Rating: 
Summary: Keeping up with your kids
Review: A friend of mine has 13 year old twins and never knows where they have gotten off to. She mentioned to me she was thinking of getting some 2 way radios to try to keep track off them. So I bought her these for Christmas. She seems quiet pleased with them, the kids do not share her joy. These also work well inthe mall or when at a big outdoor event. They fulfill there pupose and are smallenough that they can go in a purse or knapsack with little bulk from them.
Rating: 
Summary: Great for skiing (but not perfect)
Review: Bought a pair of Motorola 250's just before our trip to Northstar at Lake Tahoe, CA. The radios worked well when people were in different locations on the same run or on the lifts. However, sometimes people at different locations on the mountain could not communicate with one another. I was unable to connect with my wife until late in the day when I tried one last time -- but she came in loud and clear. When they work, they're so much better than waiting at the top or bottom of a run to sync up for rendezvous, lunch, or departure plans. But expect to try several times from several locations before connecting with other members party. Also expect that you may have to relay messages to reach all members of your party (if you have 3 or more radios).
Rating:
Summary: Talk About a Great Radio!
Review: Do you remember the toy walkie talkies that you had as a kid, this radio is nothing like that. The TalkAbout 250 is a high quality 2 way radio made by Motorola. This radio has the look of a toy, especially the yellow model, but once you try it out, you will quickly realize that it is no toy. All of the TalkAbout models operate on the FRS - Family Radio Service frequency which has about a 2 mile range, and works well inside and outside of buildings as well as inside of vehicles.When I first was interested in purchasing this unit, my wife thought it was just another electronic gimmick that I am known for wasting money on. But after using this on the ski slopes once, she changed her mind, this was no longer a gimmick, but a requirement for going skiing with the family. When I purchased my TalkAbout, I also purchased the "Motorola 50225 TalkAbout Remote Speaker Microphone". I think that the radio itself could use some design improvements, like the placement of the "Push to talk" button, but the Remote speaker microphone makes up for this. This remote speaker microphone works on the TalkAbout 250, but not on the TalkAbout 280. I was originally going to get the 280, but there was not yet a remote speaker microphone available. There is a better radio available from Motorola called the "TalkAbout Distance", which is much more expensive, and requires a license to use. The TalkAbout 250 is not the top of the line TalkAbout, but will be great for most peoples needs. There are cheaper models available from other manufacturers, but after shopping around it appears that the TalkAbout is the most robust unit with the most accessories available. I would suggest this to my friends!
Rating:
Summary: Motorola TalkAbout 250 2-way radio
Review: Great product for use in my industry of running cabling in homes. The sound is clear, and finding an available channel is not a problem. I have two problems with the units however, that prevent me from giving it five stars. The location of the talk button is obviously an issue, the other is the design of the volume control knob. It is larger that it needs to be, and located on the upper corner, and it is too easily snagged on things. I have had to replace or repair the volume control knobs frequently. It should possibly be located to the side, with only enough of the dial exposed to adjust the volume. Great quality everywhere else however. Dropped and sat on, they keep on transmitting!
Rating:
Summary: Motorola TalkAbout 250 2-way radio
Review: Great product for use in my industry of running cabling in homes. The sound is clear, and finding an available channel is not a problem. I have two problems with the units however, that prevent me from giving it five stars. The location of the talk button is obviously an issue, the other is the design of the volume control knob. It is larger that it needs to be, and located on the upper corner, and it is too easily snagged on things. I have had to replace or repair the volume control knobs frequently. It should possibly be located to the side, with only enough of the dial exposed to adjust the volume. Great quality everywhere else however. Dropped and sat on, they keep on transmitting!
Rating:
Summary: Terrific product, especialy for the price!
Review: Great radio with all 14 channels and 38 privacy codes, yet you don't need a license. Unfortunately don't be fooled by the privacy "codes". Your conversations can still be monitored by other radios. Nice features like a backlit display lets you see the display in the dark and lock alows you to prevent accedental channel changes. Also includes an accessory jack for an optional hands-free (VOX) or push-to-talk headset. Bottom line, great 2-way radio with wonderful range and reception (up to 2 miles) except for the cons listed above and a incovieniently located talk button.
Rating:
Summary: Terrific product, especialy for the price!
Review: Great radio with all 14 channels and 38 privacy codes, yet you don't need a license. Unfortunately don't be fooled by the privacy "codes". Your conversations can still be monitored by other radios. Nice features like a backlit display lets you see the display in the dark and lock alows you to prevent accedental channel changes. Also includes an accessory jack for an optional hands-free (VOX) or push-to-talk headset. Bottom line, great 2-way radio with wonderful range and reception (up to 2 miles) except for the cons listed above and a incovieniently located talk button.
Rating:
Summary: Great Communication Device!
Review: I am involved in a group of Young Marines, and we recently drove to Washington DC. We had 17 cars in our caravan using various handheld radio's. I was one of the lucky ones to recieve this particular radio. With this radio, I could hear everyone, while some of the others with different radios couldn't. I had to relay messages the entire trip. These are excellent. We also stayed on a Marine Base in Quantico where cell phones were blocked. These worked great to talk back and forth from the mens and womens barracks. I don't know much about these radio's, but this particular radio was extremely easy to use. Pick a channel, lock it, and press the button to talk, can't get much easier than that! I will be buying my own for our future trips!
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Summary: Search Dog Handlers Lov'm
Review: I am one of a team of 6 disaster search dog handlers that use the radios during training. We have found that the radios are very sturdy and reliable. Our job exposes these radios to concrete dust, dirt, mud, rain and various forms of shock from dropping them to banging them on the narrow tunnels we crawl through. We find the VOX feature on the 250 very useful when used with the VOX inline mic and ear buddy, because we usually have our hands full with the dog and uncovering people who are buried. Although the team owns many of these radios, I have just ordered one for my personal use. I am sure that we will carry the 250's into real searches and they will be a valuable tool for our communication.
Rating:
Summary: Performed well at Disneyland
Review: I bought a pair of these for a Wednesday-to-Friday trip to Disneyland in May 2000. I felt it would be a good "acid test" since there might be enough interference from other FRS radios and all the structures at the park. The TalkAbout performed surprisingly well; but I also realized that it lacked some features which I needed. Here's my best breakdown of the issues. RANGE: Exceeded my expectations. I was able to get a clear reception from outside the Candy Cane Inn (Harbour and Katella) to the area just outside Small World. I haven't calculated the distance but I think it's about 0.5 miles (you may want to check this). We got a bit of static from the Disneyland Hotel monorail station to the Matterhorn. CLARITY: I can't really compare this model to other FRS radios (haven't tried them) but the only time we had problems understanding one another was when we would get "stepped-on" by less-considerate FRS-users on the same channel and code. The CTCSS codes (aka "privacy codes") were effective in squelching out other transmissions. I recall only receiving two calls from other parties on Friday when the park was really crowded. The microphone was remarkably sensitive. I had the unit clipped to my camera bag strap which ran across my chest (about 5-6 inches under my chin) and was able to talk normally while depressing the transmit button with my index finger. POWER CONSUMPTION: The Kirkland (Costco) alkalines lasted about 29 hours until early Friday. (Yes. You turn them on and leave them on in standby mode.) The battery power indicator was helpful. We probably spent 20% of our time transmitting and the rest on standby. STURDINESS: I dropped one on the concrete and it landed on its bottom. It was fine. The antenna and case are ruggedized but likely not indestructible. EASE OF USE: Even the technically-challenged members of our party had no problem "guessing" how the controls worked. Motorola's button layout is one of the better ones (but I could imagine having some problems with the smaller buttons if you were skiing and had gloves). PROBLEMS: The only problem we had was that there was a lot of channel congestion on Friday at the park. The park can swell up to 77k guests in a day so the 532 combinations can get used up fast. SUMMARY AND WISHLIST: Am happy overall but I think I'll be returning these to get a more expensive unit which vibrates when receiving incoming calls (for those more quiet environments). I'd also prefer a real splash-resistant unit if I was out on a rainy day. I don't think I need a smaller palm-sized unit as this size fit me just fine. The TalkAbout performed well enough that other members of our group decided to buy FRS radios for themselves in preparation for the next family reunion at the mouse-house. We also found these useful for exchanging driving directions when leaving the park for some fancy restaurants in Orange County.
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