Range

[Guest Jerry]

Hello ! My name is Jerry and i am new to this hobby .I need info on the range  for these radios . I need to stay in contact with ,  My mother who is diabetic lives in Port StLucie county andI live in West Palm beach .What set up would be ideal ,simplicity cost etc . Thank you for the advice 

[rdunajewski]

Hi Jerry,

 

I own the Fort Pierce repeater which covers the Port St. Lucie area very well and with a good base station you should be able to get to West Palm Beach.

 

For your house, you would need a UHF base station antenna outside as high as you can practically get it (ideally on your roof if that's possible). Elevation is the key to getting better range. For a base radio, you can use a mobile radio and a power supply hooked up to the antenna. Some form of lightning protection for the coax that comes from the antenna is advised, especially in Florida. There are Polyphaser surge suppressors that you can buy which will protect the radio from a surge in the coax caused by a nearby strike.

 

For your mother's house, depending on where she's located she might be able to use a handheld radio which would be good for mobility, but you'd have to try it out and see.

 

I'm not sure if you have a GMRS license yet, but a license would cover yourself plus your immediate family members which includes your mother, so there's only once license to purchase from the FCC. Once you have a license you can register for the main myGMRS.com website and you'll see the frequency and PL tone information needed to program your radios to the Fort Pierce repeater, and you can try it out.

 

I actually put up this repeater for my elderly aunt and uncle who live on the island. Their cell service isn't great and they have become stubborn and don't like to evacuate when there's a hurricane. I wanted a way to reach them by radio, or a way for them to call others for help if they ever need to. I live in NJ so I have linked that repeater over the Internet which allows me to talk to them when I'm not in the area.

[Guest David H.]

Hello WQEJ577,

 

I'm new to this community and would love to have some help and advice in getting a set up like you described above to "Jerry".  I live in Pensacola FL and want to be able to communicate with family locally as well as my brothers in Montgomery AL.  What manufacturer would you recommend for radios, both base and also mobile and Hand Held? Also, where would I began to look for a technician to set up this kind of system at my house? Someone to come tune/ match the ant to the radios?

 

Thanks for any help or advice,

David Harrison

dharri2@cox.net

[PRadio]

Hello WQEJ577,

 

I'm new to this community and would love to have some help and advice in getting a set up like you described above to "Jerry".  I live in Pensacola FL and want to be able to communicate with family locally as well as my brothers in Montgomery AL.  What manufacturer would you recommend for radios, both base and also mobile and Hand Held? Also, where would I began to look for a technician to set up this kind of system at my house? Someone to come tune/ match the ant to the radios?

 

Thanks for any help or advice,

David Harrison

dharri2@cox.net

 

I don't think you will find any GMRS solution to communicate with your brothers in Montgomery. That's about 140 miles. Perhaps through some linked system via the internet. 

[Guest Bernie Penkin]

I live in Vancouver, WA and would like to be able to communicate with my daughter in Olympia during emergencies.  Would GMRS be a good route?

[Guest Jerry]

I just received my license WROB834

 I am looking at the Midland xt400 and the btech 50 watt with the Nagoya 320a antenna, or the Fong Jpole ?  I have a leixen 898 10 wattI found at a thrift store  . Thanks for the advice

[MichaelLAX]

WELCOME!

I looked up the leixen 898 10 watt at Radioddity and it looks like an interesting starter mobile rig for no additional cost!

I have two of the Radioddity DB-20G clones (Anytone AT-779UV) which I use in my car and in my shack; and I love them!

Do you really need 50 watts?

[Guest Jerry]

28 minutes ago, MichaelLAX said:

WELCOME!

I looked up the leixen 898 10 watt at Radioddity and it looks like an interesting starter mobile rig for no additional cost!

I have two of the Radioddity DB-20G clones (Anytone AT-779UV) which I use in my car and in my shack; and I love them!

Do you really need 50 watts?

My Mother lives about 65 mile to the north of me , (PSL) So about 65 miles away .So in a event of a storm and most power is knocked out I am figuring most repeaters will be down . I have been looking at the Midland xt400 40 watts . And its ant . I am buying 2 Fong Jpole ants for both houses to compliment. 

[MichaelLAX]

OK: I understand; let us know how it works out for you!