first off, Hi guys. I run a 130acre farm in MD, and we are looking into getting 3-4 radios for me and the crew to use. the farm has 6 buildings/sheds made of metal, concrete and wood.
I was just wondering what would be better to use for the job since we will be inside and outside a lot. is VHF or UHF better? the terrian is slightly hilly with stands of trees near the far end of the property.
Also, whats the deal with licensing? will i need one if we are running two or three basic radios on our property alone? and is there any way I would be able to avoid it?
Right now I am looking at the Icom IC-F4001-02 UHF. I am trying not to spend more than $170-180 a radio. Any suggestions would be great!!!
Well, in a rural area, VHF would be most effective. A farm being a business, you could qualify for a business license. Alternatively, you could try MURS which requires no license. You’d have to find radios type-accepted for MURS though, and MURS has a 2 watt limit.
You didn’t say anything about the terrain. Just remember that radios won’t talk through dirt, so if you have low spots and hills portables may not talk to each other. If it were me I would get my FCC license so I could use 5 watt VHF radios with interference protection from the frequency coordinator.