Good range handheld radios?

@WestCoastBestCoast I did some shopping and it looks like most handhelds for GMRS are 2 watt and 5 watt. Not all of them advertise their actual power but that's what I've been able to find. If you pick up a handheld, you will be fine if you can see your buddies. If they are over a hill, it will be hit and miss. There are repeaters that people put up and you could use if there are any in your area.

Retevis, Baofeng, Motorola, and Midland all sell GMRS radios. Just search on Amazon for "GMRS Handheld" and you'll find them quick. Most of them are also licensed for FRS use (low power walkie talkies).

You can also get a GMRS radio to mount in your truck that does about 50 watts. I saw a few at 45 watts. A cheap mag mount antenna will run you about $30. You can adapt it to almost and handheld if you want that antenna to plug in to a handheld radio.

On the radio in my truck (ham radio), I can hit a repeater on a mountain 20 miles away with 10 watts. I also talked to a guy 47 miles away I couldn't actually see with 50 watts.

If you get a GMRS license, it is good for you and your immediate family. The price is negligible for 10 years of transmitting.

If you study and get your ham license, you may go broke buying all kinds of toys, building antennas, and experimenting. Not a bad choice.

Best of luck!

 

GMRS is pretty sweet and its what my friends and family use whenever we head out. I installed Midland's MXT-275 in the truck and picked up a few of their handhelds(on sale 25% off) to keep on hand.
I also have a pair of the Baofengs as back up. $75 for 10 years is nothing.

https://midlandusa.com/product/mxt275-micromobile-two-way-radio/
https://midlandusa.com/product-category/lxtgxt/

 

Man this was a Giant can of Worms I didn’t mean to open......

So it looks like GMRS is the way to go for us then?
Gotta figure out which ones are the best ones for us, as we live in an urban environment and outside of it is densely wooded (aka where we go for fun and such).
He’s not into putting a unit in his car, so it looks like it’ll have to be midland or Baofengs and a unit in my truck. Or a handheld with a mag mount on the truck?

 

I think the baofeng and Retevis will have removable antennas. The Midland probably does not. If you get a removable antenna you can add a mag mount. That will be the best you can do with a handheld.

All in will be maybe $40 for a handheld, $30 for a cheap antenna and cable, $6 antenna adapter, $35 license fee. Total $111.

 

So we went ahead and got the FCC approved (or so Baofeng says) handhelds. I also ordered a

$165 Midland MXT275 MicroMobile® GMRS Radio – 15 watts Two-Way Radio with Integrated Control Microphone – Overland Caravanning Tractors – Detachable External Magnetic Mount Antenna - 8 Repeater Channels

Midland MXT275 just purely for the truck.

Went ahead and paid for the FCC GMRS license too........... still says “submitted but not processed”. Was this a stupid move?

 

Great info! Thank you.

 

I received my GMRS callsign about 48 hours after submission. Remember its 10 years and good for the entire household. You'll love the MXT 275. It was so handy to have on the trail with the buddies especially when cell coverage was already sketchy.

 

No, it is the correct and simple way to do it. Opens up good options for communication.

 

I know you already got some, but for anyone else looking, my brother and I use these, and they've been great.

Wouxun KG-805G GMRS Two Way Radio (buytwowayradios.com)

That being said, I don't have anything to compare them to, and stayed simple, so as not to dive deep down the radio rabbit-hole.

 

Everywhere I read says $70?? I really need to stop being a bandit and get the license, but if it's dropping in price or something I'll wait it out.

That's exactly what I found when researching radios, lol. I asked some questions here, and on Reddit, and got way more information than I could comprehend.

 

https://www.buytwowayradios.com/blog/2020/12/fcc-approves-new-ham-and-gmrs-license-fees.html

It’s supposed to go down, not sure exactly when

 

Awesome. Good to know

 

So now that I have the

$165 MXT275 MicroMobile® GMRS Radio – 15 watts Two-Way Radio with Integrated Control Microphone – Overland Caravanning Tractors – Detachable External Magnetic Mount Antenna - 8 Repeater Channels

MXT275 in hand, I want to make a clean install of it. Is there an option to hardwire it to the truck? Not really loving the cig plug adapter.

Edit: I guess I’m really asking, do I have to cut and solder the positive and negative wires to a fuse tap and ring for ground? Or is there an already made cable to do this.

 

Of course. The base is tucked behind the cup holders. 12v plug is cut off and extended the power wire to the engine bay auxiliary fuse box. A ethernet extension is ran to a rj45 switch blank and can detach the mic when not in use. Also ditched the included antenna, went with their low pro cable and ghost antenna mounted to the roof rack.

 

Clean install! That's what I'm going for. Which fuse did you tap into?

 

It is best if you run straight to the battery unless you have an auxiliary fuse box installed. I wouldn't hack into a fuse box. I'll have to find some photos of my install.

The ghost antenna is a big compromise in gain. You would have better tx/rx with a real antenna.

 

I didn't as its connected to a blue sea auxiliary fuse box in the engine bay. I wired in a traditional blade inline fuse and removed the glass tube fuse that was originally on the wire. You can wire straight to the battery.

 

Years ago and in a galaxy far away, my first CB only had 23 channels and required a license from the FCC. After reading this thread, I may have to look into a

$165 MXT275 MicroMobile® GMRS Radio – 15 watts Two-Way Radio with Integrated Control Microphone – Overland Caravanning Tractors – Detachable External Magnetic Mount Antenna - 8 Repeater Channels

MXT275 to get with the times.

 

CB required a license? Did you have a call sign too?

 

Where’d you get the light panel that’s mounted over the climate control knobs and under the radio bezel?