- Up To 25-Mile Range
- 22 Channels
- 121 Privacy Codes For 2662 Combinations
- 27 Hours
- 3 AA Alkaline Or 9-Hour Nimh Estimated Talk Time
The T9500 radios are great radios and are the best I have used in the GMRS/FRS consumer family of radios for under $100. These radios have a great quick release belt clip and seem to be well built. The weather channels are a plus and sound clear through the T9500's speaker. I like the way the transmit button works. It has two switches built in. Press the button on the bottom and your radio transmits on low power (.5 watt). Press it on the top and your radio will transmit high power (2 watts on GMRS frequencies only).
Ok power, yes the T9500 transmits at 2 watts max power. It was hard for me to find this little known fact as this site and Motorola's own site conveniently neglect this info. I had to search the web and finally found it advertised on REI's web site. I am assuming the Motorola marketing folks thought this was a smart move as most consumers falsely believe more watts equates to longer transmission range.
I used to think watts were like horse power, the more the better. If you took two identical handheld radios one radio putting out 2 watts and the other radio putting out 5 watts you would get about a ¼ mile increase in transmission range under real world conditions with the 5 watt unit, all things being equal. But things are not equal from brand to brand and thank goodness for Motorola that this fact holds true. I have discovered over the years after using many different handhelds that what matters more is the quality of the electronic components, good circuit design, antenna elevation and electromagnetic conditions. Mostly what people will find with those other company's 5 watt units is they will use their battery up faster. If you think by getting an FCC license ($85) and a nice fancy new 2 5 watt high power GMRS radio you are going to see some massive improvement over your old .5 watt FRS radios think again. You will be lucky to get double the range of a FRS radio all other conditions being equal. I had the 5 watt Midland radios and took them back to get these and could not be happier with my decision. I don't see any difference in transmission range between the two sets and the Motorola's sound better and have better features.
Buy Motorola T9500XLR 25-Mile 2-Way Radio Pair Now
I own both the TriSquare and Motorola Talkabout radios Those of you who like to take your kids outdoors or skiing, may find this of interest.
Motorola T9500XLR 25-Mile 2-Way Radio
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This is a typical walkie talkie. It 22 channels in the 462 MHz range and has 2 watts of power using GMRS/FRS protocols. The "25-mile" range is the theoretical max (i.e. on the lunar surface).
The main problem with this technology is, well, other people. Imagine 1,000 people sharing 22 channels at Disney World. Motorola goes through great lengths to filter out other people. This is achieved by
(1) A special filter that blocks non-Motorola radios. A nice idea, but unfortunately 90% of walkie talkies are made by Motorola.
(2) A special privacy code which is assigned to each channel. Thus, all your Motorola radios have to be configured to the same privacy code in order to work with each other. Codes range from 1 to 121.
Nonetheless, even with filters and privacy encryption, if someone else is transmitting on your channel, there will be significant interference.
TriSquare TSX-300 eXRS 900MHz FHSS 2-Way Radio
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These use a completely different technology. They transmit on 900 MHz in a 100% digital protocol. They sort of work like cell phones, without the service provider. Each radio is assigned a unique 10-digit number. No matter how crowded the ski resort, you'll always have a private channel for your family. These radios use 1 watt of power. The manufacturer does not provide distance performace, but claim that the radios have a range equal to or better than the Motorola Talkabouts.
Comparison
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I took both brands with me and drove around town a typical suburban setting with residential and commercial areas. I rated voice quality on a scale of 0 to 3 as follows:
0 no reception
1 unintelligible
2 intelligible but noisy or garbled
3 intelligible and clear
I then plotted the average rating as a function of distance. The digital eXRS technology was superior to the GMRS/FRS model. The eXRS average rating was 25% better than the Motorola Talkabout. The max distance I could get in my area (having lots of trees and buildings) was .45 miles with either radio. The Motorola box claims "2 miles in an urban setting", which is just not true in my case.
The Motorol wins in overall voice quality. When the signal is strong, the voice quality of the Motorola was quite clear, whereas the eXRS unit always had a some background white noise.
Conclusion
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The TriSquare eXRS radios lack a bit in overall voice quality. However, having great voice quality in a Motorola radio is worthless if you can't get through on a crowded channel. The benefits of the eXRS radios out way the one or two shortcomings, in my opinion. I tried the TriSquare units at a ski resort. They work just as advertised. No interference from other people whatsoever.
The TriSquare comes with two vox headsets, which work fairly well. The Motorola talkabout did not come with headsets, which cost $20 a piece at Radio Shack.
Niether the Motorola Talkabout nor the TriSquare eXRS seem particularly rugged or weather resistant, so I'd rate them the same in that regard.
The NOAA weather reception on the TriSquare was pretty bad. I have two other NOAA radios, which work just fine in my area. The Talkabout had very good NOAA reception.
Read Best Reviews of Motorola T9500XLR 25-Mile 2-Way Radio Pair Here
I buy a pair of FRS radios pr. year, on the average. Radios like these are great to tack on to the kids when they run around the neighbourhood. I bought my first pair in 1999 I feel I have some experience, this pair of radios beeing my 8th pair or so.
The radios looked cool, although bigger than expected. The charging stand is practical, the kids use batteries like I owned a battery factory, so I can appreciate anything rechargeable. The range is better than I am used to, I guess it is mostly due to the fairly long antennas.
Now to my main two gripes:
The audio is beyond awful. I am a ham radio operator with a comprehensive understanding of radio electronics, also professionally. And I fail to understand what they have done to make the audio so incredibly bad. It sounds like someone is talking through a very long plastic tube. It's garbled, distorted and metallic sounding. This -mustbe a design flaw, I cannot think that this passed basic Q/A testing. My 10-year old, after trying to talk to me many times, finally broke down and called me on the phone from his friends house. I have had Unidens, Cobras and Midlands, but these are my first Motorolas.
My second gripe is just as serious when you try to make 10-year olds call home for dinner the radios do not start to transmit audio until maybe half a second after you push the PTT. This translates into much difficulty when you are used to an instant reaction when you key. Even my old tube HF set is faster than this. Again, this must be a design flaw. All my old, beat-up Unidens are instant (as well as smaller and with crystal clear audio, I might add).
Sorry, Motorola-guys, you need a second look at this design. I will make sure to field-test your FRS radios before considering another purchase.
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I had seen the claim of 25 miles on these radios and hoped that they would be a good replacement for my bigger and bulkier Talkabout Distance DPS units that we had paid over $200 each for a few years ago. I had figured if the old radios only claimed a 5 mile range, and these claimed 25, that hopefully they would be similar. We use these radios when hunting in the mountains of Colorado and it's important to stay in touch with the members of the group.
After getting the units, I read the manual and played around with them for a while. The NOAA feature is nice, just a little static... I figured that would have warned us about that blizzard that came in last year.
When first trying to use the radios, their true quality became clear... like a tin can and a string. Within sight of one of my friends who was out in a boat, we could not make out what each other was saying. Either the quality of the microphones or the quality of the speakers was so poor that conversation was impossible at any distance. I do hold out some hope that the earbud and PTT microphone might solve some of the sound quality issues, but am not too optimistic at this point.
WARNING! DO NOT BUY THESE RADIOS!!!
I have alot of experience with two way radios. I live and work in the mountains of Montana and I know the limits and quirks of most types and brands of 2-way radios. I've had no less than a dozen or so models going all the way back to when Uniden had the top of the line with the 5 mile rangers. Anyway, I feel pretty confident that these radios have a serious design flaw whith the symptom of a sporadic cutout of the voice while talking. Its slight but very noticable with regular use. I feel personally that it may be a frequency thing but can't be certain. In addition, the sound of the audio is HORRIBLE! I was willing to overlook the sound quality in exchange for range but it simply isn't worth it. The sound is so bad that it strikes me that maybe Motorola should recall this product. It a serious dissapointment from a company who's name typically means quality. These may be the worst radio's I have ever owned. Sorry folks, this pair of radios are not worth the box they're shipped in.
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