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Welcome to the site William. If those units are not repeater capable, I would take them back and get a pair that are. I would then look for repeaters in your area, and request permission to use it. Then at least the little units will be of some use for you and your family. Glenn

Hello, and Welcome to MyGMRS Forums. The bubble pack radio range and distance claims are published under "laboratory conditions" from one wilderness mountain top to another. In real world scenarios, you can probably expect an effective range between identical radios, under average terrain situations, of 2 to 5 miles max... and in most cases quite a bit less. As Logan5 mentioned, a cell phone in a specifically designed waterproof bag is your best bet. The only way that I would rely on GMRS ONLY is to set up a temporary base station and gain type antenna at a staging area midway between your river entry and exit points and TEST the radio reception from shore all along that route BEFORE your departure and have someone stationed at that temporary base station during the trip. You also may wish to verify that there actually IS cellphone service in those areas as well - before you venture out. Rarely are any specific GMRS frequenices monitored routinely by official agencies for emergencies. That type of network simply does not exist. Best of luck and be safe...

LMAO @ 50 mile range. Welcome to forum TonkaToy. Glad to have you here. generally you would contact another person in your group, a GMRS radio is not specifically an emergency radio, but can be used as such if the comms are already there. If cell service is available 911 is your best option. Best regards Jim...

From personal experience in my primary area, once a piece of Motorola equipment no longer has factory support, the local dealers will not even do programming. Sounds like Motorola is taking a lesson from Microsoft with planned obsolescence to sell new products where profits are substantial, while thumbing their nose at customers who won't play their games. The local Kenwood dealer's business expands every year because they add old Motorola customers to their client list.