This device will serve the purpose I bought it for, but only works 0.2 miles apart straight line of distance

As with most walkie-talkies of this sort, you're only transmitting at .5 watt of power, so there's no way you'll get nearly the distance as printed unless you're elevated (like on a mountain) to avoid the curvature of the earth and a clean line of sight.

Distance wise...clear line of sight...starts to get iffy at about a mile

Using the FRS power level, I could only get rough reception at distances under ~1/4 mi with a clear line-of-sight (e.g. hilltop to base; no obstructions), and even then, I had a lot of trouble understanding the broadcast

If you know the difference between frs and gmrs, know that using a radio inside a metal box (like a car or Faraday cage) will produce unsatisfactory results, and understand basic fundamental principles of radio (such as line-of-sight and battery power) then you will enjoy this handy, feature rich unit