2-way radios

[MercMan]

There are an awful lot of knowledgeable people who post here, and a while back there were discussions regarding 2-way radios and which channels to use.<P>For Christmas I got my first set. I got a pair of Motorola T5720s. They seem very nice. When reading through the posts, some of you would comment about the "big" channel 7, and the "little" channel 11 in the corner. What does that little channel mean again? Of course the owner's manual says nothing about that.<P>I took my radios to LOW last week and my group was on channel 1. They had older radios that didn't have the "little" channel on them. They could talk back and forth on their radios, but I couldn't hear anyone on mine, nor could they hear me. What did I do or not do? Thanks.

[curt quesnell]

MercMan,<P>The older radios dont communicate very well<BR>with the newer ones. The older ones work<BR>real well with each other. I dont think it<BR>was anything you did or didnt do.<P>There are only so many channels available<BR>on these new style radios. The "Big" number<BR>is the channel you are selecting,the "little"<BR>number is a "subchannel" of the big number.<P>You have many variations of each channel<BR>so you dont have so many other conversations<BR>going on all at on once on each channel.<P>I may not have all the terms right but that<BR>is pretty much the story on the big number<BR>and the little number. <P>------------------<BR>Curt Quesnell<BR>NorthCountry Outdoors Radio

[MercMan]

Thanks for the reply, Curt. So, if I choose "big" channel 1, for instance, do I have to select a "little" channel also? I guess what I'm trying to ask is if the small number is a multiplier and/or required, or will the little number change automatically? Sorry, these things have me all confuzzed.<P>Yes, you're right on the older radios. We were having trouble communicating all day.

[DrJ]

Mercman,When we use an older model with a new one we set the big number the same on both.Then we set the little number on 1 or zero on the new model.Then this will work with some of the older models.Hope this helps! Good Fishing! DrJ.

[bturck]

nothing to add to the technical discussion just a note regarding the radios. i purchased a pair of Midlands last week prior to my trip and with two groups in different houses it was nice to jaw back and forth and compare notes. Tried to raise some FMers on Monday and Tuesday but no answer on 7/11, sorry everyone had to work. LOL... Bill

[Northlander]

Ok heres what I know. Motorola has a feature on there newer radios called QT. This function will let you talk back and forth with only Motorola users. You can hear other brands but they cant hear you. Mine was stuck on QT and I didnt know how to get it off and only those with Motorolas could hear me, the Midlands couldnt. I went on Motorolas website and downloaded the users manual for my T5720's and now I can do it all.<BR>As far as channels and subchannels go. The big # is the main channel and the small one in the right hand corner is your subchannel. If your friends were on channel 1 you want to be on 1 with no subchannel. No 2 way communication otherwise. When you hit 0 on the subchannel your radio will have a higher beep than usual. Thats how you know your on 0 without looking. But do both a few times, look and listen, and you will get the hang of it. <BR>With subchannels everyone needs to be on the same channel and subchannel to 2 way. Hope this helped. Check to see if QT is stuck on with your T5720. Thats my guess.

[Kaz]

Just a clarification, all FRS and GRMS radios can talk to each other when the channels are set the same. It doesn't matter what brand you have. Some of the older or cheaper radios don't have the subtone, but with the subtone set to "0", any radio will hear and transmit to any other of the FRS or GRMS radios. Remember that GRMS radios have some higher channels that are not on FRS though. The subtone is used to allow users of the same frequency channel to NOT hear the other's conversations....Kaz