Best fit for your inputs
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Voice past about 1 mile without a license is not realistic. Choose text (mesh) or consider a GMRS license.
| Option | License | Rough range | Fits? |
|---|
Range is never guaranteed. Buildings, trees, terrain, antenna height and storm damage all cut range. Reaching past county lines usually needs a working repeater (GMRS/ham) or a chain of relay nodes (mesh), and repeaters can go down in a storm. Test with your family before hurricane season.
Power plan for the outage
| Radios / nodes daily use (ESTIMATE) | - Wh/day |
| Battery bank needed | - Wh |
| Solar panel to recharge daily | - W |
Math: battery = daily Wh × days ÷ 0.8 (usable share). Solar = daily Wh ÷ 4 peak sun hours ÷ 0.75 (losses). Per-device use is an estimate (FRS 3, GMRS handheld 5, GMRS base 30, mesh node 2, ham handheld 6 Wh/day). Check your own gear's specs.
Gear categories (#ad)
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Rules and sources
FRS: license-free, low power, short range. fcc.gov FRS
GMRS: individual FCC license, $35 for 10 years, no exam, covers immediate family. fcc.gov GMRS
Meshtastic: open-source LoRa text mesh on the license-free US 915 MHz band. meshtastic.org
Ham (amateur) radio: license with exam; most range and flexibility. fcc.gov amateur
Storm prep: floridadisaster.org · ready.gov
Ranges and power figures are rough estimates, not advice. Fees and rules as of 2026-11-01; check fcc.gov before buying.