alt Hacker News> 1 watt transmit can go miles yet sips your phone’s battery
How far can such a device reach in a typical urban environment with the longer antenna?
Replies
souterrain • yesterday at 12:36 PM
Practical use, dense urban, flat, UHF is about 1km. VHF is worse.
Most radio amateurs would utilize a repeater to get over this limitation. Assuming there is a reliable repeater one is welcome to use nearby.
➕ show 1 reply
fodmap • yesterday at 8:09 AM
You can extend the reach using repeaters. This free app is handy for that https://hearham.com/repeaters
VHF is effectively line-of-sight, and no antenna size can change that (although it does improve efficiency for both sending and receiving), so for two handheld radios, you are limited to about 10 km.
The only thing that really helps extend the range is elevating the antenna, and repeaters allow you to do that even between two mobile stations.