I am considering purchasing a set of two way radios for the family. My thought was to use them in multiple situations. One to keep track of my kids in the neighborhood and also use them on both family camping trips and at out swim meets in the summer.

I went to the Motorola site and looked at the different models and features. Having the weather radio seems like a great idea.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Mike

Get something that will run on AAs. My best and only advice when it comes to radios.

there are several types of two way radios out there now. You have CB, FRS, GMRS, and varuios ham ranges such as 2M, 10M, etc.

FRS and GMRS are the most popular now, GMRS leagally requires a license while FRS does not, but as I and others have found FRS quicly looses range when in any kind of wooded area. There are combination FRS/GMRS radios which a lot of people buy and use without the GMRS license, sometimes without even knowing they need it.

HAM radios are a bit more investment and require passing of a test.

CB while it died off with use of cell phones seems to be coming back in popularity a bit, I see at least one post a week on some of the automotive boards with someone wanting to put a cb in their truck for talking to others while on the trail. I had a couple friends with them laying in their garage like I so we pulled ours out and started using them again.

can you get waterproof models??

Yes.

I purchased a couple of Motorola Talkabout radios a few years ago.

The range is very disappointing and the speakers are of such a bad quality that you really need to focus in order to understand the conversation.

Also, the batteries do not last more than a few hours (without even transmitting...).
I bought a few sets of GP rechargeable NiMh AA batteries that perform far better (and fortunately fit).

In short - You get what you pay for (what did I expect for 95 bucks ?)

I've got a Cobra radios (model: cobra PR 260-2 WX VP), which are supposed to be good for twelve miles. The range is nothing close to that in New York City though. Hopefully, the buildings are just getting in the way. For my last mine of communication, I'd love to get something with more range, but I am not sure that's doable at a cost-effective level.

I like the ability to privatize the channels.

Many radios are rated for maximum range...that's where you're on top of a mountain and the other radio is in line of sight x miles away. When I bought my Unidens they were rated for 26km but in the manual they do a great job of explaining why you're not likely to ever see that range in practice...complete with diagrams!

Well from what you folks have said and what I have read about the Motorola's; they stink!

I do not plan to use them more than a couple of miles at the most and generally less than a mile 99.9% of the time. Our area is flat as can be and no buildings over 3 stories; so I should be fine.

The Midlands are rated pretty well and have all the features I would think would be beneficial.

I like the idea of the CB because AM signals can bounce all over the place.

A well tuned CB is great for the car. For years I had a CB (peaked out at 7W) and could sometimes get 10-12 miles with low cloud cover. Besides relaying info to eachother, a lot of truckers have police scanners and just listening in can let you know whats going miles ahead, find alternate routes, etc.

Thats why I went with a handheld CB over an FRS or GMRS, since I already have one in the truck if one of us wants to get out at a rest area and talk back to the other its much easier to just grab the handheld CB. I found an older model that had a removable battery pack on the bottom and that pack opens to hold AA's so I have two packs stocked with Syano Eneloop, I've never drained one pack yet even when loaning it out to someone else so we could talk back and forth between vehicles on a road trip.

ROTFLMAO!!!!!

AM or FM has absolutely no bearing on how the signal "bounces" around.

It is the rf frequency you are operating at, the amount of power you are radiating, and atmospheric conditions that predominately determine propogation characteristics.

Personally I prefer FM operations because of the "capture" effect of FM discriminator circuits in rejecting adjacent channel interference. AM operations can get pretty tight on channel bandwidth, especially running ACSSB mode. Of course, nowadays with phase deviation narrow band digital and spread spectrum predominating the airwaves, coupled with the saturation of improved cell sites and low orbit satellite cell systems, it won't be long before all of our two way comms are full digital conversion, wristband sized bluetooth transeivers using hundreds of channels.

The days of discreet two way point to point comms is almost over.

Well I bought a set of Midland radios!

http://www.midlandradio.com/comersus/store/comersus_viewItem.asp?idProduct=5518

They work well about 2 miles in a suburban environment. They work in the house or in a car about a mile. I think they will be fine for my intended purpose.

I would like some other communication other than a cell phone. The CB radio may be something I have to look into!

Mike

We have set of Cobra 20+ mile radios, and access to Midland 25 milers. Neither of them are worth a damn at more than a couple of miles if there is a bump in the terrain, or a building, between sets. I am not impressed....