Would they be useful for communicating over a 50 mile range with a license? See them on sale at Amazon. Looking for something to keep in touch with family members if other comms are down.Thanks for your help.
Probably not more than 4 or 5 miles. You will need external antennas, power amplification and good band conditions to get some decent range. That is true of any of the hand held radios. That is why repeaters are used but they can go down when emergency power runs out, if an EMP fries it or a storm knocks it out. See if your local library has any of the ARRL books and you can get started.