two way radios???

[stacy6552]

Ive heard alot about people using walkie talkies in the parks to stay in touch. which two way radios do you reccommend? which dont work at all?

 

[tink1953]

We just got back last Thurs from WDW and tried the radios 1 day. Never took them again because you hear everyone else and can't find your party anyway. All you get is other people talking. I guess you would have to spend a lot for a pair that doesn't do this?? They are a pain to carry too.

 

[Tommybob]

Stacy6552,
I haveto disagree with Tink1953! We took the FRS (Family Radio Service) two-way radios with us on our last trip to WDW and the worked great and where worth every penny we spent for them. They are aGREAT time saver I could give you numerous examples where they where sooooo Handy.
The key to eliminating interference from other radios is to get radios with the standard 14 channels and 38 subcodes This gives you a total of 546 locations (channel or channel & subcode)

We will be taking 6 radios when we go this Nov. Please feel free to contact me if I can be of any help

 

[stacy6552]

tommy, which ones do you have?

 

[nhrenee]

We love our Motorola Cobra 3's. They're about $80 each, we got ours from a great website. They have privacy channels and seperate codes so you don't hear other people's conversations. We chose this model because they have a fold down antenna (fits better in a fanny pack) and when someone is trying to contact you, you have a choice of ring, vibrator or both simulaneously. They really made our vacation so much more enjoyable because we didn't have to wait around for each other. I should mention that we were always in the same park. To my limited knowledge if you want radios that reach from park to park you can rent them (they're very expensive to buy and require a FCC license).

Whichever you choose I would suggest getting a holder you can attach firmly to your belt. My dh prefers that and I prefer to put mine in my fanny pack.

Good luck!

 

[ALostBoy]

Hi all,

We used the Cobra Microtalk 2's when we went and
they were great. We would split up to let the older
kids ride the "big" rides. They saved us alot of
wasted time with finding each other. We will definately
take them again.

I have seen packaged set's of 2 FRS radio's
W/ 38 subcodes, rechargable batteries and
chargers for around $ 70.00 for the set.
These radio's have a published range of about
2 miles. BTW I saw this set at Sam's Club.
Good Luck

 

[mkandk]

Why not use cell phones? My husband has a phone service that's nationwide, and he thinks we can move me up to a nationwide service, just for the month that we're going. I'm not sure about this, but it does save about $70+ if he's right.

 

[Tommybob]

Stacy6552,
Sorry it took so long to reply, was tied up with business.
Probably your best choice for FRS Radios would be Motorola (they started it all), Cobra, or Uniden. When purchasing the two-way radios you should consider units with the following features to get the maximum benefit out of their use.

1) units with 38 subcodes (aka privacy codes - lessens interference from other radios)

2) audible alerts ( a tone that lets you know the other unit(s) is trying to contact you). this
is a good feature especially when your in a loud or noisey area. Most units that have call
alerts have 5 separate alerts. There are units that have a vibrating alert which alerts you
without you distubing anyone around you.

3) "Roger Beep" (aka " talk coformation tone" - a beep or tone thats signals you when the
other party has finished talking so you can know respond)

4) Backlit screen ( allows you to see the screen in low lighted areas)

Any FRS radio has a maximum communication range of approx 2 miles this range can be lessened by ground conditions (ie: buildings,trees, ground terrain etc). Another Two-way radio that is available is the GMRS radio that has up to a 5 mile range and there are combination GMRS & FRS radios available also. GMRS radios are supposed to be licensed similar to CB radios. Most people don't tho.

A few FRS radios to consider when going to make a purchase are Motorola #5200 , Cobra#225-2, or the Uniden #420 These are all approx $70.00 a pair

These radios can come in handy all the time, not just at WDW. Most stores (ie Best Buy,Circuit City, Target, K-Mart have a 30 day return policy. I suggest buying the unit you think you want just before going to WDW try it out and if it doesnt do the job simply return it.

I hope this helps

 

[Luvmyfam3]

In response to your question, most plans that have the nationwide service allow you to call to all over the country and receive phone calls from everywhere for free. But, if you call from outside your territory, you are charged a roaming fee. This can add up. I may be wrong about this, but that is the way I understood it..... BTW, we have the walkie-talkies they are talking about and they are awesome. We've used them for Disney and skiing. It's great!

Kim

 

[DisneyShoppingHound]

My family and I, or anyone who is in our group bring radio's everytime we go. They are truely indespencable. We have the Motorola talkabouts #250 they are perfect! They are great they work everywhere; inside buildings, over 2 miles apart, they are rugged and tough; lasted through many drops and slams. I highly recommend them. the new version - Motorola talkabout T6200 are good, but not as well made and they don't have as good reception and range as the older ones. I hope you can find the old ones, we are looking too...seems dad dropped one of them in the pool this summer...

 

[Belle1962]

We use our AT & T cell phones. NO ROAMING, LONG DISTANCE or other "hidden" charges--they work just like they work at home. Contact your cell carrier to verify what your charges will be.

In Nov 2000 we had a very large group, some had walkie talkies and some had cell phones. Walkie Talkies broke after a few days but until then here is what we discovered:

Walkie Talkies: too many people have them---kept hearing other people's conversations, signal not always real strong--often had to shift positions to hear clearer, when trying to reach someone in a show or attraction you couldn't (WE ALWAYS TURN OFF PHONES & WALKIE TALKIES WHILE IN SHOWS, ON RIDES OR OTHER ATTRACTIONS) but it is cheaper than paying by the minute for cell phone use if not included in your plan.

Phones: could leave messages if we missed someone while they were on a ride; never had a problem with strength or signal (except in the food court at All Star Music..what gives???), could pre-arrange a call time, never had to worry about anyone overhearing our plans with the kids, never had to worry about people taling over our conversations.

 

[KJMAX1]

We too purchased a set of these and we even use them at the mall or a large event! The only thing I can say is make sure you get rechargable batteries for them. Ours run out within a day or two even on standby. Just a hint, we bought ours on Ebay brand new in the sealed factory package for 27.00. Later that week we were at Costco (warehouse store) for about 60.00 for the set. Our has the multiple channel combination, and the backlight, the alert tone for incoming calls, and the "roger" beep.


Have fun!!

Kelly

 

[mikek]

Sprint also has no roaming, no long distance, no ripooff fee plans.

So if you already have their service - its somthing to think about. The monthly fee is very reasonable but if you dont have phones your in for a bigger bill since the cheapest i've ever been able to get is $50 to buy a phone. I pay like $105 for 4 phones with 1k peak and 2k off peak minutes to share, so going to disney with them is a no brainer for me. Dont think i'd buy 'em just for that though.

I also have 4 of those radios- (Alright i'm a gadget freak!)
2 are the cheap 19$ kind with only 2 channels and no subcodes and the other 2 are FRS+GMRS i got for about 125$ after rebates on amazon- they have like 20 something channels with a pile of subcodes. THe first two are basically trash unless you are in the middle of a corn field somewhere with no one else around- as someone posted early on you get stepped on by about 200 other people at the same time in disney or other public places like that. The other fancier 2 are pretty great for finding a channel/subcode without anyone on it. But one big but you should be awar of- the distance estimates are big fat lies for pretty much any of these type of radios. The 2 mile type generally work only about a mile or so, and the GMRS type I have which are supposed to be 'up to 5 miles' max out at about 3 miles in reality (but thats still better than the best FRS radios you could legally buy). I suppose if one user is on top of a mountian and the other in a valley below, you get those advertising distance claims, but not in the real world (its akin to 56k modems- sure its theoretically possible in lucents lab, but your not getting that in the real world for a variety of reasons).

 

[mkandk]

I'm glad to have all the facts...I wanted to let anyone know who was following this thread what I've found. There are some good sales on the FRS radios right now, $40 to $50 for a pair, and these are the ones with the subchannels.

I called my cell phone service, and it will be $30 to upgrade to a no-roaming plan for a month.

So I'm undecided...I guess I need to look at the park maps to get an idea of how big a range we will need. The cell phone seems more practical since we already have my husband's for no extra charge, but the radios just seem like more fun--plus we'd have them for later.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

We got our Talkabout 250's two years ago for a Disney trip, and have used them often since then. We ran into interference at Disney only a few times, but I can't tell you now many times it made things much more convenient.

Just today I picked up 3 more...these are Talkabout 280's. This way we will ALL have one...DH and I and the 3 kids. The kids are getting older and started to go off on their own for short periods of time at WDW. As a matter of fact, in June at Disneyland, my middle DD had one radio, I had the other, and we ended up losing my oldest DD (12) for 2 1/2 hours...she didn't have one.

The Talkabout 280's I got today were $49.97 at Lowe's, and there's a $20 each rebate, so I'll get $60 back on it all. Not too bad.

 

[tink2dw]

The Radio Shack FSB Family Radios have 14 Channels,38 sub channels AND A QUELCH feature so you Only hear your own family converations. they have a 2 mile range.

 

[DISNEYDADINOREGON]

I bought 3 Motorla Talkabout 5100 @ Walmart 29.99 ea.(price cut, they were 59.99 ea!) They worked great and my 6 year old son loved having one and it made me more secure knowing he had it. We used them a lot and can not imagine going with out them. We got seperated a few times and when my wife needed to go to the bathroom we could go and look in shops instead of standing out side the ladies room and vice versa. I could go to the food court and ask her if she needed anything. Think of all the oportunites to use them!