Walk the Walk and Talk the Talk

I received these walkie talkies as a gift for Christmas. I had a pair of walkie talkies before that ran on four double A batteries. I didn't use them enough and it seemed like every time I needed them I had to replace the batteries. That became quite expensive. That's why I decided to ask for a rechargeable set.

As for the basics, the walkie talkies have a base that both walkie talkies sit in while they are recharging. You can have them on at this time. This has come in handy a few times when I've let one of the batteries run out. You can still talk as long as you keep it in the base. The radio is made out of black plastic, which is a little slick. I wish that it wasn't so slick, but it otherwise fits fairly easily in your hand. There are 22 different channels. The display is easy to read, it has large numbers for your channel as well as a small battery symbol. The talk button is on the left hand side. There are channel scan buttons that allow you to go up or down as well as a volume control that allows you to do the same. There is a call button in the center that sounds an alarm that catches the other person's attention. The on/off button is to the right on the front. There is a small antenna, about two inches long, on the top. It is slightly flexible.

The radios also have a belt clip on the back. It is a little hard to get it clipped sometimes.

Once charged, the batteries seem to hold their charge well. As I said before, I don't use them a lot. I work outside around the house, and I often take this with me so I can keep in touch with my wife. No farther than I get the reception is fine. I can carry the walkie talkie with me all day, and it will not run out.

Apparently, the frequency for channel one is a common one for several of my neighbors have walkie talkies as well and we often pick up their conversations. One of my neighbors lives 1/2 mile away and we have no problem talking to him. The box advertises that they have a 3 mile range. I live in the mountains, and sometimes this is pushing it. If you are inside a house, that also cuts down on the range. Yet, I also live about 12 miles from the nearest ski slope, and I have picked up the conversations of families on the slopes before.

They have been very handy for our family to take on trips, for example the beach and amusement parks. At amusement parks, it seems that lots of families carry them. This is where the 22 channels come in handy.

One thing that does get a little aggravating is that some of the buttons can get pressed by accident. One day I was mowing, and my wife came running. She said that I had been pressing the call button constantly and she thought something was wrong. I couldn't hear over the mower. Other times I've changed the channel by accident too.

Still, they've come in very handy for what I've needed them for.