2-way radios fall into two categories: licensed and unlicensed. In the unlicensed class, you are basically restricted to what is known as Family Radio Services, or FRS in the UHF band, or MURS in the VHF band. There are 22 channels in FRS, with most being limited to 2 watts output, which can provide the coverage you are looking for, terrain depending, of course. See https://www.fcc.gov/wireless/bureau-divisions/mobility-division/family-radio-service-frs - page about FRS and you can purchase radios on eBay and Amazon that will operate in these channels, but they may need programming out of the box in order to work on those channels. I am partial toward the low-cost radios from Retevis, such as the H777S, which come programmed on the FRS channels. They are inexpensive enough that you can lose one or drop one off a mountain and not be out any serious money. That being said, you can apply for a license for a licensed radio channel from the FCC, which would permit a higher-power operation, but the scope of the frequency coordination and licensing might be outside the nature of a simple NLUG email. I have done it, including recently, and it's not hard, but there are a number of questions to answer that most casual radio users might not know the answer to. There are also a myriad of websites that will help you with the process, some for a fee, and some not, but most of them are interested in you buying something from them, like the radios themselves. See https://www.techwholesale.com/fcclicense.html for an example. Any further questions, ask away. There are a few of us on the NLUG list with radio (ham and business-band) experience that can help.
Gibson Prichard Nashville, TN [email protected] 615-948-4609 On Sat, Aug 15, 2020 at 5:16 PM Drew <[email protected]> wrote: > Hello, > It's been a long time since I posted anything here, but I remember a lot > of radio geeks being here, and was hoping to get a little help from some of > you folks if you have the time, and I thank you in advance for sharing your > knowledge. > > My situation is this. I'm currently working on a project in the mountains > of Western NC, and cellular reception is zip most of the time. The crew is > not always in the same place, nor in close proximity to each other. Not > having means of communication can become a bit of a safety issue, so I was > considering some high powered handheld radios for communication. The > problem is, as I start to look around, there are a lot of radios available > on Amazon that appear to be fairly powerful, but state they are expressly > not legal in the US as currently programmed. > > I openly admit, I know nothing about radio. I will also admit that I'd > rather not spend huge amounts of money - but something weather > resistant....or proof, that's legal in the US, and will give the best > possible range in mountains covered with thick foliage is probably not > going to be cheap. Thus, I reach out to those who may be able to give me > some advice on what to look for, or recommendations for radios that may > work for me. For the record, range should never be more than 3 miles, but > it may be 3 miles up a pass between two mountains, or from opposite sides > of a mountain, which may be wishful thinking. Nevertheless, I'd like to > give it the best chance of working with good gear because, ultimately, > while 99% of the time these radios may serve only for convenience, that 1% > it could really be a matter of safety is a reality. > > Thanks again for any assistance any of you folks can provide. Feel free to > respond to me off list in order to keep traffic down. > > Drew > > -- > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "NLUG" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected] > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/nlug-talk?hl=en > > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "NLUG" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/nlug-talk/CAOS9axzZ3-BOu5Ly2GeCSbNzE_Hf%3DR-tkFfjBH-JRjOOa7z8BA%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/nlug-talk/CAOS9axzZ3-BOu5Ly2GeCSbNzE_Hf%3DR-tkFfjBH-JRjOOa7z8BA%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "NLUG" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/nlug-talk?hl=en --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "NLUG" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/nlug-talk/CA%2BJ3mBD%3DwmsTEw7CRfYoEqZLKddR9UEw6%2BPDeb-xV9O7xwDotw%40mail.gmail.com.
