FRS/GMRS radios

[+seattlegeekgrrrlz]

Well, the time has come to finally replace our 10 year old Motorola talkabouts. I was considering replacing with the Motorola SX700R, but have seen mixed reviews.

 

Any recommendations on radios out there? We are primarily hiking in the Cascades, so we are dealing with big trees. It seems like the GMRS capability (and license) is the way to go. Any contradicting opinions?

 

We are looking for reasonable prices, but would be willing to spend a little extra if it would make a huge difference in performance.

 

Thanks for the help!

[+TotemLake]

I have a Motorola 7200 FRS/GMRS and at GMRS transmit level of 2 watts, I was able to communicate through old growth forest easily 2 miles away from Criminal. That's using a radio rated for 7 miles. Beyond that 2 miles, the signal drops off pretty quick in old growth.

 

If you're looking for something that's going to get distance in case you get in trouble, you might want to invest in a HAM radio. You'll be able to take advantage of local repeaters and get greater distance.

[+seattlegeekgrrrlz]

I have a Motorola 7200 FRS/GMRS and at GMRS transmit level of 2 watts, I was able to communicate through old growth forest easily 2 miles away from Criminal. That's using a radio rated for 7 miles. Beyond that 2 miles, the signal drops off pretty quick in old growth.

 

If you're looking for something that's going to get distance in case you get in trouble, you might want to invest in a HAM radio. You'll be able to take advantage of local repeaters and get greater distance.

 

Hmmm. Well we were mostly looking for communication when we get separated, similar to your example. We were hiking near Wallace falls and our current radios could not handle 0.5 mile separation (that's trail distance, so even less linear distance).

[+TotemLake]

I have a Motorola 7200 FRS/GMRS and at GMRS transmit level of 2 watts, I was able to communicate through old growth forest easily 2 miles away from Criminal. That's using a radio rated for 7 miles. Beyond that 2 miles, the signal drops off pretty quick in old growth.

 

If you're looking for something that's going to get distance in case you get in trouble, you might want to invest in a HAM radio. You'll be able to take advantage of local repeaters and get greater distance.

 

Hmmm. Well we were mostly looking for communication when we get separated, similar to your example. We were hiking near Wallace falls and our current radios could not handle 0.5 mile separation (that's trail distance, so even less linear distance).

Power is one part of the problem to distance communications. Make sure you have 2 watts or better for GMRS to have a proper reach.

 

Some of the distance problems will be related to the lack of line of sight. That is, if all the trees were knocked down and you can't see your radio partner, your signal is lost. If you go around a bend on a hill, you'll lose signal pretty quickly. Going over a saddle or peak will net you the same issue.

[+seattlegeekgrrrlz]

[Power is one part of the problem to distance communications. Make sure you have 2 watts or better for GMRS to have a proper reach.

 

Some of the distance problems will be related to the lack of line of sight. That is, if all the trees were knocked down and you can't see your radio partner, your signal is lost. If you go around a bend on a hill, you'll lose signal pretty quickly. Going over a saddle or peak will net you the same issue.

 

Well, I thought we were within "line of sight", but it was hard to tell with so many darn trees in the way I *do* know our current radio has less power than 2 watts and is FRS only, so that is why we are thinking an upgrade would be good.

[+Mule Ears]

Well, I thought we were within "line of sight", but it was hard to tell with so many darn trees in the way I *do* know our current radio has less power than 2 watts and is FRS only, so that is why we are thinking an upgrade would be good.

 

True. FRS is legally limited to a max power of 0.5 watts, while the limit for GMRS is 10x higher--5 watts. We found FRS radios to be nearly useless for caching, as we could usually shout or whistle as far as the radios would work. GMRS range is still pretty limited when there are obstructions like hills or trees, but much better than FRS.

 

We have some older Motorola GMRS radios, T7100s, that have been OK as far as range is concerned. Our biggest complaint is that they malfunction when it's really hot--say above 100 degrees ambient with sun heating the case further. This is exactly the situation in which we're most likely to use 'em! Recently bought a pair of smaller, lighter Midland GXT735s, but haven't had time to test 'em.

[+briansnat]

How about the Garmin Rinos? GPS and FRS in one package and I really like the feature that lets you send your position so your partner can see exactly where you are in relation to him.

[+ethanSLC]

If you want something a little more rugged and powerful you might want to check out the Icom F21GM (Link). These are "commercial grade" radios with 4 watts of transmit power. They also have removable antennas which allow you to hook up mag mounts for use in the car. Overall a pretty high quality radio for the price.

 

Any hand held radio, and UHF especially (which includes both FRS and GMRS), will have trouble in heavy foliage. You might have better luck with VHF radios. I am not sure what licenses are available in that area of the spectrum besides ham, but it might be worth looking into.

[+Monkeybrad]

How about the Garmin Rinos? GPS and FRS in one package and I really like the feature that lets you send your position so your partner can see exactly where you are in relation to him.

 

I have got a Rino 120 and have used it with other cachers a couple of times. Honestly, if you are close enough for the radio and map spotting features to work, you are close enough to yell or just look over and see where they are. We played with them in a corn maze once and that was neat, since the foliage was heavy enough to obscure vision but not signal. I am a big supporter of Garmin products, but in my opinion the Rino series really missed the mark. Like a lot of multi-use items, it does nothing particularly well. Plus, the radio is a serious battery eater. The few times I have used the Rino to cache with, I have had to remember to disable the radio every time you turn it on or you will soon find yourself replacing batteries. Maybe I just got a bad one, but in my book the Rino is a great idea with poor execution.

[+Mule Ears]

If you want something a little more rugged and powerful you might want to check out the Icom F21GM (Link). These are "commercial grade" radios with 4 watts of transmit power. They also have removable antennas which allow you to hook up mag mounts for use in the car. Overall a pretty high quality radio for the price.

 

Any hand held radio, and UHF especially (which includes both FRS and GMRS), will have trouble in heavy foliage. You might have better luck with VHF radios. I am not sure what licenses are available in that area of the spectrum besides ham, but it might be worth looking into.

 

There's a relatively new category called MURS, which is a license-free VHF radio operating just above the 2m ham band (150 some-odd MHz) at max transmitter power of 2W. Looked semi-interesting, but the radios are more expensive and larger than the more common GMRS units. And we don't often encounter heavy foliage here in the desert..

[WR8Y]

Do a google on MURS "Multi Use Radio Service" - it's what I use. I think I am on 154.540 mHz at 4 watts. I have never tried to talk over 3 miles, but have never FAILED to talk the distances I'v tried!

 

As was stated before, UHF suffers from higher losses in the trees than VHF.

[+Difranco]

The Bubble Pack FRS/GMRS radios have a lot of misleading information right on the packaging.

 

Most claim now "5W" of power. Well the 5W of power is usually ends up to equal somewhere about 1.6W to 2W of ERP (Effective Radiated Power) from the antenna.

 

Regardless of what the packaging claims for distance 8, 12, 20 or 28 miles communication distance are ludicrous at best. In order to get those kinds of distances, one person would have to stand on top of a mountain and the other in a valley within line of sight just so the curve of the earth isn't a problem let alone all the other obstacles. Also the ERP levels are so low transmission is really hampered.

 

Before buying any radios, get their FCC ID numbers and look them up here the FCC has the ERP information listed for that particular radio model.

 

Also if you want to use the "High" Power setting and the GMRS channels, then you must send $85 to the FCC to get your operators license.

 

The ICOM listed above is a really good radio and is repeater capable.