Three of us will be driving 5 hours late next week and will be in areas without cell coverage. Any good radios under $150 in a 3 pack anyone could recommend? I don't trust Amazon reviews.

What kind of range do you need?

Get a GMRS license for 30 bucks and a TIDRADIO H3 on Amazon for everyone with a license. If anyone is a family member of yours you can share your license.

I'm sure there are some "normal" HT but I don't know how reliable they are.

Do you just want to talk to your party or are you needing it for possible emergency situations?

BrazosDog02 said:

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Get a GMRS license for 30 bucks and a TIDRADIO H3 on Amazon

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Would something like that work better than a handheld CB radio?

Caladan said:

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BrazosDog02 said:

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Get a GMRS license for 30 bucks and a TIDRADIO H3 on Amazon

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Would something like that work better than a handheld CB radio?

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Well, depends on what "better" means to you. You'll get a hair extra power on GMRS unless you have a mobile rig and then you get a fair bit more. But for the OP purposes, going full bore installed rig isn't going to be worth it. Most CB would require installing a rig. The other thing to consider is that GMRS has a little barrier to entry so you don't get a bunch of trash talk and noise.

I don't know the range needed but there ARE some regular old Walkie talkies that may work well (Cobra, Uniden). GMRS and the radio I suggested does have a little learning curve but it also has a decent range, and if things go sideways, that might be nice considering cell phone might not work. I can hit our local GMRS repeater several miles away so if they are in a spot with repeaters then that might be really handy.

The radio I suggested also can handle ham bands. Now I never condone transmitting on a ham band without a license but, if someone was in distress and on the national calling frequency, that's a different situation and I don't think anyone would make a thing of that. Plus, that frequency might have a better chance of a listener that could relay info to emergency services.

BrazosDog02 said:

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What kind of range do you need?

Get a GMRS license for 30 bucks and a TIDRADIO H3 on Amazon for everyone with a license. If anyone is a family member of yours you can share your license.

I'm sure there are some "normal" HT but I don't know how reliable they are.

Do you just want to talk to your party or are you needing it for possible emergency situations?

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2-4 miles.

Thanks for the info!

C

Get Bafeng 888's. Erbody saying you need to pay for a GMRS license is wearing a belt and suspenders.

If you are really worried about the FCC, you can program them on frequencies outside of GMRS. And they can transmit on 5W. Oh my lord, yes you need a license to xmit on 5W v 2.5W. Doubt the FCC will come after you.

I'm sure some busy body will come along and tell me I'm a terrorist...