FRS-Two-Way-Radio Reviews

The range over water is astounding! I have used this radio to talk to friends at a marina over 3 miles distant.

Our T289s arrived from Amazon the day before we were to use them at a weekend trade show at the Santa Clara Convention Center. It ony took me part of one afternoon to learn all of the basics, and the rest of the weekend was 'learn-by-doing', with the help of the incredibly simple instruction manual. We caravaned down in two vehicles with a radio in each, and were able to find parking near one another, which expedited our move-in. Once we got into the event center, we saw -dozens- of this make and model of radio being used by the other conventioneers. During sales lulls, I occasionally played with the scan feature and in fact, during one of those passes, happened to hear a couple of friends of mine that I'd been hoping were there!

(The one small drawback over the weekend was that it was the last weekend in March of 2001, and if you remember, there was a tremendous solar storm -- this made the range of the radio somewhat limited, but did not hamper the sound quality nor the ease of use. However, since then, we have had no problems with establishing a long range between radios or finding a quiet frequency, even with the tremendous subspace chatter that is always present in the SF Bay Area. )

The T289 has already become a very neccesary part of our shopping expiditions, as it has streamlined the process of being able to keep up with one another without having to adjust to each other's walking speed and / or shopping habits!

And yes, they are the COOLEST-looking gadgets around.

If you're going to invest in two-way FRS, go ahead and get the Talkabout 289. It's got all the features you will ever need, and it's a very reliable little contraption. Heartily recommended!

We were in the market for a pair of FRS radios and I had two slight reservations about the Motorolas:

1. I thought the price was a little bit high compared to some of the other brands.

2. I wasn't really sure how I would like the "Push To Talk" button being in the front center of the radio.

I'm really glad I decided to go for the 289's because they are VERY cool radios. The PTT button is not a problem at all. These things are so small you can reach the button easily with your thumb(or any other finger) with the radio in almost any position. As for the price, I think the Motorola 289's are built very well and are probably worth the extra(if any) you have to give for them.

I didn't think the radios worked all that great at first because they were not real clear. That was only because they were too close together. As soon as we got the radios separated they were just awesome. Loud and clear for almost two miles with me in the car and my wife in the house.

We've only had the radios for a short time but I don't know what I ever did without them. Used them last night to install a satellite dish on the roof.

The only thing I didn't have much luck using was the scan feature. I had them set to scan two channels and it would never see any transmissions on the second channel. I think it's probably only because I need to read the book and figure out exactly how to set them up. There are lots and lots of features on these babies. Some of the features I will probably use all the time, some I will try once and never use again.

Have to just say that I would highly reccomend these to anyone in the market for FRS radios. They work GREAT and they are the coolest looking(IMHO) radios on the market.

I have a set of 12 and i use them when we go hiking in Australia with my friends. We have got the radios wet and dropped them onto rocks but they still work like new. I could get 13km out of them on SIMPLEX!!!

I have used a pair for about 2 yrs. Outstanding units. Problem have you ever used a cell phone in a crowded environment? i.e. Ballpark? Amusement Park? The Fair? etc.. Not a very good choice, very hard to hear your party on the other end. But not with these. For the Small size, but mil-spec rugged, these have the best audio. 500mw more than ample. Their loud and beefy. They just sound cool. I used them at the local Fair and talked to a family member at home 15 miles away, repeater assisted. I use simplex and repeater frequencies. Go to your local radio dealer and get these programed or for those with more savvy get the hardware and software on the internet. Save yourself programing costs...

We have used these radios for two days now, and we are very impressed with the 15 channel capability. We were also impressed with the ability of this radio to outperform several Motorolla models that we have here. The 2 watt Kenwood TK3101 transmits and recieves farther than our 4 watt Motorolla radius radios. In fact, we have been able to communicate through 6 inch thick aluminum walls of a stability chamber with the other handeld being over 200 yards away. We do not know of any other radio with that capability.

This is a good radio, as I have used it for the past year. Solid range, though it won't do two miles unless it is line of sight. I like the privacy settings. I was in Hawaii...and this radio is water resistant and was able to survive getting dunked a few times. Gaskets on the batter compartment, etc. Not too many frills, but works well.

I was looking for a versatile, durable, and dependable FRS radio for when I go camping or fishing and this is it. The sound is very clear and there are many built-it options that can be changed by the user. Most of these options are for if you have two or more of these units - which would be the ideal case. But if you want just one great FRS radio, make it this one. I bought mine through DealCat.com and was very satisfied.

We use 10 of these units for communications for swim meets between the starter, judges, bull pen and computer operations. We are very pleased with the performance and also like the "scramble" feature since we are using in a foreign country.

This is a good radio, as I have used it for the past year. Solid range, though it won't do two miles unless it is line of sight. I like the privacy settings. I was in Hawaii...and this radio is water resistant and was able to survive getting dunked a few times. Gaskets on the batter compartment, etc. Not too many frills, but works well.

I was looking for a versatile, durable, and dependable FRS radio for when I go camping or fishing and this is it. The sound is very clear and there are many built-it options that can be changed by the user. Most of these options are for if you have two or more of these units - which would be the ideal case. But if you want just one great FRS radio, make it this one. I bought mine through DealCat.com and was very satisfied.

We use 10 of these units for communications for swim meets between the starter, judges, bull pen and computer operations. We are very pleased with the performance and also like the "scramble" feature since we are using in a foreign country.

This is a good radio, as I have used it for the past year. Solid range, though it won't do two miles unless it is line of sight. I like the privacy settings. I was in Hawaii...and this radio is water resistant and was able to survive getting dunked a few times. Gaskets on the batter compartment, etc. Not too many frills, but works well.

I was looking for a versatile, durable, and dependable FRS radio for when I go camping or fishing and this is it. The sound is very clear and there are many built-it options that can be changed by the user. Most of these options are for if you have two or more of these units - which would be the ideal case. But if you want just one great FRS radio, make it this one. I bought mine through DealCat.com and was very satisfied.

We use 10 of these units for communications for swim meets between the starter, judges, bull pen and computer operations. We are very pleased with the performance and also like the "scramble" feature since we are using in a foreign country.

I read the reviews on most of the low priced frs radios and selected Panasonic. I ordered 2 of the TR320's, and 1 of the TR325. Difference is the 325 has vibe ringer (havent used yet) and scramble mode (havent used that either). I think you probably need two of the 325's to use scramble mode. In any event, it seems the 320's are exactly the same except for these 2 features.

I used these 3 radios while skiiing in Beaver Creek. It is a dense ski village, so the range wasn't terrific with all those tall buildings and narrow pedestrian ways. Still, I think they did fine. Especially on the mountain. Sound quality is great. My little one had trouble keeping the button down during his talk time though, so he would be choppy. Some training helped that, but a biggger button would be nice.

Only problem I had was they have an auto shut off mode default set for 2 hours, and we didnt know this before hand. It is programable for 1,2 and 3 hours. Maybe it can be set not to go off? Havent looked that up yet.

I purchased a set of NiMhd batteries for these, and the charge level indicator acts strangely due to the lower voltage (1.3v vs 1.5 for akaline). Still, it is the only way to go, as you will use a lot of batteries if you use them much- even if you dont talk, but just monitor.

I dont trust the belt clip on the mountain (in snow!)- but the battery compartment latch is top notch! keeps it closed till you open it. Many other radios and battery devices have problems here, especially if you drop them.

Would prefer a stubby antenna, but this flip up probably helps with the range.

Overall though, the quality is there! You cant go wrong with the 320 or 325.

I have had a pair of these for a couple of years now and they have come in very handy. The Call Button is something that my neighbor's talk-about radio doesn't have and comes in very handy to get someone's attention before talking. The batteries seem to last forever as well.

After conducting a thorough evaluation of most two-way radios from Internet reviews, I purchased two Panasonic KXTR325S Radios. I will say that I am very pleased with the performance of this product. They look great and have a good quality feel about them, plus there are a number of exceptional features about this model that make them a good buy. I especially like the voice scramble and the private talk capability when used in crowed areas. I did find that the buttons are small which might be a problem when wearing heavy ski gloves, but otherwise there was no problem using them with bare hands. My wife and I have used them while hiking in the Rocky Mountains and experienced good range and sound quality. Range was especially good for almost two miles as long as both units were within the same canyon, however this was severely reduced between canyons.

I identified one major problem with the belt clip, which should not be trusted. On one hike, my wife sat down to rest and the radio came off her belt; we didn't discover this until much later so by the time we returned to the site it was gone. I did reorder a replacement Panasonic radio and but will not use the belt clip provided with the units. We both now use a small pouch to secure the radios to our belts so this problem will not happen again. I highly recommend these radios to anyone who is interested in purchasing such units. Even without the rebate, these radios are well worth the price.

First, these radios don't have a great range (we get about 1/2 mile or so in our neighborhood). They use little AAA batteries. They don't have privacy codes, etc. But, I rarely have one away from my side.
Our old house has an intercom system which probably hasn't worked since the Bradys were happily married. Replacing it would have cost over a grand. FRS to the rescue.
We bought the pair, as well as 12 rechargeable batteries and a charger, and now we just put in the batteries and clip them to our belts or drop them in our pockets and go about our business. The next day, we swap out the old batteries, and they are good for another day.
The squelch works great, but rarely, we get mild interference, so we switch channels. (To be honest, I doubt we do that more than once a week.)
The bottom line is that they are small enough, that you forget you have it on until the other person needs to reach you.
Get a charger, you wouldn't want to have to feed these things batteries.

The unit uses AA batteries so they are cheaper and longer lasting than AAA. It has a battery strength indicator.

The unit is feature rich with NOAA weather channel, 22 chanels and subcodes, and even several ring tones. You can turn off the subcode feature to be compatible with older radios. It is compact. It has a keypad lock feature so you can put it in your coat pocket or purse and still receive transmission.

The only drawback is the belt clip should be tighter. It can drop if you bend down to pick up a child.

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I purchased a pair of these radios a few days ago ... and have been very pleased with them... I was still very pleased with the performance and range of these units. We seem to be able to get ~1 mile range through some fairly heavy forest without any real trouble, and quite a bit further depending on terrain. The sound quality is quite good, with the person on the other end remaining clear out to the very extremes of the radio's range. The auto-squelch is also nice, although it would be useful to be able to turn it off (which you can do on more expensive Uniden models) as I am convinced that I could get a bit further range that way. These are also really, really small; the entire unit fits in the palm of my hand. For comparison, it's only 2/3 the size of my Nokia 3360 cell phone.

I would have to recommend these radios for the casual user. If you need 5+ miles range under all conditions, you should re-evaluate your price range. If you need some walkie-talkies for family use a few times a year, I don't think you will find a better product. Frankly... if we ever need better radios, these will make great toys for the kids!

a while ago, i saw a pair of walkie talkies in my friend's room and we decided to play with them. We stuck a pair of headpones in each, and we went into the woods behind his house and started spying on his neighbors. This was a whole new thing for me, and it was unbelievably fun. Soon after, I got myself an upgraded pair of his, which are the walkie talkies you're looking at. The range hasn't failed me yet, and I've gotten pretty far from the other walkie talkie. Also, it has a great lock feature, which lets u put it in your pocket or quickly grab it withouth worrying that u changed the channel or volume or something. This has saved me a great deal of time while spying. The function of going into those subchannels didn't have and effect on blocking out my friend's early model of these, but whatever. All in all, you should definately buy these walkie talkie over any others.

We took our 220s to Disney World and it made the trip much more relaxed. When my husband and I took the kids to separate areas of the park, we could instantly communicate if there were long lines or a change in plans. Even though lots of people were using them, we had no trouble finding a clear channel without others on "our" line. Now I use them to monitor the kids while they're out playing in the neighborhood. Just one beep and they know it's time to come home, and it gives me peace of mind to know they can call if they need help.

Just bought these radios. So far they are everything they were advertised to be. Wife and I tested the range from vehicle to house in suburban setting, consistently over 1 mile range. The radios are very easy to operate and work well with the other radios I have tested them with(Motorola and Radio Shack). I found these to have better clarity than the Motorola's as well. Battery life is about as advertised and with the NiCad battery charging time is about 3 hours. There are radios out there with more features but my five star rating is based on getting what you pay for.

We bought two of these as a family Christmas gift to use at the beach next summer. Of course we "played" with them to test them. My 9 year old got the hang of it in just a few minutes. The talk confirmation tone is very handy. The clarity is unbelievable for the price. The range seems fine. I just ordered a third radio because we are so please with the product. They don't seem to eat up batteries like some other electronics products do. We have used the radio's for the past week very regularly and we haven't needed to change the batteries. I am ordering the battery pack just to make sure we have a fresh pack available. These are fun, easy to use 2 way radios that really are alot clearer than I expected. For years I used a regular 2 way radio communication system in my business. The clarity of these radio's were just as good! Great product for a great price! Great way for you to have the ability to communicate to your family from a short distance whether on a trip to the mall or just in the neighborhood. The are compact and will fit in a pocket or purse.

I recently purchased a set of these little radios for a camping/hunting trip and they are great! I used them to communicate with my friends while out in the woods and there are very handy. They have a very good range 1.5-2 miles depending on the terrain and the signal is very clear with no interferance or static! they have many useful features such as 14 channels with the 38 sub codes a rodger beep tone that can be turned off if you wish and a privacy(voice scramble) mode. We used them while driving to and from the woods and campsite and basically anytime we weren't in ear shot of each other. I would highly reccomend these radios to anyone I now have several pairs

I used a pair of these on a hike in the mountains and it was great ! Also used it at a country fair. The privacy feature prevented me from hearing others and kept my conversations secure. The range was very impressive. As soon as there are more in stock, I will buy another one.

I work at a university in California as a maintenance worker. My boss and I have to keep in touch in order to best meet the needs of our housing residents. Before we used the Cobra Micro Talk 1 we relied on our campus pager system. This was not an effective method since we had to find campus phones and wait until the other person responded to the page. With the Micro Talk 1 we are able to connect quickly and effectively. We can now communicate in seconds instead of minutes. The battery life is long because of the stand-bye feature, we have been able to use them for several weeks before the batteries run low. The only down side to the Micro Talk 1 is that we sometimes have to deal with other radio traffic because of the two-channel limitation.

These things are awesome. Me and my friend wanted communication to his house because his dad didn't like him on the phone. So we bought these talkies and we have crystal clear communication 1 1/2 miles away. Buy these then are awesome.

I bought these radios, because of the first factor I had: They were inexpensive. I wasn't expecting much for the money I invested, but I was most definately surprised at the quality and value I recieved. I took them to "A popular resort park in Orlando" and experienced my first problem: FRS is a heavily shared frequency, and it was very hard to communicate with my party. I did have fun talking to other guests, though. My next trip was to the mountains. Here, they proved invaluable. Noone else was apparently using FRS in the area when we were there, and it was excellent for confirming rendezvous times and places. The range is superb. Somewhat surprising. My voice, and the person I am talking to can easily be heard sometimes up to a mile away over hill, dale, and wadi. The features are easy to use. My 5 year old has no problem using it (no, he dosen't go out alone). The page feature is good to have, as well. The size of the unit makes it easy to slip into purse or pocket, or attach to a belt with the clip. It is a breeze to use, and great fun to have. I will never regret buying mine, and I don't think you will either.