I presently have a set of Midland LXT320 2-way radios. I like them a lot. I only paid 30 dollars for the set and like the fact that they use AAA batteries. I use them often when going shopping with the wife and they are perfect when I go pick up somebody at the hospital and not have to pay for parking. Just for this occaision, the 2-way radios have paid for themselves many times over.
There is a place where I do a lot of fishing. This place is about 5 miles (9 km) from home and I can just about communicate with home from the fishing site.
These radios are rated at 1 watt of power by the company and a range of 22 kilometers (about 8 miles). If I buy 2-way radios with double the range, do you think I could communicate between my home and fishing spot?
The Unidens seem very nice but they use a rechargeable battery pack only. Motorola has nice radios but when you replace the battery pack with alcaline batteries, the power boost does not operate.
Yes…they are very nice but way too many functions for my use. They also cost over 140 dollars here in Canada. I can get others with a 28 mile range for half that price and with the same accessories and are also water resistant. However, I do like the fact that I do not have to use the battery pack that comes with the set if I want to use a high power transmission setting. This is where Uniden sets are a disappointement.
There is another thing that has creeped into my mind in the last few days. Do I really want my wife to be able to contact me while I’m fishing??!!! :rolleyes:
If it was really all that important…a cell phone would be the best way to contact home. As for having a cell phone for emergency situations…cell phones are not very useful in my area. I only have to go about 20 miles north of where I live (where I do most of my hunting, fishing, camping and hiking) and cell phones no longer work anyway. Since using a cell phone for emergencies is not a viable option in my area…I would be really stupid to own one.
Do not believe the advertising hype. There is not a radio out there that will get 28 miles range on average, only in very specific circumstances. Those Midlands are one of the most powerful consumer GMRS radios we know of and are water resistant. They would be at the maximum range in your situation, anything under 4-5 watts will probably not work very well.
