I wanted to know if using personal mobile radios, which are licence free in the UK, would be useful for hiking. Would their low range and power of up to 10km and 0.5 watts be enough?
I tested them over hills, woods and lakes to see if different parties could usefully stay in touch.
I did not test them to their distance limit but would be confident that would be fine in the right conditions.
Most useful was learning which terrain would block the signal. Small rises of land were fine, but bigger mountain bulk and especially woods were somewhat problematic.
Knowing your contours and the the last known position of the party you are trying to contact will make communication a lot more predictable.
They will be excellent for hiking and all sorts of outdoor activities.
I did the tests using the Cobra AM1035,( waterproof and floating) the Cobra AM 845 and the Motorola T82.
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