Customer Reviews

Motorola TalkAbout SX700R 18-Mile 22-Channel FRS/GMRS Two-Way Radios (Pair)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I have been using an increasingly-mongrelized mix of Motorola Talkabout radios for a youth bicycle tour I have co-led since 1998. The radios have had their good points and their bad, but this year (because we had the budget to do so) I decided to retire all the old radios and re-equip ourselves with a single radio model. I chose this particular model based on its slightly beefier dimensions and the capability to receive National Weather Service broadcasts. I purchased six (three pairs). I also purchased six holders [ASIN B000056I6K] to give us options for protecting and holding the radios.

Each pair comes with (two of) a plastic belt clip/holster, an extra faceplate, a rechargeable battery pack, a small "wall wart" transformer, and a single cradle designed to hold both radios. The pilot LEDs that indicate charging are on the cradle for this model.

Although all six radios worked fine out of the box, one had a defective battery that would not charge. It was too close to our tour to do anything about it, so I equipped that radio with four AAA alkaline batteries and changed to the black faceplate to remind me not to put it in the charger. (The design precludes any charging current getting into the system when disposable batteries are installed, but I like to be safe that way.) We managed the problem of three wall warts by plugging them permanently into a small surge strip, binding the cords short, and simply plugging in the surge strip and the cradles at each overnight stop.

We travel through the mountainous Litchfield Hills of Connecticut for a week, and for the most part these radios did not let us down. They feel much more solid and easy to manage than their predecessors--a good thing since Motorola has had so long to perfect the design. They are also a little larger than their predecessors, both in the overall body and in the antenna. I have other GMRS models by Motorola, which don't appear to have antennae any larger than their non-GMRS counterparts. I think the size is a bit of an improvement.

Range was much better, using a GMRS frequency (licensed, of course!), than other Talkabouts I have used. These are all "line of sight" radios, and they also seem to work best in a relatively horizontal plane...but the only significant loss of signal we encountered seemed to be on a winding, steep mountain road on our last day, when the range seemed to drop to less than half a mile. These radios are not miracle workers, and that is a perfectly understandable and acceptable loss.

The batteries held up to an eight-hour day of bicycling, and sometimes beyond that as we use them for coordinating some evening activities as well. The AAA alkalines should be considered an emergency backup power source only: while they held up through four days of work before they were depleted, the contacts inside the radio are very flimsy and will not hold the batteries in place through even a mild shock. There is no padding on the battery cover to "snug" the batteries in place, and I suspect that would interfere with the rechargeable battery which is after all the radio's primary power source.

The NWS radio feature worked very well for us--we were able to find stations wherever we were, and for the first time we were able to get forecasts during our riding day. The radio claims to have an "alert" feature that will monitor the selected NWS channel and switch to it when NWS is broadcasting a warning. Thankfully, we did not have the occasion to test that feature.

The scanning feature worked reliably when I tested it. I did not test the VOX feature (which has adjustable sensitivity in contrast to earlier Talkabout models), but plan to purchase headsets for that purpose. We abandoned VOX for our bike-based staff years ago because it took just one "heavy breather" to jam our entire system.

I received many good comments back from our staff, both bike-based and in chase vans, about the improved quality of radio communication this year. It certainly seemed like the experience was less frustrating than with our old, scratchy, worn-out radios! But this model also gave us more flexibility in how we used the radios, and I would recommend it without reservation.

Oh, and the dead-on-arrival battery? Amazon sent a new pair of radios the next day after I reported it, and made it easy for me to return the old ones. I remain impressed with Amazon's civility, efficiency, and willingness to make things right with items like this.

These are the only Motorola 2 watt radios on the gmrs market. Although they are larger than most radios, they are very lightweight and come with an excellent belt clip - not the cheap breakable clips that Motorola usually supplies. The reception is very good, the ability to choose high or low transmit power by pressing the p/t button is nice. No way you will get 12 miles out of any radio but Motorola usually has the best range of any brand so if you want a real 2 watt radio, with NOAA, this is the one.

i had a pair of the motorola 5 mile range radios that i liked, but the range of them wasn't very far. i use them for hunting so i can chat with my hunting buddy so we don't get bored while we are sitting there. with the 5 mile range radios, if i was on one corner of a square 40 acre parcel we hunt i couldn't reach him if he was on the other corner. but with these radios we have 3 times the range. i like the weather function that these have also. the only downfall that i don't like is that they are a little big and bulky, and they don't have a "12 mile" range like they say. i would be happy with half that. but the true range through tree's is around 3/4 to 1 mile. which is better than the 5 mile's 300 yards.

I recently took these cross country through the desert, and I found these SX700Rs to be very reliable. In open landscapes such as the Sonora Desert or throughout Texas, these radios provide very crisp sound with no static. In a week of continual heavy usage, I never once picked up stray radio signals from other devices. Within large cities where there is a lot of concrete and steel construction a lot of radio signals, the effective range drops; however I was able to stay in contact with my driving partner providing we were at least within eyesight of each other.

The kit comes with two communicators, a hands-free clip that I haven't tested, two chargers, two AAA battery packs, and two belt clips. The radios aren't very heavy at all despite being larger. Each radio still fits easily into an adult's hand. The belt clip is sturdy; however, the radio doesn't locked into the clip very well. They have a tendency to slip out of the clips as you bend over.

The battery life is pretty good. A fully charged battery pack lasted me over 12 hours of intermittant use with the radios continually powered on. On the upside, with radios using a AAA batteries, if you do run out of charge and do not have access to the charging base, you can substitute 4 AAA batteries.

These are not great for long distances (> 2 miles) as advertised but they worked very well for the purpose we bought them. We used them on a cruise ship and they were fine. I think the extra interference channels made a difference because there were a lot of folks on board with similar radios and our channel was never once interfered with.

The belt clips are WAY better than the ones from previous generation Motos.

I can back up the reviewer who said the 12 mile range is a lie. We have owned these Motorola SX700R Talkabouts since last July, 2006. We have tested these Talkabouts from LESS than a mile away, two different directions from home, and the reception was poor to non-existent in one direction and average to poor the other. The only obstructions were trees. And remember this is less than one mile apart. The sound quality and reception were awful.

If you want something to use around the house, house to yard, yard to yard, very close to home, it will work fine. Reception and sound quality are excellent at close range. But if you want something to communicate with one mile or more apart, look elsewhere. This won't do it.

I've owned these radios for 3 months. Overall they are nice. They have great features like variable power (1/2 watt vs 2 watt), NOAA, vibracall, GMRS channels (which are uncrowded and may provide an advantage in theme parks) and rechargable batteries. However the radios are too big. They are not heavy, but with the belt clip they are 8"x2"x2.5" (40 cubic inch). This compares to my older TA280SLK at 7"x2.5"x1.5" (26 cubic inch) and my T6220 at 6"x2"x1.25" (15 cubic inch). You guys with the least bit fashion conscious wives may have then balk at wearing them.

Additionally the charger has two problems. It too is too big for travel (you can't use the charger without the base). Also there is no "charge finished" indicator.

The range is better with the 2 watt option. I have compared them with the above mentioned radios at the same distance and the quality is better. That being said, what really matters is lack of obstructions not power of the radios, as others have said.

I would have given them 4 rather than 3 stars if they were smaller.

This radio set is a good deal for the price. A 2watt output radio would maybe reach 12 miles on the ocean or in the plains, but for the most part that's not where we use them. They should have advertised the average range not maximum in perfect conditions. The uneducated customer will buy into these thinking they can use these through 12 miles of walls, trees, or dirt, that's not the case. 1 mile through wooded area is minimum I would say from my testing. Products I have purchased in the past that cost more for one instead of a pair did less.

We first used these on our cruise vacation last week. They were nice to have when out in the open water with no cell phone coverage. When one of us would hang back in the room, we could find the other later. It was also nice on the beach. One of us would go shopping and the other could lay on the beach and call in for a drink.

DISTANCE

Okay, I didn't really expect them to work at 10 miles, but come on. It was 1 mile at best. I hear that the cheapo sets do that.

BATTERY

The batteries seemed to last quite long, though we didn't do much talking. We mostly had them on standby in case of need.

VIBRATE

I guess I misunderstood the vibrate feature. It is helpful to notify you when you can't hear the sound (like on a windy cruise ship deck), but it doesn't disable all the other sounds. So don't expect it to keep quiet.

ON/OFF

I imagine many sets have this problem, but the handsets had a tendency to turn on while moving around in the bag. I pulled one out of my suitcase when I got home and it was on. A slight rub of the on/off knob can turn it on.

INTEFERENCE

While on the cruise ship, we got "called" 4 or 5 times by someone apparently not in our group. I was unable to prove this, but I suspect that someone was on the same frequency as us, but the privacy code prevented us/them from hearing any speach. Alternatively, it is possible that someone in our party (of 2) accidentally bumped the call button.

My husband bought this item for our recent trip to Disneyworld. We timed the order 2 weeks ahead and had it sent directly to the resort - since we live in Canada this avoided a possible customs brokerage delay. There was a problem in the shipping - Amazon's notice told us that delivery would be 2 1/2 months from the date of order(!) but when we tried to cancel we were told it had already shipped. The problem might have been with the 3rd part vendor for this product. It arrived at the end of our 2nd day at Disney.

Delivery problems aside the units worked very well. We could communicate reliably over half a theme park away. We could even talk from inside a building to the outside such as Space Mountain or GM's Test Track where my daughter and I were delayed on the track for half an hour due to a breakdown. On the other hand, from where we stayed at Fort Wildnerness it wouldn't reach as far as the general store or the pool next to it.

We've also used them to keep in touch on shopping trips and a walkathon when we've had to split. There can be dead spots due to buildings but we've kept in touch over a distance of 2 major intersections.

As other posters have noted, don't expect it to work over long distances unless you've got a clear line of sight. Also the quality of sound isn't as good as you can get with a cell phone, but they do work where cell phones service doesn't. Intend to use it when we rent a cottage in the summer to keep in touch with the kids when they go out on the lake. (As we have Canadian/Roger's cell phones we would have had to pay roaming charges to use a cell. It would have also come in usefull in our recent trip to Niagara Falls (Canada) as our phones kept telling us we were in the States.)

The kids also have fun just using it to play outside or to talk to kids down the street.

It met our needs. Recommended.