Any recommendations (Brand/Model) for an inexpensive FRS/GMRS handheld?

dnovotny

New member
Long term I would like to get my HAM license, but I am moving cross country next weekend, and I am looking for a pair of handheld FRS radios so I can throw one in my U-Haul and one in my Brother-in-law's car.

I have been looking at the Motorola MT352R, but I really don't know if I would be better with a Uniden or Midland brand. Or if that is overkill, and a much cheaper model would be just as effective.

I know not to expect the "35 mile" range, I don't expect his car to be more than a half mile from me, so it should work fine, but I am curious if I am better off looking at a different brand. Ideally I would continue to use them as a backpacking radio in the future, but that is a secondary concern.

Any advice or suggestions is appreciated.
 

DaveInDenver

Middle Income Semi-Redneck
For FRS, shop on price mostly. I like the Motorola name and the pair of Talkabouts we have work fine still. The 35 mile range is ridiculous, not even in the most ideal of normal conditions will FRS radios have more than a couple of miles of range. There are exceptions where UHF might have a several hundred mile path (tropospheric ducting), but the space between local and long distance will still be radio silent and the path itself is not really 100% predictable way ahead of time, depends on weather, time of year, time of day. You can often count on it until the time you actually need it and it doesn't work... FRS radios will reliably cover car-to-car, maybe around camp or a ski area. That's about it.
 

dnovotny

New member
Thanks, that's about what I was expecting. I plan to get a HAM license, and a better system, but for today I am more looking for something that will work for a few cross country drives on the highway. Just wasn't sure about reliability of specific brands.
 

DaveInDenver

Middle Income Semi-Redneck
I don't know that any are better or worse than others. I'd stick with known names, Motorola, Uniden, etc. and find the set that matches your price/feature criteria. No reason to over think it. Even the cheapest FRS will have the same range as the most expensive, it's not magic. FRS is very strictly defined in power and configuration so there's not much variance between them in performance. Some might be built better and that might be worth it, but especially if you're planning to jump to ham I would save my money for that.
 

ebg18t

Adventurer
I have a set of Motorola's and a set of Cobra's. the Cobra's from Walmart seem to hold the charge better and 'might' have better range.
 

JimBiram

Adventurer
I've had horrible luck with the Motorolas due to crummy speakers. They will work ok with a headset. When I got my Midlands I thought I went to heaven with long battery life and strong radio and speaker. Important with all mgrs radios is to hold them as upright as possible as it affects the range significantly.
 

CaliMobber

Adventurer
Honestly I would just buy two of these china radio's and just transmit on the FRS freq 462.5-467.7

http://www.amazon.com/Baofeng-UV5RA...UTF8&qid=1371871593&sr=8-1&keywords=ham+radio

Then once you get your ham license you have a cheap radio that will operate on the HAM freq. People seen to love these little china radio and if you really want to get crazy get 2 magnet antennas for your cars to really open up the range.

http://www.amazon.com/Tram-1185-Amateur-Dual-Band-Antenna/dp/B0045EQUBK/ref=pd_sim_e_10


FRS/GMRS FREQ TABLE

http://ba-marc.org/writeups/gmrs-frs-freq.htm

I keep getting temped to buy one for a cheap hand held I can carry around when I dont want my expensive yaesu getting damaged.
 

JimBiram

Adventurer
I know a lot of people doing what you suggest, but as other threads have pointed out, using a Part 90 radio to transmit on Part 95 regulated frequencies is not allowed by the FCC. Part 95 which governs FRS/GMRS is pretty specific that all communication on those frequencies need a radio that is certified under Part 95. And if one chooses to do so, to operate on FRS you have to keep power to less than .5 watts, and those radios only go to 1 watt. Transmitting above .5 watt on the shared frs/gmrs frequencies requires a GMRS license $85 from FCC.

Best is to get everyone licenses on HAM from the get go...
 

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