Best handheld long range radios?

[KFhunter]

Rinos are heavy too

I quit carrying mine, just use handheld because no one else is using rinos in my group.  So why pack it?

[Magnum_Willys]

I've often wondered if everyone had a garmin inreach, and texted one another, if that would work good enough?

Might be too slow on the send/recieve texts though.

Sometimes mine works fine, other times there is a signifcant lag - like 5 mins to even 5 hours.  Its a backup when out of range of radio but not good for primary - at least for us.

[KFhunter]

Ya mine lags too, I just wondered if anyone sent messages to another inReach - if the lag was compounded  (30 min send + 30 min recieve)

I've never heard of InReach to InReach coms.

[Bob33]

Ya mine lags too, I just wondered if anyone sent messages to another inReach - if the lag was compounded  (30 min send + 30 min recieve)

I've never heard of InReach to InReach coms.

It could be compounded. It can take 20 to 30 minutes for an Irridium satellite to be within sight on the sender and vice versa for the recipient. In open terrain the messages are transmitted quickly but it is rarely instant like cellular texts.

 From Garmin:
"The next time the inReach device connects to the Iridium satellite network the device will receive the reply."

[thinkingman]

I have grown pretty frustrated with Motorola, Midland and Cobra consumer grade radios.
I went on Amazon and looked at the cheap 4 fer $50 radios with good reviews and bought a set.
They work great, no frills, definitely no 'cool' factor.
Good batteries, same, if not better range than the name brands that cost 3x as much.

Ansoko long-range walkie talkies.

[Sakko300wsm]

ICOM VHF

[Russ McDonald]

ICOM VHF

Great for ham radio to public non licensed FRS frequencies in the VHF band anymore.  FRS is all in the UHF range.

[Houndhunter]

I use garmin inreach, works well and no noise factor .

[pianoman9701]

Rino. Old guys hunting together - good item to have.

[Alex4200]

One other thing to consider. All of the different consumer grade radios may have the same channels but the filtering components of the different manufacturers are not necessarily compatible. You can talk to a Motorola radio with a say Midland radio at close range. But at longer distances, not so much. As long as everyone in your group is using the same brand, distances are much better. If you have a different manufacturer radio than your buddies, you will be limited on the range you can talk to them.

[carpsniperg2]

Great info guys.

[Magnum_Willys]

Great for ham radio to public non licensed FRS frequencies in the VHF band anymore.  FRS is all in the UHF range.
[/quote]

Whatz that mean?   Can my buddies and I buy a vhf marine type radio and use for longer range talking without the coastguard locking us up ?

[Russ McDonald]

Great for ham radio to public non licensed FRS frequencies in the VHF band anymore.  FRS is all in the UHF range.

Whatz that mean?   Can my buddies and I buy a vhf marine type radio and use for longer range talking without the coastguard locking us up ?
[/quote]No.  You can not use marine band radios anywhere other than on water.

Sent from my SM-N976V using Tapatalk

[thinkingman]

One other thing to consider. All of the different consumer grade radios may have the same channels but the filtering components of the different manufacturers are not necessarily compatible. You can talk to a Motorola radio with a say Midland radio at close range. But at longer distances, not so much. As long as everyone in your group is using the same brand, distances are much better. If you have a different manufacturer radio than your buddies, you will be limited on the range you can talk to them.

Yup...Frustrating as hell to not be able to pair radios from different manufacturers.

[ALLTERRAIN]

Several In our group are using the rino’s, trying the inreach mini this year also. What no one has brought up is with the garmin battery and other lithium’s is to make sure they’re fully charged when you go to store them during the off season. Less then 25% charge when stored, you’ll be buying a new battery!!