Radio Type Characteristics

CB - Cheap and easy. No license required. Has been around for decades. But it has the least range. A handheld CB radio is practically unusable inside a vehicle. A mobile unit with an externally mounted antenna will give you a semi-reliable range of about 1/2 mile on the trail. It used to be that everyone had a CB. That is less true now.

ham - License required (except in an emergency). You have to pass a test on operating rules and radio technology to get the license. But it offers at least ten times the range as CB. With a handheld radio (5W Baofeng, no vehicle mounted antenna) you'll have a range of about 1/2 mile. With a 50W mobile with a vehicle mounted antenna you'll have several miles range on the trail and more than 100 miles range from one mountain top to another.

GMRS - License required (except in an emergency). No test required. To get a license you fill out a form and pay $35. It's range performance is similar to the ham radio. The Baofeng UV-5R can be programmed to operate on the GMRS frequencies.

"race radio" - This has been kind of a gray area. In the past there was a lot of illegal operation. The FCC has cracked down and now the promoters have cleaned things up. There is a handful of frequencies that are sorta legal nationwide without an individual license. Race radio communication range is similar to that of ham and GMRS.



3/6/22 - It used to be that the Baofeng UV-5R could be set to operate on ham, GMRS, and race radio frequencies. I believe that units sold after about June 2021 are internally limited to ham frequencies only. [But there is a way around that.] I believe the UV-F8HP can still be set to operate on ham, GMRS, and race frequencies (even though it does not have an FCC certificate to do so). There is now a UV-5X / UV-5G. It is FCC certified and internally limited to operate only on GMRS.


(10/25/26)