GMRS Frequencies

Uniden Radio

Uniden Radio is a world famous electronics manufacturer of a very wide variety of products for both consumer and professional use.  They continue to manufacture high quality CB Radios after many years in that field of 2-way radio.  You simply can't go wrong by selecting any pair of the many models of quality Uniden Radios.

Uniden GMRS has many models of walkie-talkies available, but Uniden no longer manufactures FRS only handies; all their radios now have both GMRS and FRS channels.  The FRS channels automatically switch to low (500 mW) power and the GMRS channels operate anywhere from 1 watt to 4 watts, depending on model.

I personally own a pair of GMR2089-2CK handie-talkies, and they work extremely well.  They have a voice scramble option for FRS frequencies (FCC prohibits use of scramblers on GMRS) which is a nice little extra "privacy" thing to have (although nothing is really private).  People listening in will hear some awfully strange garbled squaking while you have a decent conversation that they can't understand! 

Uniden advertises that their handies will work from between 2 miles to 28 miles.  However, again, these are under optimal conditions that you won't likely see in the city or the burbs.  Optimal would be on a lake, boat to boat, or on a mountaintop, with a clear view of the ground.  Realistically, these Handies will have much less range in real life than advertised, because of buildings, trees, hills, and other obstacles, interfering with the signal.

Most Uniden models include a charger, but the least expensive ones do not.  If you plan on using your handie for more than a few minutes each week, it will be worthwhile to get a rechargeable model.  Transmitting with these handies will eat up a lot of disposable batteries.