that is true, however it used to be discretionary for amateur licensed holder to advise non licensed holder to get off the air and or find out if there is an emergencyWorth knowing that amateur licence holders are not allowed to respond to non-licenced users on amateur radio frequencies (except in emergencies I guess).
there is/was a clause that said that a license holder can in limited and controlled circumstances let a trusted party use their call-sign [providing they did not breach the rules] as before my dad passed away in 2008 i could of used his call-sign with his permission
i do not know if that is still the case yet worth trying to find out the correct updated knowledge
the external antennas i am currently looking into are called vertical bazooka as is it often said to be the lightest and most portable and cheap to buy or make in any lengthWith the handheld CB, you may want to research into more efficient, external antennas. Because they operate on fairly low VHF frequencies, in order to have an efficient (i.e. 'powerful') signal you are best off with an antenna that is a 'quarter wave' - for CB frequencies, that's approximately 2.5 meters long - I suspect the antenna in your vintage CB handheld is substantially shorter! Higher frequency radios - such as the licence free PMR 446, or other radios in the high VHF or UHF bands need much shorter antennas to reach that magic quarter wave length, and thus in a real world, for the same wattage radio, have a much stronger output.
As has been mentioned, a mobile phone remains your best bet (unless you are prepared to invest in the whole emergency beacon or satellite phone route|) in reality, and although that's not as much fun, nor is needing to make an emergency communication!
To get the most out of your new handheld, look into options for external antenna - using wires, ground spikes etc, and i suspect that you could substantially increase its range.
three main viable and portable options i see for suspension are
- portable and collapsible flagpole or similar
- hoist to a branch or
- use of a drone