2-Way Radios

[irishwalleye]

Can anybody recommend a brand of hand-held 2-ways?

Is there really any difference or would any pair work?

[Jim Almquist]

Get the longest mileage you can afford first off and as far as brands I have a set of Motorola's and a set of Midland's and the Midland were cheaper but had a further distance and seem to work better. They rated for 22 miles and can actually go 2 miles from inside the cabin

[Dbl]

I've had Cobra's, Motorola's and Midland's. I agree with jimalm that of those three the best range by far was out of the Midland's.

[metrojoe]

I can't tell which brand is better, but I bought a set of radios from Radio Shack about 6 years ago for I believe $30. They have worked great for my purposes. I don't recall what the range is. I'm guessing a mile.

[BobT]

This has been covered considerably already in previous threads but I'll mention it again. Quite often FRS two-way radios boast ranges that are incredibly misleading. The FCC regulates the power output of FRS radios to a maximum of 1/2W power. The real typical range of FRS radios is about 1 to 2 miles regardless of what the package says. They get away with saying it for two reasons. First, many of them are also equipped with GMRS frequency capablility (up to 1W power and requires FCC licensing to use) and because FRS radios are "line-of-sight" signals which means they are not very capable of penetrating through objects such as trees, buildings, landscape, etc. Out on an open area such as on a calm lake you might on rare occasions transmit and receive at unusually long distances but it is rare.

So in a nutshell don't be fooled by the range advertisements.

Bob

[sparcebag]

Look for radios that boast 4 watts power,Mine work through woods from home to out on lake over a small hill.only a mile away or a bit more but it is over a hill and through the 1/2 blk of pretty heavy trees.

[slipperybob]

Midland has been a longtime marine radio product company...

[BobT]

It is appropriate to note that using 4w power without an FCC license is a violation.

Bob

[sparcebag]

Bob the application comes in the package,and I never knew anyone who was refused,and who uses call numbers on a CB or hand held?If I looked I could probably find my call number from the 70s when CBs were the thing

[BobT]

Just trying to pass along a friendly warning.

CB (Citizen's Band) radios no longer require licensing by the FCC.

FRS (Family Radio Service) radios do not require FCC licensing. These handheld radios are not allowed to be connected to external antenae and are limited by the FCC to maximum 1/2w output power. Many of these handhelds are also designed to be capable of transmitting/receiving using GMRS radio frequencies. This is partly where they can boast longer ranges.

GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service) radios DO require FCC licensing. The hand-helds commonly output up to 4w power and connecting to external entenae or using skip frequencies are also allowed and this can greatly increase range.

The fines for violating the licensing rules can be up to $8,000 per day so apparently the FCC takes this seriously.

Bob

[MNmikew]

Yes the power limit for FRS is 1/2 watt. GMRS on the other hand can run up to 25 watts. Though typically the highest handheld GMRS will only do about 5 watts. A FCC license is required to transmit on GMRS.

I probably have about 5 pairs of FRS/GMRS radios at home. The new Cobra frs/gmrs 5 watters are by far the best so far. I never had much luck with Midlands.

[irishwalleye]

 Originally Posted By: BobT

So in a nutshell don't be fooled by the range advertisements.Bob

This is precisely what I was already falling for.

Thanks for the info