I have a set of LI6000 cobras that are pretty good radios, but being the nerd I am, I am trying to find radios that beat the range test I have set up. All have failed including the new “25 mile range” Motorola T9500XLR’s. I am really considering the LI7000 cobra 5 watt radios, are they really as powerful as they claim? need help, it is a canoe/fishing trip so they need to be durable enough for the Canadian wilderness and nothing has outranged the LI6000’s 3 watt radios yet…
The LI6000 actually has a power output of .372 watts! The “5 watt” LI7000 s ERP is actually 1.25 watts. As you can see, the calculations of power as presented by manufacturers are different.
Naturally, receiver sensitivity, antenna design and other factors play into effective ranges also. Power output is only one factor of many in determining range.
Thank you for the info. So what would you recommend? I think the moto T9500 is a great radio but I am looking for a pair of radios “blister pack land” that are the best bang for the buck.
The T9500 Is a great radio. Easy to operate, nice features. You can’t go wrong with them.
thanks again for the information and I trust your expertise. I was thinking today that the gxt800 may be a better choice because of the waterproof factor the trip I am going on is going to be mainly canoe travel and fishing and I will use them hunting so snow and rain. I noticed that the Motorolas are not water resistant although they are the best sounding radio I’ve heard so far. I was wondering if there is a set of radios more powerful than the gxt800’s that I have not seen or heard about that are under 100$ and were the GXT800’s the longest range consumer radios you’ve tested.