Long range walkie-talkies: claimed and real range of FRS, GMRS and PMR446 radios

Long range walkie-talkies: what the range on the box means

The range on a walkie-talkie box is the best case: two radios on high ground with a clear view and nothing in between. Day to day, two people on foot reach about a kilometer across open land and a few hundred meters in a town. Pick the radio and the place in the estimator to see your own case.12

Walkie-talkie range claims: why 35 miles never happens

The highest claims in our data are 35 to 38 miles (56 to 61 km) for US radios and 10 km (6 miles) for radios sold in Europe. Every one of them comes with a condition if you read the maker's page.

Motorola gives its 35 miles for a mountain-to-valley path.3 Midland says its 36 miles is the maximum, over water or open rural land in the best conditions.4 Cobra writes "up to" 38 miles on the RX680 page, and its own support page lists 30 or more miles only for ideal peak-to-peak or peak-to-valley paths.56

Rocky Talkie, a maker of 5 W radios, says its Expedition Radio can pass 35 miles at best and that 2 to 8 miles is more typical in backcountry terrain.7 In Europe, Motorola gives 10 km for the T82 Extreme "subject to terrain and conditions", and Midland gives 8 km for the XT50 PRO in open space with nothing in the way.89

A real day looks different. You stand at head height, and houses, trees and hills stand in the way. Every obstacle takes some of the signal.

Real walkie-talkie range by place

Our range model computes these numbers from international rules for short outdoor paths, the power limit of each radio and the sensitivity in its datasheet.12 Both people stand at head height. The first number is the distance where about 9 in 10 spots get a clear call, and the second is where about half of them do.

The Latvian spectrum office gives the same picture for PMR446: a few hundred meters in a city and up to a few kilometers in the countryside.10 The model has no row for a 2 W FRS or 5 W GMRS radio. For the US, Cobra publishes typical figures for 2 W FRS and GMRS radios from its own support page.6

Cobra's table says range drops further inside a building, and more still with a metal frame or aluminum siding.6

Walkie-talkie range: height and line of sight

Height adds more range than any radio. A radio can "see" as far as the horizon, and the horizon grows with height. In kilometers it is about 4.12 times the square root of the antenna height in meters, using the standard radio-horizon rule.11

This is the ceiling set by geometry, not the range of the radio. A clear view also matters: a hill, a forest or a row of buildings between the two radios cuts the signal long before the horizon.

Thirty-five miles is 56 km. With both radios at the same height, each must stand about 47 m (150 feet) above the ground in between. That is why 35-mile claims come with mountain-to-valley or open-water paths.11

Power and license class for more walkie-talkie range

The legal power limit sets what a radio can do. PMR446 radios are capped at 0.5 W ERP, the power that actually leaves the antenna, and they must keep a built-in antenna.2

In the US, FRS allows 2 W on channels 1-7 and 15-22, and only 0.5 W on channels 8-14. For distance, use channels 1-7 or 15-22.12 Channel numbers are in channels and privacy codes.

More power adds less than you would expect. In our model, doubling the power adds only about a fifth to the distance on open ground, because the signal fades fast at head height.12

A 5 W GMRS hand-held has 2.5 times the power of a 2 W FRS radio and may send 5 W on channels 1-7. By the same rule that adds about a quarter to the distance. The 0.5 W limit still applies on channels 8-14.13

GMRS needs a license that costs $35.14 It also lets you fit a different antenna, because only hand-helds that send data must keep a built-in one.15 FRS and PMR446 radios must keep the antenna they came with.1617

In Europe a stronger radio needs a business license. The UK Simple UK Light license allows handheld radios at 5 W ERP, ten times the PMR446 limit.18

In our model a 4 W licensed handheld reaches about twice as far as a PMR446 radio. The rules for each country are on the license page.

Regulators are studying 1 W for PMR446. A report from CEPT finds room for it, and a revised decision is in work, but the limit stays at 0.5 W today.219 The model says 1 W would add about a fifth to the open-ground distance.2

GMRS repeaters: the way to real long range

A repeater is a radio station on a tall building or a hilltop. It hears your radio and sends your call again, from a high antenna with much more power. GMRS allows repeaters and gives them up to 50 W, and FRS and PMR446 do not.131617

Hand-helds reach a GMRS repeater on the paired 467 MHz channels. FRS radios cannot send on those channels, so only a GMRS radio with a license can use a repeater.2016 Cobra says repeaters can reach well past its table, and gives no figure, so none is given here.6

Longest range walkie-talkies in the US: FRS and GMRS radios by claimed range

The table ranks US radios in our data by the range the maker claims, from the longest down. It shows claims, not tests. Read the wording next to the number, because "up to" and "mountain to valley" describe a best case.

If a pack gives a number and no conditions, treat it as the same best case. The numbers above are for two radios on high ground. Cobra's table gives radios of this class 1.5 to 3+ miles on flat open ground, and 30+ miles only in ideal conditions.6

To get more distance in the US, pick GMRS and get the license (see FRS and GMRS walkie-talkies), hold the radio high, and keep a clear view. A hill or a rooftop adds more than a higher claim.

Longest range walkie-talkies in Europe: PMR446 radios by claimed range

The table ranks the radios sold in Europe and the UK in our data by claimed range. Every one of them is a 0.5 W PMR446 radio, so the law gives them the same power.17 More about these radios is in PMR446 walkie-talkies.

Motorola claims 10 km for the T82 Extreme and 4 km for the T42, and both send 0.5 W.821 The gap does not come from more transmit power. Read the gap as a gap between claims, and use the model figures above for your own planning: about 1 km on open land and a few hundred meters in town.

Questions

Sources

1. Rec. ITU-R P.1411-13, short-range outdoor propagation · ITU
2. ECC Report 369, PMR446 coverage and power increase · CEPT
3. Talkabout T600 series walkie talkies · Motorola Solutions
4. GXT1000 GMRS walkie talkie 2-pack, GXT1000VP4 · Midland
5. Cobra RX680 splashproof walkie talkies · Cobra Electronics
6. Cobra support article 47001184443, range estimates for 2 W FRS/GMRS radios · Cobra Electronics
7. Expedition Radio, rugged 5-watt backcountry radio · Rocky Talkie
8. Talkabout T82 Extreme walkie-talkies (EMEA) · Motorola Solutions
9. XT50 PRO user's manual, dual band PMR446/LPD · Midland Europe
10. PMR446 · Elektroniskie sakari (Latvia)