FRS-Two-Way-Radio Reviews

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These radios were a waste of money! We bought this item forour son and promptly returned it. It claims to have a range of up to2 miles, but even in the same house, the clarity of the voices wasmuffled. As for distance, we lost communication a few houses down theroad. We have since purchased a .... 2-way radio for a comparableprice and are pleased with the huge improvement in clarity and range.

When I bought these, they worked fine, for the first two weeks. Then they stopped working, unless I was within two feet of the person holding the other radio. I replaced the batteries and everything, but it still didn't work. I don't reccomend this product.

On the jobsite or in the workplace, professional two-way radios
provide instant communication with individuals or multiple groups.

Business communications made simple! The Spirit GT+ radio
is ideally suited for retail stores, restaurants, schools,
hospitals, event coordination, small businesses and more.

Special "wait-to-talk" feature requires that you wait for
all the other conversations from the other companies that
share your frequency to stop transmitting so you can talk.

Spirit® Professional two-way radios operate on business
radio frequencies, (not FRS) which adds to congestion on
the already overcrowded business radio service.
Not recommended for personal use.

Two channel operation allows twice as many users to
share the same frequencies with you and requires frequency
coordination with other companies in your area.

"Up to 4 mile range" means that you will recieve interference
and unwanted chatter from everybody else within a 4 mile radius.

Regardless of which 2 of the 8 frequencies you choose,
there will always be somebody telling you to "get off my channel!".

When you ask that person for their license information,
they will explain that "I don't need a license!".
When you explain the rules to them, they will argue
"your rules Do NOT apply to me!", then they will
start jammming you.

Here is a list of low power itinerant business radio frequencies:

1 464.5000 Brown
2 464.5500 Yellow
3 467.7625 J
4 467.8125 K
5 467.8500 Silver Star
6 467.8750 Gold Star
7 467.9000 Red Star
8 467.9250 Blue Star

Spirit® Professional two-way radios operate on
radio frequencies that are regulated by the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC). In order to transmit
on these frequencies, you are required to have a license
issued by the FCC....

GT Plus does everything the T280 does, but it is much harder to switch frequencies & channels. The T280 is a much better product at a lower price.

This is a decieving radio. You need a business FCC license for it so you must apply for it and state your business need for these radio's. Its better to stick with GMRS or FRS unless you want to violate FCC R&R and use them for non-business use. There are FCC listeners everywhere that monitor the use of these frequencies and I have returned these radios and switched to GMRS. The claim that you have a 4 to 5 mile range is in perfect conditions, using these radios for the short time I had them gave me only minimal range increase from my FRS radios I've previously used. Range is dependent on the antennae and battery strength.

I bought this a few days ago, I'm going to get my money back. Because I can't communicate with it past a few blocks! It says 7 miles, but I can't even get close to a mile! What a waste of money. I got four for the family plus with a charger. I spent too much money for this to be not working like it says it should. I think motorola would be a better brand, or even pac bell! Stay away from this! Find a different brand.

After a Christmas-crazy visit with my two boys to the states, and repeated fears of losing them in the crowds (they seem to enjoy cutting more years off my life than my ex-wife) I saw some family's using FRS radios. As I work with similar items in the military, I thought 'let's give it a shot'. I have to admit, I bought by price first, features second. I was pretty certain the 7-mile range wasn't going to ever be seen, but it certainly beat standing at the mall information counter paging the family. However, we've found each and every feature to work as advertised. Honestly, I've only tested them out to 5 miles, on a holiday drive in separate cars, but they've worked perfectly. Given price, performance-as-advertised, and easy online warranty and FCC license registration, I can't argue. I'm certain there are better out there, but I doubt it at this price.

I recently purchased the AudioVox GMRS7001-2 2-way radios. I have had several 2-way radios in the past couple years. Motorolas, Cobras and a Garmin. I've found them very useful for hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, etc. The Cobras only had ½ watt of transmit power, the others had the 2-watt transmitters.

In transmission power, the Cobras are virtually tied with the 2-watt radios. This is a little disappointing, considering the 7001s are supposed to transmit at 3-watts. In a side-by-side comparison of my Garmin Rino 120 to the 7001s, they both transmitted the same distance through the same terrain.

In reception, I give an edge to the Rino. It's squelch feature was a bit more sophisticated than the 7001s. While on the very edge of reception range, the Rino would cut out less frequently than the 7001. Basically, 1-mile in a hilly, suburban area is the max of either radio. If you have a large will between transmitter and receiver, you'll only get about 6/10ths of a mile in range. From hilltop to hilltop, about 1.2 miles.

Feature-wise, the 7001 is just fine. It's interface is very similar to the Motorolas: press the mode button to scroll through some configuration options. The 7001s have a few less buttons than the Motorolas, which I actually found more straightforward. I rate the user-interface as good. Seeing as I'm comparing the Rino, though, the Rino kicks butt! Though such a comparison is unfair due to the Rino's price ($250) and it's GPS screen and click-stick cursor device.

One nice feature about the 7001s are their ability to use the GMRS and shared channels in low power mode (1/2-watt) which more than doubles the batter life and is all the power you need if within a ¼-mile of your receiver. I never found this feature on any of my other radios. I also thoght that the ability to charge the batteries using a base was a good feature, as well as the weather-band/weather alert. (I never liked the way the Motorolas worked). I wish the Rino had that feature.

The only complaint about the 7001 interface is it's transmit button. It sits a little too high up on the left side of the body, and a little too close to the Monitor/Backlight button. Kids with small hands tend to accidentally turn off the squelch by accident.

I have used Cobra Microtalk 3's for years and I was thrilled to see a higher-powered option. I purchsed two sets of these radios for use outdoors (4 total). As I was trying them out, I found that they were unreliable. I would call with one radio and only two of the others would receive. I would try again and only one would receive. I had one radio that would not transmit under ANY circumstances. I never got all four to work together at the same time. I returned one pack hoping I had a bad set, The new set gave the same response. I thought the price was awefully good. It turns out it was too good to be true. Invest in a better radio and you'll be happier. I ended up taking mine back and trading up.

This is about the 4th different model of GMRS I dealt with. In generall I have to say that I'm fairly dissapointed with the overall quality and transmitting range of GMRS products. And don't be fooled by the hype of 3 watts other models have or some fancy names (like X2) - they hardly work any better and the quality is sometimes very poor.
But considering the price tag and knowing what they are suitable for this particular model serves it purpose fairly well. The beauty of it is that they are very handy and lightweight. Fully electronic control buttons - no knobs to turn. Features Privacy mode/Scan/NOAA. The AAA battery package that comes with it holds up for exactly 1 day, charging time about 8 hrs. (I had models with 3 AA which held much longer.) Operating at 1 watt the transmitting range is slightly less than other 2watt models. Thumbwise you can say that they transmit up to 3 miles in line of sight and about 1 mile in an area with obstacles (mountain/buildings/etc...). The belt clip broke off, other than that pretty good quality.
I had 'em with me for a one week skiing tour in Aspen. If you and your body stay on one side of a mountain (over a mountain the signal deteriorates very quickly) it is really fun to have these. Sound quality is pretty good and we never lost each other.
Because of its ease of use, slime design and exceptable transmitting range they are best for keeping contact in parks, buildings and in the wilderness - not too far away and not too many obstacles in between.

I took these with me on a backpacking trip up into the sawtooth mountains in Idaho. They had terrific range great sound and the batteries lasted the whole trip.

I bought the Midway G-300 radios thinking it would be very useful because of the advertised 10-mile range but after some testing I found out that it does not even reach 2 miles maximum power. The FCC regulations require a permit to operate this and other powerful radios, as to prevent abusive uses with it, but I would not waste time and money to apply for this because of the short range (thus limited usage) of this.

The G-300 is good for many short-range outdoor activities, inside stores, etc. The volume can be set loud enough for any purpose (sometimes the minimum is not quiet enough!). I found the vibration mode very useful.

I got this at Staples for $35 after mail-in rebate, which at that price it may be worth the value. Unless you can get a good deal on this I would not recommend this.

I realize that in the real world you're not going to get a 10 mile range like Midland advertises (don't know how they came up with that figure), but I did expect better than the 1.5 mile range that I obtained. The problem could be that the antenna appears to be smaller than on some of the other frs radios I've had experience with. Also, the g300 is more complicated to operate than need be. In order to get access to the 3 watts of power, you have to go through the menu every time you turn the radio on. Then there's the volume control. Lowest volume is not low enough. Sorry, but I can't recommend this radio.

Chose this model because of the 3 watt feature for longer distance. Very easy to use with simple instructions. All settings are saved when turning off (including power level), so they are the same when turning unit back on.
I do agree, the lowest volume is not low enough, but I don't plan on using it in a movie theatre. Very satisfied with this choice for the amount of money paid !!

I picked up pair a month or so ago from a local "Mart." Nicely sized, however, no sub-code feature makes these units almost unusable in any type of crowded (theme park) venue. In addtion, the speaker quality was poor. Frequent message repeats were required to communicate effectively. Pass.

Picked these up with some X-mas money, mainly for play use with my 4yr old son, with some minor utility while out with the family.

For the kids, and light usage, they can't be beat considering the price. I did take them to the mall, and frequently had people on the same channels, as well as reception issues (it's a big concrete structure after all).

But for walking around the neighborhood, going to a park, or maybe usage in a department store, they serve their purpose well.

If you're looking for more heavy duty, longer range, high-security 2-way's, these aren't for you.

If you want simple, easy to use, light usage radios, this is your best bet.

Being a ham operater I also have a need to be able to track small children and also use to have car to car comunications we found the units good for both uses. the smallness made them most useful while hikeings and for keeping tabs on the kids. I would recomend to anyone.

I purchased this product because it was the best deal for what was advertised on the package. I returned this product for not coming close to matching what was advertised on its package. "Up to a 5 mile range" was what was promised, however, transmissions were unintelligible after 3/4 of a mile and stopped completely after only 1 mile. I could also hardly make sense out of what was being said to me over the radio during transmissions. This model performed worse than other types that I had tried that only had a 2-mile range. ... I had planned to keep them and just use them at the fair, mall, beach,etc... but crowds of people REALLY slaughtered the range on these puppies. ... In all fairness they weren't a total hunk of trash, but save your money and go for a better model or manufacturer all together.

After purchasing a pair of 380's for my wife and I, we are pleased that we only had to pay 25.00 USD for these units. Best Buy was blowin them out as a clearance sale. The range is only as good as line of sight, that is to say if you were on top of a tall building and could see the person to whom you were transmitting to, you might get the advertised range of up to five miles "as the crows flys". R.F. power out is rated at 2 watts! On the other hand, most people use these units for short distance communications, and can be satisfied with maybe a mile with objects in the way of the r.f. that is being emitted. All IN ALL THEY WERE WORTH 25.00 FOR THE PAIR, GIVEN THE OLD ADDAGE,"YOU GET WHAT YOU PAID FOR".

Very nice size. Uses AAA batteries (small) so batteries won't last as long as AA. The volume/on-off control rotates the wrong way. Doesn't have the volume of the Motorola FRS/GMRS radios so hard to hear in noisy places. Very positive tactile feel on transmit button so good with gloves. Battery charge contacts on outside of case so can be used with drop-in charger. Controls very intuitive and logical. Does not have compass or stopwatch so no confusing menus. Display has large digits but no backlight. Nice small size.

I bought two of these in the hopes of using them for an intercom. They come in pairs and share a charger, I'd have four and thought I'd buy two Radio Shack chargers to build a useable four room intercom. No such luck, and they aren't much use as grab and use walkie talkies either.

There's two big design flaws. First, when they're in the charger they switch off making them useless as an intercomm. That's disappointing but it gets worse. When you remove them from the charger all of the settings, including channel and subchannel are reset. This means that you have to spend time setting up the radios each time you use them, and it's real easy to get channels wrong and not be able to communicate at all. Of-course you could talk on channel 1, subchannel 0 (the default) but you'll quickly learn that many other people use those settings meaning you hear other people frequently and they alway hear you.

I regret buying them, my advice is to spend a few bucks more for a well thought out design. I've only touched on the problems with these radios.

These radios are great, and come with everything you need, including rechargable batteries, and charger. They have the codes that allow you to ignore other users on the same frequency, and a lock function that prevents you from accidentally changing frequency. They DO NOT revert back to the default setting when charged, and you CAN use them while they are in the charger, unlike what the previous reviewer said. The only thing I can think of is that they let the batteries drain completely, and then charged it, which would explain it losing the frequency setting and not being able to be used.

In short, a great product. These radios have a much further range than a 2.4 GHz cordless phone, in case you were curious. They are great for families to keep in touch while out at the mall or at the park.

One unit had a broken push-to-talk button upon receipt. Using the other unit to transmit, I found an effective range of approximately 5 blocks in a suburban environment. Forget the 5 MILE range claim unless you plan to use the unit strictly for line-of-sight transmissions. Belt clip is not hinged and can not easily be hooked/unhooked with one hand. Charging stand is very thin brittle plastic and would probably crack if trusted to the airlines in a suitcase. Radios have to be wiggled in the charger to make proper contact. I'm trying Motorola radios next. In this case, by going cheap it appears I got exactly what I paid for.

About a year ago my old moterola two-way radios finially gave out. So, I bought these, they're great, practically indestructible, and are EASY to use. Plus, they have a 5 mile range, crystal clear at 6 though. Trust me, get these. They are very good.

What a disappointment. These don't work in 1/2 of the range advertised, and they eat 6 "AA" batteries in less than 2 hours (not constant talk time). Even with rechargables, the incredibly low battery life makes them useless.

The range is good only in wide open space.

The PTT button broke the first day of use.

I have been using the T5420 Talkabout for a year now and it still works great! You shouldn't expect to have an exact 2 mile radius unless you are in an open area - no obstructions, trees, walls, mountains, etc.

These radios come in handy when my friends and I go on long drives since it helps us keep in touch with each other across vehicles. We also use it during outdoor activities such as biking, skiing and snowboarding because these areas usually don't have cellphone coverage.