Walkie talkies were high tech before cells phones. It's used for hunters obviously and kids
...or people like me who live in an area of questionable cell service and spent the weekend trying to troubleshoot and repair an issue with the well system (which sits a few hundred feet behind the house) and needs something to let the boy know when to turn the water on and off in the house.
If anybody is interested the Wyoming Blvd Walmart in Albuquerque had about 10. I grabbed a couple for the kids. They are not out and available so you have to ask an employee to look on the bottom shelf of the "overflow" cage behind the cell phone cash register. There was a pile of them there. Some were marked at $5 and some were not. However, they all rang up at the $5 sale price. The kid who assisted me was super helpful and very cheerful.
Brickseek says 6+ in stock. Walmart says my local one has 6. I went in, couldn't find them. Guy at the counter said there's 7, probably in the clearance section. Couldn't find them.
OK, what are these good for? In case of emergency I'm guessing where communication is knocked out?
(Asking from a city guy perspective)
That is a fair question...
In addition to the emergency use that you mention....
Kids toys..still fun for kids.
They can be useful when camping. Very possible that you are in an area that does not have cell service..or it is spotty.
Some jobs may find them useful... I think I saw a retirement home mentioned.
Construction might be another...as well as various others.
But for those thinking these might be helpful in a park like DisneyWorld.....no.
They would be...except for the other 20K people who all had the same idea and have every channel totally bogged down.
Cruise Ships are another place where you would think they would be useful..but they are not.
The steel walls in a cruise ship mean that unless both ends are on the top deck and outside, these are worthless.
In NYC with my wife on a c 25 floor at Broadway and 44 Street [Times Square] I was able to reach her from 10th Avenue and 42 Street and also from Herald Square. This is with FRS only.
At that time we only had one cell phone between the two of us. Now we each have our own
Height played a major role here. Otherwise there is no way that signal would have bounced between all those buildings at street level.
Based on the comments, no has a clue about these. FRS/GMRS channels require an FCC license to operate, yes, you can operate without one, but if you violate radio practices with these, the FCC may pay you a visit.
Yes, these radios can have a 16+ mile range, FRS/GMRS channels operate using repeaters, hence the longer range. These radios are basically one or two steps below being a licensed amateur radio operator.
No license required as long as your using a radio with a fixed / non-removable antenna and are not exceeding legal power limits (Now 2 watts on FRS). These cannot access repeaters so they will not require a GMRS license.
That is a fair question...
In addition to the emergency use that you mention....
Kids toys..still fun for kids.
They can be useful when camping. Very possible that you are in an area that does not have cell service..or it is spotty.
Some jobs may find them useful... I think I saw a retirement home mentioned.
Construction might be another...as well as various others.
But for those thinking these might be helpful in a park like DisneyWorld.....no.
They would be...except for the other 20K people who all had the same idea and have every channel totally bogged down.
Cruise Ships are another place where you would think they would be useful..but they are not.
The steel walls in a cruise ship mean that unless both ends are on the top deck and outside, these are worthless.
No license required as long as your using a radio with a fixed / non-removable antenna and are not exceeding legal power limits (Now 2 watts on FRS). These cannot access repeaters so they will not require a GMRS license.
If you read the specs on these radios, they are hitting repeaters, on FRS you don't need a license, but on the GMRS side you do
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The OP did state, "YMMV".
...or people like me who live in an area of questionable cell service and spent the weekend trying to troubleshoot and repair an issue with the well system (which sits a few hundred feet behind the house) and needs something to let the boy know when to turn the water on and off in the house.
For the curious, it was a bad pressure tank.
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(Asking from a city guy perspective)
That is a fair question...
In addition to the emergency use that you mention....
Kids toys..still fun for kids.
They can be useful when camping. Very possible that you are in an area that does not have cell service..or it is spotty.
Some jobs may find them useful... I think I saw a retirement home mentioned.
Construction might be another...as well as various others.
But for those thinking these might be helpful in a park like DisneyWorld.....no.
They would be...except for the other 20K people who all had the same idea and have every channel totally bogged down.
Cruise Ships are another place where you would think they would be useful..but they are not.
The steel walls in a cruise ship mean that unless both ends are on the top deck and outside, these are worthless.
At that time we only had one cell phone between the two of us. Now we each have our own
Yes, these radios can have a 16+ mile range, FRS/GMRS channels operate using repeaters, hence the longer range. These radios are basically one or two steps below being a licensed amateur radio operator.
In addition to the emergency use that you mention....
Kids toys..still fun for kids.
They can be useful when camping. Very possible that you are in an area that does not have cell service..or it is spotty.
Some jobs may find them useful... I think I saw a retirement home mentioned.
Construction might be another...as well as various others.
But for those thinking these might be helpful in a park like DisneyWorld.....no.
They would be...except for the other 20K people who all had the same idea and have every channel totally bogged down.
Cruise Ships are another place where you would think they would be useful..but they are not.
The steel walls in a cruise ship mean that unless both ends are on the top deck and outside, these are worthless.
If you read the specs on these radios, they are hitting repeaters, on FRS you don't need a license, but on the GMRS side you do
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