Hello!

I'm sorry for making such an uninformed post, but I'm new to the whole radio thing.

My friend and I have access to a huge plot of land. We'd like to be able to communicate with each other when we are there.

We'd need a few handhelds radio (2 or 3), two radios mounted in cars, and two mounted on ATVs, plus a "base station" located in a garage. It would be nice to have something that doesn't require a licence from the canadian government.

Without spending thousands of dollars, what would you guys suggest?

Our main requirement is that the car unit would have to have a discrete antenna (no 6ft long antenna)

As for the range, we don't expect to be located farther than 6km from each others, but the area is covered by trees and I guess that this can have an impact on reception.

Thanks

I may be a little late with a relevant reply but it seounds like VHF/UHF frequencies should work fine for you.

"Bubble pack" radios are probably the ones you refer to as "walkie talkies". They are generally low power UHF/VHF radios. You can configure a set of these to use privacy channels or tones.

Alternately you can look at the Baofeng radios. I have a UV5R, it is ultra inexpensive and can be used legally on family frequencies. If you want to get frisky you can up the power to suit your needs or add better antennas for extended range. Just be aware of your local radio laws.

As an example my UV5R can hit repeaters about 20 miles away with the stock rubber ducky antenna using minimal power. Granted this is across desert hills, but in your case 3 miles with some trees and possibly an upgraded antenna should work fine.

Your next step up (if you cannot achieve contact with what is suggested above) is to:

1.) Get a license and try other bands with larger antennas

2.) Get sat phones

3.) Build a cheap repeater atop a high point, ideally in the middle of the property and configure it illegally or get a station license.

Nothing Says "nothing to see here" more than a 9 foot long CB antenna with a pirate flag on it. Nothing.

We did a test with two GMRS radios and it was more than enough range-wise.

Next step is to get an ATV/car mounted radio that can send/receive on the GMRS band.