Cobra Electronics microTALK® FRS 220 (14 Channels) Two Way Radio

Recently, I was at my parents' home. My Mom commis-
erated. She was glad we were there to be inside with Dad
while she got some needed yard work done. After his
stroke, she hesitates to go out in their yard with noisy
equipment. If he needs her, she won't be able to hear
him.

Ta-da! Technology to the rescue. We talked about 2-way
radios. Mom said that Dad's brother and his wife use them
and wondered if they would work for her. I had ordered a
free pair from CyberRebate (yes, I've had good experience
with them) and we were ready to try them out. Originally,
I had purchased them for my husband to use while hiking but
my Mom's need was more immediate.

Cobra MicroTalk FRS 220 was our model of choice. Mostly
because of the excellent price of free. They have 14
channels with 38 Subchannels. Housed in an attractive
charcoal case, they don't draw neon attention to my Mom.
Also, the case is weather resistant which is good because
rain won't tear her away from her yard work.

Taking 4 AA batteries apiece, we got them ready to go.
Within minutes, we were talking. We set them up on the
same channel. Then, because my Dad can inadvertently
press the wrong button, we locked the channel setting in.
This is a good feature if you're using these with
children.

Now we were talking. To call the other radio, we pressed
the call button. The other radio rings. That person can
answer using their talk button. There is also a button to
acknowledge via a "roger" beep tone. Operation was fairly
simple. Dad showed little interest but he was able to
work them. Now, he can blast CNN or Wall Street Week,
knowing that he can reach Mom when she's outside.

These radios have an alleged 2 mile range but we haven't
tried them more than 1 acre away yet. The antenna flexes
making it less likely to break. Batteries low? An LED
will light up to let you know. Unfortunately, there is
no recharge function. You need a separate battery charger
unit to reuse the batteries. Each radio has a clip for
attaching the radio to clothing.

All was going well in our experiment. Now, time to turn
them off. Following the instructions, we pressed the "on"
button for several seconds. Dum-de-dum... We waited. The
radios were still on. We waited some more. We tried other
buttons. We called my Uncle to ask him. He didn't know.
We couldn't shut these puppies off. Feeling 2 fries short
of a Happy Meal, we emailed Cobra to admit we couldn't
switch our radios off. In the meantime, we removed the
batteries.

Next day, an unhelpful reply from Cobra. Said to hold
down the "on" button. Duh! We had already emailed them
that those instructions weren't working for us. Mom
played with them for a while. Finally, she figured out
that the channel lock feature prevents them from turning
off. Who would have guessed? Kudos to low-tech Mom for
figuring it out. She emailed Cobra back with an errata
sheet for their instructions!

Bottom line on these radios is that they're basic, 2-way
radios that work. They seem durable and are low key in
appearance. If you need an inexpensive radio for keeping
in touch with someone who may need assistance, these
should work for you. I think they'll also be great for
hiking. Every time my husband and son go out, I think
about the boy who got lost here in Oregon while Christ-
mas tree hunting with his family. I wish he had been
carrying a radio.


Note: I'm not sure why the title of this product says
FRS-220-2CH. That implies that these radios have 2
channels only. The radios I got have 14 channels but
this same model number. If you see these at the store
and have a choice between 2 and 14 channels, choose
14. There could be interference with your neighbors
or other electronic devices in your home and you want
to be able to switch channels.