GMRS License and tourist trip to U.S.A.

[Guest Mr. Clinker]

Dear experts:

 

I will be traveling soon in a 2 weeks tourist family group trip to U.S.A., and I would like to have communication between three cars while my "kicks are on route 66" (well, not really, Florida's turnpike instead).

 

So I have bought a GMRS license and I plan to buy 3 Motorola MR350 radios.

 

Here are my questions:

 

- The vehicles will not be very far away of each other (I hope, that is Garmin's GPS job...), but lets assume we get separated one or one and a half mile: Are we going to need the extra transmission power of GMRS or just with FRS we will be fine?

 

- The communications will be in spanish language and only among members of my family (brief, short communications, only to coordinate stops and for emergencies): should I broadcast my callsign every time I use the GMRS frequency? Should it be in english?

 

Thank you very much for your time, please excuse any grammar or syntax mistake.

 

 

Mr. Clinker

Uruguay - South America

WQWS925

 

[zap]

Spanish is fine (ID has to be in either English or Morse). Predicting UHF over a mile in vehicles is difficult...not something I'm really cut out for. 

[Logan5]

try magnetic roof top antennas, FRS can work if cars are very close together. but with the metal of the automobile causing much distortion and breakup. More power of GMRS is unlikely to improve things much, moving the antenna outside of the vehicle will allow for effective communications in excess of a mile. If your radios do not have removable antenna, you will have no option of external roof antenna. Chose your radios wisely.

[ASRM]

I will second that the car will really kill the signal on a handheld, even at 40 feet up on a little base/repeater, our portables at 4 watts only get about 4-5 miles, can only imagine car to car would be drastically cut in effective range.