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 The advent of the Family Radio Service and GRMS has opened a whole new possibility for reliable short-range communications, and depending on your needs they may just fill the bill --or they may not. Understand that ANY means of radio communication can save lives, exchange vhfhandheld information and simply be fun, so that is endorsement enough. Most of these radios operate on frequencies just above the 70 cm Amateur Bands...somewhere around 462-467 Mhz. The major players all produce satisfactory equipment with similar standards so, for the price conscious, dollars can be saved if you know what to look for. First look at the specifications; the more watts of power out, the further your signal will travel. Beginners note that 700mw (milliwatts) vhfhandheld is LESS than 1w (watt). More watts, more power, more distance. The manufacturer''s range claims are not fraudulent vhfhandheld or specious, but they can be misleading unless you are in clear country, the ideal conditions for distance communications. Don''t expect a two mile range in heavy terrain, you won''t get it...sometimes you won''t get 200 yards. But for inner-mall talking with your kids and family members, most of them are ok. I''ve also used them on fly fishing trips where we have seldom been more than a quarter mile from camp and they were fine. If you are using your walkie talkies on a climb up a tough mountain or vhfhandheld in a sand-and-water situation, you probably ought to pay vhfhandheld more because you are asking vhfhandheld the radio to give you hazardous duty performance. If you just need something to entertain the kids as they play in the backyard or you need to keep in touch while you and your family members are in different vhfhandheld ends of the mall, the less expensive units will do. So the first thing to consider is "What will my radios be used for?" the radios I might need would probably cost $1,000.00 apiece. My own portable walkie talkies were bought to help mountain climbers on moderate mountains communicate with each other, so I bought units that cost about $250.00 apiece. But you can get perfectly servicable portable 2-way radios for light duty at 1/10 of that cost. So need/price is the first thing to think about. The vhfhandheld 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, fishing 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 vhfhandheld 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, vhfhandheld 440 Mhz antennas are available from many sources, notably, and with a simple adaptor you can connect your FRS rig to a magnetic mount antenna on the roof of your vehicles. 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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