Homestead Communications

[Moxie 15]

Ok, I have some questions concerning this, trying to learn what I can do.
Here cell phones are just short of useless, CB radios are useless and we do not have the funds to spend on fancy radios, or the intent to use them.
A large percent of our car travel we are together, so what we need is the ability to communicate on our 10 acres.

not looking for expensive top of the line nor a toy. Must be Easy to carry, dependable, and affordable. When I am working the farm I cannot hear my wife call most times and at our age and the distance to help I want to keep in better contact.

Does anyone have any ideas?

 

[TheMan419]

For 10 acres someGMRS hand helds should work. A pair good ones would run $100 or so. They also have weather radio channels on them so you can keep up with alerts if you need to. We used to use them at horse shows and they were great on a show ground of 50 acres.

EDIT you might want to check FRS radios as those do not require a license.

 

[Cougsfan]

Look on Amazon, There are lots of two way radios at different price ranges that should fit your needs.

 

[k0ua]

Unlicensed FRS UHF radios may or may not work for your 10 acres, depending on terrain. Advantages, they are cheap, available anywhere, and require no license to use by anyone.

GMRS radios are move expensive, can and usually do run more power and have longer ranges expectations and will likely work well for you application. These are also on UHF frequencies. Downsides are more expensive up front, and require a license that covers you and your immediate family's usage. No testing of course, but you do have to pay for the license.

Also there are in many community's a community repeater which can increase the range of these units many fold, but you will have to pay the owner/operator of these repeaters a fee to use them, usually monthly.

Another option is MURS Which are on VHF frequency's and cannot have repeaters, and only a few frequencies. The range expectations of these units is also enough to cover your 10 acres and more. These units will also be more expensive than FRS "blister packed at Wal Mart" radios.

MURS is licensed by rule. This means an individual license is not required for an entity to operate a MURS transmitter if it is not a representative of a foreign government and if it uses the transmitter in accordance with the MURS rules outlined in 47 C.F.R. Part 95 Subpart J. There is no age restriction regarding who may operate an MURS transmitter.

 

[k0ua]

Look on Amazon, There are lots of two way radios at different price ranges that should fit your needs.

Yes, BUT. There are many pitfalls for a new user going to Amazon and selecting a radio. For one thing licensing and rules are not discussed on Amazon. Just buying a radio and using it willy nilly on any old frequency you choose will get you in trouble quickly. Buying a Chinese radio that will operate on just about any frequency in the VHF/UHF spectrum can break many laws in a hurry. You need to know what you are doing, you need to know what service and what frequency's you will be operating on and if the radio equipment is type accepted for that service. Almost all Chinese handhelds sold on Amazon are illegal to use on either GMRS MURS and FRS frequencies. Because of spectral purity or the lack thereof they will not and have not met type 95 type acceptance, and therefore are illegal to use. The Chinese don't care, they just want your money and they for sure are not going to educate you to rules violations.

Advice: DO NOT willy nilly go to Amazon and buy a radio if you do not actually know what the licensing requirements are and the type of radio that is suitable to the service you are going put it into. If a radio says it is type accepted to part 95 service, then that is fine. But many radios are sold that are not type accepted for anything.

 

[Jchonline]

GMRS with license is what we use. Works great in mountain terrain. We also use amateur radio if we are farther away.

You only have 10 acres so hopefully you can get by with something cheaper.

 

[Jchonline]

Yes, BUT. There are many pitfalls for a new user going to Amazon and selecting a radio. For one thing licensing and rules are not discussed on Amazon. Just buying a radio and using it willy nilly on any old frequency you choose will get you in trouble quickly. Buying a Chinese radio that will operate on just about any frequency in the VHF/UHF spectrum can break many laws in a hurry. You need to know what you are doing, you need to know what service and what frequency's you will be operating on and if the radio equipment is type accepted for that service. Almost all Chinese handhelds sold on Amazon are illegal to use on either GMRS MURS and FRS frequencies. Because of spectral purity or the lack thereof they will not and have not met type 95 type acceptance, and therefore are illegal to use. The Chinese don't care, they just want your money and they for sure are not going to educate you to rules violations.

Advice: DO NOT willy nilly go to Amazon and buy a radio if you do not actually know what the licensing requirements are and the type of radio that is suitable to the service you are going put it into. If a radio says it is type accepted to part 95 service, then that is fine. But many radios are sold that are not type accepted for anything.

Good points. Remember OP there are radio amateurs that help the FCC search for this type of interference, so as James mentions just not a good idea to do it illegally. Fines are pretty nasty.

 

[Xfaxman]

Moxie 15 check this thread: Alternative Communications??

 

[k0ua]

Check this thread: Alternative Communications??

Aw, now, can't we have 3 or 4 threads all going at the same time about the exact same thing?

 

[Xfaxman]

Aw, now, can't we have 3 or 4 threads all going at the same time about the exact same thing?

Yes we can, but they usually have different info.

 

[k0ua]

Yes we can, but they usually have different info.

Did you ever notice how everybody has an opinion..

 

[Xfaxman]

Did you ever notice how everybody has an opinion..

Yep, especially here on TractorByNet.

 

[Moxie 15]

Moxie 15 check this thread: Alternative Communications??

I started there and almost posted my question there. I did not want to hijack the thread or derail it as it was more about long distance mobile communications.

 

[k0ua]

I started there and almost posted my question there. I did not want to hijack the thread or derail it as it was more about long distance mobile communications.

You mentioned 10 acres as the area of communications you needed. So even worst case distance across the diagonal you are talking about a 933 foot range right? What is the terrain like? Is it line of sight all the way or is there a big hill right in the middle? Forested? open field? Let us know how the terrain is. If it is mostly open then a good quality FRS radio could probably make the trip. These are the little 1/2 watt radios you buy usually as a pair at Wal Mart, or a sporting goods store. Some are much better than others of course, and you can ignore the range claims on the package, that is just wishful thinking, but for less than 1000 feet, and open terrain, that they can do. Total outlay maybe 40 bucks, no license, no fees, no hassle.

 

[Grumpycat]

Look on Amazon, There are lots of two way radios at different price ranges that should fit your needs.

Yeah, but Amazon will happily sell you a radio which requires a license-by-exam which the O.P. does not seem willing to undertake.

Stick with the $35/10 year GMRS. Don't believe anyone who says you can use an Amateur Radio transceiver.

 

[Grumpycat]

Unlicensed FRS UHF radios may or may not work for your 10 acres, depending on terrain. Advantages, they are cheap, available anywhere, and require no license to use by anyone.

GMRS radios are move expensive, can and usually do run more power and have longer ranges expectations and will likely work well for you application. These are also on UHF frequencies. Downsides are more expensive up front, and require a license that covers you and your immediate family's usage. No testing of course, but you do have to pay for the license.

To which I would add:

Transmit power is cheap. Good receivers are expensive. Is much the same as with headlights: any idiot can cheaply buy a bigger brighter bulb but it is difficult and expensive to keep the light out of the other drivers' eyes.

The RF noise floor at VHF/UHF is pretty low so a good receiver can boost your range every bit as much as a more powerful transmitter or bigger antenna.

 

[Moxie 15]

You mentioned 10 acres as the area of communications you needed. So even worst case distance across the diagonal you are talking about a 933 foot range right? What is the terrain like? Is it line of sight all the way or is there a big hill right in the middle? Forested? open field? Let us know how the terrain is. If it is mostly open then a good quality FRS radio could probably make the trip. These are the little 1/2 watt radios you buy usually as a pair at Wal Mart, or a sporting goods store. Some are much better than others of course, and you can ignore the range claims on the package, that is just wishful thinking, but for less than 1000 feet, and open terrain, that they can do. Total outlay maybe 40 bucks, no license, no fees, no hassle.

The plot looks like home plate. 1005' of road frontage goes back a couple hundred feet then angles in to a point a little over 500' from the road. It is heavily wooded except where I have cleared a spot for pasture and around the house and barn. It slopes uphill from the road with a brook cutting it two. From the house the farthest point would be about 700' or so.
Does that help?

 

[lman]

Bullhorn might work on 10 acres.

 

[Moxie 15]

Yeah, but Amazon will happily sell you a radio which requires a license-by-exam which the O.P. does not seem willing to undertake.

You hit that on the head, Grumpycat. My wife is convinced we can use the intercom feature on our house phone. The last time we tried that I almost threw the POS against the nearest tree. We are on a fixed income and my wife says why pay money when we can get something for free. So I would never hear the end of it if I spent money on radios THEN had to spend money on a license.

Heck, I heard about it for six months when I bought a 1/4 mile roll of barbed wire for $4 at a yard sale. But about two years later I heard about how smart WE were to buy it so we could fence in the pasture for $4.

 

[Grumpycat]

You hit that on the head, Grumpycat. My wife is convinced we can use the intercom feature on our house phone. The last time we tried that I almost threw the POS against the nearest tree. We are on a fixed income and my wife says why pay money when we can get something for free. So I would never hear the end of it if I spent money on radios THEN had to spend money on a license.

An Amateur Radio License costs about $10 to sit for the written exam then $35 for the license if you pass. Each.

The GMRS "exam" is the FCC application form consisting of your name, address, and difficult things like that. Still costs $35 but covers you and immediate family.

Both have 10 year terms.

There is a lot more you can do with the Amateur Radio license. Greater selection of radios. Of frequencies to operate. The HF bands ("shortwave") can circle the globe. Unlike the internet requires a bit of knowledge and skill to know what band to use and what time of day.

On VHF/UHF you can talk direct to astronauts aboard the International Space Station with a radio similar in size and cost as a GMRS hand-held.

There are some fairly expensive ($400) Amateur Radio hand-helds which have GPS built in to transmit your location so your wife knows where you are all the time. This feature is called APRS if you want to search for more information. And, I don't really know, there may well be lower cost radios with that function. Lots of used Amateur Radio equipment is available.

A Garmin Rino has FRS/GMRS and GPS. The older model I am familiar with will not automatically transmit position, you have to push the PTT then it sends a burst before enabling the microphone. But you can pay quite a lot for one of those.