Two-Way Radios Reviews

I recently ordered a pair of the Midland G30's. The review of these radios said that were STURDIDLY CONSTRUCTED and water resistant. This is a gross exageration. In fact the outer plastic shell looks like it would crack if you thumped it. There is not one sign of waterproofing. I have not actually tried the radios out to see what kind of range they have, I have been to disgusted with there overall CHEAPNESS in appearance. I think I will just send them back.

I own x4 FRS Audiovox radios and plan to upgrade to the Midland GMRS G-30. I've read all the current reviews and noticed that some people do not understand FRS/GMRS. FRS radios max legal output power is 500mw. GMRS max legal is 2watt and maybe more on future models. The G-30 was designed to also communicate with FRS cousins. Do not expect 2watt power when communicating with FRS it's not gonna happen. Only the GMRS frequency band will allow the 2watt power output. Two GMRS radios set at GMRS frequencies required for 2watt power output. 5 mile range is more than likely in an open plane with no obstacles in sight. When I purchase the G-30's i'll do another rating. (...) I rated a 3star because I don't own one yet and my knowledge and reading the reviews was helpful.

I purchased two of the Midland G30 radio's because of the two watt power, though I didn't expect to obtain the advertised five mile range. I found that almost all other FRS radios have a 500 milliwatt (half-watt) power. Also the 38 privacy codes for each channel and the GMRS channels (8-15) appealed to me as I didn't wish to hear other peoples conversations. Channels 1-7 are the common FRC frequencies, and 8-15 are the less used GMRS frequencies, so you can only communicate with FRC radios on channels 1-7. The radio does not work on FRS channels 8-14. I bought the radios for use in amusement parks and vacation. A week after purchase, I used them for both. The radios had no problem working 1.5 miles apart on Long Island going through buildings and utility wires. My son stood on our front lawn and I drove to several locations in town. Later that week we traveled upstate NY and I gave one to family members in another car. They worked well in traffic and I was very pleased to not hear any other conversations through the parts of New York City and throughout the 260 mile trip. The furthest me and the other car separated on the thruway was maybe 2 miles, but the radios sounded as if we were much closer. The battery power level remained high at the end of six hours. In upstate NY I easily got a 3 plus mile range on the water, and probably could have gotten much further had I traveled further. At 3 miles the reception was as clear as if I was 500 feet from the other radio. The radios worked well in an amusement park with one sometimes being inside buildings. However I couldn't be reached from a mile away when I was inside a supermarket. As I mentioned, don't expect any radio to get the advertised maximum range, but these radios are better the less powerful ones on the market. The radios have some type of scan feature, which I do not use, as I set both to one of the GMRS channels with a privacy code and leave them that way. I have heard some complaints about the scan feature, but I don't why people would want to skip around in the first place. For our vacation I purchased two less expensive, plain FRC radios for the kids to play with and communicate with their cousins. They worked well, but lacked power for distance, and those radios picked up a lot of other people's chatter. Some the of the downsides to the G-30's are terrible instructions-a lack of information provided with the radio's. I found the batteries came almost fully charged, so I was concerned when they became fully charged after only ten minutes. No mention of this is made in instructions, nor if they are one of those "memory" batteries. This lack of info caused me test the batteries and figure this out on my own. Also the belt clip is removable, which my directions fail to mention. Much more effort could have been spent on the booklet. Also, one of the radio's had a stripped screw on the battery door which caused me to exchange it. I would have preferred a more "rubbery" case like some of the Motorola's have and a better belt clip or belt holster. Other than this, I found the radios are pretty good. I carefully opened the package from the side with a razor and removed all the items carefully so that they could be returned easily in the event turned out to be junk. They didn't. I plan to keep them. In fact I am sending away for the mobile magnetic roof antenna and 2 "Y" adapters so that ear plugs can be used. The size is great, they easily fit into a shirt or pants pocket, they are much smaller and lighter than the "almost 2 watt" Motorola radios.

I have read a lot of people having trouble with the ptt button on this radio. My friend had the the button break on his, and I had the same thing happen to mine. I would suggest they redesign this part. They want over $25 to repair this defect. I wouldn't buy any of their products.

My experience....one of first two I was shipped was defective, apparent badly designed/cheap switch....replacement one also defective....in my opinion, it's junk, don't buy it; what's the point of 7-miles if it keeps breaking?

You can get the same radios from Audiovox for $27.50

I bought a pair after losing an older T5200 (also from Motorola) which is not manufactured anymore. I figured that the new & more expensive model (which also has 1 Watt compared to 1/2 watt of the T5200) should work as good or better.

I was very disapoointed. Very poor sound quality. Audio is not clear and in many cases has breaks. I still have one T5200 left (I lost 1 out of 2) - eveyone in my family wants to use the older unit as the new T5820 does not perform. Plus, I paid for the T5200 half of what I paid for thr T5820...

I recommend not to buy this product. Go for the new cheaper & better T5720 (1 Watt as well, compact, great sound quality. The only limitation - no vibration alert. See my review on it).

The quality of voice coming from the speakers is very poor. You can hardly understand the person talking to you.

To those who have problems with getting clear reception:

If you normally set you volume control to max, try turning it down a little (or more) if your reception sounds muffled.

I've tried this several times within city transmission and it helps alot with removing the muffled reception some users have reported (especially those who have purchased sets with rechargeable nicad batteries).

I think the volume control and speaker interface has not been designed well for max vol transmissions. (Note that new T5620, T5720 and T5920 have sound enhacing improvements for clearer voice transmissions, check motorola site for specs and launch dates)

Reason I like this set:
The 1.0 watt transmitter helps increase talking distance in built up areas as opposed to 0.5 watt frs radio sets. Price was a good deal with rebate. ...

They worked for 22 days...Now one does not x-mit...the other won't hold a charge....JUNK!!! Never Buy Midland products...I WAS Warned....but did it anyway and Amazon does not back them !!!JUNK....JUNK...JUNK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was hoping for a pair of radios that could be stored on the chargers until needed. Thus the radios would always have full batteries. Alas, this was not the case. The charger always charges and will destroy the batteries if left on there continually. So instead, I have to charge the batteries and then unhook the base from the wall to use the base to store the radios.

They seem to work well otherwise. They are large due to essentially using AA batteries. I will update this in the future with any additional information.

I would recommend these radios. Well made and quite dependable. The charger base is super convenient. Their range isn't as much as they say - maybe 1 to 2 miles. Perhaps farther on open areas - I've not tested them extensively on long ranges. But they do have a high quality of voice transmission. We use them on trails and between vehicles on the roads. And if one family member goes out for a walk, they take the radio and we keep one home. We're considering buying another pair for when we need more than two.

These radios look nice but there are some problems here. First the batteries do not last long unless you do not talk. Second the biggest problem for me was uncompatibility with other radios and brands. The receive quality is very poor and hard to understand at times. I also hace a T7200 and the difference is like night and day. The 7200 is the best. The 7400 i believe is an has flaws and that is why you see them priced so low. I paid $24.00 on ebay and also have seen the set at home depot clearance for $44.00 today. What good is any radio if you cant understand what someone is saying? Good try motorola but this is a poor product.NOT RECOMMENDED TO PURCHASE.

These radios are overall good quality ( but not as good as the old t6220's). The first day that I had them one of the latches onthe belt clip broke. I called up the help line and got a new one(seven days later i might add) only to see that this one was smaller and thiner than the one that came with the radios- this tells me that they (the company) fixed the issue of the belt clip, it works better despite the fact that the teeth on the radio are too small and the radio fall off. The box says that the unites are "field cirtified" (6 miles over open land). I feel that these radios are too big for the range and too big for the shortage of Wattage ( watts is what gets your signel herd over long distances and perced through most obsrtuctions people). I feel thay should buy these radios if you are just want an introduction unite and don't want to spend alot of money.

The T7400R works great. No, I did not get 12 miles of range, but I have not been out on the open plains with them yet.

What you do get is crystal clear reception of about 2.0 to 5.0 miles in areas of hills, homes, telephone poles and lots of trees.

In urban areas, you get about a 1.5 to 2.0 miles of clear static free reception and transmission. Both examples I was using the QT(Quick Talk)feature.

For the price of $69.99 and the purchase of the PTT (Push to Talk) from Motorola earbuds you receive a durable and excellent walkie talkie for the bucks.

Battery life is more than acceptable for daily use and the batteries were cycled 4 times to maximize battery life. I purchased five sets of these radios for security work.

You will need an FCC license which you can get online.

Dilip Nandi

These are nice looking, but aren't very good at range. The stated 10 mile range must be in outer space as it's certainly not on earth. Range is less than 1 mile with the full boost on. My old Audiovox FRS radios went at least a half mile farther than these!

They seem to receive well and the weather alert functions well and seems fairly sensitive.

If you don't need a long range they are ok. Quite a disappointment for power/range though.

Were I to be able to do it over I think I'd look to another brand. This is currently their top-end model.

I've had these and used them lightly so far. I like the feel and performance of them, and have used the weather/alert function a number of times -- it's a nice feature. Battery use seems to be pretty good, as they just always seem to be ready, even after a day's use of sporadic communication (for example, at an amusement park).

Regarding exposure to water, the term "water resistent" means that it can stand up to water spray at low velocity (like rain), or a shower. For the ability to handle submersion, a device needs to be "water proof", and this is typically rated with a maximum static pressure depth (for example, 100 meters). Even devices labelled waterproof to a shallow depth like 5 meters can be overcome by a drop into water, due to the force of water in that situation. This is all true for all devices: watches, cameras, cell phones, whatever. As an added note, the owner's manual specifically carries the warning not to submerge the unit in water. To be able to float in water and handle dynamic submersion, you need an enclosure case of some kind. And no fair complaining that these are "big" when you add it.

Regarding range, some reviewers may be confusing the FRS bands (channels 8-14) with the GMRS bands (channels 1-7 and 15-22). Only GMRS bands have the extended range; FRS bands are limited to a maximum range of 3 miles, while the GMRS channels can hit 10 miles using the power boost button (and under the right conditions). Note that transmitting in the GMRS band requires an FCC license, which currently costs $80 for a five-year license. I wonder if the reviewers who complained of range were transmitting in the FRS band, not realizing the difference.

By the way, the shorter-range FRS bands are still handy, since they effectively eliminate long-distance chatter that would otherwise be within range of the GMRS bands.

I is one of the best radio I have ever used! very long range and the power consumption is top notch! very durable because I have dropped mine four times on concrete from the chest without a dent.

Please be fair! water resistant does not equal submerging it!!!

I bought them and immediately checked them in kayaking trip. No second of work after been submerged in water. Don't believe the manufacturer!

Bought a pair about a month ago. Took my wife and kids to our favorite water park in Orlando. As soon as my unit got wet, it stopped working. The display is not visible, the speaker does not work, the unit does not even turn on. It has not worked since (been about 10 days). The unit was submerged in 2 feet of water for about 30 seconds as we cruised the lazy river. Bottom line, they are not water resistant.

We purchased the Unwired Water Resistant 2 Way Radios for use on a camping trip....our kids have had a great time with them. They are sturdy and brightly colored; the 2-mile range is stretching it a bit, but the info provided with the radios even states that the 2 mile range is over an open field. Of course, buildings, trees etc. will diminsh the range. We had good reception as far as 3 city blocks. I've tested other, more ... brands that also report the 2 mile range and have had the same reception. Unless you are willing to pay ... for more sophisticated radios, these are nice walkie talkies and a good value. Battery usage is very conservative, too (25 hrs.). Water resistance is important, esp. with kids, and the radios weren't affected after being used at the beach.

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.

This item is listed as currently out of stock when will it be in

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.

I was attracted to the features of this radio, but i should have listend to the reviews. The detchable face broke in a couple of months.

I recently purchased a new 79-290, (August 05). I have not had the unit long enough to make an accurate review about it, because the face plate locking mechanism broke almost immediately. (About 45 min worth of listening time, plus one operation of the face plate.)This failure renders the unit completely useless, which is the whole idea behind a detachable face security, to prevent theft. However, the weakness of this particular part of the unit is a major problem. Apparently, this is not a new problem. After checking around, there are quite a few occurrances of this problem. One reveiw I read was in december several years ago. Midland is not "On The Air" on this design failure. There were other quirks I noticed also, which matched the same descriptions as the early december complaints. I guess I was mistaken that Midland's QC people would have proactively solved this problem by now, they have certainly had enough years of time. If their engineers are not capable of correcting this problem, then here's a solution: Make the locking swing arm, or what ever you call it, out of metal, instead of plastic. I have owned several detachable face radios, and none of them ever had problems with the face doc's. Yours is an example of what you don't do. I was impressed by the small size, it's overall set-up, front facing mic port. The unit does have some other little oddities that I would change, but it's very usable. But this thing with the face plate is full turn -off. Midland, "TURN ON YOUR EARS", This could be an excellent unit.

This radio presents a real threat to the Cobra and Galaxy brands. I have worked on radios since the early 70s and have yet to find one of this quality at anywhere near this kind of price.
This is a $400 radio in both quality and features. Because it is controlled by a microprocessor it can be modified with the single touch of a few buttons, taking you from one band to another almost effortlessly. I normally tweak every new (and old) radio I get, but this midland operates so well I have decided to leave it as it was out of the box. Army signal school taught me well, "if it ain't broke don't fix it". This one's Definitely not broke.