[thunderbird]

Taking couple elderly friends deer hunting Monday in Pa. Neither has or uses a cell phone. I'd like to purchase a walkie-talkie so we can communicate for any deer down, emergencies, locations,...….etc. Any experiences or recommendation for good brand, options,...etc.? Appreciate any feedback.

 

[Paul Workman]

FRS 2-way radios is the way to go.

I suggest/recommend Motorola's line of FRS radios after several issues experienced with some other brands.

I belong to a couple car clubs and we go chasing around in the mountains. In a group of 30 or so cars, there is a variety of FRS radios among us. To date, the "MOTOs" have yet to fail, unless the battery is run down of course.

The FRS radios work well - line of site up to a mile as advertisements claim. (but I've sat on one mountain top in CO with line of sight well beyond a mile to other members of the party - no issues beyond at least 2 miles. But, in the deep woods...a mile is pushing it. All depends on the terrain.

 

[TinMan]

Watch the power level, as some require a license and some do not.

 

[Larry in Bend]

My Elk hunting group uses Midland. One fellow is a radio nut and recommended them. Mine are 12 years old and still doing fine.

On some of these models there are LOTS of buttons to push and different calls, call-backs, etc ….. As long as someone sets them up they work fine but can be a bit confusing. You might opt for a simpler model if you have a choice.

I'm a weather watcher and enjoy getting local weather on the radio. Nice feature.

Some models have a re-charge option. Mine worked great for 10 years and then the re-chargable battery started to die ---- but the receiver still showed full power after using the charger, even though the range was down to 50 feet or so.. Using AAs eliminates this possibility.


We call each other at pre-determined times so as not to mess up a stalk or game sighting. We turn the radio on when it is time to call (like "on the hour")