Best walkie talkie?

[Firecapt]

I have Audiovox, Cobra, and Motorola walkie talkies from various years. The latest is the Motorola, and while the range seems to be OK, the audio is not! There doesn't seem to be one brand/unit that fits our needs.

We are looking for a set that allows us about a 2 mile range (for real, and no matter what), good audio, and a reasonable number of features.

Has anyone had a really great experience with a certain brand or unit, hopefully something I can still purchase?

These are invaluable when camping with kids. We give our Son one and it allows us to "keep in touch" when he goes out to explore the campground and surrounding area. The bottom line is I am looking for something absolutely reliable, easy to use, good range, and great audio.

Any suggestions?

[Festus2]

We have a pair of Audiovox which has served us well. I wouldn't vouch for the 2 mile range for these units though since they depend upon line-of-sight for optimum reception and transmission. I would give it a good rating in all of the other categories that you mentioned. There are all sorts of models with varying features and claims within every brand. Now that almost everyone has a cell phone, I am wondering if there is as much choice as there once was for these types of radios.

[Wing-in-it]

Just a suggestion....but don't you have cell phones? Why not use those & save your money on walkie talkies? If you have blue tooth...hands free operation!

Mark

[KanTC]

Frank,

We have a set of Motorola Talkabout 2-way Radios that 'advertise' a range of up to 18 miles & have several features, including NOAA Weather alerts & an Emergency Alert Feature** (see note below). We've had them for about 4 yrs, and been extremely pleased.

We use them when DH goes off fishing & I stay at the campsite; or when we hike (in case we ever get separated)... many times there's no cell phone service where we camp. We also use them when traveling (caravan) with other RV friends... shhh, don't tell, but one couple is directionally challenged and tends to fall behind & get lost easily. Different cell phone providers & occasionally no service, sooo we keep in touch by radio instead! Even with the radios in 2 different moving vehicles & 2-3 miles apart, we've had no problems.

The model # we have (T8530R) is no longer listed, of course, but the Talkabout MR350R has the same features, and 'advertise' range of up to 35 miles.

http://www.motorola.com/Business/US-...os+-+Consumers

**NOTE: The emergency alert feature: "When the alert button is activated, the radio transmits an alert siren followed by transmission of spoken or incidental sounds. This allows you to send the signal to other radios and warn of impending danger." [quote, in part, from website]

Hope this helps.
Terri, the Chevy co-pilot [& DH Kevin]

[Devildogmom]

Originally Posted by Wing-in-it

Just a suggestion....but don't you have cell phones? Why not use those & save your money on walkie talkies? If you have blue tooth...hands free operation!

Mark

There are lots of places, especially in the backwoods of the U.P. where cell phones have no signal. If there's no signal those phones are useless.

[Firecapt]

Thanks for all the suggestions!!

This forum (and its members) are awesome!

[Wing-in-it]

Originally Posted by Devildogmom

There are lots of places, expecially in the backwoods of the U.P. where cell phones have no signal. If there's no signal those phones are useless.

Geeze Louise...I was just making a suggestion...I'm sorry I annoyed you...

Peace.

Mark