Anyone have any recommendations for a talkabout with good battery life with a built in receiver for emergency radio channel?
What should one be looking for in a good talkabout?
Thanks
Depends on the use case. What are you trying to do?
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I was also going to ask about the use case. Strictly speaking, Talkabout radios are FRS/GMRS and there is no designated emergency channel. It also depends on what you mean by emergency radio channel. There are FRS/GMRS radios that cover the NOAA weather channels and can scan those for alerts but that is receive-only for severe weather.
Where and how you plan to use them is also important because, despite the “up to 25 miles” claims, FRS/GMRS radios are limited to either .5 or 5 watts depending on frequency and, in my experience you’re lucky to get a good signal from a mile away except under ideal conditions. (E.g., hilltop to hilltop with a clear line of sight.)
There is no license required for FRS. You are supposed to have a license to use the GMRS frequencies (I do) but I haven’t seen that strictly enforced or monitored. There are GMRS repeaters but I am not aware of any in this area.
John KF5I
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Something for use within the neighborhood/park/amusement park/large shopping complex to keep in touch with family members without having to resort to spotty mobile phone service. Preferably with a long battery life, ideally cheap but any suggestions that’s a good value is welcome.
Thanks
Thanks for the info. This was what I meant.
Those are easy to find and relatively inexpensive. Motorola are probably the best but their professional line can be pricey. The Motorola T100 talkabout is affordable but does not have NOAA Weather Channels. The Midland GXT1000VP4 works well and does have NOAA scan and alert. There are others but read the fine print to make sure they are a full 5 watts on the FRS/GMRS overlap frequencies (1-7) and have weather radio scan/alert. They use replaceable rechargable batteries and you can keep them in the charging stand when not in use.
Although they have been lenient, word is that the FCC may start cracking down on unlicensed GMRS frequency use. You want to use GMRS because those channels are 5 watts on channels 1 through 7 (which overlap FRS) and that gets you the most distance. Dealing with the FCC is a pain because they are, a) a government agency and, b) like “one size fits all” applications like Form 605 which maximize the confusion. The fee for a GMRS license is $70 ($7 a year for 10 years) but it applies to you and everyone in your immediate family.
The link to the FCC page on GMRS is https://www.fcc.gov/general-mobile-radio-service-gmrs.
If possible, I would suggest you borrow a pair of radios and try them in the circumstances and locations you would typically use them. Channels 1-7 are on 462 MHz which is fair about getting around obstacles. The higher the frequency, the shorter the wave and better about getting through things like windows. But, by comparison, a 4G cellular phone in the US operates in the 850 MHz band so if cell phone service is spotty, GMRS won’t necessarily be better. If they won’t do what you need, better to find out before buying the radios and spending $70 on an FCC license.At the least, buy an inexpensive set from somewhere you can return them (e.g., Walmart).
Hope this helps!
JMAC KF5I
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Thanks. 