I will apologize for anyone I offend with my apparent ignorance but in an effort to read up on this before posting I am finding myself getting more and more confused so PLEASE jump in and correct me wherever necessary....
Here's some background:
I have had my ham licence for several years but have limited experience with actual air-time.
I am considering buying a couple of mobile radios to be used at a cabin I have in the mountains located in a remote part of Canada. We have no cell coverage there and the nearest amateur repeater is approx. 75 miles away over a few mountain ranges. Routinely I am doing work up in the mountains (tending to our water supply, maintaining trails, etc) and I want to have some way of communicating with my kids who are down at the house - grizzlies, cougars are quite common, and whether it is for emergencies or just checking in with them occasionally I need to be able to reach them.
The problem is obviously that legally my kids can't be communicating with me on amateur radios, but I was thinking if I bought an export radio (10,11,12 meters like the Yeticom Optima III) and set it up as a base in the cabin they could operate and speak to me on the 11 meter frequencies on either a handheld or another mobile I took up with me.
What are your thoughts? Is my logic flawed? Any other suggestions?
I have tried some lower powered handhelds ( 4 watts/simplex) in the past and could not get enough range to reliably punch through the dense forests.
Obviously if my kids were old enough or inclined to get their amateur radio licence none of this would be an issue but that simply is not going to be a reality for some time if ever.
Thanks in advance,Rick
Here's some background:
I have had my ham licence for several years but have limited experience with actual air-time.
I am considering buying a couple of mobile radios to be used at a cabin I have in the mountains located in a remote part of Canada. We have no cell coverage there and the nearest amateur repeater is approx. 75 miles away over a few mountain ranges. Routinely I am doing work up in the mountains (tending to our water supply, maintaining trails, etc) and I want to have some way of communicating with my kids who are down at the house - grizzlies, cougars are quite common, and whether it is for emergencies or just checking in with them occasionally I need to be able to reach them.
The problem is obviously that legally my kids can't be communicating with me on amateur radios, but I was thinking if I bought an export radio (10,11,12 meters like the Yeticom Optima III) and set it up as a base in the cabin they could operate and speak to me on the 11 meter frequencies on either a handheld or another mobile I took up with me.
What are your thoughts? Is my logic flawed? Any other suggestions?
I have tried some lower powered handhelds ( 4 watts/simplex) in the past and could not get enough range to reliably punch through the dense forests.
Obviously if my kids were old enough or inclined to get their amateur radio licence none of this would be an issue but that simply is not going to be a reality for some time if ever.
Thanks in advance,Rick
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