Motorola Talkabout T5950 (7 Channels) Two Way Radio
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- Battery Indicator: With Battery Indicator
- Power Output: 0.5 Watts
- Channels: 7
- LCD Display: With LCD Display
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Good solid radios
Pros
Excellent feature packed radios, NOAA weather channel, clear sound, good range.
Cons
The drop in charger only works with the supplied battery packs.
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
After about 1 months use we've been very satisfied with their performance. I'd buy these radios again. Good range, clear sound, great features.
I purchased these 2 units including the drop in charger for $70, less a $10 mail in rebate, at Costco a month ago. Since then we have used them skiing and for general 2-way communications where cell service was not available. Overall good radios with excellent range and features. Solid feel in the hand and easy to use.
I read a few reviews on the bad sound quality of the T5950, and when we first used them that was initially a big problem, fortunately I found out what was causing it. My wife was speaking very loudly directly into the mic, I think this caused over modulation/clipping and was the main reason transmissions were distorted. We now speak in a normal tone and keep the radio 10-12" away from our face. Since doing that simple thing sound quality has greatly improved and no longer is an issue.
I also have a couple early edition Motorola Talkabout 200's that are 100% compatible, they are 1/2 watt FRS but surprisingly the range is not much less than the T5950's 1 watt. The extra power does seem to help in fringe areas, eg from car to car. I am able to clearly communicate 2 miles EASILY from my living room to my wife inside her car at the store. Outside of either a car or house distance is more, but line of sight seems to determine range past 2 miles. As an extreme example, I can converse clearly with skiers at the top of Heavenly Valley to my house, a clear line of sight about 12 miles. Obstacles such as hills and houses of course decrease range dramaticly. When we are skiing as a family in the mountains I have yet to encounter a range problem and the wide selection of privacy codes keeps us to ourselves. The ringer works well too, even when the volume control is all the way down. That is a nice feature as contact can be made even if the volume has been inadvertently turned down. The ringer also works with the older T-200's, even tho those early radios don't have this feature. Of course the old radios cannot send a ring, just receive one, but that in itself is helpful.
I really like the scan feature which can be used to make random contact with others in the event of an emergency. The NOAA weather channel works great in our area too and could be a life saver in an emergency situation in the back country. There is a key lock to hold settings, and all other functions are pretty easy to setup. I'd advise keeping the manual though, some features can be forgotten. Motorola has a free downloadable version of the manual at their website, not a bad idea to keep a copy on the hard drive for future reference.
Battery life is about 24 hours on standby, figure about 8-12 hours with normal talk time, or an average days use. Mine came with NiCad battery packs, wish they would have included NiMH instead. Any type AA's (3) can also be used, including rechargables of your choice but if this is done the drop in charger won't work, they only have contacts that work with the pre packaged battery packs that also have seperate matching contacts. This is dumb, I'd really have preferred the handy drop in charger to work with all batteries.
Overall though, a feature packed set of radios well worth the price. Just remember not to scream directly into the mic and you'll have clear 2-way communications anywhere. Cell phones are great but are useless in almost all remote areas, they are also useless in the event of a power failure or other major emergency.
Frank
I read a few reviews on the bad sound quality of the T5950, and when we first used them that was initially a big problem, fortunately I found out what was causing it. My wife was speaking very loudly directly into the mic, I think this caused over modulation/clipping and was the main reason transmissions were distorted. We now speak in a normal tone and keep the radio 10-12" away from our face. Since doing that simple thing sound quality has greatly improved and no longer is an issue.
I also have a couple early edition Motorola Talkabout 200's that are 100% compatible, they are 1/2 watt FRS but surprisingly the range is not much less than the T5950's 1 watt. The extra power does seem to help in fringe areas, eg from car to car. I am able to clearly communicate 2 miles EASILY from my living room to my wife inside her car at the store. Outside of either a car or house distance is more, but line of sight seems to determine range past 2 miles. As an extreme example, I can converse clearly with skiers at the top of Heavenly Valley to my house, a clear line of sight about 12 miles. Obstacles such as hills and houses of course decrease range dramaticly. When we are skiing as a family in the mountains I have yet to encounter a range problem and the wide selection of privacy codes keeps us to ourselves. The ringer works well too, even when the volume control is all the way down. That is a nice feature as contact can be made even if the volume has been inadvertently turned down. The ringer also works with the older T-200's, even tho those early radios don't have this feature. Of course the old radios cannot send a ring, just receive one, but that in itself is helpful.
I really like the scan feature which can be used to make random contact with others in the event of an emergency. The NOAA weather channel works great in our area too and could be a life saver in an emergency situation in the back country. There is a key lock to hold settings, and all other functions are pretty easy to setup. I'd advise keeping the manual though, some features can be forgotten. Motorola has a free downloadable version of the manual at their website, not a bad idea to keep a copy on the hard drive for future reference.
Battery life is about 24 hours on standby, figure about 8-12 hours with normal talk time, or an average days use. Mine came with NiCad battery packs, wish they would have included NiMH instead. Any type AA's (3) can also be used, including rechargables of your choice but if this is done the drop in charger won't work, they only have contacts that work with the pre packaged battery packs that also have seperate matching contacts. This is dumb, I'd really have preferred the handy drop in charger to work with all batteries.
Overall though, a feature packed set of radios well worth the price. Just remember not to scream directly into the mic and you'll have clear 2-way communications anywhere. Cell phones are great but are useless in almost all remote areas, they are also useless in the event of a power failure or other major emergency.
Frank
