Two Way Radio Question

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=59085

Thank you Ken.
I suppose that I should've stated that I had already read that post and was looking for real world experiences and/or recommendations on some of the new (2013-2014) offerings.

gmrs radios that can do the splits to use repeaters are more expensive than the typical radios most people buy in the blister packs, also gmrs repeaters are fairly rare these days. I doubt there would be any coverage available to you in most remote places. If you really think you need a good 2 way radio than I would look towards amateur radio instead.

My rule of thumb is that whatever maximum range is advertised for a specific GMRS radio, discount that by 90%. So, if it says 30 miles, only 3 miles is more realistic. Even that will require a clear line of sight. In an ordinary wildness setting, I find the range to be less than one mile.

Amateur radio can get a lot of range, but you still have to know what you are doing. A lot can be done by antenna magic.

Now that satellite communications is becoming more practical, it might kill off some of the terrestrial communications industry, at least for wilderness.

–B.G.–

"but I haven't been able to find anyone I trust who actually has experience/theory/real world application information."

I was an Infantry Communications Chief when I was in the Army, many zillions of years ago. All I knew was the practical side, with only a little theory. We didn't care about the atmospherics or the skip. All we needed to do was to listen to our guys that were 3-5 miles out on the DMZ.

Now, with 100 watts, you can really reach out there a long way. Plus, the forward air controller with us had to be able to call in the B52s that were a thousand miles away, so he had a kilowatt and a towed generator to produce it.

Kind of impractical for a backpacker!

–B.G.–