Two Way Radios

[TheDirtKing]

Looking for recommendations for walkie talkies in the field. Something to reach my digging partners no more than a mile away, sometimes wooded conditions, sometimes open field. Not needing super professional, special license, talk to the space station type radios, just durable, clear sound, and if they were rechargeable or had a optional battery power option, that would probably work great. Weather resistant a plus. Any ideas?

 

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[Al D]

I have used these with no issues, and they did not cost a lot, around $50.00

 

[A#1]

I use the Motorola i355 ( an old Nextel cell phone). Not exactly cheap, but they are good. Also, digital, multi channel, rechargable, and secure


https://www.survivalmonkey.com/thre...-motorola-i355-directalk-configuration.56310/

 

[Bum Luck]

I'd stay away from “blisterpack” radios.

Don't skimp on quality, but get units that block other calls with privacy codes if you want to stay sane. Radios without became unusable due to the constant chatter of truckers who migrated from the insanity of the CB band to higher freqs with large illegal amps. Not only that, neighborhood Beavis and Buttheads tend to like hearing their own chatter. That makes working with them in city environments impossible.

An alert code that buzzes too if you are using headphones.

Be prepared to discount claimed ranges heavily. VHF penetrates brush and "goes around" hills much better than UHF, 462 and 467 MHz. But, if you don't want to deal with licensing, FRS is the only way to go.

Some have exterior speaker/mics (or the capability) that are very handy for some users.


SO:
The Motorola MS350R seems to garner good reviews from a variety of serious users. I won't link to it, but it's easily found at around $120 for 2.

-121 privacy codes attached to each of the 22 channels

-VibraCall silent vibrating ringer (for headphone use when detecting!)

-NiMH rechargeable battery pack (make sure your seller includes that)

-IP-54 rating, weatherproof (won't handle submersion though)

-all these radios say 35 mile range, but that's ridiculous. fu-get it.

 

[Toecutter]

I bought these 30$ easy to use and find and seem to work great..

https://www.ebay.com/itm/124025701927

 

[sjvalleyhunter]

The Motorola MS350R seems to garner good reviews from a variety of serious users. I won't link to it, but it's easily found at around $120 for 2.

If you can link it, I’d appreciate it. I’ve been looking for a good pair of radios as well but Amazon has this particular model for $499 and other sites show it to be discontinued. If it’s still available for $120 I’d consider buying them.

 

[Simon1]

As Bum Luck said. I used a pair of those Motorola's for my work and liked them especially with the headset with mic.. And it got nowhere near the 35 mile mark and unless you go to something that has a repeater or ham radio operation, you are not going to get the 35 mile range. On good days I could pick up my office which is about 3/4 to a mile away. Radios are small, and recharge pretty fast. They seemed to have a greater range when installing fresh alkaline batteries. Good luck

 

[Bum Luck]

If you can link it, I’d appreciate it. I’ve been looking for a good pair of radios as well but Amazon has this particular model for $499 and other sites show it to be discontinued. If it’s still available for $120 I’d consider buying them.

I did find them on Amazon for that, but are now discontinued. So they may be available, but at weird prices. I found them at Walmart for $64, but gone. Someone may have them, but they're replaced by other models.