whats the easiest way to communicate far away?

[funonahonda]

My wife and I wanna talk back and forth (not on the cell phone)from my work area about 45 to 50 miles from home. Whats the easiest way to do it clearly, SSB,VHF, UHF or your input would be greatly helpful

[Savoirfaire]

A very good vertical antenna about 40 feet or higher at bottom and a very good roof mounted vertical on the vehicle like a 102" whip.

Or a four element beam at the house and a 102" whip on the roof of the vehicle.

Depending on the terrain if mountains are in between or lots of high buildings then it can be difficult.

SSB gives you 12 watts of output and will help.

73, 10 X-Ray 47 (SSB).

[jessejamesdallas]

Reliable communications from 45 to 50 miles? Cheapest and most reliable way is going to be a cell phone...HAM radio will work, but it's going to be more expensive, plus your both going to need a license.

[Z-MAN]

Get 2 large amps, 2 good radios on a quiet, private channel and 2 good antennas.

[str8stroke]

Skype or Camfrog. (not being a smartie either they can be computer done). You said no Cell phones, so I am guessing computers are ok??

If you really want to use a radio, we need more info, like where are you? City/state. There may already be some Ham radio repeaters in your area that could cover this distance with ease. Of course you have to get a license and you cant have any pecuniary interest while using the Ham bands.

This can ALL be done for under $200 total, IF a good repeater is set up in your area???????????????

Other wise, if your planning on going the CB way, you're gonna need to make some investments in gear. I personally would go with 3 element beams at each end about 30 feet up, with a hopped up Cobra radio, running on a solar set up. That way it can be left on all the time with no wasted energy.

Oh on your basic question. SSB is the mode I would "try" first. Thats all depending on conditions and after you teach the wife how to work the clarifier.

IF you want to use VHF or UHF, you both will need a license. The GMRS or FMRS will NOT work those distances. Next, if your thinking about marine freqs, You have to have be operating from a boat, or have a license!

[Circuit Breaker]

My wife and I wanna talk back and forth (not on the cell phone)from my work area about 45 to 50 miles from home. Whats the easiest way to do it clearly, SSB,VHF, UHF or your input would be greatly helpful

One thing you haven't mentioned is what kind of terrain you're talking about. Back in the 80s, I and a friend talked over a distance of about 50 miles base to mobile over hilly terrain. But he was running about 300 watts in his SUV and I had a beam antenna. Even then, the signals were weak. As I recall, while I could understand him, the signal didn't even move the needle more than maybe S-1. So, if your terrain is relatively flat, it would be possible...especially if you had a beam antenna as high as you could get it. But, to be honest, the most reliable method, assuming you have repeaters in your area, would be to use 2 meters (VHF). As mentioned, however, you're going to need amateur radio licenses to operate. But the Technician class license test is pretty easy. That said - it wouldn't be any more expensive than if you were doing this using CB. In fact, if you throw amplifiers in to the equation as some have suggested, going the amateur radio route would be less expensive. 2 meter mobile radios can be had for as little as $100 and topping out at about $180 a piece. A good 2 meter magnet mount antenna for your vehicle will set you back about $90 and a good 2 meter base antenna can be had for less than $60. You could easily spend just as much and more to purchase good SSB CB radios, antennas, and amplifiers - but using 2 meter repeaters would be FAR more reliable.

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September 10 2013

Get 2 large amps, 2 good radios on a quiet, private channel and 2 good antennas.

Private channel? There is no such thing.

['Doc]

It really depends on the band and if you want to go to the trouble of being licensed. CB radio doesn't require a license so there will be more people taking advantage of using it (as compared to ham radio for instance). That's both good and bad for several reasons(nothing to do with CB'er -vs- ham thingy).
Another limiting factor is 'Momma Nature' and her propagation. Sometimes you can communicate over really long distances, sometimes you can't get across the street.
The most reliable will be a commercial service of some kind, that's their purpose (aside from making money), being reliable. They go to the trouble of making their system reliable. With both CB and ham radio YOU have to go to that trouble to get reliability. It isn't always easy.
I would think that the ham radio bands (8 - 10 of them?) would offer more reliability than the single CB band. Just a lot of possibilities there, most of them not super simple, but certainly do-able.
With both CB and ham radio the initial expense is typically more than with a cell phone, although after seeing a few of the 'new' cell phones, they ain't cheap either. After that initial expense, there's no monthly fees except for paying for the electricity radios run from. Having done that for a very long time, I couldn't afford the same ability if I had to pay a monthly phone bill, you know? It is not -reliable- to any great extent, but that's how it goes.
Before jumping off into either radio hobby, listen to them for a while first. See how they sound, who'z there, etc. Either may be just what you're looking for, and then maybe not.
Have fun.
- 'Doc

[721HACKSAW]

Communication over 40-50 miles that reliable, cheap, and easy... Hmm, it's another one of those situations where you only get to pick 2, and even then it's a "maybe" situation.
I'm with JJD, get the cheapest cell phone option you can find.
Good luck and enjoy.

[Z-MAN]

Years ago i talked to my buddy everyday, multiple times a day on 27.505 or 555 50+ miles away. He was on a barefoot 148, A99 about 40ft to the base, Me, i was on a Turbo, A99 55ft to the base so it can be done easily. You would have to put a large 2-pill or bigger in a mobile with a more than decent antenna. When i said a private channel, i meant away from the meatballs that would or could dead-key you.

[dirtyjob]

ssb

[silvereagle1]

Nextel.... Atleast you would have the feel of two way radio and have privacy too. Even though it's a cell phone in disguise lol.

[toober]

the 'easiest' way to communicate at a distance is by instant messaging online. You can skype with video or just chat with text. Leave the chat window open for the next time either of you have a moment to see if there are any new messages from the other person. Depending on the software, you could invite other friends/family too. If you -meant- by radio communication, then yeah, read the other replies.

[Punkin Head]

IMO the easiest and most reliable way to communicate that distance via radio would be get your Tech ticket and a couple 2m radios. The tech is pretty easy to pass if you put a little effort into studying. on 11m during heavy skip you will have a hard time making contact with each other through all the noise.

[North Texas Mudduck]

Dont need a license to run a gmrs radio
to operate a repeater then you need a license
i would find 2 spectra radios in the 100 watt model
one for the base and one for the mobile

next get a 6 or 10 element beam and point it in the direction most traveled
and get a good quality monoband mobile antenna

beam needs to be as high as possible

we have a gmrs at 65 foot and we can run simplex almost 40 miles
then we can flip over to the repeater and then its on a 212 foot building
and it has some range

[gunner57]

Everyone keeps throwing out that they need cell phones. In this day and age, they probably have them. I know most of the members live in areas with plentiful cell coverage. Maybe they need communication due to an absence of cell coverage. I know where I live there is plenty of space where cell phones are a no go. I would recommend you both getting your license and give 2M a try. They have pretty good with simplex (radio to radio) and also repeaters. If you don't want to get your HAM ticket, you could try CB with SSB. 40-50 miles is pushing it pretty far though, even with good antenna set ups. Still, more information about the terrain is needed.

[Slyguy]

Yeah, I'm going with 2m with a repeater in the mix. However, 40 to 50 miles for 2m simplex is completely doable provided you get the antennas a both ends, way up in the air. I'm also pretty sure you can make that trip very consistently on the 40m band. I hear the same group of guys every day of the week on 40m and they range from 20 miles to 200 miles from my house. I can contact each and every one of the at any time using no more than 100watts.
I know I know, all ham stuff, right? It works

[MDYoungblood]

I will agree if you don't want to use cell phones than 2m is your best solution. The question pool is not that hard, the radio's and antenna's are not that expensive used, and probably the most reliable. Just remember others will be listening so use your call when talking. I saw some say Nextel but any day now Nextel will cease to function, Sprint has wanted to get rid of it for years. With all the new smart phones you could find an app like Zello, Walkie Talkie, etc. that is just like talking on the radio and if you want privacy than just call each other. JMO.

3's

Greg

[Flapjack]

2 Meters would work very nicely if you have a repeater between your station and home, getting your tech license fairly easy. There use to be a provision that the family members of ham operators could talk on the equipment. I don't know if that still exist or not. With two meter unit you can run more power and that should get you more range. GMRS used to require a license and had the maximum power level of 50 watts and was pretty much limited to line of sight. You would have to search a bit to find a mobile radio with 50 watts of power, but I'm sure if you hunt a bit you can find them. If you can find one you might be able to find another one, some of the radios that are sold by DNJ radio can work those frequencies and one even has an output of 65 watts, and they are pretty reasonable. You can tell the "THE TECHNICIAN" in Louisville, KY sent you. I don't know if you mention me will help or get you cussed out!
The radio I would suggest is the TYT-9000 mobile radio to be used on both ends. They also have every antenna you could use to get your set up.

[goofy]

a 2M repeater is your best bet. HF can work, but you are going to need good antennas and decent power on both ends to make reliability acceptable.

You still are going have dropouts even with a good HF setup.

[North Texas Mudduck]

you can do a search for this radio you need the head and the unit
the heads normally run 40 to 60 bucks then the rear mount units runs another 50 or so
Motorola Spectra vhf/uhf 100 watt unit

then get you a good dual band antenna and spend over 80 bucks for the antenna
anything less than 60 bucks and your back peddling

this setup works fantastic for anything simplex
and if the repeater is high up then the 2 of you on opposite ends wont have any problems getting into the repeater at full quite.

[silvereagle1]

Two campbell soup cans and a very long piece of string. Lol

[jessejamesdallas]

Two campbell soup cans and a very long piece of string. Lol

I've tried that, and it won't work using string at that distance...You need to use bare copper or aluminum wire.

[De_Wildfire]

Go with two meter repeaters. Your best bet without the cell phone. I administer the tests and so far, I have never seen anyone fail the technician test. Usually everyone is passing it with flying colors. There is easy study guides out there.

[Circuit Breaker]

Years ago i talked to my buddy everyday, multiple times a day on 27.505 or 555 50+ miles away. He was on a barefoot 148, A99 about 40ft to the base, Me, i was on a Turbo, A99 55ft to the base so it can be done easily. You would have to put a large 2-pill or bigger in a mobile with a more than decent antenna. When i said a private channel, i meant away from the meatballs that would or could dead-key you.

Base to base over 50 miles, I would agree that it's quite do-able on SSB - but base to mobile is going to be pushing it.

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September 24 2013

Dont need a license to run a gmrs radio
to operate a repeater then you need a license
i would find 2 spectra radios in the 100 watt model
one for the base and one for the mobile

This is incorrect. Per the FCC a license is required to run GMRS - whether through a repeater or not.

"An FCC license is required to operate a General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) system. Licenses are issued for a five-year term and can be renewed between 90 days prior to the expiration date and up to the actual expiration date of the license."
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That said - no license is required in Canada, however. Below is more information on licensing:

"Any individual in the United States who is at least 18 years of age and not a representative of a foreign government may apply for a GMRS license by completing the application form (either on paper or through the FCC's Universal Licensing System) and paying the license fee (currently $85.00). No exam is required. A license for a GMRS system is usually issued for a 5-year term. Prior to July 31, 1987, the FCC issued GMRS licenses to non-individuals (corporations, partnerships, government entities, etc.). These licensees are grandfathered and may renew their existing licenses. No new GMRS licenses are being issued to non-individuals, nor may existing non-individual licensees make major modifications to their licenses.

The license extends privileges of the primary licensee to include communications with the licensee's immediate family members, and authorizes immediate family members to use the licensee's station(s) to conduct the activities of the licensee. Additionally, the FCC rules allow GMRS licensees to communicate with other GMRS licensees. GMRS licensees are allowed to communicate with FRS users on those frequencies that are shared between the two services. The rules require each GMRS user family to have a license, rather than (as in the case of commercial and public safety land mobile license) authorizing a licensee's employees to use the same license. In addition, power output is limited to 5 watts ERP (Effective Radiated Power).
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So, GMRS, while a viable alternative, is just as costly as going with amateur radio or CB.