;)
For the recreational user, Two-Way Communicators using the dedicated and regulated UHF airwave frequencies known as the Family Radio Service (FRS) have all but replaced the antediluvian "Citizen's Band" ("CB") and the "Walkie Talkie."
After all, FRS radios boast incomparable clarity within a 2 mile (3.4 kilometre) range -- exactly what most people would need from such a communication device (as oppose to CBs and their erratic--albeit wider--range and wildly inconsistent clarity), which is probably why the FRS radios are also used in work-force scenarios; at trade-shows, concerts, security situations and parking lot acreages. But by and large, FRS communicators are the tech-talking-toys of choice for campers, hikers and other recreationalists; the snowboarding crowd and families on an outing. It's voice communication, after all, a totally free service and reasonably private considering the finite range and the 500+ "sub-channels" with the 14 channels of the FRS realm.
Motorola, long at the forefront of the portable communications market, has just introduced the TalkAbout T6300 (among other models), which adds several noteworthy features beyond the innate communication function on an FRS Radio.
The compact and stylish T6300 also boasts three eavesdropping scrambler/filters, as once your party has decided on a channel, it's still a public airwave, and scrambling adds some semblance of confidentiality. Too, the T6300 utilizes iVOX (hands-free use); a voice-activated function requiring no additional accessories, though a headset is available.
Then there's the T6300 ulterior utility: 10 selectable call tones; 8 Weather channels with receptivity of Environment Canada's Weather Radio frequency(s), which provides the nation with up to the minute weather information 24/7; built-in clock with alarm and stopwatch; low battery alert and signal strength indicator, a graciously backlit LCD display and more.
Super durable and graciously robust, the TalkAbout T6300 couldn't come to market at a better time, on the verge of Halloween. After all, this is that wonderful season where we dress like freaks and extort the neighbours for candy, but it's also a woefully dangerous pre-occupation for the younger crowd, which is exactly why T6300 is vying for your safety-concerned dollar.
Think about it: Send the kids out with a couple of these and mind them remotely with your TalkAbout unit at home (all FRS Radios are compatible with each other, even different models from different manufacturers, as long as they're on the same channel). The kids can also keep in touch with each other, scope-out the neighbourhood and relay what houses are hot with goodies and which are dead with pennies.
Homeowners, neighbours and the Block Watch set can form a security net to mind the meandering tykes and whilst keeping an eye out for the vandalous pranksters and the pumpkin-smashing crowd (who would be wise to use these things themselves).
And for those folks who really get into the whole spook-little-Johnny-'til-he-pees-his-pants-on-the-porch routine, building man-sized puppet goblins or cranking out a House of Horrors Soundtrack on the stereo, consider a TalkAbout stuffed inside a pumpkin, manikin or shrubbery. Bwaaa haa ha hah! Aren't you clever?
The TalkAbout T6300 features large, ergonomic controls and runs on 3 AA batteries or an optional NiHM rechargeables.
Boo.
Reviewed: Oct. 10, 2001
Type: Gear, PersonalTech, Recreational
From: Motorola
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