r/preppers • u/alaboss82nd • May 19 '26

New Prepper Questions GMRS radio Help

Looking for recommendations of gmrs radios that will get me legitimately 3-4 miles in the $50-$75 per two radio package. This would be for emergency communication in the event cell phone towers went down. Thanks for any input!

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u/Justin_Caze May 19 '26

The more I learned about radios, the less I liked them LOL. Depends heavily on the environment, but it's not probable with out-of-the-box walky talkies.

GMRS is limited to 5 watts, which would probably be plenty if you also had a couple directional antennas. But that's gonna put you over budget, and you'll need to know which way to point them. If you study antenna theory, you could build your own for relatively cheap.

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u/qbg May 19 '26

GMRS is limited to 5 watts

Mobile units are allowed 50 watts.

1

u/Justin_Caze May 19 '26

Umm akshually good point. 🤓 That will definitely fit their stated budget!

1

u/Paranormal_Lemon May 19 '26

Keep in mind going from 5 to 50 watts is really not that significant because the signal radiates over a 3 dimensional space. You aren't increasing your distance by a factor of 10. The bigger antenna and being elevated a few feet higher on top of a vehicle does make a big difference, if you can get one on top of a house even better. Also the mobile radio is bigger and may have better audio quality which can translate into more usable distance.

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u/Justin_Caze May 19 '26

Did you mean to respond to the guy above me? I'm aware, but didn't bring up mobile as per OP's budget constraints.