Walkie Talkie Kakie (FRS & GMRS)

[LLCC]

I use Standard Horizon HX470S. Marine VHF, 5W Handheld. No need license when use on the boat. But not permitted to use on land.

This set can also use on FRS and MURS. Can listen to AM/FM radio as well as air band.






LL

[jwschow]

have a bunch of friends who used to be crazy about walkie-talkies...we used them everywhere we went...there was just an excuse to use them at point i think there were easily 50 pairs around....mostly were using the Motorola talkabouts....i too had a pair of them...finally sold that and got myself a midland G-300 and still keeping till this day...

[stratman2]

Hi all,

I own a pair of Motorola Talkabout T5920 GMRS/FRS two-way radios. It was a 2-unit pack, complete with NiCd batteries and a charger. Cost me a whopping RM700 when I bought them back in Dec 2003. The T5920 is advertised as 5-mile capable, which puts it between 1 to 2 watts (can't remember the actual output). Comes with 22 selectable channels and 99 sub-channels, including dedicated GMRS channels.

I learned that these Talkabouts don't work too well when used in cars as the metal structure of vehicles drastically reduce the RF output of the radios. Max range in two cars is a measly few hundred meters, line-of-sight.

The ideal modification would be a replacement of the stock rubber antenna to a longer one but due to the U.S. FCC regulations, FRS radios are not allowed to have their antennas changed.

To date the longest distance I have achieved was talking to my friend at his home in Sec 14 Petaling Jaya from my home in SS1. Distance between the two of us, according to Mapsource is 1.7 kms. Even then, I had to be on the top floor of my house and he had to stand outside his home, due to blockage from office buildings in his vicinity.

I've actually listened in to conversations at night (ideal conditions for RF transmissions) from some female Indonesian worker who said that she was at one of the very top floor in one of the KLCC twin towers. That would be 11.5kms, as the crow flies.

I guess nothing beats a vehicle ham radio for car-to-car communication.

[nazri14]

which brand is the best...??? the coverage with 5~10km radius...need opinion form others here...

[jwschow]

which brand is the best...??? the coverage with 5~10km radius...need opinion form others here...

my humble 2 cents ....can't really go wrong with motorola talkabout for simple use i.e. husband and wife and kids at the mall (save on hp bills), outdoor activities, etc...and you don't really get that 5-10 miles as advertised...my midland is 10 miles but can't get that distance as there's always no available line of sight...got building, coconut tree blocking..

[FrancisTLim]

have a bunch of friends who used to be crazy about walkie-talkies...we used them everywhere we went...there was just an excuse to use them at point i think there were easily 50 pairs around....mostly were using the Motorola talkabouts....i too had a pair of them...finally sold that and got myself a midland G-300 and still keeping till this day...

Wow, 50 pairs!! Yeah, that must have been fun.

I too had fun with walkie talkies some years ago, but only 3 or 4 pairs lah. However, nowadays, not much excuse/time to use walkie-talkies anymore.

Really good for road-trips where two or three cars are involved.

[FrancisTLim]

which brand is the best...??? the coverage with 5~10km radius...need opinion form others here...

my humble 2 cents ....can't really go wrong with motorola talkabout for simple use i.e. husband and wife and kids at the mall (save on hp bills), outdoor activities, etc...and you don't really get that 5-10 miles as advertised...my midland is 10 miles but can't get that distance as there's always no available line of sight...got building, coconut tree blocking..

Well, the two factors that give range is the transmit power and the length of the aerial. I think all the sets nowadays transmit at less than 1 Watt, even though some advertise up to 5 Watts. Midland Radio has some 5W models. But if you search the webpages, there are some people who compile the info from the FCC tests and list them out for all the models. You will see that most of them are less than 1W.

For the long aerial, I think the current crop of Talkabout models have quite long aerials. I have not tried them, though.

The other important thing for me is that I prefer models which use AA batteries instead of AAA. That is because AA batteries have about 3 times the capacity of AAA batteries (2700mAh vs 900mAh).

[stratman2]

which brand is the best...??? the coverage with 5~10km radius...need opinion form others here...

That would depend on how you intend to use the FRS radios for, Nazri.

If you plan to use two-way radios very frequently on outdoor trips in the jungles, forget the low-wattage models and go for the ones with that advertise a minimum range of 7 miles. These models are likely to be large with longer antennas and heavy.

FRS/GMRS radios operate on the UHF (Ultra High Frequency) radio spectrum and UHF radio signals tend to travel in straight lines. UHF signals also cannot penetrate dense forest and jungles very well but they work well in buildings.

For general, occasional use, e.g. communicating between hotel rooms on adjacent floors and trips to events held in large open spaces, a 2-watt unit (5 mile range) should be ideal for you. The higher you are above ground, the longer distance you can communicate. I've heard stories of FRS radio transmissions taking place from the summit of Genting Highlands to Setapak, KL but don't know if such ranges are practically possible.

I would recommend Motorola Talkabouts as they are easy to use, robust (some have rubberized surfaces) and can take nasty falls. I've accidentally dropped my Talkabout radios on a few occasions and they still work fine till today, no worries. Some Talkabout models are rain-proof for outdoor use.

Also note that FRS walkie talkies are strictly point-to-point communication devices. They are not to be confused with VHF/UHF ham radios (which requires you to apply for a license from MCMC, formerly JTM), which can either be operated in point-to-point mode or via repeater stations.

Repeater stations are like the microwave transmitters on top of tall towers (usually sited on top of hills) for your mobile phone. Through the use of multiple repeaters across the Peninsular, VHF/UHF ham radio operators are able to communicate from Johor all the way to Perlis.

Unlike FRS radios for personal use, ham radio operators are assigned a unique callsign and they have to adhere to a strict code of conduct when communicating. If you have a portable ham radio transceiver in front of you, you can listen in to conversations but by law you're not allowed to transmit (talk).

Ham radio operators are a close knit community and they can tell if a non-licensed user is transmitting on the air. My brother has been a ham radio operator for years (he owns both a vehicle mounted unit and a portable one) and I know a bit about ham radio but not that interested in this hobby.

Also note that many ham radio transceivers can also tune into the FRS/GMRS channels, not to mention strangers who happen to have FRS radios in your vicinity and listening in to your conversation.

Unlike cellphones, you have absolutely no privacy with FRS/GMRS radios. The so-called privacy modes in Motorola Talkabouts only prevent other FRS users from disturbing your conversation but doesn't prevent them from listening in.

So whenever you transmit on FRS, you don't want to talk about private stuff you don't want strangers to hear.


Hope his helps.

[nazri14]

which brand is the best...??? the coverage with 5~10km radius...need opinion form others here...

That would depend on how you intend to use the FRS radios for, Nazri.

If you plan to use two-way radios very frequently on outdoor trips in the jungles, forget the low-wattage models and go for the ones with that advertise a minimum range of 7 miles. These models are likely to be large with longer antennas and heavy.

FRS/GMRS radios operate on the UHF (Ultra High Frequency) radio spectrum and UHF radio signals tend to travel in straight lines. UHF signals also cannot penetrate dense forest and jungles very well but they work well in buildings.

For general, occasional use, e.g. communicating between hotel rooms on adjacent floors and trips to events held in large open spaces, a 2-watt unit (5 mile range) should be ideal for you. The higher you are above ground, the longer distance you can communicate. I've heard stories of FRS radio transmissions taking place from the summit of Genting Highlands to Setapak, KL but don't know if such ranges are practically possible.

I would recommend Motorola Talkabouts as they are easy to use, robust (some have rubberized surfaces) and can take nasty falls. I've accidentally dropped my Talkabout radios on a few occasions and they still work fine till today, no worries. Some Talkabout models are rain-proof for outdoor use.

Also note that FRS walkie talkies are strictly point-to-point communication devices. They are not to be confused with VHF/UHF ham radios (which requires you to apply for a license from MCMC, formerly JTM), which can either be operated in point-to-point mode or via repeater stations.

Repeater stations are like the microwave transmitters on top of tall towers (usually sited on top of hills) for your mobile phone. Through the use of multiple repeaters across the Peninsular, VHF/UHF ham radio operators are able to communicate from Johor all the way to Perlis.

Unlike FRS radios for personal use, ham radio operators are assigned a unique callsign and they have to adhere to a strict code of conduct when communicating. If you have a portable ham radio transceiver in front of you, you can listen in to conversations but by law you're not allowed to transmit (talk).

Ham radio operators are a close knit community and they can tell if a non-licensed user is transmitting on the air. My brother has been a ham radio operator for years (he owns both a vehicle mounted unit and a portable one) and I know a bit about ham radio but not that interested in this hobby.

Also note that many ham radio transceivers can also tune into the FRS/GMRS channels, not to mention strangers who happen to have FRS radios in your vicinity and listening in to your conversation.

Unlike cellphones, you have absolutely no privacy with FRS/GMRS radios. The so-called privacy modes in Motorola Talkabouts only prevent other FRS users from disturbing your conversation but doesn't prevent them from listening in.

So whenever you transmit on FRS, you don't want to talk about private stuff you don't want strangers to hear.


Hope his helps.

wooowwwww... thanks bro for the info..helps alot....

[LLCC]

I recently moved house, and let me tell you, the FRS radio helped us a lot. I borrowed 3 more handsets in addition to my Standard Horizon for this move.

The supervisor of the mover got one handset, my wife one, and my sister-in-law one.

It really became obviously better than the mobile phone when questions arose about which box (which was labelled in illegible handwriting) goes where. We were all stationed at different places, one downstairs, one upstairs in room A and I'm at the ground floor with the lorry making sure no box gets opened (or items pilfered) while they're being moved.

The supervisor of the movers only needed to call over the air to describe the carton he's unsure where to place, and everyone can hear and the guilty owner reply immediately. In the past, it was too troublesome to get everyone to verify whose box is improperly labelled (or worse, unlabelled), so these "bad boxes" are placed in a pile somewhere, then after the move, individuals must rummage through these boxes and carry them back to their individual rooms. This made it heavy work for the girls, and a big headache for me to take account for.

I'm really glad for the FRS radio's help in this move.

LL