which two way radio is best, prices?

[mickeyinjune]

we want to purchase two way radios, they are about $70 for the cobra microtalks at best buy or circuit city.

are they worth the money? we are going with a groug of nine and we are sure we will not all stick together.

 

[GrumpyOne]

I recently bought a set of Cobras. You don't say which Microtalk's you're looking at but I felt that the Cobra radios I bought were the best value and had the best set of features. The fact that it reliably worked with every other type of radio I checked, unlike the Motorola's, was a plus as well.

 

[AngelBaby]

you need to get a model with a quelch feature,that way you only hear your own conversations. Without it you can hear EVERYONELSE Talking and its hard to pick out who you are talking to!!!! and you can also hear the perverted men talking too. Radio Shack has a model that does have the quelch on it.

 

[sltrawick]

I bought the Cobra Micro Talk 1 and I hated them. Everyone was on the same channel, etc.

So...I bought Motoroalla Talkabout 250 and I love it. I only had to switch channels 1 time the whole 10 days I was there! I always say....you get what you pay for. Just make sure it has lot's of channels and an alert calling button so you know when someone comes across and says "mom", you know it will be for you!

 

[tp_magill]

WHATEVER brand of radio you get, it's just about a "must have" to be sure they have both "Channel" (14 of those) and "Privacy Codes" (38 of those). This will ensure that you hear just the people who have the same settings you do. If you do not have "codes", then you will hear anyone on that channel, no matter what code they have or are using. (Sort of like 38 sub-channels, and code zero (no code at all) hears all 38.)

You also should keep that in mind when/ if you transmit sensitive info. Even if you are on a code, someone not using any code can hear you. So you shouldn't broadcast room numbers, specifics on who's going where and when, etc.

As to my choice: I own Motorola's. I bought a set of the first ones out (no display or nuttin'). I am STILL using them, several years later. I have a buddy who also bought similar radios, and he's still got them, too. We use them for Boy Scout trips, among other things. The Troop bought a set of 4 Cobras before last summer camp, because they were cheaper. I'll say! We got more functions for less money, BUT ....

1) 3 of the 4 were damaged in some way by the end of the week. (Remember, the Motorolas made it through 4 camps!).
2) The range was about 25% less than the Motorolas (Motorolas could be heard from further away.)
3) The Cobra's used about 4 changes of batteries, the Motorolas used about 2 changes during same time.

 

[WishUponAStar]

brands which require 3A batteries use them up much faster than the ones which use 2A. they use either 4-3As or 3-2As.
i am not sure why but the 2As use less battery, have a greater range and it seems like they are not bothered by interference as much. of course this may vary by brand but this is true for the ones i own and several brands i have used also. motorolas (talkabout 250) are the best i have used however they do not have a call feature which beeps or rings to alert you to an incoming call. i also have northwetern bell (not a good purchase) and a brand i bought before they were so popular which work well. go with a brand with subcodes and 2A batteries. if i had to buy again i would get either motorola talkabout 250 or the fr60.

 

[mickeyinjune]

thanks for all the help I will post once we purchase.

 

[rogers803]

Great info...didn't realize there was so much to consider.

 

[ksmom]

I just bought a pair of the Cobras to give my husband for an early fathers day present. We leave on June 5th for the parks and cruise on June 10. They do have the 14 Channels and 38 privacy codes so hopefully we'll be ok. I want to be able to keep in contact with our two teenage daughters. I'll let you know how the radios worked when we get back.

 

[Minnie's Mate]

My mother gave us a set of Audiovox for Christmas. We used them on our April trip and the worked well. One feature they have that I would recommend is rechargable batteries .

The model we have has a charger base that holds two radios. We were there for three days and didn't need to recharge them even once, but they recharge quickly (I believe about an hour for a full recharge) so we could have charged them over night if we had needed too.