Great Christmas Gifts for Family and Friends: Two Way Radios
Great Christmas Gifts for Family and Friends: Two Way Radios
The General Mobile Radio Service, the Family Radio Service, and the rather new 900 MHz walkie-talkies being sold, are all very capable radios that can be used for personal or business short to medium range communication. How are these comparable, how much do they cost and which one would make the best Christmas gift?
The least expensive of these three personal short-range radios are the Family Radio Service (FRS) handies. It's getting extremely difficult to find FRS-only handies, and the one commercial manufacturer, Icom, retails their lone model for a price that is the same cost or more than GMRS radios. Most manufacturers don't seem to be interested in producing budget FRS-only handies any longer, instead, focusing on the pricier GMRS and commerical UHF radios.
The FRS radios are reduced to 500 mW output, or half a watt. Realistically they are competent for anywhere up to 1 mile or a bit more, depending on terrain. These little radios boast 14 channels and many have CTCSS as an option to "quiet" a channel so you can't hear transmissions from other stations. The FRS handies are license free, which is a big convenience.
FRS was introduced by the FCC in 1996 as an inexpensive and license-free mode of communication for personal and business use.
The General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) walkie-talkies are costlier. They have a higher output, typically 1 to 4 watts, although most are around 2 watts. This is a good power level for distance and battery longevity.
While the GMRS handies do have an added range, don't believe the hype about 20, 28, even 30+ miles. In reality you'll get in the neighborhood of 10% of that. So you're doing well if your GMRS walkie-talkie reaches 3 to 4 miles. Of course, if you're on a mountaintop or out on the lake on a boat, you'll get further range because there are no obstructions.
GMRS radios require a license from the FCC, which ain't cheap at $85. However, you will be in contravention of federal laws if you operate a GMRS radio without a license. In Canada you can operate GMRS handie-talkies license-free, but federal regulations limit output to 2 watts.
GMRS boasts 22 channels, however channels 8 thru 14 will only allow 500 Mw output because they are shared with FRS. Channels 1 thru 7 are also shared with FRS, but you can use full power output here as these are not relegated to FRS output power.
GMRS was introduced in the 1960s by the FCC. At that time they called it the Class A Citizen's Radio Service. This service does allow repeater use, which FRS does not. See my website for more information on repeaters.
FRS and GMRS both use fixed channels in the 462 - 467 MHz range.
The 900 MHz handies, which are comparatively new on the market, use one watt output and are license free. They operate with a technology called frequency hopping spread spectrum. This technology is very much alike cell phones but remember these radios do not use cell phone repeaters. The range of these handies would be comparable to a GMRS radio with 1 to 2 watt output. Their claim to fame is the purported lack of interference from other stations due to frequency hopping and encoding. However, these handie-talkies cost similar to a top end GMRS handie.
It all comes down to personal preference as these walkie-talkies perform very equally, with the higher output models having a modest advantage in range. CTCSS encoding, channel hopping, even voice scrambling are available on some models. See the complete line up of General Mobile Service Radios including prices and specs at my website.
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