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nomad2013's avatar
nomad2013
Explorer
Nov 22, 2020

Reliable Walkie Talkie?

Anybody have recommendations for reliable walkie talkies. I have tried Midland, and now I have Cobra from last year. Not real happy with either. I put new, out of the package, rechargeable batteries and charged them overnight. The next day the battery indicator was dropping with very limited use. Any suggestions?
  • MURS completely legal on the Baofeng 2m/70cm and knockoffs so long as you stay on the low power setting. Last time I looked anyway.
    Mainly use them responsibly and no one will bother you.

    I dont know how Midland and Cobra (who make fine products) can sleep at night with some of the absurd range claims they put on their FRS radio packaging.
  • The problem is a GMRS license costs $70 AND YOU WANT A BLISTER PACK RADIO TO TALK 5 OR MORE MILES (excuse caps). Get yourself a license and a good Midland handheld. Batteries don't last long due to size.
  • I have used off brand batteries in cameras with little success, be sure that you have a known brand and they are not fakes. My Motorola walk i-talkies need charged after about 12 hours with little talking.
  • ktmrfs wrote:
    If what you want is something better than the typical box store walkie talkie programmed for GMRS or FRS channels there are a couple of options.

    Pick up a pair of Baofeng UV 5R 5W programmable units and a programming cable (ebay, amazon) and go to the chirp website to customize the radio. Many ham radio operators use these radios on ham channels as portable units,

    Then program the radios to use digital keying so you won't need squelch and program them for GMRS and FRS channels along with the 5 MURS channels.

    For a few more bucks you can get the rugged radios version of the same units that are much more robust, but more expensive. Rugged radios periodically puts their units on sale. Again, you'll need a programming cable and chirp website to program them.

    We've used baofeng and rugged radio units for year with good luck. Available as accessories for both are larger battery packs, along with a plug in car charger unit and longer whip antennas.


    As a licensed HAM operator, I can say it possible to do what was suggested above, but it's NOT legal on the FRS frequencies. Hardware is ok on the GMRS requires licensing. MURS doesn't require licensing, but I'm not sure if the hardware is allowed.
  • If what you want is something better than the typical box store walkie talkie programmed for GMRS or FRS channels there are a couple of options.

    Pick up a pair of Baofeng UV 5R 5W programmable units and a programming cable (ebay, amazon) and go to the chirp website to customize the radio. Many ham radio operators use these radios on ham channels as portable units,

    Then program the radios to use digital keying so you won't need squelch and program them for GMRS and FRS channels along with the 5 MURS channels.

    For a few more bucks you can get the rugged radios version of the same units that are much more robust, but more expensive. Rugged radios periodically puts their units on sale. Again, you'll need a programming cable and chirp website to program them.

    We've used baofeng and rugged radio units for year with good luck. Available as accessories for both are larger battery packs, along with a plug in car charger unit and longer whip antennas.