When the weather permits, you can get band openings on UHF
I live in North Clearwater, FL
In February & March, I have hit a repeater 57 miles away from me in Bartow/Polk County with my h-t when the band was open
One of the ops I spoke with was in Orlando, 10 miles north of the airport, which placed him 75 miles away from Bartow
On that night for only a minute before the conditions changed I spoke with an op from Perry, FL, in North Taylor County, that repeater is on the same frequency & tone as Bartow
North Clearwater to Perry is 153 miles as the crow flies
It can happen
I check the NOAA frequencies, when I start hearing out-of-town NOAA broadcasts, that's a good sign that the bands are opening up
Edit/addition: WRMC383, I looked your location up just to see where you are
Just a few nights ago, a gent in Grand Island which is in your neck of the woods made it into the Tampa .575 repeater, that's about 78 miles from him
I spoke with him just before midnight & conversed for about 20 minutes before he said goodnight, I forgot which day it was, but it was earlier this week
If Mother Nature is in a good mood, it can be a good thing for us radio ops
Actually, it is 'possible' under certain conditions of Tropospheric ducting, which has been strongly affecting large parts of Florida recently.
I myself overheard a conversation over a repeater near Orlando earlier this week, while I am in Punta Gorda... well over 100 miles.
I have also had several contact with an 'Amateur operator' in West Palm who especially enjoys making contacts during ducting event, that's nearly 150 miles away from me.
