Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Any Hand Held Radio Experts Here?

I purchased a 5 watt GMRS radio which uses UHF wave frequency and tested them them and only was able to communicate about 1.5 miles on flat open ground. I was expecting more with the 5 watts of power. I did some more research and a few articles i read stated a 2 watt MURS could outperform a 5 or even 40 watt gmrs radio outdoors because it utilizes the VHF wave frequency. Anyone care to share there experience and help me decide. I reached out to the online store i purchased them from and they recommended the radios i purchased even though they had both options for the same price. Of course another retailer recommended the 2 watt MURS radio.


Thanks

I’m not an expert


Do they still have cell phones with 2 way radios built in? Those were the chizzaayy

If nobody can here can help, try these folks:

https://www.universal-radio.com/

GMRS requires a license, MURS does not. Most handhelds are limited by the antenna, not the output power. Investigate HAM if you want Linder distances and repeater access.

I remember working with a contractor in 2003 who used Nextel push 2 talk phones. They could talk 5 states over in the bottom of a holler in bfe to someone. My high dollar company 2 way radio wouldn’t even talk to the bottom of the hill I was standing on.

I very seriously doubt the claim that the MURS radios will perform much differently from the GMRS radios. A little, maybe, but not much, if they are both running the same power.

The big obstacle in both cases is the antenna. The short, flexible, built in antennas are notoriously inefficient. However, the rules say those are the only antennas you are allowed to use. On a big base antenna, I have no problem talking to stations many miles away on the 2 meter amateur band (next to MURS frequencies), where external antennas are permitted.

Many hand-helds advertise absurd power levels. When you actually measure the so-called 18 watt radios, you get a little under 5 watts, which is a reasonable expectation. There may be some 7 watt hand helds that are real, but I've never tested one. 18 watts is ridiculous.

Being outside your vehicle makes a big difference, as does elevation. Years ago, there was a hiker stranded on Mt. Hood who used his low power hand held to reach help over 30 miles away. That's what elevation and a true line of sight path will do for you.

You’re getting all that can be expected from that equipment.

In this mountain state we have found Standard Horizon to work best. We are presently using HX370S which I’m sure has been outdated. Hamheads will be along shortly to tell you why you shouldn’t use it.

5W isn't much on a omnidirectional antenna, so 1.5 mile sounds about right.

Power and antenna type (or more specifically "gain") both affect useful distance (5W on a directional antenna, or yagi, will go a lot further) but both criteria would come under regulations. I'm not sure of the particular regulations.

I think HAM operates in the VHF band so can bounce off the ionosphere for long distances, but this is largely affected by atmospheric conditions.

UHF and VHF are line of sight, higher elevation equals more distance. There are GMRS repeaters, like the ones we use for amateur radio, that will give you substantial distance. I can usually hit a repeater with 5 watts and talk to other hams as far as 75 miles.

Here’s a listing of GMRS repeaters, the owner usually requires permission to operate through the repeater but some are open.

https://mygmrs.com/map/#/3582

Let me handle this.. Anytime I have hand held radio questions I listen to this..

I am very new to these radios and capabilities. How close do i have to be from a repeater for my handheld to reach. Nearest one appears to be about 40-50 miles. I did order a longer antenna to try and help. I am not expecting 30 plus miles by any means but I was hoping 3 was a possibility. I was in my truck and the other radio was in a house. Maybe that shortened our range a little.

Other than company repeater radios,I found that a CB with like a 150 watt linear or SSB to out perform these new little radios by a great margin..IMHO just a good CB with a good antenna beats them....That's in mountainous terrain..I use CB hand helds instead of UHF radios...

JMHO..lol

Quick and dirty without getting into the details:

The lower the frequency, the greater the range.

The higher the frequency, the better the sound quality.

AM= longer range
FM= better sound quality

CB=HF, high frequecy, AM, 27 MHz
Aviation VHF= Very High Frequency, AM,120ish Mhz
Marine VHF= Very High Frequency, FM, 150ish Mhz
MURS= VHF Very High Frequence, AM/FM, 150ish Mhz
FRS/GMRS= UHF, Ultra High Frequency, FM, 462ish Mhz

HAM 2Meter= VHF, FM, 144-148Mhz, max 1500 watts

You didn’t mention what brand of radios that you purchased, I’m guessing Midland, so here’s some food for thought. At end of 2017, the FCC revised their channel designations and regulations to reclassify dual band FRS/GMRS radios. Previously, these hybrid devices required an FCC license. Now they are considered an FRS-only unit and do not require a license. These radios operate in the 136 MHz to 900MHz range, aka “the dirty band” which is used by a wide range of devices from garage door openers to old cordless phones.

A true GMRS radio will operate in the 462 MHz and 467MHz bands. They are generally used by small businesses and require a repeater system to communicate beyond 1.5 miles.
An FCC license is required for these systems. The FCC does allow GMRS radio operations for personal use by individuals or families but these radios are limited to 1-5 watts with a range of 1-2 miles. Business users are limited to 50 watts with a range of 5+ miles.
If you indeed have a GMRS radio and not a hybrid, it looks like it from your test that it is operating within it’s defined parameters.
Disclaimer......the FCC changes the rules like I change my socks. I retired a couple of years ago and I’m sure things have changed some since then so don’t quote my recollection. You can wade through the mess for yourself at FCC.gov

Hope this helps

Thank You, it sounds like i am getting the most out of these radios and i was overestimating what was reasonable. I have a Wouxan radio. I am working on getting my required license if i stick with these radios over the MURS.

What do you want out of your radios? Car to car? Car to base? Handheld portability while hunting? You would probably be well ahead if you want any distance to get a tech ham license. It’s easy to get and repeaters are abundant. I can hit a local repeater with a $40 handheld from quite far away and talk 70+ miles. Direct simplex with the same units will go around 7-8 miles depending on terrain, but that’s stretching it. CB is another license free option, especially if you don’t want handhelds.

Just looking at handheld for hunting some rough terrain where we dont have cell service. We will only need these for 5-7 days a year.

Rough terrain can be an asset or a liability. All simplex communications on VHF and UHF (direct from one radio to another) are essentially line-of-sight. So, ridge to ridge or ridge to valley floor you may get good range. Put a ridge between you and the other radio and you may get nothing.

That’s essentially how repeaters work, and why they are a real asset when available. They are in the highest place for miles around and a small and weak radio can reach them. They rebroadcast the signal from the top of the mountain with more power and a better antenna, thus allowing you to communicate farther than you could in simplex mode.

I would say that you got the best product for your use. An antenna upgrade will get you farther than changing radios to MURS.