The Truth About Range
You may have noticed that most of the two-way radios you see around advertise between a 5 mile and 18 mile range. If you are buying a two way radio in hopes of getting this much range, then you are sadly mistaken.
The range that a two-way radio advertises is the range that the radio should get in "ideal" conditions. Ideal conditions are line of sight, open water, open desert -- no interference at all. Chances are you aren't going to be using these radios out in the middle of the ocean. You will probably want two-way radios for things such as hunting, skiing, malls, car trips or vacations. Anything that is not considered "ideal" conditions is going to take a lot of range out of a two-way radio.
So what type of range can you expect from your radio for all other conditions? Not even close to the advertised range. While we can't give you an exact range, we can give you some helpful tips. The amount of range you will get greatly depends on where you will be using the radios and how much interference there will be. Naturally, a football stadium isn't going to have as much interference as being in the middle of a heavily wooded area. These are things that you need to take into consideration when picking out which two-way radio is right for you. You also need to look at the output power of the radio, and also the advertised range. If you are using a .5 watt output power radio advertising a 3 mile range, then you can probably expect no more than a quarter of a mile to half a mile of actual range. If you are using a 5 watt radio advertising 18 miles of range, then you can probably expect one and a half to two and a half miles of actual range.
Comments
Are you really serious about this 1 1/2- to 2 1/2-mile range of a 5 watt radio?!! I knew that I should not be naive about radio range when I started my search for a good two-way radio set, but I am really surprised. I am looking for a solution to communication requirements that will take place over short distances in places like Yellowstone National Park. I expect us to be at least 5 to 10 miles apart at any time, with wooded sections between us. Should I search for another solution to my communication needs? Thanks! (Great weblog!)
Posted by: thomas | April 4, 2007 03:50 AM
I would recommend a repeater system with a high-powered two-way radio or a high-powered CB radio.
Posted by: jake | April 6, 2007 04:40 PM
Hello, I have 2 XTN 2100 in place at my factory and have added a XTN 2600 but cannot get to work with the others. Are they supposed to be compatible? and I am following all instructions. The only thing I can think of is that since the first have only 1 channel and the latter have 6, that I might not be setting it correcly. Need to know if these radios are compatible.
Thanks
Posted by: Jorge Avila | September 4, 2007 07:58 PM
Within the XTN series radios, you have the XU and the XV series. Make sure those two aren't mismatched. If they are the same, make sure that channel one on both radios is set to the same frequency and privacy code.
Posted by: jake | September 7, 2007 05:11 PM