Reddit mentions of BTECH UV-5X3 5 Watt Tri-Band Radio : 136-179.99mhz (VHF), 220-225.99mhz (1.25M), 400-520.99mhz (UHF,) Amateur (Ham), Includes Dual Band Antenna, 220 Antenna, Earpiece, Charger, and More Two-Way Radio

Generally, UHF is better suited to urban environments. The shorter wave length of the frequencies has an easier time of being reflected and bouncing around off glass windows and other metal surfaces to reach the repeater or other intended station.

Almost all the Baofeng HT's (handheld transmitters) are dual band and will work on VHF & UHF. Personally, I would recommend the Baofeng BF-F8HP 8-watt model. It can be purchased here: https://www.amazon.com/BaoFeng-BF-F8HP-Two-Way-136-174MHz-400-520MHz/dp/B00MAULSOK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1501540520&sr=8-1&keywords=BAOFENG+f8

If the 1.25m band (220 MHz) is popular, you can look at the the UV-5x3 tri-band model. It can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/BTECH-UV-5X3-Watt-Tri-Band-Radio/dp/B01J2W4JUI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1501540679&sr=8-1&keywords=UV+5x3

>I live in Washington so bringing a nice radio for calling when out hiking on the various ridge's and mountains

You want a VHF or UHF Radio, this type of communication is line of sight, which complement those activities. I would get a Btech UV-5X3, would get you on 3 bands, 2m-1.25m-70cm, a better antenna, and programming cable.

https://www.amazon.com/d/Two-Way-Radios/BTECH-UV-5X3-Tri-Band-Amateur-Earpiece/B01J2W4JUI

https://www.amazon.com/Nagoya-NA-320A-2M-1-25M-70CM-144-220-440Mhz-BTECH/dp/B01K10B9XK/

https://www.amazon.com/PC03-Genuine-Programming-Cable-BaoFeng/dp/B00HUB0ONK/

It's really cool that you are so excited about ham radio that you want to buy some nice gear right away!

But my advice is don't. Don't buy any of this stuff. Not yet.

You won't be able to put it to much use unless you get your General, and even then, as others pointed out, you have some learnin' to do before you pick out HF (high frequency) equipment. (For example, you don't want a CB antenna!)

You mentioned in a comment that you don't want to buy a cheap radio that you would have to upgrade in the future. So do this instead: buy a cheap radio that you will want to keep even if you also get an HF rig later. That will be a handy-talkie (HT). This is the radio to start with; you will always want to have one in addition to any other radios you eventually get.

For less than $100 you can get a Baofeng radio and programming cable. If you go Baofeng I recommend buying from BTECH, the most reputable seller of these radios. Get either the UV-RX3 or the BF-F8HP, along with their programming cable.

To go with this you will want the free CHIRP programming software. Do you have a Windows computer? You will need one to use CHIRP or most other ham radio software. If you have a Mac you can use Boot Camp or a virtual machine to run Windows.

In the $200 range you can get an AnyTone AT-D868UV or AT-D878UV (newer version with more features). These are excellent HTs that give you DMR as well as 2m/70cm analog. They come with a programming cable and you can download the Windows software to program them (not CHIRP, but software specific to these radios). Let me know if interested and I can suggest some sellers for these.

The Baofeng and AnyTone radios can also be programmed directly from the radio keypad, but the programming software makes it a lot easier.

I have each of the radios I mentioned and use them often. Any of them would be a great place to start, and a radio you will want to keep even if you also set up a fancy HF rig after you get your General or Extra.

BTech UV-5X3 + USB charging cable adapter.

I have two of the UV-5X3's, great little radios.

Hi - I recently bought the exact same radio and had the exact same problem as you. It frustrated me for a few days until I figured something out... the UV5RV2+ does NOT cover all of the VHF ham bands. I'm guessing you're having problems anytime you try to input any frequency that starts with 144.? After going crazy and realizing that was the problem, buying a programming cable and trying to see if I could use CHIRP to expand the frequency limits, I finally noticed in the product listing on Amazon (I'm guessing you got yours from Amazon too), and actually says in small print "Covers 145-148 MHZ." (The VHF ham band is 144-148 MHZ.)

I hate to say this, but this is an absolute garbage radio and will give you nothing but problems because of this limitation. The original UV-5R's seem to be ok and cover the entire range, but THIS specific radio does not and from what I can tell, there doesn't appear to be a way to fix it. I have returned mine and am waiting for a refund. My recommendation would be to return it and get either an original UV-5R or similar radio, or to spend a bit more and pick up a used Icom, Kenwood, or Yaesu which will give you better performance overall. Nothing against Baofeng's in general... when they work, they work. I actually have a set of BTech GMRS handhelds (BTech seems to be the American distributor for Baofeng), and those are absolutely awesome... I love them.

If you want to stay with a lower price point, I might recommend upgrading at least to a BTech radio. This will give you 3 bands, and should give you no problems: https://www.amazon.com/BTECH-UV-5X3-Watt-Tri-Band-Radio/dp/B01J2W4JUI

I found out the same thing as you the hard way... the radio you have simply does not cover all the VHF/UHF ham frequencies. Good luck, and feel free to PM me if you have any questions!

>I don’t feel like a HAM radio is a viable option for both of us.

How come? You can get a radio capable of accessing repeaters for $25-30 (although I recommend the tri-band one for 60-ish), and 8 year olds sometimes pass the Tech exam. A 12 y/o passed it when I took my exams.

Not suggesting you don't have a good reason...just curious.

FWIW, I made a Comms Card so my unlicensed family members could use the radios in our EMCOMM kits in an emergency. The cards break it down simple enough that they can just follow the step-by-step instructions. And as long as it's a question of imminent danger to life or property, FCC regs say they can use it.

So if you just get licensed and set them up a kit, it might be a workable solution.