First, let me tell you that I sell both types of radios on my website in my
Midland Radio Discount Store.
There are two types of Two-Way Radios being discussed here. First are "FRS" radios. These are commonly referred to as "Two-Mile" radios. The second type is "GMRS" radios. These are the radios with a 5-mile (I also sell some with a 7-mile range - but I can't keep them in stock) range. "FRS" radios may be purchased and used by anyone - anywhere. "Technically" speaking, anyone purchasing "GMRS" radios is required to purchase a license from the FCC to use the radios. The cost if a license is $75.00, and the license is good for 5 years and covers your whole family.
I would never encourage anyone to break the rules or law, but I have sold dozens of the GMRS radios, and have yet to know anyone that has purchased a license. I personally submit no information or paperwork to anyone about who is purchasing the radios (is that diplomatic enough
).
As far as range goes. When you see that number - "TWO-mile", "FIVE-mile", or "SEVEN-mile", that is the
MAXIMUM range you will get with the radios. This range is determined over flat ground or water. In real conditions, your range will be much less. In most conditions, you can expect the two-mile radios to be good for about 1/2 mile, and the five & seven mile radios for about a mile. I personally strongly doubt that most radios would work between parks - due to obsticles such as trees, buildings, and overall distance (remember... WDW is a big place). Theoretically, if you were standing at the top of Summit Plummet at BB, you might be able to talk to someone at MGM... but that's theory.
Now.... which radios are right for you. Well, when I went last year, I took "FRS" radios. It was just myself & my girlfriend. For us, the radios worked just fine around the parks. Often times, one of us would go to the bathroom, or maybe ride another ride while one waited. These offered plenty of range. If you are going with a large family that plans on splitting up over the park... go with the "GMRS" radios.
Another important thing to keep in mind is Batteries. You will go through a set of alkaline batteries every couple of days with these radios. Re-chargeables are a MUST!!!.
Now, on to my products. I am running out of all of my radios right now. If you check my web page above, you will see that several items are on back-order.
I currently have plenty of the
75-510XLB FRS Radios in stock. These are the two-mile radios. The ones I sell are $19.95 each and
come with rechargeable batteries for this price!!!!! You may find cheaper radios out there, but this is an incredible price for radios with batteries.
As far as GMRS radios go, I only have a few of the
G11-C2VP GMRS Radios in stock. I was completely out of these for a while, and once these are gone... that's it... I'm cleaning out the last that Midland has. This package is an INCREDIBLE deal. I sell a two-pack of the radios, along with rechargeable batteries, and a dual-desktop charger for $79.95. You will not find GMRS radios at this price that include rechargeable batteries & a dual charger
(why is a dual charger important??? Well - remember that if you have 4 radios & 4 charging units - you need 4 plugs. Most radios have those large square plugs, so you can usually only fit one per outlet. So, you are stuck lugging a power strip with you wherever you want to charge the radios). Anyway.... this is an incredible deal for these radios.
To answer the question on frequencies. All of these radios share common frequencies. The FRS radios are all on the same 14 channels. The GMRS radios will access all of the FRS frequencies - plus add an additional 15 channels. All of the radios I sell come with CTTS sub-codes. This is important because at a place like WDW, you will definately find other folks on the same frequency. So for example - with cheaper radios, you may be on channel 10 along with 30 other people. With the CTTS programed, you could be on channel 10, sub-channel 18. So, you are much more likely to find your own frequency. Also, with these radios, you can have an unlimited number of radios sharing the same frequency. I have sold as many as 20 of the FRS radios to one person (had a boy scout group) for use during events. So, if you have a large family, get enough radios for everyone. And, if "mom & dad" have some GMRS radios, they could talk to the kids on the FRS radios.
I really hope to be adding more radios soon. As I said, with recent events - everyone wants these radios for security around the house & in public.
A quick word about myself and how I'm able to sell the radios so cheap. First, my girlfriend works at Midland Radio. They are located here in Kansas City. Basically what happens is that they usually sell large quantities of radios (in the thousands) to distributors - who in turn sell to smaller stores who only need a few. Since they sell in such quantity, they are sometimes left with small amounts of radios that are smaller than any company wants to buy (Walmart wouldn't buy 23 radios from the - but they would buy 23,000). So, they let me sell from these "extra's". All of the radios come straight from Midland, and have the full manufacturers warranty in effect. I use the proceeds of the sale of the radios to help support my website. It is not currently a money-making venture for me. I have a small "hobby" site that has turned into one of the largest Law Enforcement websites on the internet. It has become outrageously expensive to run - so I sell stuff to support it. In other words.... if you ever have a problem or need assistance, it will be me answering your e-mail.... not some nameless person.
