Family radios Motorola Talkabout T6300

[michael80l]

Do's andbody have any radios that are that modle or have a singal strentght indicator or if u have that radio tell me about it or other models with the indiacator i am looking for

[+Rebel]

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"If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything." - Mark Twain

[GlfWrVt]

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[+briansnat]

Is Boblog back under a new name?

 

"Life is a daring adventure, or it is nothing" - Helen Keller

[+Eric K]

Can't answer your question but a little bit of advice if you are going to use them at places like amusement parks. Two words "sub-channels".

 

The first set I had didn't have sub-channels and we went to an amusement park and there were dozens of people on every channel.

[+JetSkier]

quote:

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Originally posted by Eric K:

Can't answer your question but a little bit of advice if you are going to use them at places like amusement parks. Two words "sub-channels".

 

The first set I had didn't have sub-channels and we went to an amusement park and there were dozens of people on every channel.

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If you don't have the sub-channels, you will hear everyone on that same main channel regardless of which sub-channel they are on. You can hear them, but they can't hear you.

[+Criminal]

Although this may be the wrong forum altogether I wanted to throw out some security issues the use of these radios raises. I use mine in malls and parks too. We have been pestered by kids with no regard for radio etiquette, (but it’s nothing I wouldn’t have done as a kid either). My suggestion is to get the sub tone feature. If you use them with kids, make sure they are aware that you would NEVER ask them to meet you in a restroom or the parking lot. (There are trolls on the airways as well as the forums.) If you feel the need, set up an authentication procedure. It could work like this:

 

Assume your child’s initials are PLK,

He/she receives a call on the radio to meet you (or someone claiming to be you) at the Starbucks.

He/she says “OK, Authenticate P L”

The correct response would be the only initial left, “K”

Any other answer or no answer and he/she disregards the call and looks for a security person.

 

That may be overkill but in light of recent events it may not.

 

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What is the price of experience, do men buy it for a song,

Or wisdom for a dance in the street.................

[+Team MGGPS]

I currently have a couple of Talk-About 250's

w/ sub chans.

If I were going for something new I would look at

the T7200, lots of freq options.

I also agree w/ authenication practices, not only for family security(No. 1 reason) but to prevent carrying on conversations with imposters claiming to be someone in your group.

[+TresOkies]

This is off the top of my head, so don't flame me if I get it wrong...

 

I have 2 of the 6300 and 1 6310 (weather radio). We use them hiking around some of our "mountains" and when we drive in convoys. I've had one opportunity to use the subchannel feature and it seemed to work. That is, the pervert who was intruding on us stopped bothering us after we switched over. What that means he can still hear us, he just can't broadcast back at us unless he has the same radio.

 

There is no signal strength indicator that I recall seeing.

 

They work for about 10 hours on 3 rechargable 1600 maH AAs. I wish I had bought the car charger/adapter though.

 

One of the annoying things that happens is that every 20 minutes or so, the thing will suddenly squawk on its own, causing everyone to grab their radio, press the "send" key, and say "what did you say". I'm sure it's a stray signal, I just wish I knew how to filter it out.

 

-E

 

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N35°32.981 W98°34.631

[+Criminal]

I’ll try to explain the sub-tone feature as best as I know it.

 

First, when a radio transmits your voice, the receiving radio will “break squelch” and play the voice transmission through the speaker as long as both radios are set on the same frequency (or channel) Squelch is the static noise you hear if you press the “monitor” button. The radio automatically set the squelch so you don’t have to listen to this annoying sound while you wait for someone to call you. A very weak signal will sometimes break the squelch on the receiving radio intermittently which is why the radios will sometimes “pop” and send everyone scrambling to answer a call that isn’t really there.

 

On radios with the sub-tone feature, you mash down on the transmit key and the radio begins transmitting a sub-audible tone as well as your voice on the frequency assigned to whatever channel you’re on. The receiving radio will not “break squelch” and play the transmission unless it is also on the same channel (of course) and the same sub-tone is set for that channel. Now if you have no sub-tone set for the receiving radio (or the feature isn’t available on that particular radio) it will play all the broadcasts it receives.

 

Example 1, the transmitting radio is set on channel 14 sub-tone 38 and the receiving radio is set on channel 14 sub-tone zero (which is no tone). The receiver will hear you and everybody else on channel 14.

 

Example 2, the transmitting radio is set on channel 14 sub-tone 38 and the receiving radio is set on channel 14 sub-tone 37. The receiver will not hear you. (The radio will not break squelch.) The transmission is still going on and the receiving radio is still receiving it but the sound is not sent to the speaker so you can hear it. The sub-audible tone only affects the speaker, not the reception. To see this in action, set up the radios as in this example and ask someone to talk to you. You won’t hear them unless you press the monitor button to override the tone feature.

 

Example 3, the transmitting radio is set on channel 14 sub-tone 38 and the receiving radio is set on channel 14 sub-tone 38. The receiving radio hears what you are transmitting but while the squelch is open, other transmissions are stepping on the one you want to hear, making it gibberish. In this example, changing the sub-tone of both radios will have no effect. You would have to change channels (frequency) to get rid of the offending transmission. The instruction booklet on most FRS radios will tell you to momentarily depress the monitor button to check to make sure the channel is clear of other users before you transmit.

 

It’s important to understand this because some ignorant or dishonest advertisers will tell you there are 532 channels (14 channels times 38 sub-tones). There are only 14 channels to transmit over on FRS. If all 14 channels are crowded, all the sub-tones in the world won’t help. Then you might need to look at CB, GMRS or other non-license radio sets. Or go all out and get an amateur license.

 

Sorry this is so long and I hope I was able to express how this works.

 

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What is the price of experience, do men buy it for a song,

Or wisdom for a dance in the street.................

[+Team MGGPS]

OK, let me get this right.

If I transmit on chan 14 sub-chan 38 can everyone

on chan 14 sub-chan 0 hear me?

[+Criminal]

Yes, everyone on CH14 tone zero can hear everthing you say. People with a radio that doesn't offer the sub-tones will hear you (on CH14) as well. Some newer radios offer vioce inversion scrambling to give a wee bit more security but not much.

 

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What is the price of experience, do men buy it for a song,

Or wisdom for a dance in the street.................

[+Team MGGPS]

Another question.

What is the difference between FRS and GMRS?

Also, I once worked at a place that used handhelds on what was called the "green dot" freq, I understand that those types of radios also had a "red dot" freq etc. They were some sort of commercial use band and I think a license was required. The range of these radios seemed to be more than the range of FRS radios.

Thanks for the info.

[+Criminal]

GMRS is on a license required frequency band. No test, just send the government some money (I think it’s just under $90) and woof-poof you and your family is licensed like a dog. The reason the range is better is the same reason you need a license; the wattage is higher. FRS is limited to one half watt while GMRS is higher. Most are two or five watts but I believe you can go high. The other limitation on FRS is that the antenna must be affixed to the radio (cannot be removed) while with GMRS you can install a remote antenna (on the roof of your car for example). There is some overlap of the FRS and GMRS frequencies so many people use GMRS radios illegally without a license, and avoid the law by transmitting only on the FRS freqs.

 

The “dot” radios are single channel models, a series of colored dots denote the freq installed. These are always on the “business band” and illegal use is, like, WAY bad. As for power output, I’m not sure what the limits are. The other forum will be more authoritative on all these issues.

 

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What is the price of experience, do men buy it for a song,

Or wisdom for a dance in the street.................

[jdege]

The differences that matter to the average user:

 

FRS is lower powered (FRS is limitted to 1/2 watt, GMRS is not - though battery power in a handheld will generally limit a GMRS to 2 watts at best. The result is GRMS has longer range).

 

GMRS requires a license ($75/five years).

 

The frequency assignments overlap - there are 7 FRS-only channels, 7 FRS/GRMS channels, and 8 GMRS-only channels. So a FRS radio can have 14 channels, and a GRMS 15. (Some GRMS radios can also work on the FRS-only frequencies, but they do it at FRS power levels. Similarly, some GMRS radios allow you the option of dropping down to FRS power levels, which means that if you have such a radio, and you stick to the FRS power levels and the FRS frequencies, you could arguably claim that you don't need the license.)

 

GMRS has some neater stuff, for the more technically inclined - you can set up higher-powered repeater base stations with GMRS, etc., but if you're the sort who was going to be doing that soon, you'd not be asking these sorts of questions.

[+Team MGGPS]

Again, thanks for the info.

I will probably stay with my FRS's for convenience

but the 2 mile range as stated by most mfgs is very hard to get.