So, this is something I haven't looked at in many years. A fairly elderly friend of my wife asked about "best" walkie talkie and sent some links to some FRS/GMRS radios.

When I asked "Is the intent to talk to another person she knows to whom she hands the other walkie talkie, or is she interested in being able to communicate with others she may not have handed the other walkie talkie? she responded "I want to talk to others who have them. Not hand to someone next to me. Hope that's clear."

I am not sure she understands the reality of needing to know what channel and what is the privacy code to make that work. Am I missing something here?

Anyway. 2 other questions:

If you had to get an FRS/GMRS, what would you get? (price not a consideration - she can afford it)

If you think some other com device would work better, what would you suggest and why?

Thanks!

It could be worth considering the very limited range of the frequency band of FMR/GMRS. If it suits her needs, it´s fine. Otherwise CB may be better.
I´d also try to gage her level of knowledge about the topic and the actual use cases.
For an elderly person I would select a model with an easy to read display and good ergonomy. I´d probably go for a Kenwood. Coming from Europe I do have a good overview over the US market.

Any ideas on the range she needs to talk to the other person/people? Does she want to do it from her home, while mobile, or both?
-Blast

I don't think she knows. Assume mostly fro home, since she doesn't go out much. Just wants to be prepared. I think there should be higher priorities, but just trying to help. Can't be too complicated.

Will the repeaters be working, which seems like where most of the range comes from unless she steps up to Ham, which I don't think she would do? <shrug> I think more range is better, as long as it is handheld. I will be suggesting getting a AA battery pack, regardless of what ends up being recommended.

This is a tough one to call... When I did my research I finally figured out I could not count on any one set up. I now have a CB, four sets of GMRS/FRS radios (also got the GMRS license) and ham radios with a tech license.

It seems that what she will need has to be specific to the neighborhood or community where she is. The decision should be driven by what "others" in her area are using or have planned to use. The only advantage to the hand held is you can walk around. If you are staying in place - there are several better 'base station' options on all the radio bands.

She may be better off with a 'mobile' radio and not just a hand held:
https://midlandusa.com/product-category/micromobile/ This thinking could also include a CB rig as a base radio. Maybe her best bet is a base station of some type and a compatible hand held to match it.

One such as the above and an external antenna on the car or house will do a whole lot better than the blister two-pack from Walmart.

ADDED: I was just thinking - none of this radio stuff is going to be as simple as a cell phone to use. There will be a need for her to learn how the darn thing works and will need to also practice actually using it so learning/training must also be considered.

As with so many emergency preparedness things, circumstances are everything. GMRS/FRS with randoms out there might be fine, if she learns how to scan channels and deal with privacy codes. A Ham Radio license would be amazing (with appropriate accompanying equipment, such a UV-5R). But I assume both of these options require too much training.

If money is truly of little concern, then I suggest a satellite phone or a satellite communications device, if she values portability. Such as SPOT. She might also hold out to see if Apple is really building some form of satellite communications into the next generation of iPhones (announcement regarding new generation of phones coming mid September).

If she's planning to stay in place (and her environment makes that a reasonable outcome, I.E., not wildfire/earthquake country), then she could copy me. I have Starlink satellite internet currently with an UPS and generator as backup power sources, but with solar and a whole house battery system on order.

Starlink does rely on a clear view of the sky, which was difficult for me to obtain. Now that I have things setup though internet stability and availability are very good, even in Beta. I in fact cancelled my other internet service. My reason for getting Starlink was at least in part because last summer when I lost power for day or two my cable internet went down after 4 hours (battery life of their backhaul equipment, apparently), even though I had power (generator) at my house the entire time.

Starlink with battery backup also offers the highest ease of use. Once setup she could lose power and her neighbors could lose phones/internet and she could continue to use her (say) iPhone as normal on wifi without even knowing her neighbors are down.

If she's really nervous, she could get Starlink ($99/month) as a back up to her primary internet. That's probably overkill. Cell phones with wi-fi calling turned on make calls just fine over starlink in my experience.

Assuming this is all over the top and GMRS/FRS are the solution, then I suggest that she buys a few sets of these and hand them out (with batteries), preconfigured, to the neighbors she wants to be able to talk to: https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/reviews/camping-and-hiking/walkie-talkies/motorola-talkabout-t100

https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Perf...2dDbGljaz10cnVl

If that's the path she goes with then she and her neighbors (that I hope she's friendly with) should really test their setups once or twice a year so they're ready in a pinch.

Okay, so local/neighborhood communications? Here are my thoughts:

Not a CB...I have and still do use CBs for a long time. They require adding and tuning a quality antenna, power supply (for homebase use) and require a lot of fiddling with knobs.

Not a UV-5R. Yes, they are cheap and can often pick up EMS signals in some places but they are fragile, not weatherproof, and have poor microphones, and messy transmiting signals. They also require programming to use properly. Programming is easy if you understand everything about them but very complicated for newbies, even when using CHIRP software.

A GMRS license is, IMHO, the best way to go. Give her a Motorola or other quality handheld radio AND install a GMRS repeater + battery backup in a high spot in her house.
https://www.bridgecomsystems.com/blogs/b...rs-for-preppers

Doug, I'm always open to a phone call to discuss this more...or you and I can do a live show about it over on my social media platforms.
-Blast

Coming from an elderly person, that may translate to how to prepare for a power outage? They are staying put after all. That should always be the first step anyway?

I would want my grandparents to have the proper batteries (power bank or larger lifepo) to keep phones charged to use the internet, a decent am/fm radio with weather, a cheap landline phone to use in emergency even if no service?

https://www.energy.gov/articles/preparing-power-outage

I don't have much to add about the specific communication devices, but what I will add is to look in the social aspect of gmrs or ham. Are there repeaters for either locally, is there a ham club, or at least a group that meets near her location. I don't have a gmrs radio but I learned about the local gmrs repeaters from the local ham group. One of the local groups does a nightly check-in,training net. Having a friendly group of like minded people might give her enough enthusiasm to get licensed. I'm fortunate that where I'm at there are several clubs that are very welcoming of new members and are willing to help someone new to the hobby. If you can talk her into that she may have a new group of friends that are not only nice people but willing to help her if she needs it.

Where I live, this would not work well. There is very little FRS/GMRS communications around here when I’ve been listening for it.

Most FRS/GMRS radios are terrible; they have tiny little fixed antennas and grossly inflated claims of range. The best of that lot are actually good for somewhere between 1/4 mile and maybe five miles, in most environments. Peak to peak, you might do better. But with those awful antennas, you might not.

Could your elderly friend get a ham radio license? I have hit repeaters that were 50 miles away using a J-pole hung up high with a portable VHF rig; HF can get you far further but requires more gear and expertise. It’s easy to find hams to talk to on the radio, and when regular telephony and Internet goes down, it will be much easier still.

If that’s not an option, perhaps your elderly friend could organize a FRS net with a few nearby neighbors?

Without ham radio or nearby neighbors willing to participate, I think Blast’s idea of setting up ones own GMRS repeater with hardened power and encouraging others around to use it is the best bet.