TriSquare TSX-300 eXRS 900MHz FHSS 2-Way Radio (Pair), Charcoal Metallic/Black

I thought since these radios cost a little more than what we had been using, they would be awesome. I don't know if it's because our building is concrete or what, but sometimes messages do not go through to ALL radios. Also, the cheap ear pieces pretty much all snapped in the same place two days after we started using them. I'm not satisfied, but they work a little better than cheapos from Wal-Mart.

Initially the radios appeared to work well. I charged them, created the IDs, and tested them for a total of about 10 minutes before taking them on vacation. Once I tried to really use them, they would not stay synchronized, and one of the batteries would indicate a low status after just a few minutes. I spent far more time testing, recharging, programming, and re-programming than I did using them. I returned them.

I really wanted to give this a good review, but I can't. The battery life is terrible: a few hours if I'm lucky. I charged and discharged a few times, and yet the power would drain to rapidly for any really useful application. If the reception worked, it could make a good intercom, but the transmission, reception is bad.

Distance: maybe 200 feet if I'm lucky.

My test: I set an MP3 recorder next to the unit at my home, and drove around the neighborhood saying "I'm (insert location here)". I was surprised to hear that few of the transmissions got through, and those were all near my home.

There are very few places on the planet where line of site transmission is possible. There is always a tree, building, person, cat, bird, smoke, ghost, dream, fantasy, elephant, planet, or universe in the way. This product can barely work inside my home if I get a wall between the two units.

I ran similar tests in other locations. For example: a small town with a couple dozen people and a few dogs and little electronic interference. This was pathetic.

In each case, the product transmitted about the length I could have shouted a message. These walkie talkies are little more than the cone of silence. Your message will be heard only if you shout loud enough, and pray it isn't distorted by the digital format.

If you say, "Testing, Testing 123",
you will hear, "T..ti.., test...23"

very bad.
very very bad.

I can't imagine how anyone could have made a good review for this bad product. The design is good, but it doesn't work. The dream of a low cost private communicator is still far far away.

The TriSquare TSX300 radios are an excellent addition to anyone's personal communications system.

The radio package comes with 2-radios, 2-headsets, and a dual desktop charger to recharge the battery packs. (You can also power the radios with three standard AA alkaline batteries.

Similar to FRS radios in size and range, there are some differences which make the TSX300 radios an excellent option.

The radios operate in the 900 MHz range in a frequency hopping spread spectrum mode. This means that you key in a starting 10-digit number and frequency hops 10 times per second from that point giving you private communication. Trying to monitor the radios with a scanner was unsuccessful, and even with another TSX300 without knowing the starting number you can't monitor the conversation. The way the system is set up you get 10-Billion channels - or frequency hopping patterns to keep you conversation private.

The TSX300 radios have a text messaging function - similar to cell-phone text messaging - that lets you send a text message to others on the same channel which they can read at a later time. Text messages are limited to 80 characters per message.

There is a private "My Radio" function that lets you call a single radio out of a group instead of broadcasting to everyone on a channel.

Actual range on these radios in a rural area has been about 1-mile, with the text message function giving a little bit longer range than voice mode.

Finally, the TSX300 radios contain the NOAA Weather band so you can get a weather report when needed.

Overall I found the TSX300 radios to be an excellent value. About the only negative point I found with these radios is that they are not as strongly constructed as I might like. They have a plastic casing (similar to most FRS radios) which I would like to see made a bit more sturdily, but even so they are not in any way `junk'.

If you are looking for a way to have private and generally secure local communication the TSX300 is a good choice. It does everything an FRS radio can do - plus a whole lot more.

I discovered this radio from an electrician's website. I was impressed that the company was very straightforward about the radio's specs, no outrageous mileage claims and so forth. The company even has hams on their payroll. So I ordered a pair. I found it was easy to set up. Then the test. I have one of those high powered frs/gmrs radios to test against. Set up the eXRS and an FRS radio side by side by a recorder and then took a long walk with the other pair. I would key the FRS and give a test broadcast and then with the eXRS at varying distances. Then came back through my apartment complex and angled my location to increase the number of buildings and apartment they had to transmit through, up to a maximum of 3 buildings and 46 apartments. The FRS, since it is analog, became staticy and noisy. The eXRS' remained clear. When the FRS was about to fade into the static, the eXRS finally had a little chop in it's transmission. You have to give it a second to key up to transmit, but it's a great radio and the price makes it an even hotter deal! The channels and groups makes this act almost like a trunked radio system, but without the trunk. I took it to work and then over to the radio shop (national name company well recognized for radios) and had them try to scan it and crack the channel hopping spread spectrum. Even with their equipment, they were not able to monitor a transmission. If they had the software source code, they could have, but without the source code, even with highly specialized radio maintenance equipment that cost tens of thousands of dollars, they could not monitor this radio! If you do not know the channel, you would have a better chance of being struck by lightning on a sunny day of finding a conversation. Honest spec sheet from the manufacture, a radio that performs as advertised, and a great price. If given a choice for FRS or eXRS, the eXRS wins hands down. The only con is that if you like to listen to others on the radio, this is not the radio for that.

Update! I received 2 more xrs's today! Now I have 4! They really are great. I was with some friends in a park area that has a lot of people around, and a lot of FRS radios too. It was a somewhat public event. They were trying to do communications with the concessions and other posts. Yes, they could have used cell phones, but not everyone wants everyone else's cellphone number published, hence their decision to use FRS radios. I let my friends borrow the other 3 radios and I was with someone that was running a "base" operation for their event. It wasn't very long when other FRS users were intruding on their radios and causing problems, even with them using the "privacy codes". They were amazed that my radio didn't have ANY intruders at all. Even more impressed was when there was an injury, I could talk directly to just one of my radios without the others aware of what was happening! A private radio call to the individual with the radio! The closest of my radios was about 2,200 feet and the farthest one was about 5,000 feet, just under a mile as the crow flies.

One other thing, other posts are confused about licenses. FRS does not require a license (channels 1-14). GMRS (channel 15-22)does require a license. Those radios that have FRS and GMRS together, well, the FCC expects you to honor the honor system and not use the GMRS frequencies if you are not licensed to use GMRS. The eXRS radio are license free! A truly great little radio that has an honest manufacturer that doesn't make exaggerated claims, only state what the product is. I am very happy with my radios and probably could have sold several at that event if I had been a salesman.

Yet another update! This time, a comparison between CB, FRS, and the eXRS radios in deep wilderness woods. The wilderness is the Ouachita National Forest, a good mix of hardwoods and pines. Very dense. You can walk 50 yards into the woods and disappear. I kept my test to the more level area, mainly valleys. The FRS radios faded into the static at about 1,700 feet, as measured by the GPS. The eXRS faded away at about 1,920 feet. The CB handhelds, made it to 2,010 before they faded into the static. Funny thing on the CB's, we were hearing skip from Mexico but couldn't hear our other CB 1,920 feet away.

I've had my radios since eary June, and like them better than the FRS radios that I have. I still carry my FRS radios because not everyone has an eXRS yet, but all that see mine are impressed at the privacy of the radio's and the features that come with it. Some people seem to have problems with them, but I followed the eXRS manufactures description of the radios, expecting similar range (realistic, actual range. None of the 20 mile exaggerations of FRS manufacturers) of an FRS and the eXRS matches with a little more in every case.