I'm looking to get my six year old something better than the dollar store 9v walkie talkies.

Don't need anything serious, but willing to spend forty or so so that seems to open up FRS/gmrs(?With a license I understand)

Talk to me


Thanks.,

Get the flea-powered ones.

No license required (I think) and the higher powered ones aren't really for kids to fart around with.

They don't work room to room.

I'm talking literal dollar each.

Not gonna cut it.

FRS is plenty for your use.  I'd get the best reviewed Motorolas on Amazon and be done.  If you want to future proof get the ones that do both FRS and GMRS.

+1.

You just need to go with a quality brand. Ignore the marketing hype on the range, they're all by law limited to the same output power
and a good receiver isn't going to do better than the noise floor of the environment.

You used to be able to get FRS-only radios, but nearly everything today is FRS + GMRS, and there's a remote chance they could get
into trouble with GMRS freqs, so you might want to set them up for the kids so they're only on known-safe a FRS channel.

The Talkabout T100 would be about where I'd aim. Two pack is $30. The MH230R would work as well, about $40 for two and includes
the weather band. Literally the most reviewed radio on amazon with 4 stars.

Thanks guys I'm probably gonna hit those Motorola's.

I have some little Cobra MicroTalk FRS radios. They don't use the GMRS channels so no license needed, they are tiny, using 3 AA NiMh rechargeable batteries each, and charge via a micro USB port. These can be charged using any typical cell phone charger, and they came with a USB splitter cable to allow both radios to charge from a single USB port at the same time.

They are tiny radios, hardly larger than a 90's era pager , and narrower than a deck of playing cards, minus the antenna stub. Very simple operation that a kid can easily learn, and they also receive NOAA weather channels. I think they were $29 a pair at walmart. 

The things that typically are limiting factors for FRS (very short range and low power) actually make these a pretty good choice for kids radios, provided your kids are obeying the rules on-air. Even though their range in a typical urban or suburban environment will be severely limited, they will work sooooooo much better than the 27 MHz or 49 MHz toy walkie-talkies you might remember as a kid. They will usually work great within the same city block or suburban neighborhood.

If you are interested in an Improper Clone of Motorola…actually I'm willing to bet these blow the Talkabout's away.

Get a couple of MURS radios. They usually have more power than cheap FRS radios (license free FRS) and require no license to operate. MURS channels are not as busy as FRS, especially if you live in a large city. You'll get better coverage too.
Do a search for MURS radios. Several manufacturers make them. I think even MOTOROLA makes a relatively inexpensive MURS radio too.
You can also add a motion sensor or a driveway alarm that operate on MURS channels too. Check them out.

At $100+ per radio they better! They're close to unobtainium it appears as well. They do look very solid, though!

They are not a "clone" of motorola at all. Icom is a leading manufacturer of communications equipment, and those are good performing FRS radios.

The discontinued Vertex VXF-10 were also a good performing radio.

Some time ago I saw a report where someone had done tests and determined that most consumer FRS radios only transmit at 50 to 150 milliwatts instead of the legally allowed 500 milliwatts which would help explain the terrible performance that most get from the radios.

Old running joke with GE (ICOM crystals), Motorola and the newer generations of Icom guys. On the Icom side it is referencing issues with adjacent channel rejection not being nearly as good as Motorola alternatives. One of the complaints I have from customers with mobile installations.

As a follow up, if I want a vibrate/silent function, how are these?

Midland GXT1000VP4 36-Mile 50-Channel FRS/GMRS Two-Way Radio (Pair) (Black/Silver)

50 miles! lol....

Inflated range aside.

standing on top of 2 x 12 story cruise ships in the middle of the Atlantic...... it's possible :)

Link?

I use the MH230R for Cub Scouts and neighborhood shenanigans. They've held up very well under the strain and they're pretty good on battery life. I've got five, because one seems to have vanished along the way, and they're going strong even after a night out in the rain once.

Link

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001WMFYH4?tag=vglnk-c102-20

More like 0.5 miles, in real life.

Thanks!