Uniden GMR1235-2 12-Mile 22-Channel FRS/GMRS Two-Way Radio (Pair) by Uniden
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Digital camera reviews of Uniden GMR1235-2 12-Mile 22-Channel FRS/GMRS Two-Way Radio (Pair)
Digital camera Review: Looks Like a Toy - Preforms Like a Toy
Summary: 1 Stars
With Walkie Talkies you get what you pay for... $19.99 is not going to get you a strong performer. I took a pair of these Unidens with me to Peru to hike the Andes and found them to be a poor performers. They tout a 12mile range, sure, hill top to hill top, with no obstruction, on a perfect day, no wind. Best we could get in hiking terrain was about 1.5 miles max... that's right. These walkie talkies eat batteries, as they have no power save function. Think 3 alkaline batteries a day. These Unidens have no channel lock (not good) and have crappy sound, hey what's not to like? Look if you are serious about communicating, stick with Motorola (like the MH230), I wish I had. Don't get suckered in by the price or those that tout 10 or 12 mile ranges... that is irrelevant, unless you are hiking Death Valley, in the valley that is. I do not recommend these walkie talkies, there are much better.Digital camera Review: Looks like a toy, works like the real thing
Summary: 4 Stars
Those Uniden GMR1235-2 2-way Radios are so compact, you can easily hold both in one hand (see my Customer Image). They are also very inexpensive (around $20 for a pair), so one may think of them as just toys for kids, But in fact they can be used by kids and adults alike - provided that you start with the correct expectation.
First of all, forget about the manufacturer's claim of '12-mile' range. That is only possible under the most optimistic test condition (transmitting from one hill top to another with clear line-of-sight). In an urban environment, you are lucky if you can get one or two miles. With this limited range in mind, this walkie talkie set can still be very useful in many places (such as in a National Park, or a large shopping mall). The sound quality is quite decent - similar to an AM radio.
Next, this thing is a battery-eater if you use disposable alkaline cells (three AAA per radio). The manufacturer claims an average battery life of '20 hours'. But again, this is under a special test condition of '5/5/90', which means 5% transmit, 5% receive, and 90% idle time. The device consumes different amount of current during different operation modes, as shown below:
- While transmitting: 400mA
- While receiving: 50-100mA (depending on volume level)
- While idling: around 15mA.
If you do a lot of transmission, a set of alkaline cells is likely to run flat in less than two hours (because alkaline cells are very inefficient at high current). My advice is to buy some good quality AAA rechargeable cells, such as the Sanyo Eneloop or Rayovac Hybrid, to power those radios. That way, not only will you save money on batteries, you can even get longer run time per charge.
Digital camera Review: Nice Toy, but Drains Batteries
Summary: 2 Stars
I bought these walkies, so that my daughter can talk to her friend who lives down the street. They truly are crystal clear, for this 1 block distance, and I tested them about 4 blocks away and they remained as clear. Once I was .5 miles away, the 2 radios were unable to communicate with each other. I am sending these back to Amazon, because even though they work for their original purpose (my daughter), they drain batteries faster than any product I have ever seen. I am not exaggerating when I write that they use 3 AAA batteries and with normal use, the radio lasted about 45 minutes. Yesterday I put a fresh set in, and they lasted a half an hour with constant chattering back and forth between the girls. I called Uniden and they had excellent customer service (as does Amazon). Uniden said that what I am describing is not normal, however, I do not want to take a chance, so I am going to buy something different right now.Digital camera Review: No 12 mile range, but not bad...
Summary: 5 Stars
I picked these up on a whim for around the house and are working out great!
Someone on the roof can easily communicate with someone on the ground or in the house. Or if I'm in the shop, they can get ahold of me no problem.
Just for fun my brother grabbed one and took off in the car just to see how far they can go. Set on channel 12 he stopped at a 1/4 mile, worked crystal clear. 1/2 mile, still the same. 1 mile, no problem. 2 miles.... that is when it started to break up. It's not 12 miles, but not bad considering the conditions, i.e. with several hundred houses in the way and a 100+ feet change in elevation. You would really only get the 12 mile range if you were doing a peak to valley transmission.
So in the real world with buildings, trees, and other obstacles in the way we achieved crystal clear sound over two miles apart. Very respectable for some three AAA powered "toy" two way radios.
Pros:
Easy to use.
Easy to set channels.
Comes with belt clips.
Small enough to fit in your pocket, but not too small.
Cons:
Can eat batteries if transmitting a lot, get some rechargeables.
Digital camera Review: No charger is a pain
Summary: 3 Stars
I didn't test it to the extent of 12 miles, so I can't comment on that part. For the price, this thing seems to work well. The quality of sound is very good. No channel is complete clear--I had it on for a day just to see what's going on, and now and then I caught people talking. But it didn't bother me too much.
The biggest problem is, the batteries die in one day, let's say, 8 hours. So if you have to leave it on for a long time like that, no charger is a big problem. Each one uses 3 AAA batteries. So I bought another 2 sets of 4-pack rechargeable batteries. So adding this price on, this walkie talkie isn't as cheap as it looks like. I wish I had bought one with charger.