Walkie Talkie Suggestions Please!

[ElkNut1]

I'm looking for a pair of walkie talkies that will do close to a mile in mountainous terrain but still on the same side of the mountain with up to 1000' of elevation change from each user. Any suggestions from those that have them? Thank You!

ElkNut/Paul

 

[Billy Goat]

We use Kenwood TK-2000. They work pretty well. Not positive you aren't supposed to be licensed to use them tho.


Found some cheaper version that worked just as well. I'll see if I can find them.

Some of the guys used these last year, they were able to program them to the same frequency as the others. They seemed to work well for the price.

https://www.amazon.com/Baofeng-GT-3TP-Mark-III-Two-Way-Transceiver/dp/B00R7LXR7S

 

[Aaron Warpony]

Amazon.com

Midland GXT1000VP4 (3 Pack)

Here's what I use. I did alot of research and bought three different brands and tested them. These worked the best for my needs and have a vibrate feature. I think they are the best for a walkie talkie. The batteries go fast on all radios if the power is turned all the way up. You can turn the power down on these. Have a nice clip too. I bought some extra knockoff batteries from amazon for like $10 and just swap em out. The cold kills the batteries too, put em in your sleep bag at night. Good luck

 

[sacox31s]

The best FCC legal handheld radios without any license needed that I'm aware of are the Midland GXT1050VP4 radios. $75 a pair on Amazon.

The best FCC legal handheld radio requiring a GMRS license is the Wouxun KG-805G GMRS radio. A GMRS license costs $70, last 10 years, and covers your entire family.

Ultimately all VHF/UHF handheld radios operate on line of sight. Extra power, better receiver, and better antenna are nice, but line-of-sight radio-to-radio is the most important thing to determine communication distance.

 

[5MilesBack]

I bought this 5-pack awhile ago and have been using them quite frequently for the past couple years. In July I was able to talk to my daughter back in camp on them while I was 4.5 miles up the same draw. I thought that was pretty decent for cheap radios.

https://www.amazon.com/Retevis-H-777-Walkie-Talkies-Flashlight/dp/B00GN5DHH4/ref=sxts_sxwds-bia-wc-p13n1_0?crid=2ELU4I5532Q3F&cv_ct_cx=retevis+h-777+walkie+talkies&dchild=1&keywords=retevis+h-777+walkie+talkies&pd_rd_i=B00GN5DHH4&pd_rd_r=c767801d-6a59-4b1c-b0cf-803ad557e21a&pd_rd_w=5C9Z9&pd_rd_wg=015rb&pf_rd_p=13bf9bc7-d68d-44c3-9d2e-647020f56802&pf_rd_r=S5S8NQMNF1DKTN36SSFK&psc=1&qid=1598146068&sprefix=retevis+%2Caps%2C234&sr=1-1-791c2399-d602-4248-afbb-8a79de2d236f

 

[ElkNut1]

Thanks guys, very nice & great info!

5Miles, super impressive sir!

ElkNut/Paul

 

[Newtosavage]

I bought this 5-pack awhile ago and have been using them quite frequently for the past couple years. In July I was able to talk to my daughter back in camp on them while I was 4.5 miles up the same draw. I thought that was pretty decent for cheap radios.

https://www.amazon.com/Retevis-H-777-Walkie-Talkies-Flashlight/dp/B00GN5DHH4/ref=sxts_sxwds-bia-wc-p13n1_0?crid=2ELU4I5532Q3F&cv_ct_cx=retevis+h-777+walkie+talkies&dchild=1&keywords=retevis+h-777+walkie+talkies&pd_rd_i=B00GN5DHH4&pd_rd_r=c767801d-6a59-4b1c-b0cf-803ad557e21a&pd_rd_w=5C9Z9&pd_rd_wg=015rb&pf_rd_p=13bf9bc7-d68d-44c3-9d2e-647020f56802&pf_rd_r=S5S8NQMNF1DKTN36SSFK&psc=1&qid=1598146068&sprefix=retevis+%2Caps%2C234&sr=1-1-791c2399-d602-4248-afbb-8a79de2d236f

5 miles, we use those all the time at work even though we have $2K Motorolas that are supposed to be better.

 

[Billy Goat]

Line of sight you can talk a long ways, put one little ridge in the middle and your wasting your time. Think we talk 8-9 miles a lot of times. That's high spot to high spot tho.

 

[5MilesBack]

5 miles, we use those all the time at work even though we have $2K Motorolas that are supposed to be better.

The best part is battery life. We use these as well at our church for the security/safety team. I charged my radio back in March and have been using it every service since and have yet to need to recharge it.

 

[ElkNut1]

Wow, crazy battery life even if rarely used! Sounds like they stay charged pretty well!

ElkNut

 

[Billy Goat]

My experience using lithium batteries in radios was they lasted about 5 days when we were checking in on the hour, few minutes on every hour for around 8 hours. Problem was your second battery went dead same time as your first, it was the hot/cold that drained them. Not use.

 

[camping1601]

We went the gmrs route. Definitely better than the frs ones but haven't done a true comparison. Getting the license was easy enough.

 

[*zap*]

good info to know:

 

[Silveroddo]

Worth a read, I ended up copying what he did down to the case and have no complaints, you might be able to go fancier on the base radio if you choose to go that route and get something with more antenna

Midland Radio GXT1050VP4 Review

Midland Radio review by Chas Carmichael. Are the Midland GTX1050VP4 Two-Way Radios right for your next backcountry trip? This review will answer that.

www.rokslide.com

 

[Boblee]

The best part is battery life. We use these as well at our church for the security/safety team. I charged my radio back in March and have been using it every service since and have yet to need to recharge it.

You need a security team at your church? I have never seen or heard of this at any church inahve ever been to , will you elaborate as to why a church would need a security team ?

 

[Peregrine1]

You need a security team at your church? I have never seen or heard of this at any church inahve ever been to , will you elaborate as to why a church would need a security team ?

Sutherland Springs ring a bell? An ounce of prevention...just one of many examples in this day and age. Many churches have attendance numbers in the hundreds, it’s a legit concern. Now if schools would follow suit, at least equip some staff...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Maki35]

You need a security team at your church? I have never seen or heard of this at any church inahve ever been to , will you elaborate as to why a church would need a security team ?

We don't have a security team at the church that I attend.
But the synagogue and mosque around town do have armed security because of threats they have received.
Too much hate.

 

[BLJ]

On the radios with NOAA weather, do you only get alerts? Or will it lock onto one channel and continue to deliver current weather and forecast for your location?

 

[Mds2004]

On topic: we use those Beofang's but with the 8watt radio. I purchased a GMRS license and plan on getting the ham license to legally use VHF. If using them make sure to look at what frequencies are licensed so you don't overstep (i.e. emergency frequencies)


Off topic: our church has moved to having a security team as well due to the uprising hate of conservative Christians. It is better to be prepared, just like those of us who carry concealed. I hope to never use it but am glad I can carry to protect my family.

 

[Davies786]

I’ve been using these radios the last 2 years for snowmobiling and hunting and have been able to communicate from the sled parking lot to the cabin which is 12km away and this fall hunting I was on top of one Mtn and my buddy was on another 16.4km away and we were able to talk with no problems. https://www.ride208.net/store/