How does the radio compare with one's car radio in the mountains or other wilderness areas? My car got 6 channls at one spot, my battery radio, none.
1125288
I have XM radio. However we used to it in some pretty remote areas of the Northwoods. The weather band was already used. There were a couple that came in pretty clear the rest were pretty staticky but I could still hear the forecast and I could still prepare for any income at weather. They work great for 18 bucks.
1834174
This radio will not work uninterrupted within a moving vehicle--yes, within a stationary one, where you can position the radio to the direction of a radio station. Solution, maybe: buy a ccrane big, powerful potable radio--with a proper antenna (see their site and call for advice). ccrane radios also sold here on Amazon--but antennas?
701519
We're down in a valley, but have no problem getting stations 30 miles away, and FM 40 miles away. The antenna is very directional and needs a rotor for best performance. If we were on a hill we could get much farther.
1139327
It depends...mountains can make reception tough.....best chance of reception later at night...the RCA will pick up a signal if it exists so you can be assured if you get no reception it is because there is no signal...you certainly may wish to use an external antenna...Best of luck and have fun with this radio
310671
Mine is excellent. And, I live in a fairly rural suburb. My previous, larger radio did not have reception as good as this one.
2280631
In my opinion it all depends on the distance of the radio station you want to reach. Short wave goes long ways, besides, no matter how far you are into the woods now days, there's always a station near by. For the size and price of this mini radio I think it is a very powerful one!!!
93137
Good responses from other owners. Also consider whether the radio is getting the signal at all. In my case, it didn't work except on a wall facing Colorado --in my case, west -- and had a nearby window. Now it updates consistently withno problems. If I have it in any other location, it does't receive the signal and doesn't update.
1638132
There are two settings, GMRS and VHF. We use ours on road trips and so forth too. I would test them out to the distance it can be used. On land doesn't reach as far due to slopes, hills, etc.
626861
I use the RCA radio in the mountains to listen too public radio. It performs well. I wish it had digital tuning, but otherwise, I am very satisfied.
1483742
I'm not sure but I tested the radios at a campground and was abot 2 miles away and there were lots of trees and my wife was in the camper and the reception was still great.
303493
Did you buy the UV-5R radio. The reason I'm asking you is because those battery cases only fit in this model.I had to pull out the metal contact off the battery case in order to make it work. ;-(I never returned it because it was so cheap and it will cost me more if I ship it back. So I worked around to make it work.
746575
I live in a remote rural area, so your results may vary. The FM section is above average for a radio this size. It will likely pick up as many stations as your average AM/FM stereo receiver. Regarding AM, my area receives only one AM station in the daytime. At night, it appears that this radio will pick up as many stations as any other, although stations close together may be hard to separate. In a city environment, this radio should tune either AM or FM satisfactorily.
671629
Find a station that absolutely does not come in and use that one. I've used it in vehicles that have awesome reception and it can be a pain some times because you might have to change stations on both the unit and the stereo to continue to listen. Usually the higher and lower channels are not used (I.E. 88.1 or 107.1)
748075
Technically, to the horizon if you're on 2M, a little bit less if you're on 70cm. But that's with ideal conditions, one person on a high elevation, literally nothing in between, and ideal antennas. Realistically, with the antenna that comes with the radio, you're looking at a few miles. But again, it all depends. Are you in dense urban jungle? Then more like 1-2 miles. Are you in the forest? Maybe 3-4 miles. Are one of you on a mountain top overlooking a valley and the other in that valley? Are both of you on different mountain tops? The limiting factor here is the stock antenna on the HT, but this can be easily remedied. Many people make aftermarket antennae for HTs which, while less portable, will dramatically increase your range. So final answer is, it depends. All numbers quoted above are guesstimates. And if you don't know what 2M, 70cm, or HT means, or if you don't have a license from the FCC or equivalent regulatory body, please do not buy this radio. This is not a high power walker talkie, this is an amateur band radio, and as such requires a license to operate lawfully. If your interested in getting licensed, the process is pretty easy and very cheap, $15 to take the written test. Google "amateur radio license" for more on that.
51922
If you have a Ham license, you know they are line of sight. Mine will easily go 100 miles if I'm hitting someone or a repeater on a mountain top.They are 5 watts and they behave like any other 5 watt radio. I have a 50 watt transmitter I can hook it up to in the car.They are great radios.
1330891
No. It seems like to reach around 1 mile of regular condition such as driving. I'm satisfied about the radios because of long lasting batteries and better quality of voice, bluetooth and water proof than other things of them. Thanks.
1579069
In your case I would get a good strong set of FRS radios. I use several when hunting and have better range (3-4 miles) on High Power. You really can't skimp on them though. They are FM and line of sight so reaching over a mountain ridge is not likely but I've been 5 miles out and near a ridge and there was no problem talking. This CB is nice but if it were up to me I'd spend a $100 on a good set of FRS radios with WX band and perhaps a spare set of battery packs. You'll get better range than most portable CB radios.