# Radio ranges - how to?



## TheLazyL (Jun 5, 2012)

I wanted to know how far my FRS, GRMS, CB and 2 meter portable radios can be from home and still be able to broadcast back to home.

Son is like minded but lives too far away to help.

Daughter also lives too far away and would probably turn in me to the authorities as a nut case.

Wife has a "if I believe bad things can't happen they can't" mentality.

"So how can I figure out the radio ranges by myself", I asked myself.

BINGO!

I purchase a voice recorder with a variable control voice activator.

I put the recorder by the base radio's speaker. Take a handheld radio and take a ride down the road. When I come to the first electric pole I'd transmit "1 1 1 1". Second pole "2 2 2 2" and so forth until I figured I was outside range.

Come back home and play the recording. "6 6" no "7 7 7 7". The 6th pole! Get on the Internet and pull up a satellite map to count poles. The 6th pole is right by a fence line.

Look on my printed aerial map and find the fence line. Mark with a dry marker. Draw a circle with home as the center. I now know how far my FRS radio will broadcast. :beercheer:

Actually I took one trip counting poles. Switch radios and rebroadcasted. "F1 F1 F1 F1" was FRS at pole one, "C1 C1 C1 C1" was the CB at pole 1.

Anyone that happen to hear my broadcasts would not know where I was or the direction I as heading but would be able to confirm my daughter's "Nut case".


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## camo2460 (Feb 10, 2013)

LazyL that was a good case of thinking out side the box if I ever heard one, way to go. As far as your being a nut case, well, I guess you're in good company. I live in a glass house so I try not to throw stones.


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## WOLF71C (Jan 29, 2014)

Good thinking LazyL knowing the range of your radios can be invaluable. I know from experience.


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## TheManComesAround (Jun 18, 2013)

GREAT idea! gonna have to do something similar. So...I'm dying to know....what were the ranges like from the different platforms??


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## TheLazyL (Jun 5, 2012)

TheManComesAround said:


> GREAT idea! gonna have to do something similar. So...I'm dying to know....what were the ranges like from the different platforms??


GRMS channel 3 at maximum legal power, I was pleasantly surprised. 3.15 kilometers.

CB SSB. I was disappointed, about a kilometer. Base antenna is in the attic above the garage. I was figuring a range of at least 25 kilometers.

Mobile unit has a built in SWR indicating a SWR of one. Base unit was a plug and play so I never purchase a SWR meter for testing. Now I'm figuring the range problem is in the base configuration.


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## amanontheradio (Oct 11, 2013)

If your base antenna is horz polarity and your mobile is vert polarity you will get poor results.

horz to vert in a local contact can be some 20 db loss in signal.

Just a thought


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## TheLazyL (Jun 5, 2012)

Update.

FRS channel 13 (maximum legal power) reliable range is 1.54 kilometers.
GRMS channel 3 (maximum legal power) range is 3.15 kilometers. 

I'll report on CB & CB SSB when I get my base antenna kinks worked out.


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