Customer Reviews

Motorola TalkAbout T6400 AA 5-Mile 22-Channel FRS/GMRS Two-Way Radio

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I bought a pair of these T6400's because of the hope that one watt of power would yield range at least approaching the range advertised for the 1/2 watt family radios (2 miles). What I found is that the whole radio range concept has been turned into one of the biggest marketing scams around. I can't believe it is legal for them to print "up to 5 mile range" on the box, even with all the fine print. I live in a flat section of Austin, Texas, which is not especially dense but does have some foliage and a reasonable number of houses. I tested the radios using a GPS so that I would know the exact distance to the other radio. I could not believe the result. The radios had very clear voice quality to .25 miles. Voices were 80% intelligible at .35 miles. After that, the radios were useless. There are some nice features on these radios, but give me a break. I'm returning them.

After getting in my car with a pair of the 6400's as well as a pair of the older talkabout 200's, I drove 1.2 miles and tested both of them individually. To my astonishment, using the GMRS frequency at 1 watt added no improvement over my older family frequency radios. In fact, I believe my older radios with the ALLEGED 2 mile range using FF, out performed the new ones using the 5 mile frequency (GMRS). The clarity seemed better. Aside from the bells and whistles on the 6400 series, the range and clarity improvements are unremarkable and frankly, I think Motorola should be sued for false advertising. Neither the 2 mile FF or the 5 mile GMRS even remotely live up to Motorola's claims even in good conditions. Finally, I have to say, I am disappointed with Motorola because they have changed the ports to which the audio accessories (I. E. microphones.) connect. This is a nasty move that forces consumers to buy different $40.00 microphones just because we chose to get a new model radio. Pretty unethical if you ask me. I am considering different brands due to my disappointment in Motorola's ethics. The only perk to the new 6400 series is that they have some convenient features although, I am not sure the newer FF models didn't have these features as well. If it's distance you want or bang for your buck, save your FCC licencing $$ and stick with FF or take the leap and get the Distance series radios. At the least, dont pay full price for this radio. The current rebates definitely make the Motorola's more reasonable. Also, consider the option of other manufacturers that don't charge the premiums that Motorola does. Bottom line,,, can I get the features and performance I enjoy from a different manufacturer for much less money? That remains to be seen but, I have a feeling the answer is yes.

I ordered 2 T6400s, but am returning them for a couple of reasons.
- This model does NOT support NOAA weather radio channels.
- The FCC license fee is $75 per call sign (per FCC web site).
- The power output is 1 watt maximum (GMRS radios can be up to 5 watts).
I already have an ICOM M3A handheld marine radio for kayaking, and I will buy a second instead of using the Motorola radios. The Marine radios have a 5 watt output, but are about twice the size. If you are looking for a small 2 way radio, look at the T6300 1/2 watt FRS instead. They currently have a $25 rebate, and you'll save the FCC fee.

I bought one pair from BestBuy last month and tested them while taking a trip in Maine. FRS chanels works OK (good sound quality) but only gave me 1.5 mile in seashore area! GMRS channels disappointed me by merely 2.5 miles on open highway and 2.0 mile in the woods. But my friends were quite impressed by the looks and features. I accdently drop one to the rock from 6 feet height and you know what?-- not even a den--I considered myself lucky. In short, it looks better than it 'souds'...
They were returned to BestBuy for refund!
With license fee paid, I bought a pair of Midland G11C2. they are lightweighted/easyhandled, less fansy features but at least gave me 3 to 4 miles distance in a driving car and almost five miles at Jersey shores, though consuming battery fast. I think I will stay with them for a while before better models come out.

After reading the reviews on this product, I purchased a pair even though I already had a pair of Audiovox 1535's and Motorola FRS radios. The T6400 has some great features (voice scrambler and 22 channels), but increased range is not one of them. A side-by-side comparison to my original Motorola FRS radios showed no range advantage to the T6400. The Audiovox 1535 had the best range and sound quality.

I was disappointed that the 6400 has 1 watt, but it clearly out performed another 2 watt radio I was testing. The voice clarity is AMAZING !!! My impression from use in a suburban area is that it will function at a distance about 1.4 - 2 times the distance of a good FRS radio, BUT, with vastly superior clarity for most of that distance. I've not made up my mind yet about keeping them. My only hestitation is whether I can find a 2 watt or higher radio with the same (reasonably) small size and clarity (from the digital compression). I was hoping to get a solid 2x distance - but I may settle for the pleasant surprise of the wonderful clarity.

I spoke with Motorola and they confirmed that this product does not support Weather Channels. The editorial review on Amazon.com for this item is not correct.

These radios have some great features like the automatic shut-off, but ultimately the sound quality is not that much better than the lower-end Motorola models. The voice scrambler is useless, it ends up making your voice sound like a robot.

I got mine from Office Depot for about the same price as the lower end T5300 series using a combination of store and manufacturer coupons. Otherwise, I'm not sure they'd be worth the extra money.

I do not own this radio, although I explored all it's features.
Per the owner's manual that I downloaded from Motorola, the power ouput on all GMRS frequencies is 1 watt, with the remaining strictly FRS frequencies at one half watt. I came very close to buying 3 of these units for hikes in heavily wooded areas of New England, but even at one watt, I was concerned with the distance. I elected to buy 3 of the Midland G-30's due to their 2 watt output, even though the Motorola had better features such as voice compression, vibrate call, and the 7 other FRS frequencies. The Midland G30 comes with NiMH batteries and charger. The Motorola does not, although it can be purchased through Amazon (...)
(the t6400 uses the same accessories as the other 6000 series i.e. t6300). I hope this helps all future buyers!

I bought two T6400 and tested them against my older motorola radios. I did find that in the two-mile range mode you didn't get two miles. More like a mile and half. My older two mile radios got at least two miles. However in the 5 mile channels I did get close to 5 miles. Sometimes I got over that depending on the terran. I took mine to the mountains to see what they could do and they actually worked better then in the city.
I wish they would have kept the weather channels but you can't have everything. Over all they aren't all that bad.