I am looking at buying a few hand held radios for use by safety marshals during an ultra trail run in Botswana, Africa. The location will be a salt pan so as flat as is possible on Earth. And no obstacles at all.
What range can I expect from a hand held radio that claims a range of 35 miles? I am looking at the Motorola T460 talkabout as an example. I know I won’t get 35 miles but will I get 6 miles or 10 miles?
Just as a general ‘rule’, figure in the best of conditions you might see half of the advertised range. That flat plane would be beneficial. Antenna height would be the biggy.
The horizon is 12 miles, so ground level to ground level will be around that figure best case. Height helps no end, but practically even with a decent heigh tower and a repeater, you won’t get huge extra distance. Is this kind of range OK?