Haroldo

If you buy 2 handhelds, you'll need to utilize a repeater to communicate at the distance mentioned. That is the easiest, most economic way to start. I have a Baofeng 5RM that fits the bill for this kind of use. At that distance apart, a handheld won't make it that far (from your home to your work). Without having to setup an antenna on the roof, 2 handhelds using a repeater will get you the coverage that you need. I do have a magmount car antenna stuck on a pizza pan that gives me good coverage, but I hit the repeater without it using the 5RM. As long as you can hit the repeater, your TX goes as far as the repeater will take it. If you and your wife can hit the same repeater, the 2 HTs will be all that you need (as long as the repeater is working). I use that handheld in the car with a speaker/mic effectively, and I can hit a repeater that covers from Orange County to the San Fernando Valley successfully. I have not used the external mount up to this time. There may be a repeater in the SFV that covers the entire area that you can use. There are a couple of strong signals on .600, .700, and .725. .600 is primarily Spanish. .700 and .725 seem to be mixed.

I have a pair of these BF-888S. At this price, they were the perfect gift for my grandchildren. They use pure simplex for their fun. When I first used CHIRP, something happened to where the monitor light stayed on constantly, even after re-uploading the original code plug. I found a post on Reddit about these and how to reset them to eliminate the bug. It worked perfectly. That link is here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Baofeng/comments/1givouj/baofeng_bf888s_squelch_issue_led_light_always_on/

I have a pair of Baofeng UV-5G Plus that work well for strictly GMRS communications. 5W of power, according to the specifications. I also have a Baofeng 5RM that works well for GMRS, as well as 2m and 70cm ham bands. 10W of power, according to the specifications. They are very close to each other in price. Neither model has given any problems and are both CHIRP programmable. The screen isn't too great when out in daylight, but they work well.

I have a pair of UV-5G Plus radios. Using Chirp, you have to set the radio as a Radioditty UV-5G Plus to program the radio. I have added many 2m and 70 cm ham frequencies for monitoring, unable to transmit on the channels. You can also add as many GMRS coded simplex channels, or ham band channels and GMRS repeaters, up to all 1000 channels. The 5W power is nice, as I can hit many repeaters from my house using a mag-mount on a pizza pan. They come in clear. For dedicated GMRS radios, they work well.

That HT looks just like a Baofeng BF-888S. I bought a pair of those 888s years ago, and in the initial setup, all of the channels were mixed-up like the example that you included. In CHIRP, the 8-14 had to be set for Narrow band, while all of the rest worked with normal FM. Because it only has 16 channels, I used the higher powered channels only. By chance, does this HT have scanning set to channel 16? That is how you scan the channels on the 888S.

To study, I used the ARRL Technician Class Study Book. It gives a good fundamental overview of what is being asked in the questions, so you can answer, knowing why you answered it that way. To prepare for the tests, I used the flash cards and tests at https://hamstudy.org . The test layout on hamstudy.org is the exact layout that they used for testing. The testing with GLAARG is based upon the same backend. So, it looks exactly like what you see at hamstudy.org. You use a tablet to take the test, and all of the test results are immediately gathered. That is how they can send your results to the FCC so quickly. This electronic integration is why you do not have to wait for weeks to get your ticket. There are some people who simply study the questions at hamstudy.org and pass the test. They say pass the test, then learn from experience to round out your knowledge. I prefer to learn the material first, then test. It just felt better that way. In computer networking, those kind of people were referred to as "Paper CCNAs" for just learning the answers, not the concepts. One plus of the radio that the Papa Systems provides to the new licensees is that it can be easily modified to transmit on GMRS frequencies, also. One radio for both services. Not that I would encourage people to become scofflaws and perform such a dastardly deed.

Last month I passed the Technician class amateur license exam. With some studying, the test can be successfully passed on the first attempt. I scheduled my exam with the Greater Los Angeles Amateur Radio Group that was held at a Sizzler restaurant in Fullerton, CA. It cost $10 to take the test. They submit your license to the FCC electronically. I took the test on Saturday, paid my fee ($35) on Monday, and had my ticket and call sign by 1:00 AM Tuesday. It is very quick with their system. Those who pass the exam are given a 5W TYT TH-UV88 handheld radio, already programmed with the repeaters for the Papa System repeaters. They provide it to welcome you to the world of amateur radio. The whole environment was welcoming and fun. The Papa System has repeaters all over the southern California area and they have many modes, analog and digital. It's a great system to gain experience with your new license. They even hold a new hams net every Wednesday night at 7:00 PM. You can talk with others from the Mexican border, out to Yuma, all the way north to Ridgecrest and Santa Barbara on the coast. All of the repeaters are linked, so you can hear/talk over a very wide area. Just wanted to let people know that you can obtain your license in the LA area in an easy, convenient manner if you are in the area. The whole process was smooth and easy.

I use the Radioddity UV-5G Plus as the radio model for the Baofeng in CHIRP. It works well, also.

There is a "Travel" channel that seems to have ears listening on "Channel 20" 462.6750 many times. You can use the simplex channel 20, or the repeater equivalent, with a tone of 141.3 and possibly make contact.

Wow!! That's a nice tower!