Customer Reviews

Motorola T5950 5-Mile 22-Channel FRS/GMRS Two-Way Radios (Pair)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have used this product for a few years, and it generally performs well and offers some really fine features. But...Beware of the manufacturer's "official knockoff" sold at a lower price in many "big boxes"...and even here at Amazon. A copy of another review I filed here follows...

As an outdoor enthusiast, I placed the "regarded" Motorola T5950R FRS/GMRS 2-way radio pair on my Christmas list. While attempting to acquire this set in a chain sporting goods store, my father was "steered" to the alleged Motorola model T6500 by a store associate who said that model was a new replacement for the T5950. After being informed of this, I decided to do some web research, and interestingly found that the model T6500 was NOT to be found ANYWHERE on the Motorola web site.

Seems the T6500 is a "licensed knockoff" of the T5950 by Motorola's mainland-Chinese electronics manufacturer. The units look the same except for the face plate color (Yellow=T5950 / Khaki=T6500). The features are identical--as is the packaging. Only a small indication on the rear of the T6500 package discloses that the product is "Manufactured and sold by Giant International, Ltd., official licensee for this product." Furthermore, it is warranted and supported EXCLUSIVELY by the MANUFACTURER-NOT MOTOROLA!

Now...To the "differences"...and there ARE some-ALL performance related. While Motorola may license their name, logo, and design to an offshore OEM producer, you can be sure that they reserve their customer support AND several technical enhancements for models THEY specifically brand and market.

A side by side comparison between the genuine Motorola T5950 and its T6500 "imposter" reveals several performance issues. The T5950 has relatively good coverage (considering the communications class); audio loudness and clarity that are sufficient for reliable reception on a congested and "spotty" broadcast service; and NOAA Weather Station reception that is fairly good...even 30-50 miles from the desired station. I did not compare the T6500s transmit-receive coverage, but its audio quality and "punch" are WELL BELOW that of the "genuine" T5950. Furthermore, Weather Band reception on my T6500 sample (both units in the set) was very nearly NONFUNCTIONAL.

In conclusion: It is well worth spending a few bucks more for the "Real McCoy" genuine Motorola T5950 (I actually spent $4 LESS with a rebate here on Amazon). You'll appreciate the "domestic support", improved transmit audio quality, and a weather receiver that actually may save your life when you're out on the water!

These are terrific little units with awesome range.

I keep a pair in every car I have for trips to Costco, the Mall, Seaworld or wherever.

My only complaint if the NiCAD batteries. They do get a memory if you don't use them a lot. NiMHD would have been a better choice considering the way you'll likely use them. The batteries will lose their charge whe sitting unused so they are less available for last minute emergency use.

Everyone please understands that getting the FCC license for any GMRS radio does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to increase the range of the radio. The license is a piece of paper so the FCC may track who is using GMRS frequencies, nothing more. They used to do the same for CB users in the 70's. They do not track FRS freqs because of the low output power of FRS radios. Range is affected by output power of the radio but mostly by obstacles between you and the other radio. Trees, walls, buildings, hills, etc. reduce the range considerably. A true test of range is on open water or unobstructed Line-Of-Sight from one hilltop to another. (Not everyone has a boat) Buy three different sets from different brands and try them near a lake to test, return the ones that are not to your liking.

I took a pair of T5950 on a 2 week trip. Using 2300mah nimh batteries, they last more than a day. The sound quality was very good. Remember, don't crank the speaker volume to max, this actually distorts the sound. When in the city, I was able to use the T5950s about 10 street blocks apart. The sounds was very clear.

By the way, I saw a comment on Motorola "imposter" and "licensed knockoff" by HippoRadio here. HippoRadio clams T5950 is a true Moto product, while other models like T6500 are "a licensed knockoff of the T5950 by Motorola's mainland-Chinese electronics manufacturer". He came to this conclusion because "a small indication on the rear of the T6500 package discloses that the product is Manufactured and sold by Giant International, Ltd., official licensee for this product."

Since I was looking to buy more Moto's radios, just to verify, I emailed Motorola asking which models are made by Moto themselves.

Here is the official reply from Motorola's customer service Marisol R on Jun 03, 2005. It seems, in fact, ALL talkabout radios are made by Giant International based in China. Any quality difference between models are just due to different designs, quality control, etc., and not due to different manufacturers.

-- from Motorola's customer service Marisol R --
Thank you for contacting Motorola e-mail support, we appreciate your request and interest in our products.

Based on your e-mail, we may inform you that all the Motorola Two Way Radios are manufacture by Giant, which is the company that manufactures the Motorola Two Way Radios and accessories.

If you have further questions or need additional assistance, please contact our Cellular Information Center at 1-800-331-6456. Our business hours are Monday through Friday from 7am to 10pm CST and Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 6pm CST.
--

Very nice looking pair of radios, but distance was not impressive. Walking in a residential area which was relatively flat, the radios maybe had distance of about 3/4 mile before transmission began breaking up. That was disappointing considering the advertising suggested "upto 5 miles." Maybe they tested them in the middle of the Arizona desert or something. I'm probably going to return these and try to get something with greater range.

I bought a set of these to use at Pony Trails (A rally of about 400 Ford Mustangs) this year. I have a 1966 Mustang and my brother has a '68 both with 289cid V8 engines and flow master exhaust systems, in short they are loud!! I am pleased to report that the radios functioned flawlessly over the 3+ hr drive. My cellphone did not! When combined with the hands free headset we where able to have conversations, give directions, insult each others driving and so on with out inturption even when seperated by more then 2.5 miles!!

We use these radios for backing our RV into our driveway, so they are not used very frequently - maybe four to six times a year for 5 minutes each time. We had previously bought several sets of two way radios made by different manufacturers over the years which never held up. Seems always one of the two would crap out. So I decided instead of buying the
el-cheepo's, I would spend a little more and get something that I thought might hold up. Wrong. These Motorola's didn't hold up any better than the cheaper ones. Seems to me that two way radios that are used as infrequently as ours are, should last more than a year.

it's a solid product, hard to break, yet fashion and look cool, i like that

The radios work great, but the belt clip is very fragil and broke on the first day we used it.

The idiot who posted that a license is required to get the range is just plain wrong. The FCC can no more regulate the range of the radio than it can the weather. The license is required to operate the radio - it is **PERMISSION** from the government to share in the frequency range this unit covers. Pfft. Some folks...