i know this has already been a topic
but from what i have searched and found
there has not been a straight forward answer
im looking to purchase some two way radios
just for FRS use.
i dont plan on getting a license for GMRS yet
im a college student so money is kind of tight
the main use of the radios will be for
convoys car to car (mainly for road trips)
looks like the Cobra LI-7200 has the longest range so far
but seems that they have been discontinued
im not looking for anything too fancy just to communicate between cars
im looking for an alternative to the Cobra LI-7200 which will give me decent
range and clarity but i am not willing to upgrade to GMRS
if someone could please chime in that would be greatly appreciated :]
Unless by ‘decent range’ you mean a quarter mile, it’s not happening.
FRS car to car is short ranged. You might get a half mile.
It also looks like you believed the marketing hype. The Cobra you mention is, first, quoting for GMRS use at 2 watts, not the half watt FRS, and second… lying about the potential range. ‘Ranges’ of 12, 20, or 32 miles assume both ends of the connection are out in the open, and on top of 200 foot high hills, and still with no hills/trees/buildings between them.
Actual range between GMRS handie talkies is usually 1/2 to 2 miles, more often 1/2 to one mile, especially from within cars.
Communications Ranges:
House To Car: 1.43 miles
House to person: 1.83 miles
Person to person: 2.19 Miles
Car to car: 1.23 miles
thats what jwilkers said
and pretty much thats the best one out of all the product reviews
i know for a fact that the advertised range is all BS
thats impossible for a little hand held walkie talkie for under 100 bucks
You are again missing the point that those reported ranges are NOT for FRS, they are for GMRS at higher power.
The radio you’re mentioning is a combination FRS/GMRS radio, like almost all the other ‘bubblepack’ radios, and the FRS channels are 1/2 watt (or, in fact, for that radio, .3 watt, by the FCC test documents), while the GMRS channels are at 1.8 watts or so.
so pretty much
i will be getting only like half a mile at max on frs
no matter which one i get?
is there a way to tell which frs will probably have longer distance than
others?
Honestly, there are far too many variable… You also need to take into consideration the design of the vehiucles. A car seriously restricts Radio wave propagation.
sorry a straightforward answer isn’t being provided. There are none. All we have to go on is personal experience. Each user has different results.