I was VERY pleasantly surprised at the quality. With the low pricing, I expected cheap junk. They are not junk. These are not a top-of-the-line old-style Motorola brick radio, but they seem very durable to me. I bought the 6 radio set and was very happy to get a full 6 charging cradles that will charge the battery whether it is attached to a radio or not.
I don't actually need 6 radios. But I wanted to have a few charged spares in the car glove box and one or two near the kitchen door for those times when you reach for a radio, but didn't put it on the charger. Having multiple radios AND multiple chargers means I can have charged and charging radios in all the convenient places.
People always want to know about the range. The range at which these, or any radio, can communicate depends heavily on what is between the two radios. If you are trying to talk through a half mile of forest, that's a different environment from a half mile of dense neighborhood (my environment). If you are communicating around a lake or a flat parking lot, you might have a surprisingly long distance. In my neighborhood, we achieved about 3/4 of a mile with one radio in the bedroom and another driving around in a car. I'm pretty impressed.
These radios operate in the 400 MHz range, where there is less other radio users than some other frequency bands. For me, this means I can hear the person I talking to, not a bunch of others.
These radios have an antenna that will unscrew from the body, leaving an industry-standard connector that you could, if you wanted to, add an external antenna, like a magnetic rooftop mount on a car.
I have not investigated the seller's claims of 50 CTCSS tones and 105 CDCSS tones. I have no doubt that these radios include this feature, but software is required to activate and set up these features. The software is apparently available from a third part as a free download. A programming cable is required. The programming cable (less than $10 here on Amazon) and the software do not come with the radio.
A belt clip and an attachable earpiece with microphone come with each radio. The belt clip requires a small screwdriver to install. You must remove 2 screws in the back of the case, put the belt clip in place and replace the screws, about 30 seconds of work per radio.
I was looking forward to the VOX, or Voice Operated Transmit, feature. I tried for about 10 seconds to get this to work and am impatient, so I moved on. The literature that comes with the radio states that the software (mentioned above) will allow setting the sensitivity of the VOX feature. I have not tried this yet, but I will.
This radio appears to be sold under several brand names. Not uncommon, I think. I believe this radio is sold as Arcshell, Baofung and Kenwood. Perhaps others as well.
Overall, I am extremely happy with this purchase and believe these radios have good quality, features, accessories and performance. I think this is an OUTSTANDING value. I would not hesitate to buy more.
We went on a family cruise and gave one to each family. They were great. We were really surprised at how on the largest ship, we were always able to find each other. We only had a couple times that we had interference, but even on shore they were great to have. Best buy and a great price.
I bought two sets of these radios (for a total of 12) to communicate with a team of folks hosting an event at a site about one square mile in size, all of whom would be constantly going in and out of multiple buildings. In fact, we'd rarely be anyplace on site with a clear unobstructed line of site, which most of radio models seem to require for clear communication. I am happy to report that the two sets synced perfectly with each other straight out of the box, no adjustment needed. And they worked exceedingly well with crisp clear communication regardless of whether folks were inside or outside. Other perks were that we made use of the extra available channels so small groups could have their own separate, semi-private conversations as needed while leaving the main channel free. The radios are very sturdy and well made. You also get verbal prompts from the radio when you power it on, whenever you switch channels, and when you need to change the battery--which lasted quite a long time considering how much I used it. We didn't use the included accessories, but I definitely will attach the belt clips before I use them again as those would definitely have come in handy. I highly recommend these radios if you have a large group you need to communicate with and if your site has lots of obstructions like buildings you need to navigate. For this very reasonable price, this is a great deal.
Our family bought these to use on a cruise and they worked GREAT! Highly recommend!
Where to start? It was perfect for our vehicle convoy and had at least a 2mile range. Perfect on the cruise ship. In fact, we could talk to family on the beach while the rest of us was sitting on the balcony of the ship.
So many people took pictures of the model information so they could order the same walkie, that I lost count.
Didn't work for the family members hiding out in the casino though.
Feature Product
- Small and convenient size;it easily fits on your hand;it measures 4.53 inches in height without antenna(antenna length:4.3 inches);1.30 inches thick;2.36 inches in width;6.3 oz light-weighted;solid built;water-resistant;easy to operate for all ages;2 Wattage power output; each radio has a removable belt clip
- Frequency range is UHF 400-470MHz;16 pre-programmed channels;each radio has identical frequency on each of the 16 channels out of the box;16 position mechanical rotary switch channel selector;when you turn the knob to change the channel,a synthesized voice will tell you the channel number;channel frequency is programmable within the frequency range;you can program any of 50 CTCSS tones and 105 CDCSS tones on each programmed channel
- Each radio comes with a 1500mAh rechargeable Li-ion battery and a charging dock; the charger comes with an AC wall-wart Type A plug and works in 110v-240v; it takes about 2.5 hours to fully charge; battery life is determined by transmit time;it lasts around 8 to 96 hours on a single charge depending on how much you transmit;you can charge the battery alone or charge the radio with battery installed
- High quality built-in speaker on the radio provides loud and crystal clear sound; Push-to Talk button and built-in mic on the radio;each radio comes with a single-earbud style earpiece(foam piece included) with a microphone built in and a Push-to-Talk button; earpiece plug is K-type of 3.5mm plug and 2.5mm plug;when you plug in the earpiece,all sound goes to the earpiece and the radio speaker is silent;the radio has a VOX function
- Range is very dependant on terrain;up to 5 miles with no obstructions,less in congested area;work great in a commercial construction or around the house;suitable for security team;maintenance team;construction team;fire department;warehouse;factory;kitchen staff;hotel;retail store;at the school;events communications;roadtrip while driving in different cars;family camping and hunting;on a cruise ship;in mountains;it works worldwide;you can add as many as you want and they work great together
Description
UHF waves have the ability to penetrate wood,steel,and concrete,giving you better range and performance in urban environments and around buildings.
UHF operation has less chance of interference between wireless systems.
Specifications:
Single band
Frequency Range:UHF 400-470MHz
Frequency Stability:±2.5ppm
Channel Capacity:16 Channels
Channel Spacing:25KHz
Battery Type:1500mAh Rechargeble Li-ion Battery
Operated Voltage:3.7V
Antenna Impedance:50Ω
Operated Temperature:-30°c-+60°c
Plug:110V-240V AC Wall-wart Type A
Radio Dimensions(with battery,without antenna):4.53x2.36 x1.30inches
Antenna Length:4.3inches
Radio Weight(with battery/antenna):6.3oz
Packaging Dimensions:6.9x9.3x4.5inches
Packaging Weight:48oz
Transmitter:
RF Power Output:3W
Modulation:F3E
Spurious Emission:≤65dB
FM Noise:≤-45dB(W)≤-40dB(N)
Audio Distortion:≤5%
Transmitting Current:≤1.3A
Receiver:
Sensitivity(12dB SINAD):≤0.20uV
Selectivity:55dB/50dB
Intermodulation:≥65dB
Adjacent Channel Selectivity:≥60dB
Spurious Response:≥60dB
FM Noise:45dB/40dB
Audio Power Output:1000mW
Audio Distortion:≤5%
Standby Current:≈15mA
Functions:
50 CTCSS/105 CDCSS
VOX Function
English and Chinese Voice Prompt
PC Programming
Emergency Alarm
Battery Save
Battery Low Alert
Overcharge Protection
Built-in LED Flash Light
Noise Reduction
Channel Time-out Timer
Busy Channel Lock
Channel Monitor
Scanning Function
Broadband(Wide)25khz / Narrowband(Narrow)12.5khz Selectable
High or Low Power Selectable
Package includes:
6 Arcshell AR-5 Two-way Radios
6 1500mAh High Capability Li-ion Batteries
6 SMA-Female Antennas
6 Chargers
6 Belt Clips(recommend using a screwdriver to install)
6 Handstraps
6 Earphones
If you have any problem, please contact us, we will send you a new one for free of charge within 24 hours.
I co-chair with 5 others the committee for our church’s picnic (our largest fundraiser of the year). It’s a lot of fun but a lot running around in a crowd of a lot of people. I bought these instead of using our cell phones for communication and they worked wonderfully!! The ear pieces were a bonus and enabled our hands to be kept free to do our jobs!! We left the extra one at the capital prize booth, which combines as the “information” booth, so any of the volunteers needing us could easily reach us instead of trying to “hunt” us down. These were a great investment and cannot wait to use the for other events. One last thing to mention is the range in the talkies is amazing, we could talk to each other more than 1/2 mile away and it was still clear!!
As someone who has used walkie=talkies throughout my entire career in film production, I am thoroughly impressed with these slightly smaller versions of state-of-the-art Motorola professional units.
Everything about these radios feels tight, solid and user friendly. I have only used them once -- for a large fundraising event in a huge park venue. But I was able to transmit and receive when I was over two blocks away in downtown Los Angeles -- with several tall buildings around me.
A nice feature is the announcement by the radio of what channel it is set to when one turns it on. There are several advanced features that I will never used, so my review just deals with the basic talk/listen functions. Very good speaker/mic quality make for excellent sound quality. Controls were easy to use -- I was the only one with prior walkie experience, and the others easily mastered the key controls layout.
As noted, I only use the walkies once, so I can't speak for long-term durability. But the units have some heft to them, and all components feel tight and secure.
My only caveat would be about the headsets. They are nothing close to professional quality. I opted not to use one, as they do appear rather flimsy. The cable is very thin. I did test a headset, and it worked fine. I'm not saying they won't work well, but I question their durability.
Over all, I highly recommend this Archsell model. I also purchased a 4-year extended warranty, at minimal cost, as I plan to use them for several years.
Works great and using on a cruise! These are awesome and everyone wants to know where we got them! Work all over the cruise ship, great to keep up with everyone in our group and very loud & Clear to hear! Great customer service too! Thank you 😊
So far these are great! Works well on our 25 acre property to keep in touch with the kids. Can't wait to use them camping this year to see how they work with keeping in touch with our group on ATV rides.
Using these on a large construction site. The range is very good on mostly clear ground, over a mile range for sure. I was surprised by the sound quality. It’s very good. The housing is very thin, but the radios themselves are very durable. We’ve dropped a couple from over 30’ onto concrete and the housing has broken but the radio still works great. A little tape to hold it together and still in service. Battery life is excellent lasting through a 10 hr shift with a lot of use and charging is fast. Overall I would buy these over the Cobras we normally would get. They usually run about 110 for 6 at Walmart and don’t perform as well as these. Didn’t use the earpieces so I don’t know if they are any good. I am impressed with the abuse these have been through and that they are still working.
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