I am the Director for an event in Nicaragua on a volcanic island (www.fuegoyagua.org).
I need to know which radios will work for me to put at Aid Stations for better communication between volunteers and guides.
Some of the Aid Stations are up to 30 miles away from each other and are up on the sides of the volcanoes in the middle of the jungle.
I have seen some Motorola 2-way consumer grade radios claim they can do 35 miles, but I am not sure I believe it.
Any advice?
There will be nothing that will work in the consumer end, and business radios will need a network of repeaters. You will get about 1 to 2 kilometers at most, even with the best handheld radios.
I am assuming there are no communication companies who rent two-ways and have a repeater network in that area. What about any local Ham radio operators or Ham clubs in the area? In a single event such as this, using volunteer community help, local Ham radio operators are invaluable.
This is how we communicate at our international marathon event.