CB, 2-way, walkie talkie, etc. questions

[plowhog]

Here is a 40 watt midland radio.

James,

I thought the Midland models would not work with a repeater? Maybe I am wrong about that, but I recall friends who recently cancelled their order for Midlands for a different brand-- there was some sort of deal-breaker limitation?

 

[logix]

Call your local radio business and check out Motorola radio Moturbo system.
Radio systems have a lot of variables that are hard to predict, but, a 5 watt vhf radio in the 150 mhz range with a good mobile antenna should reach 20 miles in flat terrain. If its really hilly, that could drop to 1 or 2 miles. These are essentially line of sight radios as are most radios that are above 50 mhz. I personally can talk over 30 miles on 5 watts with a good base antenna on mostly flat with some hills. The digital radios nowdays offer many advantages and the repeaters are much more affordable as they can put hundreds of conversations in the bandwidth of one old radio.
try your local radio supplier and they can hook you up

 

[Hay Dude]

For the time being I picked up (2) pack of Midland walkie talkies from Walmart for $60. They came with earpieces and work surprisingly well. Really adds a level of safety when working near each other. I will see what happens with these for a few months.

I really appreciate all the responses and suggestions. Haying is like a maelstrom. It’s a frenzy of raking & baling as fast as you can hold on. Always trying to beat the rain and rake/bale the next field.
I am not perfect, but have an essentially accident free record. My son is inexperienced, but surprises me with his awareness.
What the best would be is a communication device, like a cell phone “on” all the time with a head set. That way no hand has to push the mic button. With the walkie talkies, we CDL ip the mics to our collars and we always say “10-4” or “copy” to acknowledge each other. The earpiece is very easy to hear over the machinery, even if I listen to a little talk radio, I can hear perfectly.
We both carry cell phones, too. Cell phone speakers are just not quite up to snuff, but I could get an earpiece I suppose....
I guess we could also do an open call to each other as long as we are raking & baling, but so far, these cheapie WTs are working better than I expected.