hand held radios

[270man]

Fellow Hunters and other users of hand held radios,

I would like your opinions on and experiences with the different brands and types currently being sold. After getting rid of all my CB radios several years ago, I bought a pair of Motorola GMRS/FRS units that were advertised for 2-mile range. These did not have the "interference eliminator codes" feature and I don't use them anymore. Interference in the field was a real problem, but another big problem was that the rechargeable batteries didn't last very long and were about $30 to replace (couldn't use AAs in this radio).

I now have two other Motorola radio pairs and the rechargeable batteries are continuing to be a problem. All the rechargeables have now been replaced with Alkaline AA batteries. My newest radios are the T7400 Talkabout models (obsolete by now, I would guess), with 5-mile range. In addition to the battery problems, one of these now will not work in receive mode.

Motorola now advertises a newer model with 25-mile range. All these range claims are for straight-line, unobstructed communication only. The terrains I hunt are so varied that true communication range can't be predicted very well. In general, I have been satisfied with field performance.

I welcome your comments on these and other brands.

270man