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dvespucci

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Everything posted by dvespucci

  1. Thanks N4gix. I checked out those little radios, they look fantastic. I couldn't believe the cost. I will have to get my hands on some of those! Thanks skipwalton. That Midland 115 is awfully tempting. At the moment I think they about $100 cheaper. I may have to get one of those in the mix, maybe for my truck. JohnE, thanks for the info. I honestly am unaware of elevations, even at my house. But I don't have an HOA and don't have many restrictions from the city. I should be able to throw something up at least at 30 feet. I don't think the other two families would have too much trouble hitting 20 ft if they are able to mount something to their house. I doubt their HOA's would allow a stand alone tower, and they might want one even if they were allowed. My parents live about 12 miles from us. It might even be less than that. My in laws live another 4 or 5 miles past them. So it sounds like worst case scenario, my parents should easily be able to hit both houses and serve as a relay. It sounds like I need to put a little more thought into the antennae portion of this plan. I would be much happier not relying on repeaters to make this happen. It sounds like I have a fighting chance. Thank you all for the feedback, I appreciate it!!!
  2. Hi Everyone, I'm relatively new to the site. I have been searching older threads and haven't seen my exact question answered so here it goes: I am hoping to set up a backup communications system so in the event of an emergency, I will be able to communicate with my parents who live about 12 miles away and my in laws who live about 16 miles away. We are all in northern Dallas area suburbs, in a highly developed, and fairly flat area. I have my technician license and GMRS. I haven't done much with either. That will change. But for now, it is what it is. A fellow CERT member programmed my BaoFeng UV5R hand held. If it weren't for that I would have zero experience w/ HAM. Thanks to his assistance I have been listening to several DFW repeaters, and jumped in on a couple of CERT nets. It looks like we have several GMRS repeaters in the area, some of which could potentially cover an area that should reach all 3 households. The Baofeng is the only radio I have at present. From what I've read on these threads, I should not be using that for GMRS bands. Good to know! My family members have zero chance of getting a technician license, otherwise our distances would not be an issue. My reading of GMRS rules indicate they could probably be covered under my license but just to make sure there are no issues, I plan to pay for each house to get their own GMRS license. I also plan to buy each house their own radio. I'm leaning toward the Midland MTX400. My hope is that with these fairly powerful radios (40 watts), and some decent antennas we will all be able to communicate in an emergency via repeaters, and hopefully via simplex. So I guess what I'm hoping to get from posting is some ideas from some of you who are much more experienced then me on the feasibility of my plan. Does anyone have any experience getting these newer midland radios to link up with repeaters? Is it complicated? Does anyone have any experience using MTX400 radios for simplex communications in a comparable environment? If so what kind of range can I expect? I don't know if I should expect 3 miles or 20. Any suggestions on an affordable off the shelf antennae that will work well but be easy to set up? 2 new licenses, 3 radios, and 3 decent antennas is a significant investment for me. Any recommendations on cheaper or more importantly better radios to meet my objective? Simplicity is the name of the game here. I am pretty new to the radio world, and my family members know even less than I do. Any ideas you could pass along would be much appreciated!!!
  3. Thank you for your comment Jones, i really appreciate it. I figured repeater access would be necessary to go 15 miles, even with the higher power unit. It would be nice to be able to use via simplex/station to station instead. Like you said, I don't want to have to rely on repeaters. I've found it difficult to get range estimates/information on those midland radios, and I guess any radios for that matter. I understand that there are a lot of variables but I had no idea if I could expect 5 miles or 20 miles in my flat, urban sprawl type of environment. It is wonderful to hear I may be able to reach out to 15 or so miles. I will likely be footing the bill for the 3 radios, which is a large investment for me. So I've been very hesitant to pull the trigger. This is a very helpful push to get me started.
  4. I'm a newbie myself. I have GMRS and Technician Ham license, but haven't done much with either......I'm trying to figure out a back up communication plan for my family who live within 15 miles and have zero desire to get ham license......I'm looking into GMRS options. I literally just registered for this site with the goal of adding to my very limited understanding of some "new" radios from Midland. They are new to me anyway. Their site lists 3 current models; 5 watts, 15 watts, and a 40 watt. I believe 2 of the 3 are capable of hitting GMRS repeaters. Can seem to post a link here, not being allowed to paste.......google midland micromobile gmrs 2 way radios. I'm not aware of any other manufacture, but I'd be willing to bet there is something out there.
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