Two-Way Radios Reviews

The seller refused to fulfill my purchase because the seller did not want to stand by the price at which the item was offered for sale. I received an automated message from Amazon indicating that the seller cancelled my purchase, and my purchase price was refunded. I would not recommend doing business with this seller.

These radios sound great - they are clear and crisp and the battery life is great. I also like the way the lock feature works and the fact that you can select high/low power at the touch of a button.

However, I bought a set of two of these, and at one point or another, both of them have refused to turn off. Turn the knob to the off position, it clicks to off, but the radio stays on. One of them works pretty well, only exhibiting this behavior occasionally, but the other one never turns off. Put the batteries in, it's on until they die (luckily that's a long time with these radios).

Secondly, they don't handle cold weather well at all.
Try this: Take one snowboarding, but leave it turned off. After about an hour or two of boarding you'll feel a vibration in your pocket. Yes, the thing has turned itself on, kicked itself into vibrate mode and started vibrating. But there's no display on the LCD! It still thinks it's turned off.

So Cobra, if you are listening, getting the thing to turn off shouldn't be a big technical challenge for you - engineers have been very successfully designing devices that turn off going all the way back to the invention of the light bulb.

I've had a pair of these radios for about 2 years and I've been happy with them. The transmission is clear and easy to understand. I've never really tested them for range. I've tried them in town (flat terrain, 1 or 2 story houses) and they receive up to a mile or so, which is as far as I've ever tried them. If you're next to high voltage power lines the range may be much less. A buddy and I have used them fishing from Kayaks on lakes. They worked well when we were a good ways apart on the lakes with islands and shore line between us. I was well pleased with their performance there. We've used the voice activated mode some. They work well, so well we had to turn the sensitivity down so that their rubbing in a fishing vest pocket didn't activate them. My wife and I have used them around the house more than anything though that wasn't why I bought them. Sometimes we even use them between rooms in the house or I sometimes have one when I'm working out in the back yard or shop and one in the house to communicate with my wife. They've worked well and I haven't had any problem at all with them in the two years we've had them. Battery life is good. I've had building project going in the back yard for about 3 weeks and we used them a lot during that time. I would occasionally ask her to come out and help with something. Most of the time they were just on and not transmitting - which is the usual anyway but they went for several days on a set of batteries that had already been in the radios for a while.

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 bought these radios and they work like they should. I had to buy a second pair because The Motorola radios that I bought for a ski trip had a less than 50 foot range. Motorola said they worked fine; I guess some people like to use radios in the same room. The Motorola radios were from "J and R" and that must mean junk and rejects. They didn't have the courtesy to answer any of three letters I sent to them.

I spent some time on the phone with the Cobra people and they were honest and helpful. Buy the Cobra radios.

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 had two of these units from Amazon with the same identical problem. The channel selector turned and clicked but did not change the channel. I also own the Midland 77-092, which is actually a cheaper model, but I've not had any problems with it, and am completely satisfied. You may want to consider that model from Amazon instead of the 77-104XL.

THIS PRODUCT IS GREAT I'M SURE BUT FOR ONE CATCH...YOU HAVE TO HARD WIRE THE CB RADIO TO THE AUTO'S ELECTRICAL SYSTEM YOURSELF. PERHAPS NOT A PROBLEM FOR SOME BUT FOR OTHERS (MYSELF INCLUDED)IT IS I AM SURE. IT IS MY FAULT THAT I DID NOT NOTICE THIS IN THE PRODUCT DESCRIPTION PRIOR TO ODERING. I JUST WANTED A CB RADIO THAT I COULD PLUG INTO THE CIGARETTE LIGHTER AND GO. THIS IS NOT THAT TYPE OF CB UNIT. FOR THIS REASON ALONE I RETURNED THE UNIT TO AMAZON.COM SO NOT TAKING ANYTHING AWAY FROM THE CB ITSELF ....JUST BE AWARE THAT ONE HAS TO WIRE THE UNIT TO THE AUTO AND NOT JUST PLUG INTO A LIGHTER....

The CB is just what i expected. It's not very clear in the description but it DOES have a PA switch and output. The best part is, I got it in three days!

ryan

I've used many brands and styles, non match the advertised range, but Midland is the most misleading in calling these "10 mile" radios. Tested them over open water, the most ideal of conditions for these radios, on "HI power" as the manual describes. They did not even match the range of a $10 Conair 2 mile radio used by a friend. Hi/Lo power made no difference, the controls are functional but you cannot shut of the beeping whenever you press a button. As stated before, the volume is two loud at the lowest setting. Not unusable but very annoying. Not recommended. Buy the cheapest pair of re-chargeable style for kids or everyday use or if you need quality, spend $150 for a decent pair of Motorolas.

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.

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 !!

this two way radio is a kids toy. Bought it for $30.00 It says 5 miles as the distance but you can only get 1/4 mile if you are lucky... Motorola should return my money. I hope they read this. Total ripoff

i think it is okay in general....but a little bit of noise when the distance gets longer...

First, if you buy these make you you get the ones with rechargeable batteries, you will save the price difference in two battery sets.

We bought these to communicate while visiting Disneyland. While the range is not amazing (especially in the first channels which do not require FCC permit), reception was clear from one side to the other of the park.

Construction is solid. I dropped mine pretty hard and was amazed the radio did not even get a scratch. Battery lasted two whole days of heav use. My last more, but since they are so easy to charge I did not get to test that.
Good buy, I do recommend them.

Come on Motorola, you can do better..this model would make good for the kids in the yard to play with. Range is 1/2 mile if your lucky.. Need to change the range distance to that and get that 5 mile range of the package and spec sheet. Very discouraged with this model..

Actually can get up to ten miles line of sight transmission. In the woods, you get about two to three miles (depending on how thick). But of course they don't go over or through mountains like any idiot should know.

This product works very well if used in the manner in which it was designed.

Boaters, this is not a marine radio, and don't expect the Coast Guard, Sea Tow, or even other boats to be monitoring these channels. Today's marine VHF radios are small enough for even a Jet-Ski or the smallest dinghy and have appropriate waterproofing.

If you want to cover a farm, country club or large industrial or office park, spend the extra money on a proper business radio. Also, wherever possible, a vehicle-mount (truck, tractor, golf cart) radio with the right antenna will reach much farther and sound much better than anything hand-held.

Who should buy this radio? Skiers and snowboarders, bicyclists, hikers, campers, hunters, any groups of people who may tend to get separated beyond shouting range. Video production, stage and ligthting crews who can find this a low-cost, easy-to-use substitute for Clear-Com systems. Obviously they will need to use headsets to keep the sound from getting into the audience or audio track, and those who need to keep their hands free, like video camera operators will prefer the VOX headset. It would have been nice if they sold these as a package, which would be cheaper than buying them separately.

This type of signal is by nature for line-of-sight transmission only, and not like CB, and will not go around large mountains or "skip" like lower-frequency radio signals.

This radio is built ruggedly with the kind of quality we got familiar with on the older, bulkier Talkabouts. As for the menus, I would suggest you keep the manual close at hand until you get the hang of navigating though the commands. I like the pushbutton-release belt clips.

This NiCd-powered version of these radios came with a handy charging stand and works well as long as you remember to charge it up before using. :-) Those of you who don't like NiCd batteries can choose the AA-powered version, which Amazon also sells, and get a nice set of NiMH batteries and charger, and skip alkaline batteries.

Overall, this radio is very worthwhile and satisfactory.

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 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.

These made it to the bottom of the toy box pretty quickly. Four AAA batteries are just not enough to keep these working long enough for any kind of fun. A shame.

We bought this about 2 1/2 years ago and haven't had any problems with it. We use it almost every day - our daughter takes one when she goes playing with her friends and I keep the other one with me (so we can be in contact at all times).-
I like the 2 mile range, but what I like most about this one, compared to other walkies, are the subchannels, they give you a bit more privacy.
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