How to make your Handheld REALLY work

[Z.O.R.G.]

We've had many discussions about when a new handheld (such as a Baofeng) comes out with increased power and how it should be a new "must have."  Several of us have counseled antenna and height is more important than power.  I finally got off my butt and modeled it graphically to give a better example.  I picked a random location near the south shore of Lake Erie near Sandusky as it has some terrain, towns and water.  I then plotted several coverage arenas under various conditions.

Dark Green: 2 handhelds at 5 watts with a 0 dB gain rubber duck antenna
Light Green: same handhelds at 10 watts
Yellow:  same handhelds at 5 watts with a J-Pole (6 dB gain) antenna 15 feet (5 meters) in a tree.

As you can see, there's very little difference between the 5 and 10 watt radios under identical conditions as it's hard to find much of the dark green.  5 watts will give you longer battery life, and with a better antenna higher off the ground you get better comms too.  

You cannot view this attachment.

[Z.O.R.G.]

Some additional Information:

• software used: Radio Mobile
• Frequency band: Ham VHF (144-148 MHz)
• Radio configuration: standard per app. 

Exact coverage may vary based on your radio, but the only things changed were power, antenna gain and height of the antenna.  If a radio is better or worse than the one modeled, then the coverage will scale accordingly.

[NT2C]

It should also be noted that the power levels of HTs should be taken with an industrial-sized salt lick.  An inexpensive SWR/Power meter specifically for HTs can be had fairly cheaply (sub $50) from Amazon under several brands (but really all the same it looks like):