Tell me about Family Radios

[Gretchen]

Which one do you recommend?
I need to get them before we leave for WDW on saturday, any help is appreciated!
Thanks,
Gret

 

[jsginmd]

I have a set of Motorola Talkabout T5200. My only complaint is the belt clip broke on each one.

Just be sure to get a set with subchannels. I never heard anyone else during our trip to WDW, but had a backup channel just in case.

Good luck. And make sure you're set for batteries.

 

[R4racing]

We have Motorolas also and like them, not sure of which model though. At first we had purchased a set of 5 mile range ones, after the sales clerk told us the FCC license (I think that's what it was) you needed for them was "no big deal, only like $20 and good for life" Well, after DH talked to someone at the FCC and was told the actual license was more like $50 and was only good for a limited time (I forget how long, if it was a year or 2 or what) anyway, the 5mile range radios went back and we got the 2 mile ones.

 

[Gretchen]

Thank you for your respones!
How long do the triple a batteries last? Do you have to replace them every day?
Thanks
Gret

 

[jsginmd]

The radios I have each take 3 AA batteries.

The trip was for 5 days and I think I only needed to replace batteries once. Of course, only when our group split up (runs to get fastpasses, etc.) did we turn them on (and we were together for most of the trip).

My one pet peeve is that the others in our group didn't always turn on the second radio when we split up. Very frustrating to be repeatedly saying "Huge group of characters in the hub." and getting no response.

Make sure everyone knows how to use them and how to switch channels (to a previously agreed upon channel/subchannel). And try to address each other as specifically as possible. There are thousands of "Moms" and "Dads" at WDW. I think there was a good thread with tips on FSR on these boards. Perhaps a search?

Good luck and have fun!

 

[Gretchen]

Thank you for the great info!
We too will spend most of the time together. My DH will be taking my DD who is 6 off to do some stuff while I take care of our DS 8 months and vice versa. It will be nice to stay in contact.
I've tried the search feature, but it's not working so well for me.
Anyway, off to purchase radios!!
Then to see the mouse on saturday,
Gret

 

[sandiegosusie]

I bought the Motorolla (5mile) radios for my DH for Christmas. How do you know you need a licence for them? I was told by the guy at Costco that I didn't need one...Can anyone clarify? I will return them for the 2mile ones if that is the case...

 

[Gretchen]

5 mile radios require operating lic. per FCC it should say something on the box. The employee was either misinformed or mistaken. The FRS radios, 2 mile do not require a license. I was told by someone on the Parks board, Geoff, the license is about $70. My opinion after reading and talking to different people, you want the FRS with sub channels. Most come with 14 channels and 30 something sub channels. That way you don't interfere with other families. I think I would splurge on the rechargable ones, instead of buying a bunch of aaa bateries. You'd need to compare $.
Gret

 

[R4racing]

As far as it needing the license, it was on the package somewhere in tiny print, I think. It was also inside in the booklet that came with them. We were willing to pay a bit for a license if needed due to the further range, just not willing to pay so much for such a short time. At least not for how often we would be using them (on vacations mostly) I was more than willing to put up a fuss when returning ours if they even mentioned restocking fee or anything, after being told by an employee totally wrong info on the license. We had no problem and like ours with the 2 mile range. I would either double check the box, or it might tell you on the Motorola website about the license being needed.

We took our rechargable batteries and the small charger for them. We didn't use the radios much, so didn't really need to charge them often.

 

[sandiegosusie]

Thank you so much for the info. I am going to return them tomorrow, because the trouble and expense of a license is too much for me...I am gong to stick to the 2mile Motorola with a charger from Costco. Gotta love Costco for all your travel needs!

 

[strawberryblonde]

We just got back from a week at WDW. I had purchased the Disney motorolla pair for $50 no shipping through Amazon. They have 14 channels and 30 some sub channels. They worked great in the parks. I liked the feature of the character voice saying "hiya pal" or "yoohoo" so I would know it was my DH. My only gripe is that my DH wouldn't turn it on all of the time, only when he wanted to be in comunication . A whole new way to have "selective hearing", lol

 

[tink2dw]

I did a test drive and got free radio's,no sub channels.

We thought we would use nicknames over the radio's, it was a disaster!! My Dd nickname is Angel. Well for some reason that brought out all the preverts in the park. Dh and I were using Mama Bear,and Pa Pa Bear so we changed Dd's to Baby Bear that was just as bad!! It sure ruined the feel of the parks being a safer family enviorment !