Quote from Midland webpage
“Range (about range)*
This is the most important feature you should consider when selecting a radio. The range (how far you can talk between two radios) of a radio is directly proportionate to the output power of the radio. The higher the power, the more range you will get.
It is also important to know that any obstacle between you and the other person you are talking to can affect the range. Trees, buildings, cars, mountains and valleys can significantly reduce the range of a radio as they will block the radio transmission.
Maximum range can only be achieved under ideal conditions; fully charged/fresh batteries, flat area with no obstacles between radios, and ideally, over water. Also, be sure your radio is set to its highest power level. “
http://www.midlandradio.com/comersus/store/comersus_listCategoriesAndProducts.asp?idCategory=133This is not a recommendation for or against the brand but the information is valid.
You have not mentioned the terrain you are hunting in but terrain and cover have a lot to do with radio reception. Government agencies and armature radio groups place radio repeaters on high terrain to obtain coverage, but there are still dead spots. I have been in deep canyons with 5 watt Motorola, and Bendix-King radios and had no communication.
http://www.gmrsweb.com/gmrstable.htmlI have communicated a measured 38 miles with low power CB radios between two fire lookout towers located on high mountain peaks. The key was there were no obstacles between the towers. But the quality of the communication was poor when compared to the government radios in the towers. The government radios have the advantage of high quality and excellent antennas.
The problem you describe is not unique in the world of radio communications. In some rural areas law enforcement vehicles have in car repeaters. The officer out on a stop transmits on F2 using his 5-watt portable; the repeater in the trunk of the vehicle receives the traffic and repeats on his high power vehicle radio to the dispatcher on F1. When a major forest fire on other event happens communication experts are assigned to it. The first thing they start looking for is high points to place portable repeaters. I suspect that the Gulf Coast Region is a tough place to establish communications because of low terrain and heavy vegetation.
The quality of GMRS/FRS radios does not come close to public safety radios. My hunting party uses GMRS/FRS radios for communications. I suspect that we could communicate with home from a few locations that are at high altitude by we have not tried it. In the past when we were using CB radios we could communicate between mobile radios approximately 18 miles. But this was with good ground plane antennas, one radio at 5,000 elevation over looking the location of the radio at 3,000-foot elevation.
Good radio systems are expensive and need to be maintained by knowledgeable people.
Without expending additional funds for a repeater system you best option is to implement good radio practices. Fully charged batteries, limit radio use to planned check-in times and power them up when a shot is fired. Radios stuffed in a pack with the antenna laying sideways instead of vertical loses effective range. Place a hunter on a high point to relay traffic. I have seen radios spoil and hunt. Some people get so wrapped into radio communications that they forget to hunt. You can set on your stand and hear the radio traffic in the woods. Some people speak loudly into the radio thinking the message will carry to distant places. The jays, and the squirrels start chattering because of this traffic. Clearly deer must be aware of the radio traffic. The message to the deer is to flee.
I should note that the use of radios during a hunt maybe limited by State Laws. I consider the radio has a health and safety tool. Not a hunting implement.
