I’m moving next week and would like some two-way radios for the trip vs fiddling with phone, press to talk seems safer to me. That being said I also plan on incorporating these into your disaster planning. I’m liking these, but know nothing about two-way radios. I like the weather resistance features are the prices aren’t bad. I also figure with the range we will get good practice in town, and can try/test them out when my wife or I run around town so we can get a good real world feel or reception at different landmarks instead of just saying oh it’s good for 50 miles so we fine. Anyway any info would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Uniden Submersible 50 Mile FRS/GMRS Two-Way Radios with Charging Kit - Dark Grey (GMR5089-2CKHS) $85 amazon
There is a sticky in this particular forum “Let’s talk comms” that should provide all the answers and direction you seek.
You’ll find that the “bubble pack” radios, while better than nothing and are inexpensive, seldom provide what you may want. The range being first and foremost. Those ranges listed are absolute best conditions ranges (open field, downhill both ways, wind at your back, no obstructions and etc.) Sometimes they don’t work one mile away.
Anyway, check the sticky and keep researching before you buy to ensure you are having a good idea what it is you want to accomplish before tossing $85 to Amazon.
Personally, I’d rather spend twice that on a couple of Baofengs and have much more versatility.
I have a pair of the what I think is the second link you posted. It looks real similar in my mind’s eye anyway.
My wife and I went on a trip to Viet Nam in Dec 2013. We took them along for a little insurance in case we separated in a market or whatever. I can attest to them working well inside a city. I can’t give exact mileage or anything but I can say that I left my wife in a hotel room went down the street, around the corner, down that street, and into a building housing a huge market and we had perfect comms with each other the whole time. Now it wasn’t more than a mile but this is Sai Gon, a massive, busy city. My wife was in a tall building that was surrounded by tall buildings on every side of her and I went into a mostly steel/aluminum structure the market is under/enclosed in. The distance wasn’t long but the potential interference was impressive. There was an entire city block’s worth of concrete buildings and then some between us and we were talking it up.
I’ve also tested them on a long walk with my dog and my wife in the house. Me and the GSD went for a nice stroll and we never left clear reception range with lots of houses, trees, and power lines between us. Again, not a huge distance as the crow flies but lots of stuff in between.
I hope that’s somewhat helpful. So they aren’t useless but I know they have limitations being “bubble” packed.
I use midland 1050 vp4 or whatever the number is now. It’s 5 watt GMRS, they are cheap, the earbuds they make for them work well, and the range is good. I’ve had half a mile to over a mile in urban environs, and several miles out in the wilds, depending on terrain. We use them hunting all the time. I have a general class ham ticket, and for knocking around, I just can’t justify more expensive HTs.
You can expect the claimed range to be highly exaggerated. Check the manufacturer’s web site for the wattage. Read what reviews you can find. See if it will accept an external antenna, which can give you a big boost.
All the range claims are based on theoretical uninterrupted line of sight transmissions in perfect atmospheric conditions, and largely useless. As above, wattage and antenna efficiency are the things that matter.