We live in on a logging road in the North Cascade foothills, heavily forested, entirely off-grid. The nearest neighbor is half a mile away, no cell service or landline telephone. I travel often and worry about my wife, over 70, here alone in the winter.
A friend suggested we buy CB radios for ourselves and the neighbor. But, we use handheld FRS/GMRS for camping so I’m wondering if a unit in the Midland MXT series wouldn’t be better, as a more powerful base station to connect with the neighbor, perhaps with some kind of improved external antenna on either or both ends?
The primary use would be for daily calls between our cabin and the neighbor, to confirm that we’re ok or to ask for help.
I’m assuming, based on reviews I’ve read of CB and GMRS radios, that there’s no real advantage to CB for this kind of use?
Well, GMRS requires a GMRS license, and CB requires no license. CB, however is AM and much more prone to noise, as well as interference from people who run illegal amplifiers to talk long distance.
A proper GMRS base station with external antennas and such would be far superior to CB in almost any condition.
Still, handheld GMRS radios may make the half mile distance. I don’t know if the neighbor would be into paying the $70 GMRS license fee.
In (likely) a couple months, the new FRS rules will go into effect, allowing FRS use across all channels with 2 watts power, so the licensing issue may or may not be a factor, unless you need a more powerful radio.
I’m afraid that the license requirement makes GMRS impractical. I’d have to convince/cajole/strong-arm the neighbors to take the test. Having known them for 30 years, that ain’t gonna happen!
How about MURS? The distance between us is half a mile of forest. if i test reception with my FRS/GMRS handheld, would the results be more or less applicable to a MURS radio?
There is one to become an amateur (ham) radio operator, but you’d be much better served with amateur radio (more available bands and frequencies, higher transmitter power allowances and, on HF, greater communication distances.) If you and your wife both became General class licensees, you’d have access to the greater part of the amateur spectrum and would be able to communicate over longer distances, eliminating the need for the neighbor to obtain a license.
Just see if your FRS radio will make the distance. That’s all you can do. When the NEW FRS rules take effect, you’ll be able to use the higher power channels without a license.
MURS could also work. In many cases, the half mile distance would be easily attainable. All you can do is try.
Being as you are using this for utility purposes, getting an amateur license is way overkill, since you are not using a radio for hobby purposes. It’s best to stay with FRS, GMRS, or MURS, as they are more utilitarian in their uses and not hobby oriented.
I have the Midland gxt1000’s and also the midland 5000. both make good units for what is asked in the OPs first post. I live in the Ozark Mountains in North West Arkansas and have no issues transmitting and receaving in a 5 mile area from my home. But I also have my GMRS license. WQPV972
My cousin owns several GXT5000 radios and they are solid performers. Unfortunately, Midland no longer manufactures it. However, the GXT1000 is also a good radio and works well. I own a set of the GXT1050, which is the camo version and we’ve used them for years without issue.
I recently set up a link between a small town EOC and a warming shelter using MURS. The distance was about 2.5 miles with some gentle hills and a fair amount of woods between the two locations. I used a pair of Dakota Alert base station MURS radios (1.6 watts) with Ed Fong (ebay) roll up j-pole antennas. Worked perfectly with the antennas at around 10 ft. FRS/GMRS HTs did not work. Licensing would have been impractical as almost anyone could be using the radios.
MURS is greatly underrated. There are a lot of advantages to using it.
It’s not commonly used, so the frequencies are usually clear of traffic and interference.
Most of the radios available are designed more for business use, so they will typically be more durable than the average FRS/GMRS handheld.
It’s limited to only 2 watts, however the FCC allows detachable antennas, so the range can be greatly increased with a good base or mobile antenna mounted in an optimal location.
it’s license free.
Best of all, whether consumer or commercial, anyone can use the service.
For short range communications, it’s really hard to beat.
Yes, MURS is a neat service. For the town application, the county agency that’s funding the equipment decided to go for the Ritron Jobbox intercom as it’s a sturdier build than my Dakota Alert units. Tera does have a nice GMRS/MURS HT.
We’ve been toying with the idea of using MURS for brief community alerts during conventional comms outages. These could be picked up by anyone with a scanner.