Outdoor Adventure USA

I bought a set of these about a year back with a bunch of other folks in Hawaii. the sound quality is very poor. They are ok for hiking around or something quiet but with all the noise involved in wheeling it seems like I find my self asking the other side to repeat multiple times.

Hey Fun:

That's not an uncommon complaint. Transmitting from inside a metal box (your vehicle) is not very conducive to good communication. Unfortunately, hooking up an external antenna is not possible or practical with any of these units so you are limited to short distance communication. Most of the advertisements for these radios boast about their range, but as you have probably noted, they always say, "under ideal conditions". If you go with GMRS or FRS, your best bet is to go with the 5 watt radios, (available on GMRS frequencies only.) I must admit that my pucker factor goes up just a smidge with that much power bouncing around the interior of a vehicle. Time to upgrade to ham.

There is an Icom FRS model with an external jack... tune/snip a 440 whip and it may work well... But yeah, FRS is short range.

I do run with one group that uses FRS. The group tends to stay together for routine spotting, and usually in groups of 5 to 7, so range rarely is an issue - and it does save air-space for others.

I am slowwwwwwwwly converting them to Ham.

Another option is the Icom IC-F21GM. You can replace the antenna with an aftermarket antenna to improve the gain. Also, you can connect it to a mag mount antenna on your vehicle which will greatly improve operation in a vehicle.

FunJunkie wrote:I bought a set of these about a year back with a bunch of other folks in Hawaii. the sound quality is very poor. They are ok for hiking around or something quiet but with all the noise involved in wheeling it seems like I find my self asking the other side to repeat multiple times.

You didn't mention the brand / model of FRS / GMRS radio you are using. Just like everything else, there are better and lesser quality radios available, and the construction and power output (on GMRS; FRS are all 1/2 watt) will have a large effect on the transmission range / quality.

DaveK wrote:Hey Fun:

That's not an uncommon complaint. Transmitting from inside a metal box (your vehicle) is not very conducive to good communication. Unfortunately, hooking up an external antenna is not possible or practical with any of these units so you are limited to short distance communication. Most of the advertisements for these radios boast about their range, but as you have probably noted, they always say, "under ideal conditions". If you go with GMRS or FRS, your best bet is to go with the 5 watt radios, (available on GMRS frequencies only.) I must admit that my pucker factor goes up just a smidge with that much power bouncing around the interior of a vehicle. Time to upgrade to ham.

And just so everyone is aware, even though a lot of FRS radios have GMRS frequencies with higher power outputs on them, you still need to have a FCC license to operate on the GMRS frequencies at above 1/2 watt output power (some FRS / GMRS frequencies overlap). I know you won't get "caught", but I just want folks to know the rules - whether or not you choose to abide by them is your choice...

cruiserlarry wrote:...the construction and power output (on GMRS; FRS are all 1/2 watt) will have a large effect on the transmission range / quality.

The bubblepack radios are probably the worst across the board. One of the problems is the speaker is tiny, and another is the antenna is too small. Get a GMRS radio similar to the IC-F21GM where it not only has better power, but a better speaker and antenna. Also, you can replace the stock antenna with a better antenna.

cruiserlarry wrote:I know you won't get "caught", but I just want folks to know the rules - whether or not you choose to abide by them is your choice...

But don't count on not getting caught. There was a balloon event in Arizona a while back that was using GMRS to communicate and didn't have a license. The FCC found out and fined them.

So get the license. You get a call sign and it is good for the whole family, or in the case of a business, the whole business.