Motorola Talkabout® MS350R FRS/GMRS 2-Way Radios (2-Pack)

Comments about Motorola Talkabout® MS350R FRS/GMRS 2-Way Radios (2-Pack):

Used the radios on one job and they got wet one worked and the other stopped working it was good that we bought a warranty and radio shack refunded but these radios are not made for work

Comments about Motorola Talkabout® MS350R FRS/GMRS 2-Way Radios (2-Pack):

UPDATE -
I had concerns whether I was buying the right radios for a few main reasons you may want to concider. First, you could buy 6 MR350s for the price of 4 MS350s, so even if you drop one in the water who cares. I decided I liked the build of the MS350 better(though they are large and chunky but not heavy) and the fact they had the loop for a neckstrap (VERY nice feature). Plus you wouldnt want one to stop working when you are out in the woods. Second, I had concerns if the range of the midland 1050s would be worth it as they are advertised as 5 watts. My tests show, the build of the radio seems to have more impact than the power (both my old midlands and MS350s on low put out the .25 watt or whatever). This could be from how effective the ant radiates etc. As another review pointed out, compare to the output of a cell phone. Again on this one, the power didnt change the range but only the clarity so I would not expect much different with the midland. The ease of use is also a big selling point as is the Ivox and obviously the TRUE waterproofness.

Yes they are expensive but since I dont buy these things much its ok with me. I am sure they will drop in price but once in a while its nice to have the newest product out.

I did some checking on the FCC website for some facts and figures. Although I cant remember the numbers perfectly, this radio can pump out roughly 1.92 watts erp (this I believe is about .5 more than the MR350r). The Midland does radiate about 5 watts.

Most will say 1-2 watts is as much as is realistic as the terrain will become the limiting factor before you need more than that much power. Another thing to point out is that radios rated very close to the same wattage will have different ranges. This is in part due to better circuits and antennas as price increases. These are very important!! also pay mind to how sensitive the squelch is if you are stricktly going for distance.

I had concerns in the first week of using these radios as one would turn off when I tried using the high power mode, low power still worked fine. I WAS USING OLD BATTERIES AND KNEW IT. I figured I better try and put new batteries in and run them down before it was too late to return. Long story short, I have been trying to run these down using the weather reports, scan, standby, and transmitting for some time now and I am getting "frusterated" waiting for the batteries to die! I figure if its taken me this long to kill them, even if they work funny with low batteries, I am sure to get a lot of usable time out of them. Eventually it happened but I had the batteries tested and they were pretty dead. So I fault the battery meter on the radios as being inacurate, but thats minor.

Comments about Motorola Talkabout® MS350R FRS/GMRS 2-Way Radios (2-Pack):

I performed few tests (I did them quick which is why the setup may seem strange).

The results are as follows:

One radio was set up (up right) in a garage with a voice recorder by it. I was in a car driving away and listed off distances using both high and low settings.

Over a small hill blocking line of site completely with some trees I got a solid signal 0.75 miles. Farther became static prone.

With about 1/3 tree cover and no solid ground inbetween I got a solid 1.7 miles. Farther became static prone.

I also tried through thick solid tree cover from radio to radio, I was still in a car. This garage was a much better constructed structure and the radio was placed on the oposite side of an aluminum boat than the direction I was transmitting from.

In this test I got about 0.2 miles. I could hear what was beening said but with a deal of static.

The power boost made reception clearer when at the ranges described. I cant say it made the range that much better but definitly improved clarity. The distances I list are for a good signal. They do work farther just not as well.

None of these I realize are real world situations. However, it should obviously perform better when not in a car, a garage or through a boat. I am happy with these radios and they are built very well (granted a little bulky). I expect much better results when using them more along the lines of hunting or fishing.

Dont get stuck on specs. Better radios are larger due to power reqs and antenna size. All radios will be limited by the "radio horizon". More power does not mean better as a rule. How effective it can transmit and recieve has a big impact.

Our radioshack follows pricing like all do but they are very helpfull and will take care of any problem you have.