Just you and you'd like to know how far your coms can reach back to your base?
Here's my solution:
I bought a $30 digital voice recorder that had VOX (voice operated switch).
Then I printed off a Google satellite map of my test route. On this map I numbered landmarks and road intersections.
Base station was a Baofeng UV-5R connected to a J-pole antenna. Antenna is mounted in my garage attic. I turned the base station on and placed the recorder (with VOX enabled) in front of the base's speaker.
Portable hand held radio was a Midland FRS/GMRS on a FRS frequency. I drove the route on my Kawasaki Mule. When I came to a landmark or intersection that I had marked on my route map I exited the Mule and made a test call utilizing the number(s) I had mark on the map. Cell tower on my map was numbered six. My test call was, "Test call number 6, test call number 6, test call number 6". Then I moved on to the location number seven to repeat.
Then I drove back home to listen to my recorded test calls. I repeated the test with the same Midland but on a GMRS frequency this time.
On my comms wall I have a laminated combination Topographic and satellite map hanging. Map is custom sized by how far a person could reasonably walk in a day and return. On this map we marked circles based on the recorded tests.
From the Midland hand held radio back to base:
FRS was one mile.
GMRS was 3 miles.
CB SSB (not include in the details above but tested in the same manor) 4.25 miles.
Now if I can figure out how to do the same test procedure but from the base to a hand held. No I'm not going to taped the voice recorder to a hand held, hide the hand held in the road ditch to drive back home to make a test call then drive back to the hand held to move it and then.....
Here's my solution:
I bought a $30 digital voice recorder that had VOX (voice operated switch).
Then I printed off a Google satellite map of my test route. On this map I numbered landmarks and road intersections.
Base station was a Baofeng UV-5R connected to a J-pole antenna. Antenna is mounted in my garage attic. I turned the base station on and placed the recorder (with VOX enabled) in front of the base's speaker.
Portable hand held radio was a Midland FRS/GMRS on a FRS frequency. I drove the route on my Kawasaki Mule. When I came to a landmark or intersection that I had marked on my route map I exited the Mule and made a test call utilizing the number(s) I had mark on the map. Cell tower on my map was numbered six. My test call was, "Test call number 6, test call number 6, test call number 6". Then I moved on to the location number seven to repeat.
Then I drove back home to listen to my recorded test calls. I repeated the test with the same Midland but on a GMRS frequency this time.
On my comms wall I have a laminated combination Topographic and satellite map hanging. Map is custom sized by how far a person could reasonably walk in a day and return. On this map we marked circles based on the recorded tests.
From the Midland hand held radio back to base:
FRS was one mile.
GMRS was 3 miles.
CB SSB (not include in the details above but tested in the same manor) 4.25 miles.
Now if I can figure out how to do the same test procedure but from the base to a hand held. No I'm not going to taped the voice recorder to a hand held, hide the hand held in the road ditch to drive back home to make a test call then drive back to the hand held to move it and then.....