FRIDAY at 8:30 PM
"Crossfire Events, Radios and You"
Mark - Pizzaguy
We preach and preach for everyone to bring a 'radio' (FRS "walkie talkie" - you can get them at WalMart). But many of you know of the frustrations and issues these super-cheap radios cause for us. I've done what I can to provide low-cost, better radios for my run leaders, coordinators and tail cars. But truthfully, everyone can benefit from a better radio. My problem is that the radios I've been giving away (because they were given to me) are no longer available free. We can still get some on eBay for around $40-100 each, but most still need microphones, antennas and power cords.
I searched for a commercially available radio and finally found one. This radio is not quite the radio that the Kenwoods I provided are, but for the money, I think it is a suitable substitute for the "WalMart" caliber of radio. On Friday evening, I will be presenting a tutorial on FRS radios where I explain the complexities and benefits of the various options. My presentation is set for 13-15 minutes, which gives us time for a Q&A session and a short break before the 9PM driver's meeting.
The Radio
The radio I found is the Midland MXT-105, which sells for $99 or so at Lowes and Amazon. I bought one of these and have tested it on the road as well as in the R&D lab at work (I work for the sector of Kenwood that makes two-way, land mobile radios). On Friday evening at 8:30pm, I will give a talk on the "ins and outs" of:
- FRS Radios from Walmart, etc. (Your worst choice)
- The Midland MXT-105 (A good choice)
- The Kenwood Radios I've supplied (Your best choice, but hard to find)
I will discuss range, audio quality, features, cost and ease of use. I will also explain the licensing and legal aspects of the various options.
And one more thing, since I don't need another radio, the Midland radio I bought should go to someone who will use it. As it turns out, even though it has shortcomings compared to the Kenwoods, it blows away the WalMart radios hands-down. I will probably do an "auction" style sale - highest bidder wins and if the highest bidder is $20, then so be it.... I only bought it to find out if it would be something we could use.
Pictured below is the Midland Radio.
It is SMALL:
It comes with antenna, cigar lighter plug, etc:
But the internal speaker is useless in a Roadster with the top down, so I will throw in a real speaker:
