Personal Radios

General Discussion
1

Hi there, I was wondering what radios you would recommend for personal use as I am looking for a pair for me and my partner to use at work during big events

Could you please advise me ?

Thanks

James :slight_smile:

2

Thanks for joining the forum, hopefully we can get you pointed in the right direction!

You are asking for personal radios, which usually means you’re looking for a consumer grade FRS/GMRS radio. These are low cost radios that are usually sold in pairs and operate on frequencies usually reserved for personal uses. Popular radios in this class are the Midland GXT1000 and the Motorola MR350R, but there are a lot of other choices as well.

You also mentioned that you might be using the radios for work, while at events. If this is the case, a business radio might be more appropriate. Business radios use frequencies that are a bit more exclusive, and they’re typically built to last and have better sound quality. Popular business radios for communications while organizing events are the Motorola CLS1410 and the Kenwood TK3230.

Of course, I don’t know too much about your situation so these recommendations are pretty general. If you could provide a few more details, it might help. For example, how far apart will you and your partner be at a maximum when needing to communicate using the radios? Will you be indoors, outdoors, or a mixture of both? Are a lot of other radios in use during these events? Do you need your radios to be compatible with other, already existing, radios?

3

Hi. I’m using BaoFeng UV-5R now.

4

Just make sure you have an appropriate license to use your radios.

5

I think that Danny and Jwilkers has the right answer…

Just make sure that you have a license to operate on those frequencies before you buy the radio and that you understand the limitations of the license before you operate…

Most two way radio shops already has a license - where you can rent tower space or their repeater and their permission to use their frequency…

The license to operate on the LMRS is very expensive.

There is no FREE BANDING on those frequencies and operating on a coordianted frequency without permission can get you into a lot of trouble.

http://wireless.fcc.gov/services/index.htm?job=service_home&id=private_land_radio

http://www.w2aee.columbia.edu/fcc-bandplan.html

I think this is what gets most people into trouble.
They don’t hear anyone on a certain frequency, so they think no one is using it, so they think that no one will mind if they use it and they just set up on any old frequency they can find that is quiet on their radios and when someone hears them they say - I DIDN’T KNOW I WAS OPERATING ILLEGALLY.

Technicially the people who sells these radios to unlicensed individuals are the ones that are to blame. Because they need to take into account that there is a lot of morons out there. Back in the day - before the internet - AES and HRO wouldn’t even sell you a radio unless you had a amateur radio license or some type of radio license which showed that you were legally authorized to operate a transmitter.

6

I would recommend Motorola MR350 or MR356. Nice radio and does not cost much. You can get them around $25 per radio.

7

i would also recommend you to use MOTOTOLA CLS410