Baofeng and UHF

I use either Baofeng UV9R Plus or UV5R radios.

When we are away at events we have the frequency 458.825 allocated but we had really bad comms last weekend I am wondering if there would be better radio’s or even just changing the antenna’s would improve our reception?

Our location varies from flat urban land to Hills and valleys, we only need about 5K max distance the issue is the undulation and if the standard baofeng antenna’s are the right thing to use.

If it helps the only GSM signal we get on site is EE I was thinking about buying radios with sims to use apps like Zello but not sure what to go with.

Any help is appreciated thanks.

When you say bad comes I assume you mean no signal or broken signals? The test I use once you are more than around a mile apart is to consider how high you would have to climb to be able to see each other. It’s very unscientific, but works. If you were say 3k apart and you could see each other with binoculars, pull the radios out and you could chat. If you both sat on a mountain top 20k apart and with the big binoculars could wave at each other the radios work. It’s topography not technology. If you get an EE signal in your work area, Zello will be far more reliable.

Thanks, I’m not sure if the issue is compounded by the antenna they are rated to 430mhz and we’re assigned 458, it’s weird some times I have great comms other times nothing in a straight line.

I like the Midland GXT which I bought it from amazon after reading its reviews. It looks really nice, the backlight is a huge upgrade over the normal Baofeng, it has a bit more power, and the battery capacity is greater. Another great radio to consider is the Motorolla 22.