I am looking for a pair of good and trustable two way radio, to be used both in thick woods aswell as in the mountains...

Which one do you reccomend me?

Looking for the longest possible range (no less than 10 miles) and would like them to use AA batteries, operating both in the FRS and GMRS service and being its power as high as possible (5 watts)

So far I like the Midland GTX 650 VP1, but would like to hear first hand experiences - and suggestions...

Thank you all in advance

I don't have any suggestions but am interested in the answer - do any of the radios have an option to send a memo or signal (text message?) so that the radio could be left off while hunting and turned on to pick up messages - i.e. animal down come help.

I have a pair of Midland but they are not the longer range ones...

They work flawlessly but don't expect them to have as long a range as you might expect due to terrain... That is consistent will all of these types of radios no matter the manufacturer...

You won't find anything that will "store" a message when the unit is powered off. That would require something more the way your cell phone service is setup where the radio would "check in" to a base station... Most do have silent mode at least where it vibrates instead of voice coming over the speaker...

You will also require an FCC license to use the longer ranges... It's basically a CB license so if you already happen to have one, you are in good shape...

All of that said, I really like the Midland set I have...

Ken....

I dont have a model favorite but the ranges on these are just ad hype. Though you can get a decent signal through at times they are all line of sight. A marine VHF is 25 watts with a low power button at 5 watts. Even at sea we will switch to low power for privacy with a boat that is close and rarely do we get more than 5 to 8 miles from low power. Atmospheric conditions can of course greatly increase or decrease range. Some radios are made better than others but generaly speaking range is a funstion of power level , anttenna quality, and atmosphere with anttena quality and height maybe being the most important. So there are probably reveiws on these radios somewhere on the net as to quality and functions but 5 watts is 5 watts.I get a kick out the ads that take 3 or 4 different models of 5 watt radios and they have ranges from 5 to 15 miles depending on what you spend even though all are 5 watt. In the moutains even a 150 watt radio at the freqs these work at are still going to be line of sight for the most part. Just find the one that has all the feathers you want and stick with brand names. Motarola, Icom, Kenwood, standard are all top quality though I am not sure they all make the gmds version's. Now you have got me wondering ....I think I will look for some reveiws good luck

The comments about wattage bring up a few valid points. Twice the wattage does not mean twice the range. Think of diameter and the additional area covered. Diameter doesn't increase much to meet the area originally covered by the less powerful radio.
The biggest increases occur due to antennas and height. Most of the cheap (inexpensive) radios have permanently installed antennas. Not much can be done to improve them. More expensive models have replaceable antennas. Better antennas can give you more range. Also height is an asset. Standing on a tall open point will definitely increase your range. With FRS and GMRS, height and antenna quality mean more than wattage.

FRS is limited to 1/2 watt and small antenna so the range is at best about 2 miles .Your best solution is to get an amateur radio license [not all that big a deal] .There you would have about 5 watts and a better antenna with a handheld radio.Beware that in mountains reception are a problem ! There are other solutions in amateur radio but require larger radios .Also check stae regs for using radios while hunting.

I once went on a hunt with a crew that had a half dozen surveyor radios. Was very cool as we could talk for miles in the mountains and no one could monitor us as it was a private bandwidth. I'm looking for a set or two for the reasons above. I've used the ones sold in magazines and catalogs and have had my hunt crashed by people listening in. Scanners suck big time.

After some research I had finnally made my decision and bought the Midland Outfitter Series GXT650VP4 5-Watt 22-Channel GMRS.

http://www.amazon.com/Midland-Outfitter-GXT650VP4-5-Wat...id=1177163974&sr=1-1

Not expensive at all and seem to performance in the expected and needed way... so I decided to give them a try

Thank you all for your comments !

mete offered a great alternative through ham radio. There are many handheld radios availble with choices of bands starting at 10 meters {28Mhz} through 23centameters {1.2Ghz}. The FCC dropped the morse code requirement in the early 90's {technician class only} and has again restructured the ham licenseing with only three classes, technician no code required, general 5 word per minute code, and extra class with only 5 wpm. The technician license is very easy to get. It can be given in your local area and it is a very short multiple choice question test and is about $10 or less. Technician class has full operating privileges above 30Mhz. IMHO this is the way to go with way too many options to explain. R.

This year the FCC dropped all morse code requirements for amateur radio licenses !For further info see www.arrl.org

Guess I'm a little out of date, when i took the exams for my license you had to start with the novice test first then work your way up. Anyhow there are alot of great options within ham radio for hunters, especially with all the ultra compact handhelds and the repeater coverage available even in remote areas. I've been looking at some QRP HF rigs simply for the purpose of back country hunting and also for the use of the 5Mhz band if ever needed or to help with. R.

I have a couple of pairs of Motorola Talkabouts and have had great service from both pair. My parents gave my brother and I a set about 10 years ago, and though they still work great, they are simple and antiquated by todays standards. My newer set I bought to keep up with my sons at cattle shows. They have LED screen and alot of extras that I don't use. I bought my parents a set for their place in Oklahoma about a year ago, and they do have ALL the bells and whistles.

Basically, it depends on what you want to do with the radios and how far you intend to talk. I have always been drawn to Motorola products and have not been disappointed.

I have a set of Motorola MX 350 series of 2 meter hand helds. These are great. I also have a mobile "Convertacom" in my hunting rig. You get a lot of distance out of that baby. I've talked well over 10 miles to base camp from my convertacom. You still see them up for sale on ebay from time to time. The radios are very large by today's standards, I guess. But they don't call them "bricks" for nothing. Darn near indistructable, and very large battery packs. I keep mine locked in a belt slide and use a lapel mic/speaker to talk. Blows my buddies's newer 2 meter radios away.

You do need a license, but that's really no big deal anymore.

My choice is Motorola's long-range, (I think they claim 5 miles). I've used then in the very thick stuff from Michigan's UP to to the mountains of Wyoming to Africa. Obviously savannah range is longer than the thick stuff but 3 miles was no problem in The U.P. With all the new channels and sub-channels, interlopers aren't the problem they once were.

I would suggest the AA battery model. I own these, and I own the rechargeable model. The rechargable model is great, if you remember to wind down the charge each time before recharging.

quote:

Originally posted by Pegleg:
I once went on a hunt with a crew that had a half dozen surveyor radios. Was very cool as we could talk for miles in the mountains and no one could monitor us as it was a private bandwidth. I'm looking for a set or two for the reasons above. I've used the ones sold in magazines and catalogs and have had my hunt crashed by people listening in. Scanners suck big time.

If 'crashing' meant they heard you discussing the location of game, you're lucky it was hunters who heard you and not a game warden...

It is good to hear that the laws allow using a radio in your state.

In Kansas hunting with a radio to find or report on game location is illegal.

quote:

If 'crashing' meant they heard you discussing the location of game, you're lucky it was hunters who heard you and not a game warden...

I can't find any laws in Washington restricting the use of two-way radios. It is a common practice. At least where I hunt. Maybe there is a lot of us unknowingly breaking the law.

any game animal you get while using radios isn't eligible for the boone & crocket

thanks for your replies ...

I am looking for a two way radio because of their simplicity and low cost (the ways and places where I use to hunt might probably make me treat them in a rather unproperly way, so replacements are certain to be needed)

I woudnt use these radios to get any animal, thou in my country there is no regulation on this matter... just that I won´t be satisfied at all in such a way of getting any prey ...


Primary use would be just for safety reasons

Two way radios? You must register as a sex diviate immediately, one who violates the hunting fields with such excretion as two way radios should have his nut bag slit, and his leg run through it as he is already gilflurted by an unnatural act of nature.

Only kidding of course, but thought I should clarify that point as some that live in the world of internet society take everything one says a gospel (that means they are screwed up in the head and have no since of humor)