How does the radio compare with one's car radio in the mountains or other wilderness areas? My car got 6 channls at one spot, my battery radio, none.
1125288
I have XM radio. However we used to it in some pretty remote areas of the Northwoods. The weather band was already used. There were a couple that came in pretty clear the rest were pretty staticky but I could still hear the forecast and I could still prepare for any income at weather. They work great for 18 bucks.
1139327
It depends...mountains can make reception tough.....best chance of reception later at night...the RCA will pick up a signal if it exists so you can be assured if you get no reception it is because there is no signal...you certainly may wish to use an external antenna...Best of luck and have fun with this radio
1120504
Yes n better radio,guaranteed receive n transmit is great on long range.up to 30- 50 miles.on both.
2250060
Be certain to use a GMRS, which is high power giving you at least five miles, whereas FRS, low power, gives you that two miles. The problem will always be obstruction. Over water you will get the 36 miles, up on a high building you will in all likely hood get 20 miles. The most frustration comes with mountainous terrain and hiking. That's when you need it the most and you have the most obstruction. Here is when you need fresh battery life and it to be on high power to get the most out of it. FYI: The charger red lights never go off. DO NOT LEAVE THEM IN THERE! It can damage your rechargable batteries and possibly your radios. Be certain to use a GMRS, which is high power giving you at least five miles, whereas FRS, low power, gives you that two miles. The problem will always be obstruction. Over water you will get the 36 miles, up on a high building you will in all likely hood get 20 miles. The most frustration comes with mountainous terrain and hiking. That's when you need it the most and you have the most obstruction. Here is when you need fresh battery life and it to be on high power to get the most out of it. FYI: The charger red lights never go off. DO NOT LEAVE THEM IN THERE! It can damage your... » Read More Be certain to use a GMRS, which is high power giving you at least five miles, whereas FRS, low power, gives you that two miles. The problem will always be obstruction. Over water you will get the 36 miles, up on a high building you will in all likely hood get 20 miles. The most frustration comes with mountainous terrain and hiking. That's when you need it the most and you have the most obstruction. Here is when you need fresh battery life and it to be on high power to get the most out of it. FYI: The charger red lights never go off. DO NOT LEAVE THEM IN THERE! It can damage your rechargable batteries and possibly your radios. « Show Less
844252
It depends, we attached ours to an external antenna and plugged into our car accessory plug and could communicate up to about 5 miles on flat terrain and a couple of miles in the mountains. With the antenna that is included with the radio you might get a mile, this last estimate is based on the feedback on the reviews of the radio (check out the Radio Shack site).
1882311
I have several of these at work we get about 1 mile range in the open and for mtn. app. it should do better than that. Great Radios to have..
1098779
A word to the wise....stay away from this radio. Doesn't matter what type of battery you use, it still sucks. The strongest power source available would be its internal power supply cord and there's no difference in reception between the batteries and the cord. It's a horrible radio and I hope you steer clear. Mick
1174240
I have never had that problem with my radio...it is one of the best sports radios I have ever purchased. I would check your battery ( you probably already did) and if that is not your problem, return the radio. I have never had that happen.
2056549
Sorry to hijack your question but read all of the negative reviews and take them to heart. This radio is a disappointment, has glitches, and is unreliable. It also eats batteries.
772115
It has the same range as all the other 5 watt radio's.As with all such radio's it depends on where you are and what is around you. If you want more range buy a larger antenna or put an antenna on top of your vehicle.
116574
Dear customer,thanks for your contact.We are sorry that we have a little confused with you.DO you mean that what's the range of the radio?If so,.please let me inform you that the radio ranges up to 1-3 miles depending on environment and terrain.However,if you need better radio,please email us your demands,we are the main distributor of 2 way radio and 2 way radio accessories,we will find the one suitable for you. If you have any other problems,please email us freely,our aim is letting customers have a happy online experience,we will do our best to satisfy you. Angela at alwaysonline store is Waiting for your reply
274272
the radio is better than I expected, and it has sufficient volume to compete with a car's radio. I am very happy with it. I recomend also to purchase the battery charger, so you won't be without the radio's service while the battery is being charged, and an extra battery. the battery lasts days of almost continuous use before needing a recharge.
488685
I use this radio in the village and jungle in central America and as I stated, I use a copper wire piece as added antenna and I get 2 channels out of 6 stations. I would say, it compares good, because when I rent a car, it also only gets 2 stations in the village.As a side note, I'm going to cut the antenna to the last/thickest section of the antenna and add a car antenna to the top of that. This should be perfect as it would give me a 3 foot antenna, instead of the OEM 12 inch antenna.
1647693
That all depends on the radio & the terrain.I think you could get 3to4 miles with out any problems with a good radio
746575
I live in a remote rural area, so your results may vary. The FM section is above average for a radio this size. It will likely pick up as many stations as your average AM/FM stereo receiver. Regarding AM, my area receives only one AM station in the daytime. At night, it appears that this radio will pick up as many stations as any other, although stations close together may be hard to separate. In a city environment, this radio should tune either AM or FM satisfactorily.
1638131
The first thing to know is that GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service) and CB (Citizen's Band radio) are not the same thing. GMRS is FM at 462 MHz and it's in most handheld radios now sold (usually 14 or 22 channels). CB, usually used in vehicles by truckers and others, is on 27 MHz AM and has 40 channels. SO you need to know which you really want. If you really want GMRS because you have other GMRS radios, the answer to the question is yes, it has 15 of the GMRS channels, BUT! it's not the best radio if you don't have a boat because it's so easy to transmit on the marine band by mistake during rugged outdoor use. That's illegal on land and can be very dangerous to boaters. GMRS-only radios are a better choice for that and most have 22 channels. And, frankly, this radio is a bit big and clunky on land and I have other GMRS radios I like better. Sadly, I can't recommend those because the ones I have are old and discontinued and hard they're hard to find used. If it's really CB you want, the answer is no, you have to buy a separate CB walkie-talkie. CB isn't often considered anymore for portable outdoor use but cell phones and cheap GMRS radios have emptied it out and the lower frequency can work better in forests than GMRS, and you don't need a license to transmit above 0.5 watts. For CB, I have a 4-watt Midland 75-822 and I like it.
1687211
Will it go the distance? That is a very good question. It really depends on your application. If you are using a typical 4 watt radio then how much distance can you really expect anyway? There are a lot of factors that determine how far a radio will talk. When the skip is really rolling it makes it difficult to talk any meaningful distance. However, the next thing you know some guy in Mexico is trying to talk to you. As far as the antenna its self goes, I found that the ease of installation and portability made it a viable contender for what I needed at work. Using a cigarette lighter plug for a power supply I could move from vehicle to vehicle in less than 5 minutes and be talking away. The only real issue I had with the Little Wil was I could not get the SWRs down to an acceptable level. I finally returned it and mounted a 4' Firefly on a 5" magnet mount I picked up at a truck stop. I had my radio worked on and it seems to operate much better. The SWRs were a breeze to get right. Under no skip conditions (early morning) I can talk to my fellow employees 20 miles away. In this do it yourself and save world we live in it is difficult at best to gain enough information to make a good decision concerning what is the best for you. If you are new to using CBs it might be a good idea to consult a CB shop or quiz some of the on line retailers like CB World to help you decide what will be best for your application. I do know about five guys that run this antenna and they seem to like it OK. All in all, if you can get the SWRs in line with this antenna I would say that it would be OK for running down the highway. Hope this helps.