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Old 05-16-2006, 11:56 PM   #1
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im looking to buy a new set 5 watt 10-15 mile range what brand is every one useing and is one brand any better than others ?? it seems they are all in the 39.00 to 69.00 dollar range...
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Old 05-17-2006, 07:04 AM   #2
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Dan, I think your quest to purchase a five watt radio with 10 to 15 mile range is very optomistic. You will be lucky to get three miles on a beach with no obstructiuons such as trees etc. Five watts is just not much power as a radio goes and portables are limited by inherent design of their antennas. Doing an internet search for reviews of these various portables would be your best bet. I read such a review about four months ago but have no idea where. The range on most of these devices was about three miles or less but they did vary somewhat by brand and again by the terrain variables used in the tests. Martin
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Old 05-17-2006, 07:58 AM   #3
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Hello Dan

I would not over-think this purchase, and simply buy a good quality radio. Price does not equal quality here, but it does play a small part. The $40 radio is probably the same quality as the $70 radio. The $70 radio may or may not have more features then the $40 radio.

Also, as the previous poster said there is no way any of these radios will get a 10 mile range unless you are on a tall tower with a clear view in all directions. One rule of thumb I've heard is that the range of these radios is the square root of twice the height in feet. So to get a 10 mile range, you will need to be about 50 feet above the ground with a clear path to the second radio. Notice the formula does not take transmit power into consideration. More power helps a tiny bit when you are working in free space, but not very much. More power is useful in urban environments where you are trying to penetrate buildings or other obstructions, like trees. For more geeky information see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_horizon

I've used these radios, and I found all the beeps and private channel stuff useless; I recomend turning both off. Also, the phrase "privacy code" does not mean your communicion is in any way private. It simply means that you will not hear anyone else sharing the channel unless they use the same privacy code.

Some of the radios have a scan mode, which is kind of fun to use while driving down the highway or at a busy campground. You can set them up so that you can listen to all the channels, and some of the coversations you will hear are a lot of fun!

Having said all of this, the little radios are very useful. Just don't believe the hype.

Have fun!

-- Dan Meyer
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Old 05-17-2006, 10:03 AM   #4
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Recently we went on an extended trip through the Canadian Rockies with another couple in their own trailer and tow. Prior to pulling out our sister-in-law bought us a pair of Motorola Talkabout T5000 two-way radios to stay in touch along the way. I was ecstatic! I had all of the optimistic ideas of what I was going to do with this Dick Tracy wrist radio. Well, I soon got a dash of reality splashed onto me. We could rarely communicate beyond line of sight. But, and this is the kicker, that was quite alright as it turned out.

We could say "Watch for the canyon opening up on your right, we've been here before, it's real spectacular."

"Roger, will do -- OH! You are so right. Let's pull in, I want to make a sandwich and take some pictures."

"Roger Dodger. pulling in ..."

We had great communications between the two camping rigs and several occasions we got separated in shopping malls and used the radios to hook up again. They had limitations but we were very glad we had them.

I hope this helps in your decision-making.

Happy motoring.
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Old 05-17-2006, 10:04 AM   #5
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Hello Dan
I personally have Midland radios, my father has Cobra, and my brother has Motorola. All of the radios work equally well and none of them come close to the advertized distances.

We use ours quite often when road tripping in multiple vehicles. All of our friends expect us to bring the radios along.

I agree that the scanner can be fun to listen to but remember that others are listening to you also.
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Old 05-17-2006, 10:18 AM   #6
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Dan, I think your quest to purchase a five watt radio with 10 to 15 mile range is very optomistic. You will be lucky to get three miles on a beach with no obstructiuons such as trees etc. Five watts is just not much power as a radio goes and portables are limited by inherent design of their antennas. Doing an internet search for reviews of these various portables would be your best bet. I read such a review about four months ago but have no idea where. The range on most of these devices was about three miles or less but they did vary somewhat by brand and again by the terrain variables used in the tests. Martin
Right on!

I've done a research on this for my ATV club and NO FRS-GMRS radio gave us more than 2-3 km in real conditions. Thats about 1-2 miles. more than 3 miles is pure marketing. Forget about the watts. Martin is absolutely right : the antenna design of those radios is the reason why they can't get better range.

Motorala had the best design and best quality 2 years ago.
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Old 05-17-2006, 11:33 AM   #7
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*cough cough* Amateur radio! *cough cough*

Full 5 watts output or more in a handheld for simplex operation or go through one of the thousands of repeaters available for 10 times the range.

The entry-level Technician class test is only 35 multiple-choice questions and you don't need to learn morse code. You can legally run up to 1500 watts with this license, if you need to.

Interested? I'm more than happy to help you learn more.

Amateurs are one of the friendliest groups of people I know.
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Old 05-17-2006, 11:46 AM   #8
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*cough cough* [b]Amateur radio! *cough cough*

Full 5 watts output or more in a handheld for simplex operation or go through one of the thousands of repeaters available for 10 times the range.

The entry-level Technician class test is only 35 multiple-choice questions and you don't need to learn morse code. You can legally run up to 1500 watts with this license, if you need to.

Interested? I'm more than happy to help you learn more.

Amateurs are one of the friendliest groups of people I know.
..--..

I'm --- -.- and that's ok in morse code!
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Old 05-18-2006, 07:20 AM   #9
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There is another type of Radio service that the general public can now use.
An advantage of MURS is that you may connect an external antenna to your radio. Using an antenna mounted on the vehicle's roof, and communicating with another similar unit, you should expect to get at least a couple of miles (except in the most harsh conditions), and possibly up to ten miles or more.

Using a base station-type antenna, you should be able to communicate with a vehicular-type MURS unit described in the previous paragraph over a range of three to perhaps ten or fifteen miles. From that same base station, you might get two to six miles communicating with a MURS handheld radio.

Base-to-base station communications should be possible over at least several miles, perhaps up to twenty miles or more on a clear channel. However, this kind of operation is not consistent with the traditional use of these frequencies for short-range base-to-mobile and mobile-to-mobile communications


This Radio IS NOT compatable with the FRS Radio's moxt people have.
You can Google (search) MURS RADIO and find all the information about these Radio;s.
No license required to use these.

MURS - Multi-Use Radio Service!

MURS uses super narrowband FM (NBFM) with maximum effective radiated power of 2.0 watts, and a maximum deviation of +/- 2.5 KHz. MURS is intended for short-range local communications. No license is needed. These radios have 4 times the power of FRS radios!
Features include:



2 Channels, 2 Watts
Up to 5 Mile Range
38 Standard and 11 non-standard CTCSS tones
Locking accessory connector
Durable Die-cast aluminum chassis
Automatic squelch function

Channel Switch
MURS frequencies 151.820, 151.880, 151.940, 154.570, 154.600
Mil-Std Certified for durability
8 hour operation on standard battery



Low cost no license solution to your local communications needs. Comes with VHF antenna, Rechargeable 750 mAh Ni-MH battery pack, Desktop Charger, Belt clip, and Owners Manual.
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