There a few things then has been already said that needs to by explained alittle.
1. The cheap way is good quality GMRS radios which have up to 2 watts of power. Requires no licence from Industry Canada. There are some good ones out of the US where GMRS is actually a licenced band. Is it good for treed and hilly terrian?? no.
2. The Baofeng radios are cheap Ham radios that can easily be programmed out of the ham band plan. You can easily get onto a frequency that can create problems for you. All it takes is 1 complaint and Industry Canada starts an investigation into you. IC are already looking into the ease of going out of band with them.
3. The Kenwoods, Icoms etc, are either commercial radios or Amateur band radios, more power, better biult but may not have a greater distance. I should add easier to get into trouble.
4. Someone posted about the radios used up northern AB/BC. These are VHF and technically require a licence to operate, but many don't have it.
5. Someone stated about repeaters. While they can be biult cheaply, there is some basic skills required to set one up, and legally requires a station licence.
6. Get your Ham ticket. It takes work but my commonlaw challenged the test and got her Basic with Honours which gives her full HF privileges as well as VHF, UHF with up to 200 watts of power.
Now what band should you use to get as far as possible for the least amount of $$?
There are many things to factor in, cost of radio/equipment, size of antenna and longevity of battery charge. The shorty antennas are nothing more than a dummy load to keep the radio happy, here bigger is better as long as it is tuned to the frequency.
Simply put, the higher of frequency the less distance on the ground covered (there are a few exceptions).
So, which is best to point to point in a varied terrain?? my money is VHF (but I'm a ham) and here is why:
1. good point to point ground path performance;
2. with a better antenna = better performance;
3. Alot of used equipment out there.
But - a licence of some sort required.
For a person non-licenced, I would say GMRS / FRS first:
1. no licence required;
2. cheap radios (a good gmrs is better quality over Baofeng), some can have the antenna upgraded easily;
3. Did I say cheap radios that require no licence yet??
It would be irresponsible for me to suggest getting an Icom / Kenwood UHF commercial radio and have them programmed to the GMRS frequencies as they put out more than 2 watts and can easily have better antennas attached increasing range / efficiency while keeping them in a small package.
And CB:
1. no licence required;
2. Cheap equipment with more power output;
3. abundance of antenna options to increase performance.
4. but, Big antennas required for hand held radios
.
Just a thought.
Not sure if they are good for eastern Canada but BC/AB has the LADD VHF frequencies. A lot of people use them out here.
I think I get it now
