Customer Reviews

Motorola FV300 2-Way Radio, Pair

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

3.5 stars. I bought these walkies for use on a cruise. The walkies did the job on the ship and I was successfully able to communicate with my friends while on board. There was often static during the calls, and conversations greater than 5 words each way, were difficult to hear. We were able to communicate, because we kept our responses to 1 or 2 word answers. I was able to reach my friends anywhere on the ship, the Carnival Elation. Once I left the ship and went to Ensenada, Mexico, I was unable to reach anyone in my party. I got nowhere near the 5 mile range advertised.

Having never used a walkie before, I found the setup and use extremely user friendly. I did not have to replace the battery for the entire length of the cruise (4 days), and I used the walkie multiple times per day. I did turn it off after going to bed.

I purchased the pair from Radioshack for $20, and believe that for the money, you can't expect more than you get from this radio.

Summary:

Pros: low price, user friendly, lightweight, uses three AAA batteries
Cons: Quality of call, range is nowhere near 5 miles as advertised.

I would recommend this product to anyone who wants a cheap way to communicate with others, for short (no more than 5 words per response) conversations, within a 1 mile radius.

Motorola makes a whole family of walkie-talkies (or 2-way radios). This set of Motorola FV300 2-Way Radio is the cheapest and smallest available. They are so light and compact that even a kid can handle one of those with ease. But don't let the small size and low cost fool you, they actually work just like the real things - provided you start with the correct expectation...

First of all, forget about the advertised range of "up to 10-mile". As in the case with ALL walkie-talkies, the claimed transmission range is the best case under most optimal conditions. Namely: transmitting from one hill top to another with clear line-of-sight, no other RF interferences, weather is perfect, Jupiter aligns with Mars, etc. In real life urban environment, a range of 1-2 miles is more likely. With that in mind, those walkie-talkies are still useful for communication in a large shopping mall, for example. Or you can just hand them out to your kids as toys.

Secondly, forget about the claimed battery life of "32 hours" because it is the time in standby mode. If you do a lot of transmission back and forth, a set of 3 AAA alkaline is likely to run down in 3-4 hours. This is because the power requirement is much higher during transmission (just like the case with cell phones). Here is my measured current consumption:
- During standby: 25-30mA
- While receiving: 50-100mA (depending on volume)
- While transmitting: ~350mA

If you don't like to keep buying alkaline AAA batteries, here's a suggestion: use rechargeable batteries. You need 3 each of AAA rechargeable cells for each radio. I recommend using low-self-discharge NiMH batteries such as Sanyo eneloop (best quality) or Tenergy Centura (lowest cost). You also need a good 'smart' charger that can handle odd number of cells, such as the Sony Cycle Energy BCG34HLD4KN Power Charger. Note that each radio actually has a charging port near its base. But to use that you have to buy the Motorola charger, instead of a general-purpose AA/AAA charger.

When you first power-up the radios, you need to use the MENU button to configure some options, such as which channel to use, ring-tone, sleep timer, etc. One pleasant surprise is that: the walkie-talkies actually remember your selections, even after you removed the batteries. This is very helpful because you don't want to repeat the setup every time you replace the batteries.

Considering its low cost, this pair of Motorola 2-way radios is a great bargain. It is a practical tool for short-range communication, and great for kids to play with, too.

All of the 12 different Motorola Talkabouts that I have bought over the past 11 years, including my 1999 T-5950 model, ALL had 121 Interference Elimination Codes (Privacy Codes, or Squelch Codes). The radios use this code when they transmit to activate the speakers on the other radios in the group on the same channel and code.

The model radio listed on this page does not have this code. That is fine if you only use FRS/GMRS radios without codes, but if you want this radio to work with others that use these codes, you'll have to disable that feature on all the other radios.

As for range, I tested it at 100 meters, through a couple of houses, and it worked fine, with some static audible. I like the fact that all the buttons, including volume, can be locked, so that pockets and kids can't change the channel, or turn it down by mistake.

This is, by an inch, the smallest Talkabout I have owned, which is good. The radio body is just 3.5" long.

The radio doesn't have any where near the range or clarity it claims to have. Other than being compact which was a great feature, the radio is no better than a cheap radio you would give a kid to play with.

The range was good on these cheap little guys. The transmissions were clear and volume was plenty. I think they are perfect for the price. They're convenient and fun to have.

we use these at a kids' summer camp for our counselors to keep in touch with one another. They use the batteries up kind of fast, but other than that, they are great, especially for the cost.

I bought these to keep up with my kiddos as they run through the neighborhood with their little buddies from house to house. They are fantastic and are very durable!

I purchased these so I can keep better track of my children while they are playing outside. I find them to be very handy and saves me from having to walk up three flights of stairs with my bad knees. I already had two and decided to expand my handsets and it works. I can now give both of my kids each a hand set and still keep up with them.

These radios have to be practically touching each other to get a signal. If you have clear line of sight you get no more than 400m range... if you go around a corner under urban conditions, you can be no more than 25m away. A complete waste of money.

I am not an expert on radios, I just bought 3 pairs as gifts for my nieces and nephews. They were really excited (5 kids). The quality of reception is not great within the house. We used them to successfully communicate between two cars separated by about quarter mile. 10 mile distance is probably theoretical maximum. It is pretty small(ideal for kids hands). Pretty solid build.