walkie talkie solution for 50 mile range.

[Ecollector]

hello all, me and my friend plan to setup a radio system that will enable us to talk over it within the range of 50 miles only by means of handheld radio. can anyone give me some suggestion on what is the best way to do this and save money. can u provide some specific info like what type of repeater we need and what type of handheld we need and which brand is best for them. my friend live in a rather tall hill side with the view of city and i live in the third floor of an apartment building so both of us have rather high position, is this useful for setting up the repeater? or just tell me if this type of plan is possible or not. thank you very much for ur time.

 

[landonjensen]

For handheld radios, i would say Motorola makes very good and lasting radios while thier tech support is a pain. A range for 50 miles will probably cost alot as that is a very big area/distance to cover. Also, it depends on if there is alot of building between you and him, since that would probably degrade the signal alot.

hello all, me and my friend plan to setup a radio system that will enable us to talk over it within the range of 50 miles only by means of handheld radio. can anyone give me some suggestion on what is the best way to do this and save money. can u provide some specific info like what type of repeater we need and what type of handheld we need and which brand is best for them. my friend live in a rather tall hill side with the view of city and i live in the third floor of an apartment building so both of us have rather high position, is this useful for setting up the repeater? or just tell me if this type of plan is possible or not. thank you very much for ur time.

 

[SCPD]

Check out ham radio. In most countries you can get a 30 MHz and above license without taking a morse code test and in some countries Morse code is no longer required at all. You can pick up an HT for around $150 US for 144-148 Mhz and used already established repeaters.

 

[landonjensen]

Check out ham radio. In most countries you can get a 30 MHz and above license without taking a morse code test and in some countries Morse code is no longer required at all. You can pick up an HT for around $150 US for 144-148 Mhz and used already established repeaters.

Also a very good idea since you dont have to set up your own repeaters.

 

[brandon]

You will need a repeater (or good elevation) if you want to talk 50 miles between two HT's with rubber duckies.

Now if you and your buddy put up outdoor antennas you might be able to do it on simplex assuming no big mountains/objects are in the way. I can copy FRS and MURS stations quite a ways from here with an outdoor antenna.

 

[kf4lne]

Why do you want to use portables only? Repeaters cost several hundred and even thousands of dollars, then you have to get a frequency, license for that frequency, tower space or worse a place to put your own tower and if you have to do that you will probably have to get electrical service and all sorts of other fun stuff. Bottom line is this: Installing a repeater for you and your buddy to use is very exspensive. If you want portable coverage over that distance I would suggest getting either 1) an amateur radio license and use the repeaters already in your area or 2) go down to the Nextell shop and get a walkie-talkie phone. I just don't see a couple of portables with duckies making a 50 mile trip except in the best of situations and with a completely unobstructed view.

 

[W4KRR]

Ham radio would be the cheapest solution, but of course every person would need to study for and obtain his own license, but you canuse existing repeaters, assuming there are any around in your area.

Another alternative would be to lease space on a commercial band UHF community repeater, or UHF LTR trunking system, there's lots of those around these days. Or maybe a 900 MHz band SMR system. You don't need a license, but there is a monthly fee for each radio you have on the system.

Another alternative: Nextel.

Putting up your own repeater would be very expensive, to say the least. You would likely never get it up as high as a ham or commercial system. I think 50 miles is pushing things a bit, IMO.

 

[Rayjk110]

My set of VHF HT1000's typically make it about 3-4 miles on simplex, whereas my handful of UHF HT1000's only make it about 1-3 miles simplex.

 

[prcguy]

How tall is the hill above average terrain that your friend lives on? Are you looking to get 50mi radius from the proposed repeater site (100mi total) or 50mi between handhelds? Is this in the US or another country? If your friend’s hill is upwards of 1,000 ft tall you might have a chance to get reliable 25mi radius for handhelds, which can be 50mi between handhelds under ideal conditions. I had several UHF repeaters on a local 1,100ft hill and it was reliable to about 15mi to handhelds in buildings and a good 25mi or more (over 100mi in one direction) outdoors. I have a bunch of UHF repeaters on other mountains at 5,000ft and the coverage is good inside buildings upwards of 25 to 50mi and outdoors is hard to tie down due to the terrain around here but it goes real far. I had another repeater on a 2 story building and the coverage was only about 2 to 5mi reliable to handhelds. GMRS is probably your best choice for personal use in the US and used equipment can be purchased for reasonable prices. There are complete repeaters around in the $500 on up range and the antenna and feedline can cost a lot unless you find them used. You would want to find a radio guy near you who is sympathetic to your needs as repeaters are not consumer items and need test equipment to set things up.
prcguy

 

[N_Jay]

hello all, me and my friend plan to setup a radio system that will enable us to talk over it within the range of 50 miles only by means of handheld radio. can anyone give me some suggestion on what is the best way to do this and save money. can u provide some specific info like what type of repeater we need and what type of handheld we need and which brand is best for them. my friend live in a rather tall hill side with the view of city and i live in the third floor of an apartment building so both of us have rather high position, is this useful for setting up the repeater? or just tell me if this type of plan is possible or not. thank you very much for ur time.

A little more of what and why behind your request will get you much better answers.

 

[kb2vxa]

Hi Eco and all,

All things considered the 2M ham route is the best BUT there is one big caveat. That is you and your friend tying up a repeater for extended periods is highly frowned upon. If that's all you want to do the word is Nextel, but if you want to expand your horizons and push the envelope to the limits of radio communications Amateur Radio has just what you're looking fore and much more.

Everything else is complicated and quite expensive. BTW, batteries not included, Barbie's accessories sold separately, etc. so are you getting the picture?

 

[fineshot1]

hello all, me and my friend plan to setup a radio system that will enable us to talk over it within the range of 50 miles only by means of handheld radio. can anyone give me some suggestion on what is the best way to do this and save money. can u provide some specific info like what type of repeater we need and what type of handheld we need and which brand is best for them. my friend live in a rather tall hill side with the view of city and i live in the third floor of an apartment building so both of us have rather high position, is this useful for setting up the repeater? or just tell me if this type of plan is possible or not. thank you very much for ur time.

Although its possible to get that distance mountan top to mountan top i dont think its practical over regular terrain. Most HT's are 5 Watts or less. We would need more details from you like your location and a layout of the land. Perhaps when subspace radio technology is available (insert smiley face here)....

 

[scansomd]

Four easy steps:

1. Study.
2. Take the technician amateur radio exam.
3. Pass it.
4. Enjoy!

Ask around and find out where your nearest amateur radio club is located.
I feel certain they will be glad to help you in your quest for a license. Good luck.

hello all, me and my friend plan to setup a radio system that will enable us to talk over it within the range of 50 miles only by means of handheld radio. can anyone give me some suggestion on what is the best way to do this and save money. can u provide some specific info like what type of repeater we need and what type of handheld we need and which brand is best for them. my friend live in a rather tall hill side with the view of city and i live in the third floor of an apartment building so both of us have rather high position, is this useful for setting up the repeater? or just tell me if this type of plan is possible or not. thank you very much for ur time.

 

[Ecollector]

thank you for all ur support.

i forget to mention that me and my friend are live in LA area. close to 10 freeway. between alhambra and rosemead. this area have rather little very tall building, i would say most building would be less than 3 stories high, i want to correct the previous range i mention, i only want 20 miles. we have some cb equipment already. they are a pair of cobra 45wxst. and one car mount uniden pc66xl. i don't know we can use them or not. thanks again for all ur help. i really appreciate every single one.

 

[Ecollector]

more info on the terrain.

my friend live in a hill side where he can see the building that is about 4 or 5 block from my house by using a binocular. i really don't know how high he live. i live in a regular 3 story building. but it is the highest on the block.

 

[N_Jay]

my friend live in a hill side where he can see the building that is about 4 or 5 block from my house by using a binocular. i really don't know how high he live. i live in a regular 3 story building. but it is the highest on the block.

LA is radio hell, but has some good ham repeaters.

Either get your ham license and hope you don't tick off the others on the repeater with your conversation, or get Nextel.

GMRS is useless in the LA area.

 

[prcguy]

A CB base antenna on your friends house might get you 20mi to a CB mobile in that area but it’s not a walki talki solution. It sounds like your friend does not live on a high enough hill for a repeater at his house to give the range you want either. What you need is a repeater on Mt. Lukens north of you above Pasadena but it gets expensive for just personal use. Who says GMRS is useless in LA? I don’t use it much anymore but it still works fine after 20+ years.
prcguy

 

[N_Jay]

A CB base antenna on your friends house might get you 20mi to a CB mobile in that area but it’s not a walki talki solution. It sounds like your friend does not live on a high enough hill for a repeater at his house to give the range you want either. What you need is a repeater on Mt. Lukens north of you above Pasadena but it gets expensive for just personal use. Who says GMRS is useless in LA? I don’t use it much anymore but it still works fine after 20+ years.
prcguy

When I lived there GMRS was just too busy with businesses and people who acted like they owned the channels.

 

[jay427]

Like everybody here say's go for your HAM ticket.

At least around here we don't mind people talking all night on most of are repeaters, matter of fact we like to see them used. Many nights go by and the repeaters are not used, drive time is another story though. If you need to just go 20miles you may get by using simplex if you use the right equipment like one 50watt 2meter mobile with a good outdoor antenna to talk to a mobile etc.

Get the HAM ticket and experiment, thats what is for..

Jay