Twist,

He mentioned 'handheld'. He didn't say 'radio in a vehicle'. I suspect
trying to walk around with a handheld, a linear amp, and four Sears
Die-Hards in a backpack might prove uncomfortable

15 to 20 miles is going to be *very* tough, unless one of the handhelds is
located up four or five hundred feet in the air. The antenna and ground
system (or, rather, lack thereof) is going to doom any 27 MHz handheld.
MURS would have a good chance, as long as one of those units is up hundreds
of feet in the air. FRS is unlikely to have the erp to make the distance
(certainly not a reliable job) even if one of the handhelds was up 400 or
500 feet in the air. About the only choice I see is a tech license and
using a repeater. The key here is 'handheld'. However, if Sarge is willing
to use a radio in a car, things change a bit. MURS would likely make 15
miles with a decent antenna and tower at the base and a decent 5/8 wave
antenna on the car.


73 from Rochester, NY
Jim


"Twistedhed" wrote in message
...
From: (Sarge)
Reo wrote:
Hi...
I am looking for a way to communicate with my wife while I am out doing
errands.
Looking for something hand held with a range of 15-20miles that would
either have no license or a small licensing requirement from the FCC.
Looking for something without a monthly fee also
Any suggestions?
Thank you!

The ONLY thing I can see is you and wife both
get your amateur Tech. licenses. Then you

could work through a repeater ( assuming

there is one near y'all) and be pretty reliable. A
CB , FRS or GMRS handheld is just not gonna
cut it. Only other way is the cell phone thing

but there goes that monthly fee.

Anyone else got any ideas?

Couple of 10 meter radios coverted with a couple of low power linears
will do the job perfectly. You get quiet frequencies on the freeband and
at times won't even need the linear. **** on the repeaters, not enough
privacy for what you want.



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