Skunkworks Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 I am curious how far people have made contacts. I recently received transmissions from (what seemed to me) a very long distance away. I was on a high hill on the dunes of Lake Michigan near Muskegon, Michigan and was able to clearly listen to the Racine, Wisconsin repeater 85 miles away on the other side of the lake purely accidentally. Guys were mainly talking about fishing and the upcoming salmon and steelhead runs. I also heard traffic from Ohio and Indiana. I was on a hand-held GMRS Pro and also used a Baofeng UV-17 Pro GPS while employing a N9TAX Labs Slim-Jim GMRS antenna. Of course with only 5 Watts I wasn't able to make contacts, but it got me thinking. Just how far have people actually made contacts? I imagine mountain top to mountain top could be quite far. WSAM608 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OffRoaderX Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 93 miles from Palm Springs, CA to our old "Delta" repeater, using the XTL5000 in my jeep with the Midland MXTA26 antenna mounted on the rear tail-light, where all of the "experts" still proclaim that the antenna will not work because it is below the roofline and due to the poor ground plane at that mounting location. Initially started using the repeater with my radio transmitting at 40W, and when I switched to 110W nobody could hear any difference. I have heard people in their mobile radios hitting that same repeater from 40 miles further away at Chiriaco Summit for a total of 133 miles, but I cant do it - probably because my antenna wont work where it's mounted. Skunkworks and arn 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRYZ926 Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 One will definitely get farther range in the open desert or across lakes. And of course the higher both stations antennas are the better for line of sight. Here in mid Missouri, 30-35 miles is about the max to reach the local repeater with it's antennas at 400 feet above ground when using a mobile radio. Skunkworks 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warthog74 Posted March 13 Report Share Posted March 13 I hit 2 repeaters at 34 miles and 55 miles that were both south of me using a n9tax slim jim antenna hung 30-40 feet up a tree a few years back. I’ve since moved a few miles west of where i was and can no longer hit them unfortunately. Skunkworks 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRUE951 Posted March 13 Report Share Posted March 13 approx 150 miles, Above Palmdale Ca to Lone Pine via the El Paso Peak Repeater. Awesome Repeater, folks have talked San Berdino to Lone Pine, that's near 185 miles, through that Repeater. arn and Skunkworks 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcspaz Posted March 13 Report Share Posted March 13 The UHF band is line of sight. So, the further you can see, the further you can talk. I lost track of my longest GMRS contact, but I have talked to astronauts on the ISS at 250 miles above the Earth with only 5w on VHF/UHF. I think my longest GMRS contact was about 170 miles while on a mountain over 4,500' MSL. Skunkworks 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkInTampa Posted March 13 Report Share Posted March 13 When conditions are good, I've checked into the Taylor County (Florida) repeater net from Brandon, FL - repeater is 170 miles north of me and talked with a guy in Quincy, FL that is 68 miles northwest of the repeater. 230 miles as the crow flies. On the daily, 71 miles as the crow flies. 45 Miles to the Sarasota repeater south of me and 35 miles further south talking to folks in Port Charlotte. Skunkworks 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRXP381 Posted March 13 Report Share Posted March 13 160 miles from phelan ca. to the Las Vegas 700 spring mountain repeater for 2 weekly nets. From a 20w base station with a comet 712 antenna. Skunkworks 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRXB215 Posted March 13 Report Share Posted March 13 WOW! I never gat anywhere near these kinds of distance. Perhaps it's all the buildings, chemical plants, trees, and houses full of fffff...FURNITURE! WSAW350 and Skunkworks 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcspaz Posted March 13 Report Share Posted March 13 7 hours ago, WRXB215 said: WOW! I never gat anywhere near these kinds of distance. Perhaps it's all the buildings, chemical plants, trees, and houses full of fffff...FURNITURE! I wouldn't sweat it too much. Around my area, normal range (say mobile to mobile) is about 3 miles. On a good day, if both operators are on high spots, maybe 8 to 9 miles. hfd376 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WSBY419 Posted March 28 Report Share Posted March 28 My radio and accessories arrive tomorrow. At 47 ft above sea level, I'm hoping to hit a repeater 21.9 miles away with my 50 watt transceiver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRXP381 Posted March 28 Report Share Posted March 28 32 minutes ago, WSBY419 said: My radio and accessories arrive tomorrow. At 47 ft above sea level, I'm hoping to hit a repeater 21.9 miles away with my 50 watt transceiver. Unless you have the worlds worst antenna or are buried behind huge buildings or very dense wet woods 22 miles is nothing at all and should easily hit the repeater full quieting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nokones Posted March 28 Report Share Posted March 28 On 3/12/2024 at 1:03 PM, OffRoaderX said: 93 miles from Palm Springs, CA to our old "Delta" repeater, using the XTL5000 in my jeep with the Midland MXTA26 antenna mounted on the rear tail-light, where all of the "experts" still proclaim that the antenna will not work because it is below the roofline and due to the poor ground plane at that mounting location. Initially started using the repeater with my radio transmitting at 40W, and when I switched to 110W nobody could hear any difference. I have heard people in their mobile radios hitting that same repeater from 40 miles further away at Chiriaco Summit for a total of 133 miles, but I cant do it - probably because my antenna wont work where it's mounted. Were you westbound heading home when you were on top of Chiriaco? Maybe eastbound on top of Chiriaco would have worked better with the antenna facing towards the repeater. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OffRoaderX Posted March 28 Report Share Posted March 28 8 minutes ago, nokones said: Were you westbound heading home when you were on top of Chiriaco? Maybe eastbound on top of Chiriaco would have worked better with the antenna facing towards the repeater. I've tried it both ways.. i cant do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WSBY419 Posted March 29 Report Share Posted March 29 10 hours ago, WRXP381 said: Unless you have the worlds worst antenna or are buried behind huge buildings or very dense wet woods 22 miles is nothing at all and should easily hit the repeater full quieting. We're literally in Florida swampland here. Water (which is excellent for radio) and trees everywhere for many miles. I'm not certain of the elevation of the repeater as of yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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