I do agree, that is one of the nice things about it.....getting away. However I have found that even with the highest power without a license and the lowest power with a license that getting connection can be very hit and miss. I would hate to hurt myself (I am the king of klutzes) and rely on that radio.
A GMRS with a cell backup is a good combo. RF performance of GMRS will vary a lot with topography and local geology - ex. hills with certain mineral content will dramatically reduce the GMRS line-of-site distance rating. And, if you're working 8,000 acres, you'll need the cell along.
Motorola generally makes a good product. Their commercial gear is well regarded. I like the battery performance of GMRS (most modern cell phones are terrible), and the Mot GMRS radios I have are set up so you can pull the rechargeable battery pack out, and drop in AA alkalines - so for real emergencies (like when cell towers aren't up), GMRS has its advantages.
Canadian cell plans tend to price as some of the highest in the world, so on a working farm, I'd tend to use GMRS over cell. Easy to have a 2, 3, 4 or nWay conversation with GMRS - I wouldn't want to know what that would cost on a typical Canadian cell plan :shocked: !
With rough terrain, you'd need to site relevant antenna towers.... you're into licensed radio there. I have relatives who have used Mot comercial gear on their farms for many years - ultra reliable, and they "used" the heck out of them - when you are spending all night working on operating irrigation sprayers to protect a crop, you don't have much of a sense of humour about radios that don't work, or that can't take some water exposure.....
If you have a low cost cell plan, that is convenient for many folks. Low cost GMRS has it's place too, and will work for at least short range where there is no cell coverage - I've found spots surprisingly close to major centres, with pretty shakey or no cell coverage.
Rgds, D.
