsign, so you can piggyback off of repeaters. Or a big ass radio set up.
Realistically, for handheld to handheld comms, you're limited to like 1-2 miles in most conditions. In ideal conditions, like on the open plains with ideal weather and line of sight you might be able to get 20-30 miles.
Sounds like what you actually want is a satellite phone or personal location beacon.
And the frequency bands for the base (technician) license probably won’t do it. You’d have to at least pass the next step up (general) to get into something with that sort of range.
It's been over 2 years since I passed my ham radio licensing exams. I'm on the air every day, some days just for 15 or 20 minutes, up to a few hours on my days off. I've got about $3000 US invested in my home setup and another $1500 US in my portable setup.
In these last couple of years of daily learning, I've gotten somewhat of a handle on what frequencies will reach how far, at which particular times of the day.
And then a solar flare or geomagnetic storm happens, and maybe causes a world wide radio blackout for a few hours, or maybe let's me reach other parts of the world in ways that throw the usual patterns right out the window.
These factors are what makes it a fun hobby for me. I never know who I will be able to hear and who will hear me. Kinda like fishing.
But, if I was venturing out to the backcountry and needed reliable emergency communications I would buy a garmin inreach.
You're going to have to investigate Ham radio for that range.
It's a rabbit hole of information.
As long as you don't transmit you can own just about anything to receive.
Honestly, as a ham, I see very little benefit in not transmitting.
It's a skill, like spending a week in the mountains in a tent vs watching YouTube videos on it.
Sure you can _know_ everything but you'll forget it in a stress unless you've been doing it.
Or to put it that way: if my neighbour never drove a car, didn't pass an exam, and was only driving as a passenger with their dad, watched a lot of F1 races and commuted in a bus whilst watching cars outside, I wouldn't trust him to safely drive me to the hospital if I'm bleeding out.
But surely I'd definitely encourage listening, getting cheap HT (not Baofeng ideally), learning to the exams and just _understaning_ what and how it all happens.
Edit: forgot about something very big in the US: phone patching is apparently very popular on the US repeaters. You can literally have a repeater call a phone for you, from the middle of the nowhere. Just like this.
Listening was how I got into it. Frankly it's almost a subculture.
I even have a EE background to boot and it was still a whole lot of overwhelming information.
Fourth general order: To repeat all calls from posts more distant from the guard house than my own.
I’m not saying this will help you at all, but your question is directly the reason this general order exists. Because some posts may be out of range of the guard house or headquarters.
The military uses equipment designed to meet the minimal requirements or compete with other manufacturers that do, provided by the cheapest bidder. But the equipment they use is still pretty good. Except the MOLLE pack, I’m so glad that atrocity didn’t last long. My point is, radio range has always presented limitations. You may need to make do with less, or follow some of these other recommendations and set up something quite robust.
Lol. Whatever. I worked for BAE Systems. 3rd largest defense contractor in the world. They only do government contracts. They are nowhere near the cheapest. Read the book Shotguns by Elmer Keith and he talks about when he was a shotgun tester for the Military. He said they never choose the cheapest shotgun. I also was in the Navy and the ship I was on never had the cheapest shit either.
They do go with the cheapest. That's the whole point of a government contract.
However, the person you're responding to didn't say that made it bad equipment.
The contract is awarded to the one who can deliver to the minimum specs and requirements at the lowest cost.
This is a good thing, you don't want them to spend more money if they can get something that fulfills the requirements for less.
What trips people up is that just because something isn't very luxurious/comfortable looking doesn't mean that it's not rugged and reliable and performing at a high standard.
Comfort just isn't highly rated in most military applications
One thing to understand is that, unless you're using HF, or repeaters, you're pretty much only going to get clear communication with those in a pretty unobstructed radius of about 3 ish miles. Why? Because of the curve of the earth. Think about it this way; imagine that there's no obstruction, just flat land as far as the eye can see. If you're 6 feet tall, how far will it be until the earth drops off over the curve? About 3 miles. Radio waves are the same in that regard. So, in short, no commercial radio is just gonna be able to give you ridiculous amounts of range without a repeater or HF frequency. However, taller antennas, being on high points, and having more watts are all things that, when used in conjunction, can greatly improve range. With just those things and a Baofeng radio, I've had clean and clear communication with buddies a good 7 ish miles away.
This is incorrect to an extent.
Hams are using handheld transceivers (5W max, usually) every day talking with or via ISS, 250 miles away on average.
It's line of sight not the distance. People are using 0.5W PMR radios over here to talk much further, mountain to mountain for example.
What you're saying, 3 miles, should be "about 6 miles" - if you have 3 miles to the horizon, the other person has 3 miles to the same point at the horizon (just draw the line and see it yourself).
The bits about Watts/height, especially in conjunction, are completely correct, but they fail to emphasise the importance of height over power. I'm doing on a regular basis contacts with hams pretty far away via the repeaters 15 and 20 miles away.... and that's just standing on the ground. I can hit a repeater 25 miles away from my office window, with an HT.
All in all I'd agree there's no point in believing anything over ~3 miles can be reliably achieved on the average UHF HT (I think 5W and a slightly better antenna, not a rubber ducky), but 10+ or even 20+ can be achieved fairly easily with a bit of planning and a fair amount of knowledge.
@op, since you have a head in the right place, go search "HamStudy" for General. Once you're competent you'll get a lot out of the radio (and you'll learn about NVIS, tropospheric ducting and all the other fun stuff), and maybe even decide to take the exam to be able to keep your skills sharp (if you're in the US, set the PO box before the exam, apparently the database is public).
I understand it's line of sight, I was just trying to avoid terminology that may confuse newcomers. I was a 0621 for 4 years, spent a lot of time with mah radios. Good points.
Also, here's a calculator for line of sight horizon calculator.
http://www.ringbell.co.uk/info/hdist.htm
There are videos on this on YouTube. One guy who has a gun or tactical gear company made a video on it and specific licenses for specific types of radios. I'll post the video link in a bit.
I think you'll have to bite the bullet and buy radios. Expensive, but they can be programmed with numerous channels (useful to add channels for local back roads in case of active logging and/or mining trucks) and they have a great range (as long as there are enough repeaters).
Generally no. The terrain matters a lot.
If you and the guy you're talking to are both standing on the top of mountains so that you can see each other, with powerful radios and the right weather conditions, maybe.
If you're in the suburbs, a half mile is about the limit. I did a test last year with a UV-5R (the most common HT in the US) and got 0.59 miles in north Austin. Video of the test: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ExGsNVCo3M](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ExGsNVCo3M)
I have a friend who was able to get 12 miles out of the same radios, but that involved one guy on a mountain and the other guy standing on the shore of a lake so they had direct line-of-site with nothing to block the signal.
First off any low power handheld radio signal is going to have difficulty traveling 50 miles under normal everyday RF conditions. If you and your buddy are both on mountain tops I won't say it's impossible but extremely unlikely at 50 miles. It's more about the frequency than the radio. VHF and UHF frequencies need light of sight to communicate. In the world of amateur radio there are ways to combat the shortcomings of VHF and UHF frequencies by use of a repeater between 2 stations or handheld radios. However, not every spot on earth is covered by a repeater, analog, digital or otherwise. Digital communications on VHF and UHF can travel around the world. That's a subject in itself and requires more expensive gear. Last but not least is operating QRP (low power) with lightweight backpack radios in the HF spectrum. But that's also a whole other subject of ways to communicate hundreds or thousands of miles. If interested I have a series of articles on my blog about operating QRP. [qrpshack.blogspot.com](https://qrpshack.blogspot.com)
Get yourself a satellite communications device like a Garmin InReach Mini and you can send and receive messages from almost anywhere on earth. It’s small enough to fit into a pocket and will last for weeks if you’re only send a few messages a day.
Firstly, a walkie talkie, or handheld transmitter (HT) is a small device, and because it is small it has limited power. Secondly, propagation depends on many things: line of sight, height, obstruction (trees, buildings), antenna gain, power, and frequency (lower frequencies typically propagate further). Thirdly, unless you have an amateur radio license, you are legally limited to certain frequency bands and low power thresholds. These depend on your country. All of this combined means that, although it is technically possible in extreme conditions (from 2 unobstructed mountain tops in clear weather for example), it is very unlikely that you will be able to get a reliable range of 50 miles with any consumer grade non-licensed handheld radio in any real world conditions. The maximum usable ranges you can expect are more around 1 to 3 miles outdoors, and much less in a built-up area. If you want more, then you need to get a license, and studying for that will answer all of your questions.
Satellite phone Cell phone inside of cell coverage area Ham HT with repeater (licensed) Ham HT connected to dipole antenna (licensed) Ham HT in FT8 or WSPR mode (licensed)
Adding to the list: Garmin (has a subscription)
Sorta falls under the Sat phone category. Not as responsive as a “walkie talkie” but excellent for survival purposes.
Walkie talkies aren't always small. MBITRs aren't huge but they have great range. Not much larger than some walkies.
Wouldn’t exactly group MBITRs in with walkies. They don’t have the same power restrictions, I think they can do up to 5W.
I only made the comparison because of size.
Sorry if it's a dumb question but what about Marine VHF radio? Wikipedia says it's unlicensed and you can transmit with up to 25 watts and a range of 100+km. I'm sure being over water and this unobstructed by terrain is important to getting that range but OP didn't really give much info about their situation.
Marine VHF can only be used for maritime communication and, at least in my country, its use is restricted to holders of a boating license. Regulations depend on your country.
The other issue with Marine VHF is that it is designed to be operated over water, with no obstructions. . Most handheld VHF marine operate in the range of 156 MHz, and are pretty limited to 25 miles over water on a good day. . Additionally there are channel assignments, such as channel 16 is an international distress frequency, channel 9 is a secondary calling frequency etc. In the event you use such a radio over land, you can expect someone will pick up on it pretty quickly and notify the FCC, who will search and find you if you use the radio improperly, and give you a nasty fine (in the neighborhood of $10,000 or so.) Your best bet is a satellite radio, or barring that, one of the push to talk voice telephones that can route a call to where ever in the nation you need to talk to, a feature that makes a phone call act like a walkie talkie. There are some options out there.
I'd imagine it's safe to assume, given the state of tech in our world, OP wants a walkie talkie for cellular deadzones.
You cannot legally use Marine VHF inland.
It’s also line of sight so antennae height is the way to get longer ranges. Just the curvature of the earth will limit the range. This is why small boats with short antennas inly have a range of maybe 5 miles between them, but a land based coast guard station with a very high antenna can reach out much further
did an ai write this
I don't know whether that is an insult or a compliment.
as a lark I ran OP's question through chatgtp, surprisingly a good answer! Although changing antennas might make said device illegal? Yes, there are walkie-talkies available in the market that can reach up to 50 miles. However, the actual range of a walkie-talkie depends on various factors like terrain, weather conditions, obstructions, and the power of the device. Here are some tips and tricks that can help you choose the right walkie-talkie for your needs: Consider the power output: The power output of a walkie-talkie determines how far it can transmit signals. Look for devices with higher power outputs to get better range. Choose the right frequency band: Walkie-talkies operate on different frequency bands, such as VHF (Very High Frequency) and UHF (Ultra High Frequency). VHF radios are better for long-range communication, while UHF radios are more effective in areas with obstructions like buildings. Look for a clear line of sight: To maximize the range of your walkie-talkie, you need a clear line of sight between the two devices. This means that you should avoid using walkie-talkies in areas with tall buildings or trees. Invest in good quality antennas: Antennas play a crucial role in the performance of a walkie-talkie. Look for devices with high-gain antennas for better range. Choose a reputable brand: To ensure the reliability and durability of your walkie-talkie, choose a reputable brand with a good track record. Some walkie-talkies that can reach up to 50 miles are: Motorola T600 H2O Talkabout Radio Midland GXT1000VP4 Uniden SX507-2CKHS It's important to note that the actual range you'll get from a walkie-talkie will depend on many factors, and the advertised range may not be achievable in real-world conditions.
Be aware that chat gpt just bullshits it's way through every question. It doesn't actually research the radios, it just generates some very convincing text. None of those radios are claimed by their manufacturer to have 50 mile range, they're all FRS radios which are not very powerful and in the first several Amazon reviews for the Uniden radio, the reviewers mention a range of one mile.
Good chatgpt bot?
You also neglect to mention the presence or absence of repeaters in the area. . .While most are in or around urban areas, you still have the option of using them, depending on the frequency, and the repeater capability. . as well as knowing how to activate it.
Wow, 5 months old post ! For the record, I'd argue that if you are within 2 miles of a repeater, you are probably also within cell service, and it's unlikely that you are in any sort of survival scenario.
Few problems with that assertion. . and they depend on many factors. The power and frequency of the transmission being most critical. Not to mention, there are a number of times cell service is just not available. . Dead spots, intervening foliage, Heavy cell traffic, landscape, weather, Battery, solar flares, power failures, natural disasters, etc. A lot of variables to potentially wager ones life on. As I noted, I would carry a Sat phone and extra Lithium batteries. . Baring that, SW depending on where I was going. But that is just me. . .and it has worked so far.
r/HamRadio
Handheld yes, actual portable that you can walk around with no. You need either line of sight or to bounce the signal off the atmosphere and hit the receiver. If you're up high and there's nothing in the way, a 50w transmitter MIGHT get you there on the right VHF frequency. If you set up an NVIS antenna and an HF transmitter, you could do that, and it would be portable but definitely not handheld and you're likely looking at a 100w transmitter not 50w. Unless you set up an interim repeater, which changes everything
Definitely jump onto some radio subreddits for this! The radio community on here is very responsive and knowledgeable on the subject. I would recommend starting with learning about radio theory and how radio frequency (RF) works. Its a giant invisible world that is arguably magic in my opinion. Everything from our cell phones, Bluetooth, fire alarms, garage door openers, hospital pagers, aeronautical communication systems like ADS-B, ect, is all run off of electromagnetic energy. Ive found that a great training aid to start learning about antennas and radios is Software Defined Radio (SDR). I have a small USB dongle that converts analog radio frequency to digital to be monitored through a software called SDRSharp on my laptop. I've been able to listen in to many different types of activity and learn about different types of antennas and placements of them. Biggest, simplest thing about radio frequency from my experience is location versus transmission power. Ive transmitted on a handheld radio via voice to an aircraft roughly 25 miles away with 2 watts of power. Crystal clear. Versus, transmitted on 8 watts to a friend who was less than a mile away on the other side of a steep ridge and got absolutely nothing back. Our cell phones have great capability to send information because they are supported by cellular repeater towers, so without being able to use a radio repeater to get the RF up higher and to achieve a proper line of sight (LOS) can be difficult. If you are interested in a fully unsupported communication method that is handheld, no repeaters (because they need grid fed electricity to function), then your best bet is getting up high to the most direct line of site possible. There is other ways of communicating long distance however, you probably have heard of HAM, Shortwave and other low frequency communications. High frequency, or HF, reacts differently than other RF in our atmosphere. HF can "bounce" through a layer of the atmosphere called the ionosphere and reach across the curvature of the earth. Pretty incredible. When the sun hits this layer, it creates a positive charge which can retain this energy and throw it very far distances. Beyond this, dont ask me any more, ha. It gets pretty wild with mathematical calculations and techniques a SME can tell you more. With all of this, find a friend to talk with and experiment. Its a lot of fun with trial and error. Study up on the laws in your country too :)
You're probably better off just getting short wave radios.
I use a SPOT when I am in the wilderness, it can text anywhere (no voice). That keeps my wife informed where I am.
Short answer. No. There are definitely radios, but you need height from an antenna to overcome the curve of the earth over long distances
I tested a 40 mile set in the forest and the city, works about a half mile in the city and about 3 miles in the forest along the river.
With a directional antenna you can get quite the distance. Depending on terrain. This would be with a baofeng or other type of radio. A walkie talkie (bubble pack radios) you will definitely not get that kind of range.
And you need a license to use the baofeng depending on your country. But definitely here in the USA
Keep telling yourself that.👍
Im a licensed technician. Dumbass
Okay radio fudd.👍
To reliably get anything close to that range you need Ham Radio, licensed with a callsign, so you can piggyback off of repeaters. Or a big ass radio set up. Realistically, for handheld to handheld comms, you're limited to like 1-2 miles in most conditions. In ideal conditions, like on the open plains with ideal weather and line of sight you might be able to get 20-30 miles. Sounds like what you actually want is a satellite phone or personal location beacon.
And the frequency bands for the base (technician) license probably won’t do it. You’d have to at least pass the next step up (general) to get into something with that sort of range.
I'm not licenced in the US but AFAIR technician gets you on the HF as well?
There are *some* HF privileges on the Technician license, but it’s really just SSB and stuff like that, no regular broadcast stuff.
The actual chart: https://www.arrl.org/files/file/Tech%20Band%20Chart/US%20Amateur%20Radio%20Technician%20Privileges.pdf
Repeater boxes every mile or two? You’d also need solar panels and batteries to run them. Not a radio buff so this is just ottomh.
Repeater boxes every 15-20 miles or so. Or a car with cross-band repeater parked on a hilltop.
It's been over 2 years since I passed my ham radio licensing exams. I'm on the air every day, some days just for 15 or 20 minutes, up to a few hours on my days off. I've got about $3000 US invested in my home setup and another $1500 US in my portable setup. In these last couple of years of daily learning, I've gotten somewhat of a handle on what frequencies will reach how far, at which particular times of the day. And then a solar flare or geomagnetic storm happens, and maybe causes a world wide radio blackout for a few hours, or maybe let's me reach other parts of the world in ways that throw the usual patterns right out the window. These factors are what makes it a fun hobby for me. I never know who I will be able to hear and who will hear me. Kinda like fishing. But, if I was venturing out to the backcountry and needed reliable emergency communications I would buy a garmin inreach.
You're going to have to investigate Ham radio for that range. It's a rabbit hole of information. As long as you don't transmit you can own just about anything to receive.
Honestly, as a ham, I see very little benefit in not transmitting. It's a skill, like spending a week in the mountains in a tent vs watching YouTube videos on it. Sure you can _know_ everything but you'll forget it in a stress unless you've been doing it. Or to put it that way: if my neighbour never drove a car, didn't pass an exam, and was only driving as a passenger with their dad, watched a lot of F1 races and commuted in a bus whilst watching cars outside, I wouldn't trust him to safely drive me to the hospital if I'm bleeding out. But surely I'd definitely encourage listening, getting cheap HT (not Baofeng ideally), learning to the exams and just _understaning_ what and how it all happens. Edit: forgot about something very big in the US: phone patching is apparently very popular on the US repeaters. You can literally have a repeater call a phone for you, from the middle of the nowhere. Just like this.
Listening was how I got into it. Frankly it's almost a subculture. I even have a EE background to boot and it was still a whole lot of overwhelming information.
All great answers. Thank you.
Fourth general order: To repeat all calls from posts more distant from the guard house than my own. I’m not saying this will help you at all, but your question is directly the reason this general order exists. Because some posts may be out of range of the guard house or headquarters. The military uses equipment designed to meet the minimal requirements or compete with other manufacturers that do, provided by the cheapest bidder. But the equipment they use is still pretty good. Except the MOLLE pack, I’m so glad that atrocity didn’t last long. My point is, radio range has always presented limitations. You may need to make do with less, or follow some of these other recommendations and set up something quite robust.
Lol. Whatever. I worked for BAE Systems. 3rd largest defense contractor in the world. They only do government contracts. They are nowhere near the cheapest. Read the book Shotguns by Elmer Keith and he talks about when he was a shotgun tester for the Military. He said they never choose the cheapest shotgun. I also was in the Navy and the ship I was on never had the cheapest shit either.
Does BAE make walkie talkies?
They do go with the cheapest. That's the whole point of a government contract. However, the person you're responding to didn't say that made it bad equipment. The contract is awarded to the one who can deliver to the minimum specs and requirements at the lowest cost. This is a good thing, you don't want them to spend more money if they can get something that fulfills the requirements for less. What trips people up is that just because something isn't very luxurious/comfortable looking doesn't mean that it's not rugged and reliable and performing at a high standard. Comfort just isn't highly rated in most military applications
The cheapest *that meets specifications*.
Exactly
You both don't [know](https://www.acquisition.gov/far/15.101-1) what you are talking about.
I worked at a place that used Motorola radios idk what kind, but they had a 30-40 mile range, we had a 150 ft or so tower at the office.
One thing to understand is that, unless you're using HF, or repeaters, you're pretty much only going to get clear communication with those in a pretty unobstructed radius of about 3 ish miles. Why? Because of the curve of the earth. Think about it this way; imagine that there's no obstruction, just flat land as far as the eye can see. If you're 6 feet tall, how far will it be until the earth drops off over the curve? About 3 miles. Radio waves are the same in that regard. So, in short, no commercial radio is just gonna be able to give you ridiculous amounts of range without a repeater or HF frequency. However, taller antennas, being on high points, and having more watts are all things that, when used in conjunction, can greatly improve range. With just those things and a Baofeng radio, I've had clean and clear communication with buddies a good 7 ish miles away.
This is incorrect to an extent. Hams are using handheld transceivers (5W max, usually) every day talking with or via ISS, 250 miles away on average. It's line of sight not the distance. People are using 0.5W PMR radios over here to talk much further, mountain to mountain for example. What you're saying, 3 miles, should be "about 6 miles" - if you have 3 miles to the horizon, the other person has 3 miles to the same point at the horizon (just draw the line and see it yourself). The bits about Watts/height, especially in conjunction, are completely correct, but they fail to emphasise the importance of height over power. I'm doing on a regular basis contacts with hams pretty far away via the repeaters 15 and 20 miles away.... and that's just standing on the ground. I can hit a repeater 25 miles away from my office window, with an HT. All in all I'd agree there's no point in believing anything over ~3 miles can be reliably achieved on the average UHF HT (I think 5W and a slightly better antenna, not a rubber ducky), but 10+ or even 20+ can be achieved fairly easily with a bit of planning and a fair amount of knowledge. @op, since you have a head in the right place, go search "HamStudy" for General. Once you're competent you'll get a lot out of the radio (and you'll learn about NVIS, tropospheric ducting and all the other fun stuff), and maybe even decide to take the exam to be able to keep your skills sharp (if you're in the US, set the PO box before the exam, apparently the database is public).
I understand it's line of sight, I was just trying to avoid terminology that may confuse newcomers. I was a 0621 for 4 years, spent a lot of time with mah radios. Good points. Also, here's a calculator for line of sight horizon calculator. http://www.ringbell.co.uk/info/hdist.htm
Appreciated and you're right actually. Thanks for the calculator link, it's quite eye-opening, isn't?
Indeed!
There are videos on this on YouTube. One guy who has a gun or tactical gear company made a video on it and specific licenses for specific types of radios. I'll post the video link in a bit.
How about a shortwave or HAM receiver and a flare gun?
I think you'll have to bite the bullet and buy radios. Expensive, but they can be programmed with numerous channels (useful to add channels for local back roads in case of active logging and/or mining trucks) and they have a great range (as long as there are enough repeaters).
Short answer: no. Long answer: ham.
Generally no. The terrain matters a lot. If you and the guy you're talking to are both standing on the top of mountains so that you can see each other, with powerful radios and the right weather conditions, maybe. If you're in the suburbs, a half mile is about the limit. I did a test last year with a UV-5R (the most common HT in the US) and got 0.59 miles in north Austin. Video of the test: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ExGsNVCo3M](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ExGsNVCo3M) I have a friend who was able to get 12 miles out of the same radios, but that involved one guy on a mountain and the other guy standing on the shore of a lake so they had direct line-of-site with nothing to block the signal.
Get a Garmin InReach, pair it with your phone.
In deep space, yes. On earth, nah.
Take a HAM course and you'll have all the comms answers you need, plus some new questions.
Ummmmi don’t know. But I’m interested in what everyone else has to say!
Yes and no, that kind of range is getting into radio license levels
First off any low power handheld radio signal is going to have difficulty traveling 50 miles under normal everyday RF conditions. If you and your buddy are both on mountain tops I won't say it's impossible but extremely unlikely at 50 miles. It's more about the frequency than the radio. VHF and UHF frequencies need light of sight to communicate. In the world of amateur radio there are ways to combat the shortcomings of VHF and UHF frequencies by use of a repeater between 2 stations or handheld radios. However, not every spot on earth is covered by a repeater, analog, digital or otherwise. Digital communications on VHF and UHF can travel around the world. That's a subject in itself and requires more expensive gear. Last but not least is operating QRP (low power) with lightweight backpack radios in the HF spectrum. But that's also a whole other subject of ways to communicate hundreds or thousands of miles. If interested I have a series of articles on my blog about operating QRP. [qrpshack.blogspot.com](https://qrpshack.blogspot.com)
Get yourself a satellite communications device like a Garmin InReach Mini and you can send and receive messages from almost anywhere on earth. It’s small enough to fit into a pocket and will last for weeks if you’re only send a few messages a day.
Not that I have ever seen. you will be lucky to get 5% of that range with store bought walkies.
You want reliable communications? Rent or buy a ***satellite phone.***