Bought some two-way radio 16 mile rated midland xlt 112.

[mldollins]

Tried them out and seemed to lose the signal less than a mile away from the house. My house sets up on a hill so I thought it might be help....it did not. The 16 miles must be assuming the most ideal conditions. I got them at Ace hardware last friday for 5 bucks after all rebates. I was really hoping to get 2-3 miles.

[tamsam]

Line of sight. Was one radio in the house? What are the walls made of? try going outside and trying them. We have a pair of cobras that work fairly well. Check and be sure your power setting was on high. They don't work well in a car either unless you are together like nose to tail on the road. Good luck getting them to work. Sam

[arabian knight]

Yes the 16 mile was under the best conditions. Flat terrain. No trees, no buildings, nothing, just open spaces with maybe even an Outside roof mounted antenna for the testing~!
Heck even in the CB days 16 miles was a huge amount of distance to keep in touch from mobile to mobile, more like a mile or 2 maybe a little more but not much..
In fact I went and looked it up and in the specs here is what it says:
Up to 16 Mile Range* - Longer range communication in open areas with little or no obstruction

[diamondtim]

I've found that trees and hills will knock that distance down quite a bit. We barely get 1/2 mile in the woods.

Good Luck!

[CamM]

Just move to North or South Dakota and you may get close to the 16. I had five mile cobras and in hilly suburb obstructed terrain I could get a mile out of them.

[rowan57]

Part of the problem is buying cheap radios. Good radios, that we use on the farm, cost in the region of $300 EACH, that does obviously not include the installation of a good quality arial on your property. I stayed on a farm in Zimbabwe, where the parents farm was a 30 minutes drive from their sons farm. Using the same radios they could still communicate properly (Thats with forest, hills, valleys etc. in between).

You are not going to get good performance out of a 5-buck radio, no matter how much it was before rebate.

[Gary in ohio]

The 16 miles is a marketing number. Its worthless number. The radio of any combo frs/gmrs phone is going to be 1-2 miles in the best of conditions. One other items. YOU DO NEED A LICENSE to operate the radio on MANY of the channels. There are 7 license free FRS channels but the rest require a license at a cost of $85 per family for and is good for 5 years.

[DavisHillFarm]

Mldollins, if you're looking for just communications (non-business) go for the Amateur (Ham) Radio license. It's a very simple test. My wife and I have been licensed for 15+ years. The range can vary whether or not you use a repeater. Simplex coverage can go up to 30 miles; repeater coverage can be 100 miles or more. Of course, this all depends on the terrain and wattage of the radio. Here's a link with more infomation.
http://www.arrl.org/FandES/ead/classes.html

[cfabe]

If these are GMRS radios a license is required for operation at their max power setting and on certian channels. Also keep in mind despite advertising that clamis they have "privacy codes" they are just an analog FM radio, anyone with another one or a scanner can hear your conversation just fine.

[pheasantplucker]

I've got a pair of Cobras that I take with me when I go hunting. My wife can stay in touch with me if I go anywhere on our property. They are also supposedly 16 milers, but the best I've ever gotten was just over a mile when my wife and I were driving (caravan) on the freeway. You got them for a good price, though.