Motorola 25 mile T9580R SAME Two-Way FRS/GMRS Radio

Worked as expected. Not a whole lot of range. But for the price, this radio is a good deal. Don't lose the instructions as setting the channels is not that intuitive.

These radios were replacements for a previous pair because I lost one. Both sets have been handy and useful. My mother doesn't have a cell phone so we use it to keep in touch while shopping. These are the best we've found. We had another brand that would not reach as far and were not as clear.

The product seems to be O.K. I will try it for a month or so to see how it works

I am extreemely unhappy with the T9580R. Its range in urban setting is no more than 500m. The voice quality is crackling. The advance features are useless to a basic user like me. This unit is only good for kid's back yard use. Will NOT recommend it to anyone.

I bought two packages containing two radios each. All four work perfectly well with each other. Used initially for an outdoor nature camp and later in a preschool, the positives are:

POSITIVES:
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- Crystal clear voices at any volume setting. Let's face it - this is the #1 reason anyone buys walkie-talkie devices like this.

- The dual charging staion gives the radios a "place to be" when not in use. Then when needed, they are fully charged.

- Natural feeling intuitive controls. Your fingertips are alreay on the push-to-talk (PTT) button when holding the device. The button is strong enough not to get pushed accidently. The volume knob is right where you first look for it. Ditto for the channel setting. A group of non-technical preschool teachers set the channels and volume so they all were useing the radios without instruction within two minutes of receiving the devices.

- There is a very useful feature I can only describe as a "ring" function. When initiating a radio conversation, the caller can (if desired) first press a button that sends a musical sound like a phone ringing. This alerts the receiver like an incoming call on a telephone. The sender than can start talking or wait for the receiver to answer. As you might imagine, this is quite useful in a preschool environment. The recipient teacher can finish talking to the children or give them instructions before "answering" the radio call.

NEGATIVES:
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- An individual radio does not stand up on its own. The belt clip works terrific outdoors, but it must lay down when set on a teacher's desk. This isn't a big deal as it doesn't affect usage or functionality - just asthetics.

Overall:
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- I have used professional grade (expensive!) hand-held radios before. These devices are every bit as good, at least for the nature camp and preschool usage described above. I imagine the professional radios would work over longer distances without loss of clarity, but otherwise I see no advantage.

- I'm also pleased to know I bought the Motorola standard of quality and support, adding a level of confidence to this purchase.