Motorola T9500XLR 25-Mile 2-Way Radio Pair by Motorola
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List Price: Our Price: $19.95 You Save: $60.04 (75%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Car Audio or Theater See more digital camera details and other models |
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Digital camera reviews of Motorola T9500XLR 25-Mile 2-Way Radio Pair
Digital camera Review: Great product for price
Summary: 5 Stars
It is a great product especially for the price amazon offers it for. Stores sell the same two way radio for the same price but does not have the 25 mile capability. It was a great deal.Digital camera Review: Great radios !
Summary: 5 Stars
The T9500 radios are great radios and are the best I have used in the GMRS/FRS consumer family of radios for under $100. These radios have a great quick release belt clip and seem to be well built. The weather channels are a plus and sound clear through the T9500's speaker. I like the way the transmit button works. It has two switches built in. Press the button on the bottom and your radio transmits on low power (.5 watt). Press it on the top and your radio will transmit high power (2 watts on GMRS frequencies only).
Ok power, yes the T9500 transmits at 2 watts max power. It was hard for me to find this little known fact as this site and Motorola's own site conveniently neglect this info. I had to search the web and finally found it advertised on REI's web site. I am assuming the Motorola marketing folks thought this was a smart move as most consumers falsely believe more watts equates to longer transmission range.
I used to think watts were like horse power, the more the better. If you took two identical handheld radios one radio putting out 2 watts and the other radio putting out 5 watts you would get about a ¼ mile increase in transmission range under real world conditions with the 5 watt unit, all things being equal. But things are not equal from brand to brand and thank goodness for Motorola that this fact holds true. I have discovered over the years after using many different handhelds that what matters more is the quality of the electronic components, good circuit design, antenna elevation and electromagnetic conditions. Mostly what people will find with those other company's 5 watt units is they will use their battery up faster. If you think by getting an FCC license ($85) and a nice fancy new 2 - 5 watt high power GMRS radio you are going to see some massive improvement over your old .5 watt FRS radios think again. You will be lucky to get double the range of a FRS radio all other conditions being equal. I had the 5 watt Midland radios and took them back to get these and could not be happier with my decision. I don't see any difference in transmission range between the two sets and the Motorola's sound better and have better features.
Digital camera Review: Great set of radios!
Summary: 4 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I take this set with me on multiple-car road trips, hiking and camping trips. The battery life is excellent, often lasting an entire weekend's worth of use with no problems at all. I've tested the range up to about 20 miles in clear terrain. The sound is clear, delay minimal, and I've experienced little interference from other RF devices. Excellent choice in areas where cell coverage is minimal or completely non-existent.
Being able to pick up NOAA broadcasts is a good safety feature especially when camping or hiking. The radio can be a bit bulky since we are all used to internal antennas from cell phones. Getting the channel and security code set properly to get both or more radios to talk with each other can be a bit of a hassle. Overall, highly recommended.
The pros: Excellent battery life, durable, clear, NOAA weather broadcasts
The cons: Bit expensive, not the smallest set, confusing security channel system
Digital camera Review: Hmmm... ok, I guess...
Summary: 3 Stars
Not bad... but not great either...
It works perfectly with no obstructions, buildings, hills, etc... Quite flakey once you're no longer in the same vicinity...
Havent compared it to the cheaper options but I bought this one because of its range... I cant imagine the cheaper items performing any worse.
Digital camera Review: Looking for range? This will disappoint you.
Summary: 3 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Motorola says these radios have a range of up to 2 miles in a dense urban setting. I'd say that's true if "up to 2 miles" means anything from one inch to 2 miles. We tested this in a variety of situations. First we used our home area, a typical suburban neighborhood with no structure taller than 2 stories. The signal was strong at one-tenth of a mile. At two-tenths of a mile, the signal started breaking up but was usable. By three-tenths of a mile the signal was gone.
Then we tested it at a small lake here in beautiful upstate New York. Motorola claims up to 10 miles on a flat, unobstructed surface like a lake. One of us stood on the lakefront and the other drove around to the other side of the lake, which is about eight-tenths of a mile across. The signal was clear and strong. We then tried the wide ends of the lake, two miles across. The signal was still clear and just a little less strong. I can't vouch for the 10-mile range, but I can give a strong thumbs up for 2 miles. We thought about trying the 25-mile test (illustrated as one on a mountaintop and the other down in a valley with no obstructions between them), but we would have had to drive to a location more than 50 miles away and we're trying to conserve gasoline.
As others have written, the interface leaves a little to be desired. Most but the simplest controls were not intuitive. I had to read the instructions, but that's not the worst thing in the world.
Others here have suggested favorable settings for good reception. The radios serve their purpose in those settings, I guess. I'd have to give this a mixed result--any kind of obstruction seems to cause a severe decrease in range.