Originally Posted By: KG2V
The issue you are talking about is often refered to as "the dreaded doughnut" - 2 Miles is usually NOT an issue, as you are within what is called 'ground wave' communications, then you have NOTHING just beyond that, and then you have signal again - so, in a doughnut pattern you have no comms
"the dreaded doughnut" is a serious handicap in an emergency if you trying to contact another party that move beyond 2 miles into the black out zone.

Originally Posted By: KG2V
Actually, it depends on your antennas - You can optimize your antenna system (and antennas are a system) for longer range communications (skip) or for short range comms

The way around this is with what is called a "Near Vertical Incidence System" - basically, you mount your antenna horizontally (or use a horizontal dipole) LOW to the ground - on a 40m or 80m it's typically in the range of 4-6 ft off the ground, and it tends to raise the 'take off angle' of you signal to near vertical, where your signal reflects off the ionosphere, and bounces back down - the exact OPPOSITE of what you want for working distant contacts, but perfect for close (in Ham terms, this becomes a 0-200 or so mile antenna system)

BTW, it is a BIG reason you actually WANT that nice 1/2 wave whip tied down like you see on Military vehicles - it's NOT only for clearance under things, but it actually makes the radio work BETTER in the doughnut - The military has thought about this

Agreed, there are various things you can do to get the communication link working, if you are a ham or professional radio operator.

In an emergency, walkie talkie enable short range communication between neighbours. For most ordinary citizens, the walkie talkie is just another handset.