Walkie Talkie Suggestions Please!

ElkNut1

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Feb 25, 2012
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2,395
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Idaho
I'm looking for a pair of walkie talkies that will do close to a mile in mountainous terrain but still on the same side of the mountain with up to 1000' of elevation change from each user. Any suggestions from those that have them? Thank You!

ElkNut/Paul
 
Joined
May 6, 2018
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Shenandoah Valley
We use Kenwood TK-2000. They work pretty well. Not positive you aren't supposed to be licensed to use them tho.


Found some cheaper version that worked just as well. I'll see if I can find them.

Some of the guys used these last year, they were able to program them to the same frequency as the others. They seemed to work well for the price.
 
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Aaron Warpony

Lil-Rokslider
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Jul 11, 2020
Messages
117
Location
Alaska, Idaho
Midland GXT1000VP4 (3 Pack)

Here's what I use. I did alot of research and bought three different brands and tested them. These worked the best for my needs and have a vibrate feature. I think they are the best for a walkie talkie. The batteries go fast on all radios if the power is turned all the way up. You can turn the power down on these. Have a nice clip too. I bought some extra knockoff batteries from amazon for like $10 and just swap em out. The cold kills the batteries too, put em in your sleep bag at night. Good luck
 

sacox31s

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Joined
Oct 5, 2018
Messages
32
Location
CO
The best FCC legal handheld radios without any license needed that I'm aware of are the Midland GXT1050VP4 radios. $75 a pair on Amazon.

The best FCC legal handheld radio requiring a GMRS license is the Wouxun KG-805G GMRS radio. A GMRS license costs $70, last 10 years, and covers your entire family.

Ultimately all VHF/UHF handheld radios operate on line of sight. Extra power, better receiver, and better antenna are nice, but line-of-sight radio-to-radio is the most important thing to determine communication distance.
 
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ElkNut1

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Idaho
Thanks guys, very nice & great info!

5Miles, super impressive sir!

ElkNut/Paul
 
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Sep 20, 2018
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In someone's favorite spot
5 miles, we use those all the time at work even though we have $2K Motorolas that are supposed to be better.
 
Joined
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Line of sight you can talk a long ways, put one little ridge in the middle and your wasting your time. Think we talk 8-9 miles a lot of times. That's high spot to high spot tho.
 
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ElkNut1

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Feb 25, 2012
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Idaho
Wow, crazy battery life even if rarely used! Sounds like they stay charged pretty well!

ElkNut
 
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Shenandoah Valley
My experience using lithium batteries in radios was they lasted about 5 days when we were checking in on the hour, few minutes on every hour for around 8 hours. Problem was your second battery went dead same time as your first, it was the hot/cold that drained them. Not use.
 
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We went the gmrs route. Definitely better than the frs ones but haven't done a true comparison. Getting the license was easy enough.
 
Joined
Apr 13, 2019
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Worth a read, I ended up copying what he did down to the case and have no complaints, you might be able to go fancier on the base radio if you choose to go that route and get something with more antenna
 

Boblee

FNG
Joined
Nov 19, 2021
Messages
73
The best part is battery life. We use these as well at our church for the security/safety team. I charged my radio back in March and have been using it every service since and have yet to need to recharge it.
You need a security team at your church? I have never seen or heard of this at any church inahve ever been to , will you elaborate as to why a church would need a security team ?
 

Peregrine1

WKR
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Apr 28, 2020
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555
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N Idaho
You need a security team at your church? I have never seen or heard of this at any church inahve ever been to , will you elaborate as to why a church would need a security team ?

Sutherland Springs ring a bell? An ounce of prevention...just one of many examples in this day and age. Many churches have attendance numbers in the hundreds, it’s a legit concern. Now if schools would follow suit, at least equip some staff...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Maki35

WKR
Joined
Aug 21, 2020
Messages
372
You need a security team at your church? I have never seen or heard of this at any church inahve ever been to , will you elaborate as to why a church would need a security team ?
We don't have a security team at the church that I attend.
But the synagogue and mosque around town do have armed security because of threats they have received.
Too much hate.
 

BLJ

WKR
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Jan 19, 2020
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WV
On the radios with NOAA weather, do you only get alerts? Or will it lock onto one channel and continue to deliver current weather and forecast for your location?
 

Mds2004

FNG
Joined
May 8, 2015
Messages
40
On topic: we use those Beofang's but with the 8watt radio. I purchased a GMRS license and plan on getting the ham license to legally use VHF. If using them make sure to look at what frequencies are licensed so you don't overstep (i.e. emergency frequencies)


Off topic: our church has moved to having a security team as well due to the uprising hate of conservative Christians. It is better to be prepared, just like those of us who carry concealed. I hope to never use it but am glad I can carry to protect my family.
 

Davies786

FNG
Joined
Mar 6, 2022
Messages
19
Location
Langley BC
I’ve been using these radios the last 2 years for snowmobiling and hunting and have been able to communicate from the sled parking lot to the cabin which is 12km away and this fall hunting I was on top of one Mtn and my buddy was on another 16.4km away and we were able to talk with no problems. https://www.ride208.net/store/
 
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