Audiovox FRS1000 FRS Base Station

Rating:
Summary: Good when cheap, not good to use more than a year
Review: I bought one of these about three years ago and bought two others when they were discontinued about two years ago. I'm surprised to see these still in stock, so perhaps the new batch is different from the one I'm reviewing.

The push-to-talk button will wear out after about a year of daily use. The buttons wear out in the strangest of ways. It appears to transmit but doesn't transmit the subcode unless you really press the button down. Not sure what was going on there.

I highly recommend the GMRS version of this base station. It's much better and has a "bonus" removable portable radio. We're replacing the FRS1000 with the new version as their push-to-talk buttons break.

The battery life is very decent on the FRS1000--it lasts two days which is excellent for any FRS with subcodes turned on.

The configuration sequence is horribly confusing and the icons don't seem to represent anything in real life, so the manual should be kept close by.

We are in a rather noisy environment, RF-wise, so passing aircraft and vehicles with business radios will cause the unit to break squelch and emit a loud 1/2-second long blast of static and white noise. This happens even if you set the subcodes. Some ranges of subcodes false break squelch more often than others.

Transmitting audio is accompanied by an AC hum. The newer GMRS version has a quieter hum but it's still there. The power supply appears to be the culprit, as I have used ferrite cores to try and clean up the interference a bit and it doesn't have much affect.

If it's cheap, like twenty-five dollars, grab it. FRS base stations are very rare products that are much more useful than the basic home intercom system.

Rating:
Summary: Good when cheap, not good to use more than a year
Review: I bought one of these about three years ago and bought two others when they were discontinued about two years ago. I'm surprised to see these still in stock, so perhaps the new batch is different from the one I'm reviewing.

The push-to-talk button will wear out after about a year of daily use. The buttons wear out in the strangest of ways. It appears to transmit but doesn't transmit the subcode unless you really press the button down. Not sure what was going on there.

I highly recommend the GMRS version of this base station. It's much better and has a "bonus" removable portable radio. We're replacing the FRS1000 with the new version as their push-to-talk buttons break.

The battery life is very decent on the FRS1000--it lasts two days which is excellent for any FRS with subcodes turned on.

The configuration sequence is horribly confusing and the icons don't seem to represent anything in real life, so the manual should be kept close by.

We are in a rather noisy environment, RF-wise, so passing aircraft and vehicles with business radios will cause the unit to break squelch and emit a loud 1/2-second long blast of static and white noise. This happens even if you set the subcodes. Some ranges of subcodes false break squelch more often than others.

Transmitting audio is accompanied by an AC hum. The newer GMRS version has a quieter hum but it's still there. The power supply appears to be the culprit, as I have used ferrite cores to try and clean up the interference a bit and it doesn't have much affect.

If it's cheap, like twenty-five dollars, grab it. FRS base stations are very rare products that are much more useful than the basic home intercom system.

Rating:
Summary: FRS-1000 Review. It's a keeper!
Review: I just purchased the FRS-1000 Base station and I have to say I'm very pleased. It works fine with my BellSouth FRS Hand Held units. The station is small and compact, no larger than a standard intercom. The manual is a bit hard to figure out some of the functions but if you play with it, you'll get the hang of all it can do.
One function I especially love is it's ability to scan all 14 FRS channels, so I can monitor all channels for incoming signals. It also has a function whereby you can monitor two channels at once, if you have people using two different channels, you can hear conversations on both.

The NOAA weather function is a no-brainer, just press the button and you have instant weather information access. The unit also features a "Roger Beep", this is a short beep that is attached to the end of every transmission. (It can be turned off) I like it because it distinguishes when a transmission is coming from the base station. My hand held units do not have this beep so any transmission from base is clearly identified by this sound.

You can also sellect from 4 different "Call Tones". This allows you to define the type of call signal the unit emitts when signaling other units. If you have more than one base station this would be handy to differentiate them.
When they say "Two mile range" their not kidding, the unit belts out enough power to talk and listen somewhat beyond that. (a friend and I tested it, he on a bike with a hand held and me on the base!)
This unit could have many uses, I use it for camping and keeping up with friends hiking. It could be used in a factory too, or as a way to keep track of neighborhood kids. In fact, as I scan channels I often hear the neighborhood kids playing and talking. And with it's range, I hear other neighborhoods too.
I must admit it's fun to listen in on their play. Plus during the day I can hear workers who use FRS to talk to each other.
FRS is not as crowded as CB bandwiths, it's easy to find a clear quiet channel to use if you don't want distractions.
If you're looking for a unit to use for work or in a factory, I'd recommend you pick an odd channel like "3" or "6". Most units default to channel "1" when turned on and this is the channel that you'll hear the most chatter from the neighborhood.

The FRS-1000 is a great buy, it comes with rechargable batteries and they charge while the unit is on and plugged up with the supplied adapter. So you can use it portable or plugged in. It has a tall antenna that will swivel up or down depending on if you have it mounted on a wall or sitting on a table. The screen is backlit so you can easily read the display and you'll get used to the various display icons in no time. Look for other units like this to hit the market soon as FRS becomes more popular, this is really the way to go.