I live in Southern California, I use a Cheap Chinese hand held radio, a Baofeng BF - 888 (UHF Only) to be exact, and is made for GMRS. It does not overheat or degrade. They work with the repeaters here very well. The radio is 5 watts or less output power. They are programable with GMRS Frequencies via USB cable, and your PC. I got 6 of them on amazon for $16.90 each. My family loves them. You will too.