Just joined this web site and need help with a new GMRS radio purchase.
Frequently, my wife and I travel long distance in separate cars to the same location. The Midland handheld CB radio we were using just wasn’t working out for us to maintain communication on the highway, if we became separated. I registered with the FCC and now have a license and call sign to use a GMRS radio. I was hoping that a GMRS radio purchase would be a big improvement over the Midland CB I was using.
Was I wrong in my thinking? Is there a better way to communicate with my wife as we travel on the highway? Is there a radio out there that you can recommend that I purchase? I have two magnet type antennas on our vehicles. Just looking for a better quality & distance radio (GMRS??) for both of us to use in our vehicles to communicate with each other.
Besides standard handheld radios have you looked at mobile radios? We carry a few that can be programmed for GMRS and they will have better range than you get with a handie talkie:
Thanks for the Icom suggestion. My wife and I were hoping to find another (GMRS) handheld radio unit that we could take outside our vehicles to stay in touch with one another. We often go hiking and separate in the woods, as we have different interests that cause us to split up.
Any suggestions for handheld units with GMRS channels?
Hopefully, just one more question. Would the Icom IC-F3001-02-DTC Two Way Radio (VHF) or (UHF) serve my needs for both vehicle to vehicle communication, and also outside person to person communication?
Used in a vehicle to vehicle setup, could I use the Icom IC-F3001-02-DTC Two Way Radio (VHF) or (UHF) in conjunction with a magnet antenna on each vehicle, since the antenna with the Icom IC-F3001-02-DTC Two Way Radio (VHF) or (UHF) is removable?
We can program the Icom 4001 (http://www.buytwowayradios.com/products/icom/ic-f4001.aspx) to use GMRS frequencies for you (since you already have a GMRS license). You could then run an external antenna for use in a vehicle. In fact people do this quite often. Then you can switch out antennas to use away from the vehicle. If you want VHF radios, you will need to get a license from the FCC and have frequencies assigned to use. You could go that route as well, but may not be worth it.
Thanks so much. Would you please explain what’s involved in programming the Icoms? Just curious. You would do this to both Icoms, and as I understand it, since the radios are purchased from you, there is no charge for the programming??
Do you have any idea on the highway reception distance I might get from vehicle to vehicle using the external antennas, which you could also recommend as the best for this setup
You should get much better range with an external antenna. We talked around in here a bit as to the best antenna to use. Unfortunately we have not setup such a system ourselves so we are very hesitant to offer an opinion on specific parts to use (because it could be way off!). Hopefully someone here has done this and has some advice. The main thing to find will be an adapter to use to connect the line from the external antenna to the radio. If anyone here on the boards know of an adapter they would recommend, please let us know (we might even try to stock them)!