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Handy talkies

The BaoFeng units are dirt cheap and can drive a signal pretty far, although 50 miles from a handheld in this area (mountains, valleys, buildings, etc.) may be a stretch.

Amazon.com

www.amazon.com

They aren't as simple to setup and run as the typical GMRS stuff, and they can get you in FCC trouble if you do more than listen w/o a license.
 
spencer60 said:
The BaoFeng units are dirt cheap and can drive a signal pretty far, although 50 miles from a handheld in this area (mountains, valleys, buildings, etc.) may be a stretch.

Amazon.com

www.amazon.com

They aren't as simple to setup and run as the typical GMRS stuff, and they can get you in FCC trouble if you do more than listen w/o a license.
Click to expand...
I've been looking at those. 50 miles is not really necessary but the ability to hit repeaters and catch a skip ever now and then would be nice. I'm not in a position to get a ham license at the moment but as soon as I get my last water license I'll start on it I suppose. Thank you for the information
 
They seem to be a prepper favorite, so there's lots of good information out there on programming and using them in general.
 
With hand helds you are going to have a hard time getting that range. Being able to transmit past a few miles in Ga won't happen unless your up on mountain with a long line of sight. If you get quality antenna and 50 watt radio 50 miles is doable. You still need to work with terrain and get as high as possible. In an SHTF scenario power may not be up to power the repeaters.
 
Almost all portable handy-talk radios are pretty much line of sight. They operate on VHF and UHF frequencies which are relatively short range. You aren't going to get more than a few miles at best out of them unless you're using repeaters. Repeaters work because of the two great advantages: Height and Power! The antennas are on tall masts that are usually on mountain tops. They also operate at 50 watts, about 10 times the power of any handy.

That being said, the Baofeng Uv-5r is your best bet. It's cheap, very functional and has a very large support base. It can be programmed using Chirp (free) and via the front panel.
 
Depends what you wanna spend dude, $20-$30 uv5r

$40- https://www.radioddity.com/collections/consumer-radios-frs-gmrs-radios/products/baofeng-uv9g
Gmrs license requires no test, and will allow you to get in the air. I think it’s like $70 for a 10 year license, it also covers immediate family members so your wife or kids can operate under your call sign.

The uv5r is fine for ham use, but falls outside what’s approved for gmrs. I’m not a huge radio guy but know enough to effectively communicate with my group.

For ham radio- TYT MD-UV390 Digital Dual Band VHF UHF DMR Radio Waterproof Dustproof IP67 Walkie Talkie https://a.co/d/gxr4WNv
Is a great option at around $120

Again I’m no expert but these are some great starting points.
 
HT’s operate on VHF & UHF which are limited to line of sight. Long distance without a repeater is going to be difficult. If it’s an apocalypse type of SHTF then repeaters will be down. If it’s a several day weather related SHTF, then the UV5R is a great choice IF you take the time to learn to program and use them. Like any survival gear, you need to test & train. UV5R’s are cheap, but fairly complicated. Especially if you are not a radio hobbyist. The key to communicating via radio is someone on the other end has to have their radio tuned to the exact same frequency, same offsets and/or sub audible tones. Screw any of this up and it won’t matter if you have 1000 watts. You won’t open the box, turn these on and be able to talk. My advice, take a free, online HAM course. You will learn some very handy fundamental stuff that will make this an easier decision. Whether you pursue the license or not, you will have some expertise to make this work.
 
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