GMRS range in actual use?

[jdm-v35]

Been reading about GMRS and in my case I would want to use it as emergency comms between a portable(me walking) and my wife waiting in the truck(midland mxt275) while hunting. I know all these radios work off line of sight and supposedly can go for miles in a flat area, but I was wondering what real range is in mountainous areas?

Since GMRS also seems to now be the common radio for offroad meetups I figured others may have insight into true range in actual use in the mountains/hills without LOS.

Thanks in advance.

 

[fourwd1]

The Midland is 15W and your handheld is maybe 5W, so with decent antennas, 1 maybe 2 miles reliably.

But terrain is a big factor. Hilltop to hilltop is great, while valley to valley with a hill in between is not so great.

BTW, you know a GMRS is required?

 

[4Runner4Life_2023]

The handheld GMRS (15-22) purchased from wal-mart are 1W units by FCC regulation. FRS channels 1-14 are 0.5W. GMRS/FRS is in the UHF band 460-470 MHZ and very poor performing in the woods, branches and pine needles soak up the RF. You can get max 1/4 mile in the woods. VHF marine band radios are very good performers but not legal to use inland.

Your best bet is MURS VHF handheld radios, no FCC licensing required 2W radios. Vehicle mounted base radios can be much higher in power but it's not practical since you're deep in the woods, you can hear her but she can't hear you. 5W MURS can be good up to 1 mile in the woods/1.5 mile mark will fade out completely.

 

[jdm-v35]

The Midland is 15W and your handheld is maybe 5W, so with decent antennas, 1 maybe 2 miles reliably.

But terrain is a big factor. Hilltop to hilltop is great, while valley to valley with a hill in between is not so great.

BTW, you know a GMRS is required?

Yes a GMRS license is required but not a problem

 

[jdm-v35]

The handheld GMRS (15-22) purchased from wal-mart are 1W units by FCC regulation. FRS channels 1-14 are 0.5W. GMRS/FRS is in the UHF band 460-470 MHZ and very poor performing in the woods, branches and pine needles soak up the RF. You can get max 1/4 mile in the woods. VHF marine band radios are very good performers but not legal to use inland.

Your best bet is MURS VHF handheld radios, no FCC licensing required 2W radios. Vehicle mounted base radios can be much higher in power but it's not practical since you're deep in the woods, you can hear her but she can't hear you. 5W MURS can be good up to 1 mile in the woods/1.5 mile mark will fade out completely.

Thanks for the detailed info. It sounds like due to no direct LOS none of the options are viable. 1-2 miles wont help much since I am usually at least that far away at a minimum.

 

[Ripper238]

Been reading about GMRS and in my case I would want to use it as emergency comms between a portable(me walking) and my wife waiting in the truck(midland mxt275) while hunting. I know all these radios work off line of sight and supposedly can go for miles in a flat area, but I was wondering what real range is in mountainous areas?

Since GMRS also seems to now be the common radio for offroad meetups I figured others may have insight into true range in actual use in the mountains/hills without LOS.

Thanks in advance.

I would say with a 15 watt midland 275 (I have this) and a cheap handheld 3-5 watt you should be able to get ~1mi. That's what I was able to get consistently when I tested. However that was likely due to the hill I had to go over at about 1mi.

Now when I have done some off roading in the mountains of WV sometimes i would be surprised i would get more range. But that may be due to others having more powerful radios.

Did you get a GMRS license? I may upgrade my 275 for the new 575 50 watt. But I also have a GMRS license.

 

[4Runner4Life_2023]

Thanks for the detailed info. It sounds like due to no direct LOS none of the options are viable. 1-2 miles wont help much since I am usually at least that far away at a minimum.

Yeah... high power/long range comms equipment is very expensive, not consumer attainable. I'm a radio tech at county agency and anything beyond 5 mile radius with reliable audio require equipment in six figures for a single frequency. All civilian grade land base radio cannot exceed 1W output with MURS at 2W.

25W/40W Marine radio is not legal for use inland but being so low to the ground with hills and trees 40W will not get you more than 3-4 miles.

With thousands of frequencies/bandwidth we can choose but with current physics we are actually running out. This is the reason comms equipment is so strictly regulated to prevent interference. And if everyone has a 25W/40W transmitter, no one would be hearing anything.

 

[jdm-v35]

I would say with a 15 watt midland 275 (I have this) and a cheap handheld 3-5 watt you should be able to get ~1mi. That's what I was able to get consistently when I tested. However that was likely due to the hill I had to go over at about 1mi.

Now when I have done some off roading in the mountains of WV sometimes i would be surprised i would get more range. But that may be due to others having more powerful radios.

Did you get a GMRS license? I may upgrade my 275 for the new 575 50 watt. But I also have a GMRS license.

I don't currently have a license but would get one if I got a GMRS system. Seems like it won't benefit me though unfortunately so probably won't get one.

 

[GreenMountainOwl]

Presumably we are discussing simplex only and not all parties involved having access to a repeater.

I’d forget FRS for sure, and concentrate on a GMRS license or MURS as mentioned.

FCC regulations on output power from FRS radios changed a couple years ago, but that won’t have any appreciable effect to make that service worth considering.

With GMRS or MURS simplex, just like it’s said with 11m CB, it’s better to have a great antenna and a cheap radio, than a high-power radio with a crap antenna.

MURS with a 5/8 wave mobile antenna talking to a handheld with a decent antenna can achieve a couple miles reliably. Over that is terrain dependent.

Both radios should be on the same deviation; there’s literally millions of ancient handhelds on old business frequencies (both VHF and UHF) that will be “wide as a barn door” and suffer when attempting to communicate with something more narrow and modern. If I recall correctly the lower three MURS channels are narrowband.

I’ve talked about 30 miles simplex from a 5W 2m handheld to someone on a base with a high gain Cushcraft antenna. Quite the extreme but it works.

 

[Ripper238]

I don't currently have a license but would get one if I got a GMRS system. Seems like it won't benefit me though unfortunately so probably won't get one.

Yeah, its a tough one. They can get the range but depends on a lot of factors. I decided to get the GMRS radio anyway and I am glad I did since I do overlanding by my self and have been able to communicate with other off-roaders a few miles away.

Also keep in mid your antenna and mounting position can greatly effect range. Even more so than your power.

 

[jdm-v35]

I am typically by myself or wit the wife but our terrain is very forested or mountainous which may make the radios unusable. I am also typically in the middle of nowhere 70-90 miles from civilization so no repeaters.

 

[fourwd1]

There's a lot of guessing and inaccurate statements here.

There are handheld GMRS radios rated at 5W output. The bubblepack FRS/GMRS combo radios sold at big box stores have limited power out.

It was assumed that since you didn't have a GMRS license you didn't belong to a club that operated a repeater and were therefore running simplex (same transmit/receive frequency) which limits range. Of course even if you had access to a repeater you wouldn't necessarily be in range to utilize it.

If you're interested in other than GMRS the MURS radios are a viable alternative. While lower output power they also operate on lower VHF frequencies (compared to the GMRS UHF frequencies) which can provide better coverage in most environments.

As for comparing any of these to CB radios is absurd, unless possibly you and everyone you talk to have one of the new CB's that can operate in FM mode (or even an older one that operates in SSB mode). Both provide much better range than the old fashioned AM mode CB radio.

But if you want something even more reliable there's always amateur radio (aka ham radio) with tons of possibilities. Yeah you also need a license, but there's no longer a requirement for morse code to get one.

That's my 2 cents worth.

 

[jdm-v35]

There's a lot of guessing and inaccurate statements here.

There are handheld GMRS radios rated at 5W output. The bubblepack FRS/GMRS combo radios sold at big box stores have limited power out.

It was assumed that since you didn't have a GMRS license you didn't belong to a club that operated a repeater and were therefore running simplex (same transmit/receive frequency) which limits range. Of course even if you had access to a repeater you wouldn't necessarily be in range to utilize it.

If you're interested in other than GMRS the MURS radios are a viable alternative. While lower output power they also operate on lower VHF frequencies (compared to the GMRS UHF frequencies) which can provide better coverage in most environments.

As for comparing any of these to CB radios is absurd, unless possibly you and everyone you talk to have one of the new CB's that can operate in FM mode (or even an older one that operates in SSB mode). Both provide much better range than the old fashioned AM mode CB radio.

But if you want something even more reliable there's always amateur radio (aka ham radio) with tons of possibilities. Yeah you also need a license, but there's no longer a requirement for morse code to get one.

That's my 2 cents worth.

I Don't belong to any clubs and most of my adventures are with the wife or with a few friends who are always unprepared/not properly equipped LOL. So My only uses for the radio would be while out hunting so I can keep contact with the wife, or if we happen to go to an event(which I would like to some day) like whatever the new FJ Summit is.

 

[03_4x4Runner]

I use my Garmin inreach when I go off road in the desert. Uses satelites and you can send messages along with quick "I ok everything is fine" etc text. Also has emergency SOS button to activate emergency response. Requires a $12 monthly subscription but well worth it to me. I found I use it more than I thought I would because in the desert you are out of cell phone range most of the time. Also use it for hiking, boating and take it on long road trips out west where there is not cell coverage on remote roads.

Amazon.com: Garmin inReach Explorer+, Handheld Satellite Communicator with Topo Maps and GPS Navigation : Electronics

 

[jdm-v35]

I use my Garmin inreach when I go off road in the desert. Uses satelites and you can send messages along with quick "I ok everything is fine" etc text. Also has emergency SOS button to activate emergency response. Requires a $12 monthly subscription but well worth it to me. I found I use it more than I thought I would because in the desert you are out of cell phone range most of the time. Also use it for hiking, boating and take it on long road trips out west where there is not cell coverage on remote roads.

Amazon.com: Garmin inReach Explorer+, Handheld Satellite Communicator with Topo Maps and GPS Navigation : Electronics

I did see that. The difficult part is that I wouldnt use it year round and you can only send 10 texts per month on that plan. The plan with more texts is $50/mo.

 

[03_4x4Runner]

You can also subscribe on a monthly basis. I find that I mostly use the preset text that I send to my wife. Those are unlimited. I use this thing much more than I ever thought i would. also nice to know that in an emergency responders would know my exact location. When you send a preset message it shows a detailed google earth like map exactly where you are.

 

[jdm-v35]

Wanted to bump this as I am considering GMRS handhelds again for communication with others I am with. I had a breakdown in the middle of nowhere and luckily had 1 bar of reception but my friend had none. He was ahead of me by 1/4mile maybe and If I had a GMRS radio I could have reached him. I do have garmin inreach now but with him having no reception it would not help.

If GMRS can reach 1-2 miles(hopefully more) of terrain with LOS or no big obstructions it may prove useful for me. Are all of them, the same? Midland seems to be a go-to, and I am not sure if there are better ones out there to consider that may have even better range?

 

[GreenMountainOwl]

HTs are a compromise at best.

That being said, better to have a decent radio that can take a 1/4 wave antenna (most are probably SMA these days, or Motorola MX threads are still used in a few modern radios) than a super expensive feature-laden radio with a tiny fixed antenna.

I’d buy whatever has the best antenna (or ability to change it) as my very first consideration. Power output is second to that.

Best compromise if you don’t want a mobile rig would be simple 1/4 waves mounted on your vehicles with an adaptor at the end so you can hook the coax to the radio’s antenna jack. Disconnect and put the portable-sized antenna on when you need to.

My wife and I are amateur operators and she prefers an HT hooked to her car antenna versus a mobile rig, at least for 2m/70cm. Personally I prefer to run mobile rigs on all bands.

Good luck!

 

[jdm-v35]

HTs are a compromise at best.

That being said, better to have a decent radio that can take a 1/4 wave antenna (most are probably SMA these days, or Motorola MX threads are still used in a few modern radios) than a super expensive feature-laden radio with a tiny fixed antenna.

I’d buy whatever has the best antenna (or ability to change it) as my very first consideration. Power output is second to that.

Best compromise if you don’t want a mobile rig would be simple 1/4 waves mounted on your vehicles with an adaptor at the end so you can hook the coax to the radio’s antenna jack. Disconnect and put the portable-sized antenna on when you need to.

My wife and I are amateur operators and she prefers an HT hooked to her car antenna versus a mobile rig, at least for 2m/70cm. Personally I prefer to run mobile rigs on all bands.

Good luck!

I think the main limitation for me is that my friend would only have a handheld. I would like a handheld and vehicle mounted for myself. I was looking at the midland mtx275 or 575 for vehicle and maybe their handhelds. i am just not sure if there is any difference between brands or if there is anything better or not? I don't want to run a huge car antenna though as it would get caught on trees etc where I go. I would probably mount it on the hood or side of my roof rack/hatch.

 

[fourwd1]

I think the main limitation for me is that my friend would only have a handheld. I would like a handheld and vehicle mounted for myself. I was looking at the midland mtx275 or 575 for vehicle and maybe their handhelds. i am just not sure if there is any difference between brands or if there is anything better or not? I don't want to run a huge car antenna though as it would get caught on trees etc where I go. I would probably mount it on the hood or side of my roof rack/hatch.

At GMRS frequencies a basic 1/4 wave antenna is small, so could be mounted a lot of places. For more range there are other, taller antennas available.

There's a MTX275 for sale in the classifieds, FWIW.