I know absolutely nothing about two-way radios and anything technological really
My husband joined a car club and they do caravan rides. Everyone has a walkie talkie (or cb radio? not sure?), and they communicate amongst cars on these radios, all set to channel 5. This is all I know.
Weāve been on two rides and a friend has lent my husband one of his radios for the rides. Iād like to buy my husband a good radio for Christmas, and donāt know what to get. I think from everything Iāve read that what he needs is a two-way radio, not a cb. Iām looking at āMidland GXT1000VP4 Radios With Headsets and Chargerā, and it looks to be a great product, but I am wondering (and donāt laugh!): will this brand/radio be able to communicate with whatever brand these other guys use? Or does everyone have to be using the same dealie?
Is there anything else (any tips, recommendations, further info, anything!) you knowledgeable and experienced people can tell me that I might need to know? Iām like a fish out of water here.
Thanks for furthering the cause to make me the coolest wife ever and guarantee a HUGE kiss on Christmas Day!!!
To answer your question, we need to know specifically what radio service the others in the grooup are using. The GXT1000 is one of the most powerful and popular handheld FRS/GMRS radios around and has a lot of great features. If everyone else in the group is using an FRS/GMRS radio, to communcate, compatibility should not be an issue.
However, if they are using CB radios, your husband would also need to have a CB radio. There are handheld CBs on the market, so the fact that he had a handheld radio and not a mobile radio mounted in a vehicle does not discount the possibility that they might be using CB, so you need to be absolutely sure what type of radio they are using before you purchase one.
Well before anyone here can really recommend which brand of radio to buy, we need to figure out which type of radio they are using so that we can recommend something that will work with their current set up. (FRS/GMRS, BRS, MURS, CBā¦ etc)
Is there anything you can tell us about the handset he used in the past. Channel 5 isnāt enough to go on, what would be helpful would be a Brand name/model number, picture?
If nothing else take a look around the web and see if you can find a picture of the one he used (or something very similar) and that should be able to point someone on here in the right direction!
(Based on the picture of this on the Internet here: http://www.buytwowayradios.com/products/cobra/cobra-cxt425.aspx.
Now if thereās a CB radio that they make that looks just like this, then Iām in trouble. But that is definitely what it ālookedā like.)
Great! That would make sense that they are using something in the FRS/GMRS range. If these are indeed the radios and I imagine that it is, the GXT1000 will be able to work with these without an issue.
You cannot go wrong with a Motorola or Midland radio. It all depends on what you are looking for in terms of size and battery life along with features. I cannot recommend buying a radio with Weather radio reception enough!
The Cobra CXT425 is an FRS/GMRS radio, so theMidland GXT1000 would be compatible.
For full disclosure it is important to know that anyone use the FRS frequencies in these radios (channels 8-14), however channel 5 is a shared FRS/GMRS frequency and would require a GMRS license to use if he is transmitting more than 1/2 watt on that channel. Here is the List of FRS and GMRS frequencies. These are universally programmed (assigned) to the same channels on all FRS/GMRS radios in the US market.
In other words, if he wants to use channel 5 unlicensed, he would need to keep his radio in the lowest power mode (1/2 watt or less) on that channel.
I agree that weather channels are an important feature of these radios, especially if he is on the road, so the Midland is a good choice.
Thank you guys so very much for taking the time to help me with this, and for the tips on weather reception, and power mode:licensing info. I will let him know what youāve said about this after he opens his gift.
I truly appreciate the help - yāall are awesome!
I would check with the local laws to ensure that it is not illegal to wear a device that is placed in or over the ear while driving.
Many states has laws that prohibits a person from wearing a headset while driving.
He just opened it and he LOVES it! So awesome to see a grown man get to open something for Christmas that requires battery charging and has a lengthy little instruction manual. Heās been reading up on his new ātoyāsā features for a half hour now. Heās so happy
Thanks so much for helping me with this, you guys!
Glad you both are happy