Originally Posted By lori


MTA: Also, a radio?

who are you hoping to talk to with it? Or do you mean the other kind - FM/AM?

The radios that work best are high band, which you can't just pick up and use since they rely on towers and regulated channels. A small ham radio would be the ticket. You'd need an operator's license.

FRS models you get at the store have extremely limited range - I've had them fail when the two radios were half a mile apart. Depends on the terrain. Using them with large parties of hikers in the past, it's had its ups and downs.


I had the same problem with the small FRS radios... However, I found a work around. While I have my ham license you could do this with out one. I was able to take my Yaesu VX-8R radio and "modify it" to transmit on the FRS frequencies... The FRS radios you buy at wall mart and other stores can only output 0.5watts.... my VX-8R can push a full 5.0 watts smile Talk about range. Ive been able to use it with other FRS radios at up to 10 miles!!! I also put on a high gain antenna to allow me to pick up their weak signal. It may not be legal but in the back country there aren't that many radio nazis around to yell at your for it and even at 5 watts the range is limited to about 10-20 miles

JUST FYI getting your Technician Class License is a super easy. I studied for 4 days took the test and didn't miss a single question.


Edited by DieselTwitch (07/03/12 10:51 AM)