Walkie Talkie Newby

[SR Burton]

I want to pick up two walkie talkies. I have never owned or used one. Real basic use, hiking and calling out shots at the 600 yard pit.

I've been researching them for a few weeks. Motorola, Midland and BaoFeng keep popping up. Budget would be no more than $200 for a pair. I'm willing to spend less. I've watched enough video reviews until I my head hurts.

Who here has been using one for a while and one you would recommend?

Thanks

 

[Old_School]

I want to pick up two walkie talkies. I have never owned or used one. Real basic use, hiking and calling out shots at the 600 yard pit.

I've been researching them for a few weeks. Motorola, Midland and BaoFeng keep popping up. Budget would be no more than $200 for a pair. I'm willing to spend less. I've watched enough video reviews until I my head hurts.

Who here has been using one for a while and one you would recommend?

Thanks

Well, for the average user, I'd say there's not a nickel's worth of difference between the brands. I wouldn't recommend the Baofengs unless you're a Ham operator or like to program your own frequencies (tedious and potentially illegal).

Just keep in mind that none of them will be good for more than about a mile of range, no matter what the package says. You might want to get one that has weather channels, but other than that, it's a coin toss and not worth spending a lot of time fretting over.

Sent from my moto z4 using Tapatalk

 

[falken]

look at the motorola t800's they allow you to text and share location off grid,.

 

[Centurion]

Don't waste you time listening to anyone without either a Professional or Amateur (HAM) Radio Operators license. Either that, or a Service Tech for a professional shop. This area is very technical and is full of people who think that they know a lot more than they do. Look at professional radios (Motorola, Kenwood, Yaesu, Alinco) for dependable performance. Baofangs and other Chinese junk may not last a week.

A set of radios like this set up on VHF MURS frequencies will be your best bet, unless you are a HAM.

FRS (UHF) is a good band in the city, but you will find out that pine straw works like a sponge on UHF frequencies. That said, there is a lot of interoperability here if you want to talk to a lot of people. The nice thing about FRS is if you don't want to spend the time to become a HAM you can just pay yearly dues to use GMRS linked repeaters. We have a big system in the Metro Atlanta area.

In order of expected range:
Base to Base (Maximum)
Base to mobile
Mobile to Mobile
Mobile to HT (Handy Talkie)
HT to HT (Poorest)

For a non-Ham, in order of expected range:
CB (26-27 MHz)
VHF (Low Band) (45 - 55 MHz)
VHF (High Band) (144-152 MHz)
UHF (440 MHz - 468 MHz)

This is not to say that you can operate on any frequency in these ranges. Attempts to do so will probably lead to fines or prison.

Bottom Line: I am a Ham, and also licensed for a MURS VHF frequency. I use Motorola XTS5000's on for this and my work. Get with a real Pro and don't ask questions here!

YMMV

 

[Snack]

Transmitting around 600 yards Pick one of the common sets of FM family walkie talkies with the best ergonomics for you and then consider whether you prefer a rechargeable battery or throw-away AAA's. I bought a set of 4 Baofeng rechargable family walkie talkies for around $79 delivered last year, they have 18 or so channels and some ctcss type discrimination so you don't hear others who might be nearby and happen to be using the same channels you're on. My Baofengs peter out at around 1300 yards when in the thick pine around hunting camp so 600 yards ought to be fine for you

 

[SR Burton]

Thanks for all the good advice. I picked a pair of basic Midland X Talker for $80. They will do fine for my basic needs right now. Also had a nice talk with a gentleman at the FCC. So much to learn about going further.

Centurion, I'll look at your suggestions as I get further along and want more capability.