Customer Reviews

Motorola T5500R 8-Mile 22-Channel FRS/GMRS Two-Way Radio (Pair) (Blue)

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

 

 

"Radios marketed as "FRS/GMRS" or "dual-service radios" are available from many manufacturers and many retail or discount stores. If you operate a radio that has been approved exclusively under the rules that apply to FRS, you are not required to have a license. FRS radios have a maximum power of ½ watt (500 milliwatt) effective radiated power and integral (non-detachable) antennas. If you operate a radio under the rules that apply to GMRS, you must have a GMRS license."

So as long as you operate using only the FRS capability of your FRS/GMRS radio you don't need a license.

I bought this product for my company, for the drivers to comunicate while doing drop-offs at banks and such. It works perfectly, and at 50 bucks, you can't beat em. My office is located in a 14th floor, and the parking lot is located in the basement of the building, sub level 4. I can still get great reception from my office to the parking lot. I recomend this item for anyone in the market for family/ recreational or work purposes.

Jorge
Santo Domingo

The review that says .8 miles is about right. I'm not sure why pizza boy thinks that translates into 5 miles. Especially if he was getting static at .8 miles (that's point eight miles).

In any case, if you get 1 or 2 miles out of these radios, consider yourself lucky. I use them hiking, biking, traveling, around the house/yard and such and five miles isn't happening.

Other than that, these are very good, very durable radios. They are not crystal clear, but I can easily understand the other person. They have plenty of channels and alerts from which to choose.

If you purchase these expecting 1 or 2 miles you'll love these radios.

I bought these for ski trips and they do a great job. You can reach your family member anywhere in the mountain under any type of weather. I found the battery life great too. No problem to report after using them for 2 winters.

Overall these Motorola Radios have worked out great for us. We mostly use them outdoors for snowboarding, biking, etc. Our only complaint is that the volume is very low. You have to turn the volume way up to hear the other person, but then other sounds (alerts, etc.)are REALLY loud. I think this is the same complaint others buyers have, but we don't regret the purchase.

The signal strength is adequate, however, they tend to pick up a lot of outside chatter. Even when you change the channel you really can't leave them on because of the intermittent chatter they pick up. It would also be nice if the base chargers were independent of one another so you could seperate them and charge them in different rooms/locations if need be.

I have experience with several other Talkabout models, and this 5500 model isn't loud enough. I have the volume cranked all the way up and it is not nearly as easy to hear someone speaking to me as the other models I have worked with (T4900 and T5620). The chirps and rings are loud, but the microphone doesn't seem to pick up voices very well. If the two of us press our lips on the microphone and speak loudly they transmit just fine (like the other models I have cited,) but who wants to kiss a walkie talkie all day???

I work in a library and I'm always on the go. The T5500R GMRS two way radio is the best form of communication to keep in contact with my staff.
I recently tested the product by going downstairs to the subterranean level of the building and my staff can hear me very clearly from the 1st floor.
This product will help me in doubling production at work so I can be in two places at one time.

These radios are pretty cheap in price. They work alright for what we need. We mainly use them for snowboarding and when we are on our snowmobiles. They are a bit too quiet for my liking though, so we bought some IASUS throat mics and attached them to the radios. The throat mics really helped the radio's sound quality. Too bad Amazon doesn't IASUS products with the radios!

Though these radios are "OK" (not the greatest), any users of GMRS or "hybrid" GMRS/FRS radios are REQUIRED TO HAVE AN FCC LICENSE, which is $80 for 5 years. The only "license free" radios are FRS only - with a range of less than 1/4 mile. If it says it has a range over that, it is a hybrid GMRS/FRS or GMRS only radio. Even if you only plan on using the FRS channels, you are required to have the FCC license. And if you think you'll get the higher output power on the FRS channels, forget it. ALL of the GMRS and GMRS/FRS radios only broadcast at 1-5 watts on GMRS channels, FRS channels broadcast at 1/2 watt.

Caveat emptor.