General

This is a great deal on a great set of radios. The Midland GXT740VP3 is a favorite around here. It has 5 watts of power (the maximum allowed in a GMRS radio), NOAA weather channels and alerts, water resistant, and has 22 standard FRS/GMRS channels. This radio is loaded with features for the price, is very durable, and has some of the best range available in a GMRS radio.

For the holidays we have them here and ready to ship for $39.99 and $5.00 shipping! This special, limited $20.00 reduction in price will only last until December 31, 2009!

We now have the updated and improved Motorola CLS1410 radios in stock. They are almost identical to the original version except for some minor refinements. They now have a 1200mAh lithium battery instead of the old 1100mAh along with an improved antenna design. This means they will have a bit more range and clarity. The CLS1410 also has a new exterior that is textured for better grip and is also now milspec. These are some welcome improvements to what is already one of the best budget radios around.

Scrambling for gift ideas this gift buying season? Well, we have something that kids of all ages will like. The Midland LXT-118VP Two Way Radios are compact, easy to use walkie talkies. They come as a set of two radios with an AC wall adapter and rechargeable batteries. At $29.99 they are priced just right to use as a stocking stuffer or just a fun gift.

This Christmas, a lot of you probably find yourself shopping for a friend or family member that loves radios. They have just about everything, however they might not have a set of TriSquare radios. We have a lot of customers that are huge fans of the TriSquare TSX100-2VP and the TriSquare TSX300-2VP series radios. These are not GMRS radios. The TSX series radios operate in the 900 Mhz frequency range, which means it can be used by individuals or businesses without purchasing a license from the FCC.

TriSquare radios are also a great alternative to traditional radios. The 900 Mhz frequencies, along with TriSquare's frequency hopping technology, offer better privacy and much more secure communications than radios operating on UHF or VHF frequencies.

They have even been reviewed on our two way radio forums. So if you know someone that just cannot have enough radios, or you have been looking for a new set for yourself, give these a look!

I know a lot of you have often found yourself in the position at work where you are responsible for buying some new two way radios. There are a lot of potential candidates out there to choose from, so how do you even start, how do you stay on budget, and what do you even look for?

Well there are a few easy questions you can ask yourself that may make the process a lot faster, simpler, and also save you a bit of money. In this post, we are going to look at shopping for Icom business radios. Icom has a great line of radios, and they are very rugged and durable. You can use this guide to shop for any business radio though, and we hope it will save you some time and frustration.

Before you start reading all of the features for every Icom business radio, let us first answer some questions.

1. Where are you going to use the radios? Are they for use inside or outside (or both). If you need some radios to use at a golf course, or other open outdoor settings, then you want VHF radios. They will give you the most range and clarity. If you are indoors, or outside around a lot of structures and buildings, then you want UHF since they will work better inside since it is better at transmitting through obstructions. Many of you are in both situations, UHF will be the best solution most of the time. We list if an Icom radio is VHF like the IC-F3011 or UHF like the IC-F24 in several places in the description to help find the right one.

2. Do you need that feature? Today's two way radios have a lot of features. However, which ones do you really need? Are the radios going to be used by just a few people? Then you do not need custom banks and group calling. Are you in an area where only a few radios are used, then 4 channels is probably all you will ever need. So try to narrow down the features to only what you know you need. Icom has radios that go from the basic such as the IC-F4011 to the loaded like the IC-F60V.

3. How many radios? Many times you do not need to get a radio for every single person. If there are multiple shifts, you might want to just get rapid chargers like the Icom BC-119N and have them share radios instead. You can save a lot of your budget by buying just the radios you need, and then getting extra batteries and chargers.

4. Why bother about how tough they are? Some radios are able to take a lot of abuse, others are meant to be treated a bit less rough. If you know that where you work, the radios will be subjected to a lot, then look for tough milspec radios. They will last longer than others, and while you pay a bit more for them, they will not need replacing very often. Every Icom business radio is milspec and tough. They are made to last a long time, even in very hostile environments.

5. What range do you need? Icom radios are mostly 4-5 watts, and have great range. With Icom radios you can change the antenna, so you can use a smaller one for short range use and make it a bit more ergonomic. If you need more than 2-3 miles of range you can set up a repeater system. A repeater system is what is used by law enforcement, emergency services, large construction crews, etc... to get 10-20 miles of range. Every Icom radio we carry is repeater capable, from the IC-F11S to the IC-F60.

6. What accessories will people need? Headsets, spare batteries, and speaker mics are often a necessity. Try to list out what accessories people will need, or may ask for. Many brands such as Icom have a lot of two way radio accessories to fit a lot of job situations (even spare belt clips!).

7. How much do you have budgeted? You notice this is not the first question. Once you have all of the rest figured out, then look to see what model fits the description. Often you will find that the radios you actually need are much more affordable than those you might have fist looked at. One thing we like about Icom, they have a very comprehensive selection at all price levels while still having the same quality. The only difference in how they are constructed is in the features.

We hope this makes looking for new radios a lot easier. If you have any questions about Icom business radios, or well anything at all, please call or email us!

Oh FCC, how you tease us with wanting to be all nice and open, then turn around and start handing out fines for something that is honestly, not that important - or even work the way many would have you think. It would seem that Uniden is now in the same trouble Midland found themselves in for selling GMRS radios with voice scrambling. Every now and then there are rumors that the GMRS radio market is just not that attractive anymore to many radio manufacturers. I wonder why...

Now that the holidays are here, almost here, uhm, here. We have extended our return policy. If you are already doing a bit of shopping, don't worry. As long as the item is returned by January 24th, 2010 you are covered. The rest of our return policy still applies. As always, contact us with any questions or even help picking a gift!

Here at Buy Two Way Radios we have already started to get some questions about holiday gift ideas. I know, it is a bit soon! So for those that like to enjoy the holidays a bit later, feel free to check out the rest of our two way radio blog.

Are they gone? Ok, great! Anyway, some of you have been asking what two way radios we would suggest to give as gifts. We carry a lot of different walkie talkies, so I am going to just talk about a few that are very budget friendly, easy to use, and also very durable:

Midland LXT118 two way radios are very inexpensive ($19.99), basic radios. They are compact in size (perfect for small hands) and include two radios a pack.

A slight upgrade would be the Midland LXT500VP3 two way radios. They come with a charger, but are still a nice compact, easy to use walkie talkie for $34.99.

If you are looking for radios with a bit more power and a few more features, give the Midland LXT560VP3 two way radios a look. They even have NOAA weather alerts! We have them ready to go for $44.99.

These are just a few of the two way radios we have here in stock and ready to ship. They are compact, and perfect for everyday use and great for kids of all ages. If you have any questions just contact us.

Everyone involved with two way radios has their own unique relationship with the FCC. Very simple rulings can have a cascading impact on the radios that are designed and sold, and how people use them. There is a lot of debate out there about licensing, GMRS, and even the future of digital radio communications.

There are a lot of areas that have different effects on all of us. To keep this straight, the FCC not so long ago, promised to be more open and transparent. Well, it would seem for now they are keeping this promise. As detailed in this article, the FCC has a new search engine for researching filings and also for sending them your own comments about a proceeding. You can even set up an RSS feed.

This is a very small step though. The FCC has a lot of things to address in the world of two way radios. Making their website into a more useful tool is a move in the right direction.

We have two new radios now in stock at Buy Two Way Radios. The Icom F3011 and F4011 are brand new radios with some great features and a great price! Icom has made an affordable, very easy to use, 16 channel radio. These are perfect for a wide variety of businesses: warehouses, restaurants, hotels, construction, amusement parks, grounds keeping, schools. Ok, anywhere that could use reliable, tough radios that are also simple to operate.

The Icom IC-F3011-41-RC two way radio is a 5 watt 136-174 MHz VHF radio that is milspec and has 16 channels. The Icom IC-F4011-41-RC two way radio is a 4 watt 400-470 MHz UHF radio and is also milspec with 16 channels. They are also repeater capable, and come with everything you need in one box, including a long-lasting Li-ion battery and charger.

You noticed the 16 channel feature, right? Most radios in this price range tend to have 2 or 4 channels. While this is plenty of channels for many businesses, often construction teams, event staff, and other location independent workers, have to be a bit more flexible in case they need to work where a lot of frequencies are in use. Easy to operate, they require little training, and they are designed to take a lot of abuse.

By keeping all of the quality and toughness found in the rest of the Icom radios, adding 16 channels, and keeping them easy to use for a very low price, Icom is offering one of the best budget commercial quality radios available.

We have them here on our shelves waiting to ship out. Both radios are $169.95 each, and we might even have a few Icom radio accessories available as well.