Thanks for having me. I am a complete newbie living in Colorado Springs. I have hopes and dreams to be able to communicate with family in both New Jersey and South Carolina as efficiently as possible from time to time and in emergency situations.
I need a step by step on the best way to execute this. Please kindly point me in the right direction? Thanks much!
If you are talking radio communication your only choice with those distances is HF (high frequency) on the Amateur bands. That will require the people at both ends of the communication to have the appropriate radios and antennas and the knowledge to use them. To do that and not run afoul of the FCC regulations all parties will need an Amateur Radio License which requires passing a test. There are other ways to do those distances but they require internet or cell phone access neither of which can be depended on in an emergency situation.
If you are still interested in long range radio communications you could locate an Amateur Radio (HAM) club where you can probably get all of the information you need and possibly help achieving your goal.
For most families, using long range radios is a huge learning curve. Ham radio, which has many privileges compared to the general public radio services, requires some quite tricky effort if you are not technically minded. My wife is not dim, but there is no way she could pass even the most basic ham licence, and HF, because of it’s range and potential for interference, the learning curve is steep - perhaps too steep. For a family, if all participants are technically minded and practical, it can be handy - but remember ham radio, and the rules are designed for people to talk to lots of people. Talking to family, about personal family stuff like in the phone, is a bit strange with potentially thousands of people listening in? It’s kind of like joining a football club when you only want a kick about with a small group of friends - it’s sort of not what the club is for? There is also considerable investment. Typically, the cheapest initial outlay for HF is perhaps $700+ per location for basic gear. If you want more sophisticated and powerful equipment to increase the success rate, this goes up considerably.
You also need to understand that commercial HF operators need to understand propogation. A frequency that works at 8am in the morning from place A to B, might not work in the evening, but another might. Temperature, humidity, pressure, time of day and maps come into it. For longer ranges you might need antennas that turn, and great circle bearings rather than map bearings can make you scratch your head. To be very honest, most attempts to get family members all qualified and equipped fail - unless you fancy radio as a hobby, it can be so frustrating. absolutely NOT plug and play. Ham radio is very much a community with tons of facets. It is very hard to use it for family comms. Many people do it - I know a family with dad and two kids who do this, but this is quite unusual.