comments:
Some CB's can use a mag mount antenna and you can plug them into the 12v socket in a car so that would work but those would be tied to a car. There are some handheld CBs that could work out there and someone might have some good recommendations there. I did find this one on Amazon. President is known to be a great company with nice radios. FRS radios would have a modest range and don't require any licensing. But the antennas on those radios are fixed and being in a car would reduce the range of the radios. But this would be a simple solution if you can handle those limitations. These can be found at Walmart or many other places and there a lot of different models out there. GMRS would allow you to get an external antenna that you can use with a handheld so the signal is not blocked by the body of the car. However that would require you to get a license. The license is $35, is good for 10 years and doesn't require any testing. The license also covers your immediate family (sadly not cousins) so anyone who doesn't fit this would have to get licensed. The FCC website is also a pain to navigate but there are plenty of YouTube videos that make the job a lot easier. If you are willing to spend the money for the licenses you could get a GMRS handheld, hook it to a mag mount antenna on a car for when you are driving around and then you could swap to the whip when walking about. These are still line of sight radios so too much stuff in between you can affect signal but it might be the better option if the added expense of licensing is not an issue. GMRS radios are also compatible with FRS radios though GMRS has better power and the ability to swap antennas. The more advanced version would be to adapt the radio and antenna to BNC connectors for fast swapping of antennas but that really depends on how much you really want to spend. The radios themselves can range from around $20-30 to a couple hundred dollars. Baofeng radios are quite usable but pretty inexpensive radios while the Rocky Talkie is at the expensive side, though it is stupid simple and practically indestructible. There are a ton of options in-between. This is just the start of the conversation with some basic pros and cons. I'm sure others can add to this as well. I can try to get some more recommendations beyond this.