Road Travel Communications

As the occasional long distance road traveler, I am always looking for the best “enroute comm tool”. The original was, of course, the CB. Then ham repeaters. But what is it today? There is a lot of internet talk of a transition to GMRS ch 19.

Trip 1 this year was from the North East to Florida. CB and GMRS were dead. Ham simplex was nonexistent.

Trip 2 this year is currently 1/2 completed and to Central South Dakota. Again, the same kit in the car. CB was without used more the further West we went.

DMR the solution? Why don’t the ham world have DMR TG based on Interstate Numbers? Wouldn’t this be slick? As you join Interstate 90 you select TGxyz90. This way you join others on the same road. The nay-sayers will say the interstate covers too much distance. Yes, but better than a nation-wide talk group!

What is the most robust digital mode for road use? What’s your personal preference? I find that as the data-modem switches cell towers, DMR performs better than D-Star. However, it may be due to my setup which is described somewhere else on this website.