New to radio - questions on use for at home

[RockyBennett]

Doing some simple math, at 4 to 8 acres (The OP is not sure how large the land is), the furthest that individuals standing at the very edge of the property will be, is approximately 800 feet, at the very most. Typically the distance will be less that 400 feet. Any cheap kids radio will cover that distance with no problem.

 

[ladn]

How about C.B. with really good antenna systems?

The main issue with CB is a "really good" antenna is going to be BIG. Base sation ====>Base station or Base station ====>mobile would be ok, but even a 36" whip on a handheld is unwieldy.

Higher frequencies require shorter antennas. MURS in in the 156 MHz range which equates to about a 18" antenna, FRS or GMRS is in the 462/467 MHz range which equates to about a 6" antenna. The equivalent antenna for CB, which is 27 MHz would be about 9 feet!.

 

[RockyBennett]

The main issue with CB is a "really good" antenna is going to be BIG. Base sation ====>Base station or Base station ====>mobile would be ok, but even a 36" whip on a handheld is unwieldy.

Higher frequencies require shorter antennas. MURS in in the 156 MHz range which equates to about a 18" antenna, FRS or GMRS is in the 462/467 MHz range which equates to about a 6" antenna. The equivalent antenna for CB, which is 27 MHz would be about 9 feet!.

That is not necassary to talk 400 to 500 feet. I have A Cobra handheld CB radio that can easily cover way over 500 feet with the small antenna that it came with.

 

[RockyBennett]

Since the OP only has about 4 acres of land and really only wants to talk about 200 to 300 feet on a radio, these little kids walkie talkies will work great. https://www.amazon.com/Motorola-T10...f7e1-44eb-ad06-aebbef559a37&tag=parentsosp-20

I just used a set to play with my Grandkids and they communicated clearly for well over 800 feet here in my little town. This will be more than adequate for the OP's needs.

 

[Golay]

For those suggesting FRS, I agree with them. Here's one vendor page that shows some FRS radios that have weather radio in them. All FRS radios transmit a half a watt. The more you pay, the better the audio, and the further they will receive.

Two Way Radios With NOAA Weather Channels

If you plan to use your radios for outdoor recreation, support for NOAA weather channels can be a life saver. Click here to view all of our consumer radios supporting NOAA weather channels.

www.buytwowayradios.com

 

[iMONITOR]

After 18 May 2017, FRS radios are limited to 2 Watts on channel 1-7 and channels 15–22.[2] Previously, FRS radios were limited to 500 milliwatts. All 22 Channels are shared with the General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS).
[source]

Family Radio Service - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[RockyBennett]

I'm VERY new to radio. I wanted to buy a couple of radios/walkies that my family could use around the homestead and possibly with a friend that is several miles away (15~).

I started looking into things and found that radio is much more complex that I once thought and am not sure where to start to learn...

What I'd like to have:
Ability to have a channel set up so wife and I can talk within a couple mile distance on the homestead and also be able to have the device scan or listen at the same time for my friend as well. Is that possible? I'd like to program it so that I can listen to local NOAA weather reports, police, etc.

Reading this post again, it seems like you have a 1,200 acre ranch or even larger. If you want to talk for 2 miles across your land, the minimum size would be 1,280 acres if you and your partner were at the extremes.

How large is this land? Is it really over 1,200 acres?

 

[gman1971]

For talking on such large property I would pick a pair of Motorola DTR700 900Mhz FHSS digital portables. These DTR radios have excellent range, even inside ships, buildings, etc, and no license is required. The audio quality is crystal clear, and are very difficult to eavesdrop on too since they are FHSS. The DTR500 series is a cheaper alternative... but again... more range == more $$$$...

G.

 

[RockyBennett]

We are actually waiting for the OP to respond to tell us whether the piece of land is close to 4 acres like he claims or maybe a little bit larger. If the land is only about 5 or 10 acres, any cheap walkie talkie will work beautifully for his needs.

 

[gman1971]

I understand that a 9.95 BF-888s could "potentially" get the job done, I own like 15 of them... (all collecting dust in a parts bin at the basement, btw) With that said, if the OP only wants to communicate inside their property, it is safe to assume they want some privacy, and certain reliability, so I would pick the DTR radios.

G.

We are actually waiting for the OP to respond to tell us whether the piece of land is close to 4 acres like he claims or maybe a little bit larger. If the land is only about 5 or 10 acres, any cheap walkie talkie will work beautifully for his needs.