GuySagi

Sure no argument on VHF beating the pants off UHF in most outdoor cases, or the poor performance of cheap radios. I can beat you on 1 watt VHF distance, though. 155.16 mhz, on a cliff at night (elevation maybe 7,000 feet), I had no problem sending vitals to the helicopter PJ as he and the pilot waited for authorization to take off (they were at about 2,800 feet). Distance 30 miles, Motorola brick in my hand and I have no clue what the Air Force had in that old UH1 Huey at the time, but it was obviously amazing. Straight line of sight, unimpeded, but crystal clear enough I that I breathed a sigh of relief when I could hear the blades whir to life. I was young and dumb enough to take that kind of performance for granted, sigh.

Wow. Did this thread get colorful fast. I spent ten years with search and rescue, carrying a one-watt Motorola VHF brick so I think my assumption the SAR folks in Wyoming will come at this pretty practically is a good one. Send hasty teams with HTs to high peaks, usually predesignated as communications points discovered/used during practices in the area (it's a practice to mark those spots on the map whenever you find a really good one). They stay put, lighting fires as a "trap team" to attract the lost person or p/u a signal of any sort (not just radio). Somewhere relatively close is a mobile unit with higher powered radio and solid communications back to town (our porcupine on four wheels was Rescue 3). If a team on a peak picks up a signal, it radios the truck, it's relayed back to town if a helivac is needed and all is good. If a team on the move finds something they can radio a nearby peak that's manned. And there are lots of people caring enough to volunteer who cannot handle the cliffs/long hikes, but jump at the chance to babysit those peaks and trucks during operations. In fact, our in-town radio guy was handicapped, and his calm, soothing and never-flustered voice on the radio probably saved more lives than us grunts in the field ever did. I apologize for the long response. I think Wyoming's approach could be better, but a solid foundation to build on....sucks adding even a few ounces to a searcher's backpack, though.

You're right....sorry. Nothing like me mixing brand names when trying to explain the capacity in some batteries is so exaggerated that it's ridiculous. They run awesome in my HTs, although as noted above watch that voltage or you can sacrifice performance.

Have you tested those batteries to ensure they hold 2200 mAs? A big part of my job is photography and I've tried knockoff/cheap AAs in my strobes, got frustrated and then tested. Some that claim hi capacity are the same you get in cheap solar landscape lights and they die prematurely (in charge and function). My favorite right now is the Sony Eneloop that allegedly holds more than 80 percent of its charge for years if just collecting dust on a shelf. They're expensive, but I haven't had to buy dozens or carry a battalion of AAs when on assignment.

My wife picked these up a while back, God bless her for thinking this way. But I'm not bothering to charge up, even during hurricane season. Anyone else give these a try before giving up? Looks great and simple enough for the grandkids, though.

Welcome to the group and GMRS. I'm over in Raeford, NC, and it's crickets chirping here, too, which is OK. The only repeater I can reach from my home is in South Carolina, and the person who owns it was kind enough to grant me permission. I think I used it twice, to talk to him....but it's there if needed after one of our frequent tropical storms/hurricanes. In your part of the state I think you have a lot more to choose from and sending a short and polite note usually works (at least it did in my case, indicating I wasn't interested in wearing his repeater out). I'd set up a time for us to connect on air, but the Uhwarries between us would make it impossible.

All great advice, and I'm certainly no pro at GMRS, but I'll add the fact you should not be surprised by the relative silence on the channels compared to CB (and lack of annoying personalities). Don't expect skip to roll in, either. You'll love it much better than CB if you can convince some of your friends on that band (close enough) to get a GMRS license, though. Static-free conversations are a lot more relaxing on my old ears, anyway....and a quality handheld will fit in your tackle box, BTW. You'd have to leave some lures behind to cram a 4-watt CB version in, although if the crappie are biting that antenna is a good backup rod.

You're right Mac Jack....my problem (OK, excuse) is lack of time. The only repeater I've secured permission to use (or asked for the privilege) is owned by a very thoughtful and decent person, in my estimation, and I'm pretty sure almost all of them are. The moment he learned my use was to stay in touch with the family when we're traveling by and during those annoying hurricanes he was eager and willing to let me log on.

Sounds like it worked really well, that's for sure. No doubt an antenna outside the aircraft will help a ton. Keep up the good work youngster. I miss the good old days (which lasted for more than a decade) I was doing it.

My wife keeps threatening to send me back to the doctor to get my body recalibrated. I thought she was kidding until I read this thread. I apologize because without consistency in testing the results are meaningless. So your term's precise and correct. I do however, hope my note gifts you a chuckle today. Not many of those going around these days.

The lack of repeaters in the Raleigh metro area shocked me, too. I'm down south of Fayetteville in NC and on a good day with the wind at my back can hit one in South Carolina...with my base station, barely. I'm heading up to RDU tomorrow and it would be nice to hit a repeater on my way up, that's for sure (and all the times I drive by with my camper/trailer). Good luck, dang it.

Well, I still don't know if you're in TX or NC, so I'll leave my base station monitoring Ch. 7 this morning. Hope you have a wonderful flight and lots of contacts.

I'm in Fayetteville, NC....I apologize that I didn't include that. If you're in TX and we connected there would be a UFO involved, worm hole, black hole, quantum entanglement....

If you need someone near Fayetteville to try to reach you on the 15th let me know. I was part of the Mountain Rescue Association in another life, and certainly am willing to try and help is needed.

Sounds like you're good to go, but if you're really worried you might consider arriving just a few minutes earlier than usual for your flight. Sometimes my work requires I travel with firearms, and it's no problem in checked luggage when packed according to TSA and airline rules (Yes, some LE get to carry on the plane, but I'm not an officer). But an occasional agent who doesn't know the precise rules when you check in and declare the unloaded firearm in the bag will stall things a couple minutes. Just inexperience on their end and other staff or a manager clear up the confusion fast. I also carry a minimum of three radio transceivers for my camera and flashes. They are old-school units most people would be hard pressed to think were for photography, with rubber ducky antennas sticking out. Never, ever have they been hand inspected or even taken out of my carry on (and it wasn't long ago they were going on a minimum of four flights a month). Considering the amount of criticism TSA and airlines staff gets, to their face, I think most of them do a great job...so I'm with one of the posts above. Toss it in your carry-on, let them run it through the scanner and I'm really sure you're good. In fact I flew with those transceivers two weeks ago and no TSA eyebrows were raised at all. Spare lithium batteries in carry-on is a different subject, though. Travel safe and let us know how it turns out. I think you're going to be pleased.