2 way radio? Please help!

[legg86]

Hey guys, I have no idea at all about radio communication and I need some help if anyone can. I need a 2 way comm set that can reach the farthest possible range, and preferably be backpack portable. since the whole "36 miles" range on the handhelds is pure crap (in reality its like 2 miles, as most people who've used them know), I'm looking for something that really will give me about 50 miles range. Should I just get a CB radio and stick it in the truck? Or is there some 2 way system I havent heard about that will give decent range?
any help will be appreciated : )

 

[Bearco]

I do not think anything will give you the range you are wanting. You are too limited by line of sight. Try out HAM. The only way you will reach 50 miles w/o a repeater is to get an antenna above the trees and amplify the crap out of it. The person on the other end would also need the same setup.

 

[legg86]

i figured that I might be able to have some kind of repeater in the truck with a big antenna, my radio reach the truck, then the truck to another system in the 50 mile range. could be just a pipe dream though. thats why i thought i would ask.

 

[sraacke]

i figured that I might be able to have some kind of repeater in the truck with a big antenna, my radio reach the truck, then the truck to another system in the 50 mile range. could be just a pipe dream though. thats why i thought i would ask.

Sounds like simple cross band repeat to me. I do it all the time. Use my UHF low power portable to talk back to the car. The radio in the car is set to receive on the UHF freq I'm using on the portable then it repeats it out over a preset VHF frequency, often a local repeater freq. The radio then receives the VHF freq from the repeater and sends it out over the UHF freq to my portable. I do this all the time at public service events. Ham Radio for the win.

 

[geauxshootin]

There are solutions, but would need to know more of what you are trying to do. Handled tactical radio systems for over 20 years, let me know if I can help.

 

[honestlou]

You're not going to get 50 miles from the truck. As Yale said, you can do it if you hit a repeater on a tower, assuming you are in an area with what you need.

Also, depends on the scenario. If all systems are up, cell phones are good, and certainly satellite phones. If things are down, that repeater may not be working either. With good antennas and power, you can probably get 25-30 miles radio to radio, without depending on outside help.

 

[nickatnite]

There are solutions, but would need to know more of what you are trying to do. Handled tactical radio systems for over 20 years, let me know if I can help.

But are you certified and was the class taught as a TRUE "Tactical radio ops course"?

 

[geauxshootin]

But are you certified and was the class taught as a TRUE "Tactical radio ops course"?

certifiable, it was a long class. Even caught a nap! Helps me shoot better too!

 

[Sin-ster]

Say everything went down and fell apart, plus you had to abandon the truck-- what's your best option for handheld/portable two-way comms? Been wondering about that myself for a while.

 

[geauxshootin]

Say everything went down and fell apart, plus you had to abandon the truck-- what's your best option for handheld/portable two-way comms? Been wondering about that myself for a while.

who are you going to talk to? seriously, who are you trying to talk to.

 

[kd5hlx]

When all else fails Amatuer Radio www.arrl.org

 

[jimdana1942]

What areas are needing to communicate in? South Louisiana? What type of terrains are you going to be in? Hilly, flat, mountainous? Just in the area you reside in? Locally, you can go to a Motorola shop and get radios that will operate thru a Trunking system You will get a range about 20-35 miles from the repeater site, that is a radius range. You could be on one side of the repeater and talk to someone on the other side so you could go about 4o-60 miles total. Factors do determine your effective range, such as terrain, repeater antenna height (most are about 400'), weather conditions,etc.

HAM radio is a good way but the range for a mobile radio willo depend if you go thru a HAM repeater, line-of-site, etc. Of course the lower HAM bands will talk further, depending on many factors.

Basically, the radio communication range is line of sight but factors will determine how much beyond that you can go.

What are you needing to use your radios for?

 

[legg86]

Thank you for the help guys! I dont really want to get into details on what they are for lol, I just needed the longest range, at least marginally secure reliable(ish) comms system.
What we've settled on is 2 SSB CB base stations, and 2 mobile units with 5' antennas. We don't think that will bridge the gap completely, so we're looking at how to bounce the signal across the range gap. I'm thinking of setting a repeater up about halfway,
any ideas on that one?

 

[Summit_Ace]

I saw a guy once that had the coolest CB rig I had ever seen. Trucker style radio with 102" whip, he had a truck tool box and the thing was full of caterpillar batteries to power radio. The truck was equipped with a huge alternator to charge batteries. Under the driver's seat he had a fan cooled 1500 watt linear amplifier. He powered the thing up and was talking to a guy in a town about 60 miles away. Only problem, very illegal, but cool.

 

[sraacke]

What we've settled on is 2 SSB CB base stations, and 2 mobile units with 5' antennas. We don't think that will bridge the gap completely, so we're looking at how to bounce the signal across the range gap. I'm thinking of setting a repeater up about halfway,
any ideas on that one?

Repeaters aren't allowed in the CB service nor have I ever heard of one being used for cb.