frs/gmrs vs murs

General Discussion
1

Need a radio for outdoor activity, specifically motorcycle road racing. Terrain can be slightly hilly with ranges up to 2 miles. Basically need the radio to communicate between primary rider and pit/spotter and possibly another rider (2nd bike).

I see that lots of other riders/teams use the Kenwood TK-3131 (gmrs/frs premium radio) that costs about $170 a piece.

I was looking at purchasing a set of motorola CP100 (15 channel VHF -2w) or motorola VX2100 (1ch VHF - 2w), used on ebay for half the price of the tk3131. Lots of MURS on ebay but no TK-3131…

I can see the tk3131 having an advntage of being compatible with most comsumer radios (gmrs/frs), but what about the motorola’s I just menioned? Will they suit my purpose? Do the these motorola radios have better clarity and or range? What about channel availibility?

I’m doing 2hr endurance races and need good unintterupted communication. Please let me know asap… auction is over in an hour for one set that is reasonable!

thanks

2

The Kenwood TK3131 is a 1 watt UHF radio, typically good for 1-2 miles of rang. If the other teams are getting adequate range with this model, you will definitely be safe with a 2 watt VHF model on MURS freqs, such as the Motorola XTN XV2100.

As far as differences between the models, the Motorola will be better suited, range-wise, to your outdoor application since VHF signals typically travel farther outdoors. The Kenwood is smaller and lighter, however. Voice clarity is great on both models. Sounds like you will only need one channel, so you will be fine with either model. The Motorola is a business radio and will allow you to assign its one channel to your choice of 27 frequencies, 5 of which are MURS and do not require a license.

Hope this helped.

Danny