Originally Posted By: Dagny

Have you researched walkie-talkies in the past couple years and have a recommendation?

I have some little 12-year old Motorola FRS "Talkabout" radios I purchased over a decade ago. They've been terrific for roadtrips to communicate between cars. We also use them for camping and paddling. They're delightfully simple so can be handed out to anyone to use.

Have liked that they take three "AA" batteries with a runtime of 14 hours (which I've found to be a good approximation).

Have been looking at these. But they are significantly larger than what I've been using and they are rechargeable. I'm fond of the flexibility of "AA" batteries.

http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-MT352R-Gi..._pr_product_top

I wish these new ones really had a range of 36 miles but I gather that bears no relation to normal use.


There are a couple of really good websites that I used when purchasing my FRS/GMRS radio sets.
http://www.twowayradioforum.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=4
http://www.buytwowayradios.com/Products/frs-gmrs-radios.aspx
The mods/owners of the 1st site are pretty knowledgeable regarding the equipment and regulations. The owner does his own real world tests of equipment which are far more useful than reading simple manufacturer's stats. They are the ones who clued me into the regulations that you have in the US which are much different than our regs in Canada. Correct me if I am wrong but you are limited to 1/2 watt on both FRS/GMRS if you don't have a radio licence. But because of the prevalence of "bubble wrap" consumer radios that are more powerful than that, most people who buy the higher power radios are ignorant of the requirement to get their license. Up here, we are limited to 2 watt effective radiated power (at the antenna) which are still pretty power radios. Note: A lot of handhelds claim to have a 5 watt power but that is not necessarily the energy you get at the antenna.

In any case, the effective range is limited by the ERP and line of sight. The range stated on the package in no way relates to the real world and is the closest thing to false advertising as I see. You might get that range if you are calling from mountain top to mountain top but nothing in between. He used the example of 2 6' tall people standing on watercraft -- the line of sight is about 6 miles because of the curvature of the earth so it is impossible to get the 36 mile range that the manufacturer claims!

The set I bought a few years ago are Cobra Li-7020 with a 1.78w ERP and between vehicles I have used them successfully up to 2 miles which beat my brothers el cheapos by 4x! I got them because of the lithium batteries provide 22+ hours and the energy necessary for higher power communications. At the time they were one of the best handhelds sets out there. Other people prefer to have AA battery models, "to each their own".