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 The third thing I would think about is electrical power. What kind of batteries does the unit require? Are the batteries rechargable? What are the recharging units, if any, like? Can I recharge the radio from my car''s lighter socket? If I can''t recharge the batteries, what kind of batteries do I need and what will their life be if I leave the unit on for several hours? Consider electrical power. The fourth thing to consider is range. Many radios are advertised as being a 5-mile or a 2-mile radio, but that is only on a flat landscape under ideal conditions. If you can, either conduct a real-world test on the radios or ask someone who has actually used them for a while what kind of range they have. I have found two nice uses for my own portable radio set. A long-distance drive with two cars can really benefit from these. passive The two drivers or others in the two cars can stay in touch rather well as long as the cars are in reasonable range. The repeaters physical casing of the radio can be an issue depending on whether the radio is for the wife''s purse, or for us butch fishermen and hunters whose equipment is subject to jostling and knocking around. In the outback hunting, passive fishing repeaters and rockclimbing venues, don''t rule out Walkie-Talkies-- the units are usually less expensive and just as well made. In remote areas interference is highly unlikely, and the squelch can be set just high enough to allow only your immediate user groups participation in more populated areas. The subjects of intermodulation, transmit/receive audio, etc. can for the moment be set aside inasmuchas these questions are of little concern to the casual hobbiest. The "rubber ducky" antenna that comes with these radios is the LEAST efficient antenna. But there are extensible "gain" antennas that can be had, even though they are a little bit clunky in active environments. If you are going to be in difficult terrain, or say you want to transmit from car to car, 440 Mhz antennas are available from many sources, notably, and with a simple adaptor you can connect your FRS passive rig to a magnetic mount antenna on the roof of your vehicles. Another good use is avoiding cell-phone charges if you are in range. This can become your cell-phone substitute in many circumstances and that is good. A nice plus with many of these units today is that you can get hands-free attachments. A voice-activated microphone/headphone unit could really benefit anyone repeaters with their hands and eyes occupied, like a vehicle driver, a cyclist, or a hiker/climber. If that might be in your need profile, keep passive an eye out for units repeaters such as these. I don''t think having a multi-channel unit is all that important for most people. Most people are just wanting to communicate between point A and point B. But there are many radios today that will let you connect with points C,D,E,F, etc. The thing of it is, in real life, most people don''t need that extra feature. I expect that this type of radio will get smaller over time and one of these days they will be built passive into watches or something. people just like to stay in touch. And when a is too expensive or a cell tower isn''t near or there is another problem, these little radios can often repeaters fill the bill. Just start with what your real application is going to be and work upward from there. Welcome to the primier site for two way radios. Our company is the World's Leading Supplier for Professional Portable and Mobile Two-Way Radios & Walkies! We Buy, Sell, Trade, & Repair all types of new and used 2-way radio equipment for Virtually any and all types of work.
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