Two-Way Radios Reviews

I agree with Fred Kampe below. These things malfunctioned when other brands were working fine right next to me on the mountain.

Hitchiking can really be a drag. That's why I always carry my Motorola Talkabout with me. With its channel scan function, and its 2 mile range, I can almost always find a friendly conversation. Plus - the chicks DIG the attractive belt holster and shiny silver color.
I took off a star for not including rechargeable batteries as a matter of course. Bunch of savages in this town! Didn't Motorola get that memo about battery life, and conservation of this planets material resources? Don't we want there to be batteries for our children, and our children's children? Still, as long as we don't drink and drive, say no to drugs, and take care when operating heavy machinery, this Talkabout walkie talkie will be just swell.

I bought a pair of these 2-way radios for my long distance move. I used them throughout the entire trip, and they were pretty useful. I don't really have a problem with the button in the middle, but it is kind of in the way. Good clarity when you are in the clear. When I tested it in New York City, I was able to get about 6 blocks before the signal was completely lost. For the casual user though, I would go for the less expensive model though.

everyone like's all kinds of stuff if anything i trust panasonic,some like sony all i could say is find some thing u might really need but get something u can trust.

Many useful features, works as advertised. Range is great, but the batteries run out very quickly.

I usually don't rave about a product, but this was too good to be true. I bought 4 of these radios for Christmas. Sometime in Jan. one of my sons lost his radio out in the woods by our house. Today my wife found it while she was out for a run. I pushed the power button and it worked like new. Unbelievable! I'm sure this is not the kind of "field testing" that they had in mind at Panasonic.

The Motorola T5200 is a great radio for camping, walking in the woods,and for other uses.The one thing I like about this radio is that it has alot of features in it and it is palm sized.But the thing is that it only goes up to two(2)miles and after you out of range you cant hear the other person.The other issue is you have to be buying batteries for it.What I would recommend is if they can make it with rechargable batteries. But other than that, I think this is a great pair of radios.

i love every feature!!! i found one laying in the woods in mint condition, and it was way out in the woods so i took it home a week ago, i've always used audiovox radios, but im switching to motorola, this is the perfect economically priced radio around,
buy it!!

Keeping in touch with our kids while they are out-and-about is a priority anymore, these radios have helped us accomplish that. We bought ours in April, put batteries in, picked a channel for each radio, and have not had one problem.

Whether the kids are at the park, going to the corner store or playing with friends in the neighborhood, we know they are ok.

They work an amazing distance, especially for me and my wife staying here inside the house, we've tested the boundaries to make sure and they cover the whole neighborhood so far!

These are very useful. I got two of these for my birthday. They can communicate about one and half miles in my town which has so many trees! I think they're good if you do not want to pay a lot of money. I rated it four stars because it doesn't have features like auto-power off and its a bit big but the problem with the size is probably because they are so armored because I dropped them so many times and they still work! they can really help in museums if you split up and I know that because once me and my family did not have these and we had a very hard time finding each other. If you need good two-way radios don't waste all your money on those 130$ each radios! All they have is features like watches which you can find out by just looking at your wrist and all those features don't even have anything to do with communication! Do the right thing and buy at least one pair of FR60s! I very strongly recommend these and this is why. 1.They dont cost a lot. 2.All their features are for communication. 3.They are well armored. 4.It is very easy to adjust the volume. 5.they have 38 subcodes and 14 channels. and that is the basic reason I like them after having them almost 5 months. I hope I have convinced you to buy this product. Good luck choosing a Two-Way radio!

I went into the store to buy some Cobra Family Radios, and the salesman was so adamant that these were better, and that their range beat the Cobra hands down, that I reluctantly gave in. Now, I've never tested them against the Cobra, but I have tested them, car to car, simultaneously against my mother's Audiovox pair. NO CONTEST. The Audiovox's were full of static, and were out of range long before the Motorola's. She even thought her Audiovox's were defective and sent them back, but the replacement pair was just as bad.

These are easy to operate--you need not carry the manual around with you. Easy to change channels, and BTW, we've been on the same channel for the couple years we've owned these, and have only experienced interference once. If you have the batteries out for too long, the channel resets to #1, so watch that.

We use them often to communicate from car to car on trips. We use them at sports events when the kids are playing at the same time, and even in the grocery store. The only challenge is remembering to take them along!

I mostly use my fr60's for paintball, so the privacy codes are a must. The privacy codes not only keep other random people from blocking your transmissions with their chatter, it also keeps the opposing team from listening to you talk with your teammates! I've also used them for multi-car road trips, and have never had a problem with distance or reception quality (something I *did* have problems with in a cheaper brand FRS radio my family bought)

With two very young children, our outings can be very unpredictable. Time is tight too. The Motorola 280's have been a great time saver. Sometimes we split up in the mall. One of us goes to do some shopping while the other has fun with the kids. We don't have to worry about setting up a time and place to meet up. It's easy to ask a question or change/make plans from 1/2 mile away. We use it on hikes and while walking around the neighborhood. They're also great when you are travelling with more than one car.

The range is supposed to be about 2 miles. It can differ depending where you are.

Everything I've said is a good reason to by any 2-way radio. Why did I choose this model even though it costs a lot more than some of the other ones?

-They're rechargeable. It's real convienient to plug them in for a couple of hours and not have to deal with swapping batteries. -They're compact. Even more compact than the the 280's that take regular batteries. Their size makes them easy to bring along anywhere. They also have a removeable belt clip. Clip them on your pants or belt or remove the clip and they slip easily into your pocket. -They're rugged. The 280's survived drops onto pavement and gallons of baby drool. -They have 14 channels and 38 privacy codes. If you go somewhere where there is a large crowd, you will run into other people with radios. The extra channels help you find a quiet channel. However, we rarely have to change channels.

We've had ours for almost 2 years now and they have been very useful.

With two very young children, our outings can be very unpredictable. Time is tight too. The Motorola 280's have been a great time saver. Sometimes we split up in the mall. One of us goes to do some shopping while the other has fun with the kids. We don't have to worry about setting up a time and place to meet up. It's easy to ask a question or change/make plans from 1/2 mile away.

We use it on hikes and while walking around the neighborhood. They're also great when you are travelling with more than one car.

The range is supposed to be about 2 miles. It can differ depending where you are.

Everything I've said is a good reason to by any 2-way radio. Why did I choose this model even though it costs a lot more than some of the other ones?

-They're rechargeable. It's real convenient to plug them in for a couple hourse after -They're compact. Even more compact than the the 280's that take regular batteries. Their size makes them easy to bring along anywhere. They also have a removeable belt clip. Clip them on your pants or belt or remove the clip and they slip easily into your pocket. -They're rugged. The 280's survived drops onto pavement and gallons of baby drool. -They have 14 channels and 38 privacy codes. If you go somewhere where there is a large crowd, you will run into other people with radios. The extra channels help you find a quiet channel. However, we rarely have to change channels.

We've had ours for almost 2 years now and they have been very useful.

these 2-way radios are great - the ta280slk is the best small 2-way radio that we have used - great reception, clear voice over at least 1.5 miles in heavy cover and in the clear - they go more than the 2 miles advertised - great features and very easy to use - my 9 year old grandson was using these radios inside of 2 min. - these are so good that we have ordered another pair - now all of the family can have a radio when we are out and about - another great point - over the water from our boat to a friends the broadcast range was more than 2 miles by a long shot -- some users complain about the broadcast button being in a awkward place - we do not feel that way at all - great tools for the outdoorsman and women - and great for keeping track of the kids and grandkids

parki

With two very young children, our outings can be very unpredictable. Time is tight too. The Motorola 280's have been a great time saver. Sometimes we split up in the mall. One of us goes to do some shopping while the other has fun with the kids. We don't have to worry about setting up a time and place to meet up. It's easy to ask a question or change/make plans from 1/2 mile away. We use it on hikes and while walking around the neighborhood. They're also great when you are travelling with more than one car.

The range is supposed to be about 2 miles. It can differ depending where you are.

Everything I've said is a good reason to by any 2-way radio. Why did I choose this model even though it costs a lot more than some of the other ones?

-They're rechargeable. It's real convienient to plug them in for a couple of hours and not have to deal with swapping batteries. -They're compact. Even more compact than the the 280's that take regular batteries. Their size makes them easy to bring along anywhere. They also have a removeable belt clip. Clip them on your pants or belt or remove the clip and they slip easily into your pocket. -They're rugged. The 280's survived drops onto pavement and gallons of baby drool. -They have 14 channels and 38 privacy codes. If you go somewhere where there is a large crowd, you will run into other people with radios. The extra channels help you find a quiet channel. However, we rarely have to change channels.

We've had ours for almost 2 years now and they have been very useful.

With two very young children, our outings can be very unpredictable. Time is tight too. The Motorola 280's have been a great time saver. Sometimes we split up in the mall. One of us goes to do some shopping while the other has fun with the kids. We don't have to worry about setting up a time and place to meet up. It's easy to ask a question or change/make plans from 1/2 mile away.

We use it on hikes and while walking around the neighborhood. They're also great when you are travelling with more than one car.

The range is supposed to be about 2 miles. It can differ depending where you are.

Everything I've said is a good reason to by any 2-way radio. Why did I choose this model even though it costs a lot more than some of the other ones?

-They're rechargeable. It's real convenient to plug them in for a couple hourse after -They're compact. Even more compact than the the 280's that take regular batteries. Their size makes them easy to bring along anywhere. They also have a removeable belt clip. Clip them on your pants or belt or remove the clip and they slip easily into your pocket. -They're rugged. The 280's survived drops onto pavement and gallons of baby drool. -They have 14 channels and 38 privacy codes. If you go somewhere where there is a large crowd, you will run into other people with radios. The extra channels help you find a quiet channel. However, we rarely have to change channels.

We've had ours for almost 2 years now and they have been very useful.

these 2-way radios are great - the ta280slk is the best small 2-way radio that we have used - great reception, clear voice over at least 1.5 miles in heavy cover and in the clear - they go more than the 2 miles advertised - great features and very easy to use - my 9 year old grandson was using these radios inside of 2 min. - these are so good that we have ordered another pair - now all of the family can have a radio when we are out and about - another great point - over the water from our boat to a friends the broadcast range was more than 2 miles by a long shot -- some users complain about the broadcast button being in a awkward place - we do not feel that way at all - great tools for the outdoorsman and women - and great for keeping track of the kids and grandkids

parki

We purchased these radios for our move from Idaho to Arizona. The seller got them to us in plenty of time (as stated) even though we had purchased them late.
We used them throughout our trip and found them very satisfactory for such use. Never had a problem communicating and only had to change the channels twice due to heavy traffic in heavyily populated areas.
We used alkaline batteries and they are still working after nearly two weeks after the move.
We found them user friendly and very easy to carry.
Motorola you have our strong endorsement of this product. Thank you.

Excellent quality, durable, good range, clear signal. We've been very happy with these. We mostly use them when my husband climbs on the roof to do something like reposition the satellite dish or other thing like that where one of us needs to be in the house and the other needs to be on the roof. I'm afraid of heights so I never "need" to be on the roof but he goes up and snaps one of these to his belt. He can hear me and talk back (in a nice way) without having to hold it which is especially nice when he's on the roof. As I said, its clear and has good range so we're quite pleased. It fell onto the driveway from about 10 ft up at one point and survived the fall but I don't recommend doing too much of that.

The best pair of Walkies I ever had (MOTOROLA)!!! what more.

JUNE 04,2006
I PURCHASED THIS RADIO FOR EMERGENCY PURPOSES, HOWEVER IT SEEMS TO BE VERY WEEK. I AM A DOUBLE AMPUTEE AND AM CONFINED TO A WHEEL CHAIR. I DEPEND ON MY RADIO TO RAISE HELP. BUT, I AM AFRAID THIS ONE WILL NOT BE DEPENDABLE. I AM NOT ASKING FOR THEM TO BE RETURNED OR FOR A REFUND JUST LETTING YOU AND YOUR CUSTOMERS KNOW OF A VERY WEAK PRODUCT AND I COULD NOT RECCOMEND THIS PRODUCT TO ANYONE. COBRA WAS THE TOPS IN RADIOS BUT SOMETHING HAS HAPPENED TO THE QUALITY.
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING;

WILLIAM HEMBREE
WmHembree@aol.com

I "sort of love" this Cobra Roadtrip CB gadget, but only when I'm home and when I can use my both hands on it. It's a bit cumbersome to use while driving and it's too heavy to handle, especially if you have batteries installed in it, so for that purpose I recommend buying the external microphone. I bought a BNC to standard VHF antenna adapter so I can attach my "real" home and car CB antennas to it.

The major flaw of this radio when I compare it to my low end Midland CB is the way its squelch feature works (or does not). I don't know whether it's just my particular radio or whether this is a flaw of the entire series, but you have to set your squelch level unreasonably high, which makes you miss a lot of conversations further away from you. When you set your squelch level a bit lower, or whenever someone is right on the edge of squelch threshold, you will hear a lot of unusual noise coming from the radio, almost as it is undecided and it keeps oscilating back and forth from passing and blocking the signal. This sounds like a driver next to you is pressing and releasing the PTT button 4-5 times a second and it is much louder than the rest of the sounds you can hear on this radio, so it can be very disturbing, especially when you are driving and your loved one is asleep next to you.

NiMh batteries last forever and I don't ever connect it to my car's 12 V lighter output any more. However, another downside is that it requires two different external sources, one for charging the batteries and the other for just using the car power. The provided cable is good only for using the car power and it doesn't charge the batteries. Why not use the same connection for both?

The manufacturer claims that Soundtracker "...dramatically improves the sound quality of the transmission and reception of CB radio signals." I can't see a big difference.

All in all, it's pretty cool to have a hand held CB, but that's all what it is. I don't recommend it for drivers.

I bought a pair of these and am very happy with my purchase. Your voice comes through loud and clear, and they are very easy to use for the novice. The only thing that could be improved is the antenna. The reception is great for communicating to nearby cb'ers but if you are out of line of sight they lose their clarity, and things get garbled. Also, you can't hear truckers any real distance away. This is an easy fix. I simply bought a 3 foot 1500 watt antenna to screw into the magnetic base for 10 bucks, and now I can hear cb'ers for miles and miles, and the airwaves are no longer silent!

I think with ALL these 2 mile + walkie-talkie brands, the ONLY reason they DO NOT REACH their SAID RANGE is because the USERS don't GET THEIR FCC LISCENSES! THE RANGE ONLY WORKS IF YOU HAVE AN FCC LISCENSE! IF YOU AREN'T WILLING TO GET THE LISCENSE, DON'T COMPLAIN ABOUT THE WALKIE-TALKIE RANGE.

Everyone please understands that getting the FCC license for any GMRS radio does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to increase the range of the radio. The license is a piece of paper so the FCC may track who is using GMRS frequencies, nothing more. They used to do the same for CB users in the 70's. They do not track FRS freqs because of the low output power of FRS radios. Range is affected by output power of the radio but mostly by obstacles between you and the other radio. Trees, walls, buildings, hills, etc. reduce the range considerably. A true test of range is on open water or unobstructed Line-Of-Sight from one hilltop to another. (Not everyone has a boat) Buy three different sets from different brands and try them near a lake to test, return the ones that are not to your liking.

I purchased two of these units for use in shopping centers and on cruise ships. My wife and I had previously used a pair of older Motorola FRS radios, which were just not powerful enough to transmit through all that steel. We used the T7200 units today for the first time and they worked as advertised. We had complete coverage anwhere throughout the Mall of George, in Atlanta (a VERY large multi-level mall). Transmissions were strong and crystal clear (MUCH better sound than our older units). The weather channels also work very well and we listened to them all the way back to North Carolina. My only complaint with the T7200 is that the volume of the call tone is keyed to the level of the position of the volume button on the radio. If the volume level is accidently turned down (which happened to us once), the call tone cannot be heard when the unit is inside a pocket book or bag. This is a minor complaint and should not stop someone from buying the T7200. When it happened to us, my wife did not hear the call tone, but she did hear my spoken message, while the radio was inside her purse. Just be careful if you're not carrying the unit in the supplied belt holster. The T7200 is a great radio.....very functional and built like a tank! I would have given the T7200 4 1/2 stars, but the choice was either 4 or 5.

I bought 2 of these units, with 4 more backordered. This has been a great unit for staying in contact while shopping, hiking, driving, etc. The kids love it, and the belt attachment makes it easy to hook on a handbag strap, belt, etc.
The difficulty I have with it is with the VOX mode. You have to make a sound before it activates. If you don't, you lose the first few words before it kicks in.
I have the nicad, rechargeable unit. I like it because it saves on battery purchases.
All in all, I would recommend this unit.

When I first bought these at [local store], there were [money], and it included a [money] mail in rebate! I didn't mail in the rebate, because I wanted to test them out, first. The next Friday, my Law Enforcement group had an event that required radios. I just bought these, so I bring them along, not expecting any one to bring enough for the whole group. Well, someone did, and when he saw my radio, he was shocked. First of all, he said that mines' was "top of the line", and it was expensive. I just told him that I bought it from a shopping center, Secondly, his 4 radios costed more than what it would cost me less if I bought mines' in bulk. So, he just continually commented on my radio, and he got so jealous that he was about to exchange his radios for mine, but to bad for him, the radio I bought just went out of stock. So, I still have the T289 till this day, making it 5 months today, since I bought them. The only problem is that my light doesn't work, and that is getting annoying. But, overall, I love this radio, and I am willing to sell my other pair of radios to get this. :)

I love these little radios. We tested them in the car (one stayed in a wooded park while the other drove around town). Estimated 3 miles before we hit even the smallest amount of static. The only thing I would recommend is a handsfree headset so you can ride bikes, etc without having to hold anything. I read the other reviews before buying mine and they had a great influence. All are true except the pesky annoyance everyone talks about with the "push to talk" button. I personally can't find anything wrong with it. I just hold it differently. The microphone where you talk into is NOT located directly below the button, but off to the side, almost on the edge of the radio. The only weight of these little buggers is from the three AA. Basically, put three AA batteries in your hand and that is a simulation of what these radios feel like. I can't wait to try them skiing and hiking. We have played like kids on them for over a week now and haven't gotten tired of them. I would buy them all over again if I had to. Definately worth buying- don't look any where else (believe me I looked and looked)