Motorola Talkabout T6400 (22 Channels) Two Way Radio

I love camping! My wife and I are always in a mall or somewhere where we'd like to be in-touch, but not

necessarily together (shopping in our own stores)! We use NEXTEL for our long-distance communications, but even

these can fail when within a large shopping mall or in a wilderness campsite! Not so with the TalkAbouts

(T6400). The Motorola TalkAbout T6400's tend to cut through the metal clutter because they don't have to get

"out" to a tower to repeat/relay the calls, and work great in forest areas or wilderness sites! Don't get me

wrong ... NEXTEL is "great", but when it comes to camping and wilderness areas, you CANNOT rely on "support

services" for things like NEXTEL's, or regular cell phones, or any sort of communications that is not

point-to-point related in operation, but requires "support" equipment to operate.

The range is "GREAT" with these units, and I've still not used the GMRS channels that much ... we got used to a

particular channel/code setting with our original TalkAbouts (this is our 3 series, upgrading) and still use them

on these. The T6400 is "GREAT" with all it's features, like the stopwatch, clock & alarm, VOX features,

Roger-Beep (signals when you're "through" talking during a transmission), and more! The best part about these is

you can turn these features ON or OFF at will ... you're not STUCK with a manufacturers settings!

We've used them in Church too! That's right, Church! Our Usher's use them with an earpiece set to communicate

between one another silently during a service. They worked GREAT! Then the music started, and as it got louder

it was harder to hear. We went in and use the "user adjustments" menu and set the MIC SENSITIVITY to LOW and

"BOOM" ... the problem was solved!! We could now talk, even in a high-noise environment with these earpiece sets

and hear each other clearly. The TX button/MIC module was in-line of the cord and fit great under our suitcoat

lapels! We couldn't have asked for a better deal! Now the Greeters call us with the size of a party about to

enter the doors and we're already ready to seat them before they enter the sanctuary! The nursery can call us

when they need a parent for a small child (it's in the next building) and one of our usher's retrieves the parent

from the crowd!

Some features I really like:
- VIBRACALL - vibrates the unit when you receive a call after being idle for more than a few minutes. In noisy

areas (remember those theme parks?) this was the only way I knew someone was calling.
- "Roger Beep" TONE - tells you when the other party has stopped transmitting. I like the fact that you can

turn this "off" or "on" as needed.
- CALL SIGNALLER - lets you send an alarm to other unit - this is pretty loud and is good for times when the

radio isn't with you (e.g. at the campsite).
- MIC SENSITIVITY - works great in setting the mic's sensitivity so you can get the best transmission for your

particular needs!


Some issues I have with these units:
- T4000 SERIES FEATURES LOST - I really liked the built-in weather radio & alerts ... now we have to carry a

second unit for this. It was nice when it was built-in to the radio with the T4000 series units.
- BELT CLIP CHANGES - We had invested alot into our former sets of TalkAbouts, have upgraded 3 times, and now

the arm band cases and belt cases we have no longer work on these new T6400 series!
- MIC PLUG CHANGES - THEY CHANGED THE MIC PLUGS!!! We had invested in handheld microphones (clip on your label,

or backpack straps) where they worked like police radios! All of our accessories are now useless because they

use the "standard" professional two-way radio mic plugs (2 prongs - 1 speaker/earphone, 1 mic & keyline).

They've been replaced with the mini-plug style used by cellphones, only the earpiece units we use for cellphones

are not compatible with these radios! Somebody didn't think this one out in produce design.
- ALTIMER/COMPASS - if these had an altimer, compass, "and" a weatherradio, they'd be "priceless" for

backpackers, campers, and world travellers!! How about it Motorola?

UPDATE: I found another response where they bought the arm bands for these ... they're apparently a belt-clip/arm

band combo unit ... I'm getting some for mine. (we bought 4 units)

About the Author

10yrs in communications with United States Air Force in ground radio and aircraft communications and survival

radio equipment; also a NEXTEL Sales Representative/Store Owner. (we sell these at NEXTEL too!)