Newbie Needs Help w/Choosing a Radio

[C2C3PO]

I will apologize for anyone I offend with my apparent ignorance but in an effort to read up on this before posting I am finding myself getting more and more confused so PLEASE jump in and correct me wherever necessary....
Here's some background:

I have had my ham licence for several years but have limited experience with actual air-time.
I am considering buying a couple of mobile radios to be used at a cabin I have in the mountains located in a remote part of Canada. We have no cell coverage there and the nearest amateur repeater is approx. 75 miles away over a few mountain ranges. Routinely I am doing work up in the mountains (tending to our water supply, maintaining trails, etc) and I want to have some way of communicating with my kids who are down at the house - grizzlies, cougars are quite common, and whether it is for emergencies or just checking in with them occasionally I need to be able to reach them.
The problem is obviously that legally my kids can't be communicating with me on amateur radios, but I was thinking if I bought an export radio (10,11,12 meters like the Yeticom Optima III) and set it up as a base in the cabin they could operate and speak to me on the 11 meter frequencies on either a handheld or another mobile I took up with me.

What are your thoughts? Is my logic flawed? Any other suggestions?
I have tried some lower powered handhelds ( 4 watts/simplex) in the past and could not get enough range to reliably punch through the dense forests.
Obviously if my kids were old enough or inclined to get their amateur radio licence none of this would be an issue but that simply is not going to be a reality for some time if ever.

Thanks in advance,Rick

 

[M0GVZ]

Don't even need to get an export radio. Any CB will do the job and just get a cheap amplifier.

If you're going to be a lot higher than them then you want to be using a quarter wave antenna at the cabin to benefit from the higher take off angle. No point having several dB of gain if its all going along the valley floor.

Other suggestions?

Well the technician exam isn't that hard and 100W on VHF will do a lot better than you'll be able to do on CB plus it'll allow you to set up a temporary repeater on the hill, maybe a solar powered one with battery backup, so you could use a HT whilst they use a base station.

 

[2RT307]

What kind of distances are we talking about here??? Are you and the kids on snowmobiles and a long way from the cabin?

SSB and higher power works good for CB frequencies, and as M0GVZ mentioned the ham route is good, too. My Kenwood TM-V71A can be accessed remotely (temporary repeater) from a HT, so if you used one at the base, you could talk "through" it via the HT, and same thing if you had one in a mobile. Decent range on 2 Meters, too.

And of course, get the kids licensed... regardless if you choose the CB route or not. I've finally gotten my 13 year old interested in VHF/UHF. He says all the guys I talk to are "nice".

73,
Brett

 

[C2C3PO]

Thanks for the replies guys !
Just to clarify I have my ham/amateur licence. I know the terms used to classify the types of licences are different depending on the country. I had to look up what a "tech exam" was and I guess my licence would be the equivalent of your "general" as I can operate on all frequencies as well as those below 30Mhz - I just can't set up my own repeater or use 1000 watts. To set up a repeater in Canada of your own you need to have what is called the "advanced" class of licence - and I won't have time to study for that anytime soon.
I have considered using 2 meters as well. I certainly don't mind spending the money because from a practical point of view they likely won't be setting up cell towers in that area in my lifetime.

AS for CB radios up here in Canada - they no longer require licencing of any type. That was the main idea of going towards an export with CB bands for the kids. I just thought I'd expand the usability of whatever I bought so I could potentially have some extra bands to play with myself. My daughter is 12 and while I'd like to think she could study and pass the test I seriously doubt it - kudos to your son having achieved it at 13 !

The distances I am usually at are anywhere between 7-8 kilometres (5 miles) but on occasion go out to 25 km(15 miles). I'd be happy with anything that got me communicating reliably at the shorter distance. These are steep valleys/mountains and heavily forested.

Thanks again for sharing your input !

Rick

 

[M0GVZ]

Just a thought.

Here in the UK we can apply for business radio licenses for VHF and UHF. They cost £75 for 5 years and there is no requirement to pass any tests or have any technical knowledge. You're allocated a frequency and you're good to go. You can apply for one for a repeater frequency or just use simplex.

Best part is the radio gear is top quality if you stick to Kenwood, Tait and the other big names and it is for pennies on Ebay. The range is better than CB. We set up a 5W repeater on a hill using a simple folded dipole. I can stand at the back of a 100ft long warehouse 10 miles away from it and talk through it with a handheld radio with a rubber duck on it. Clear line of sight I can stand in a car park 28 miles away and use it with the same handheld radio still on the rubber duck.

 

[C2C3PO]

Sounds like you folks are much more inclined to consider a logical approach to things than our government.
We had to apply for a commercial frequency licence at my workplace so that we could legally operate a bomb robot via remote control. Because our power was 5 watts on the transceiver (and not under 2 watts) it took us almost 2 years to get the licence and that was for public safety (police) !

I dont want to come across as always throwing a wet blanket on any of these great ideas as I very much appreciate it. According to my knowledge of the laws governing repeaters in Canada though, i am forbidden to set one up unless i possess the highest/advanced class of licence - and I think that is regardless of power rating.
Again, as there is no one else out there to communicate with other than my kids, I am still restricted to operating on frequencies that they can legally access without a licence.
I will likely try and push them into getting their operating licences but I have to be realistic given their age and that won't happen for some time. In the meantime I have had a few close calls so I am highly motivated to find a solution to fill in over the next few years.