Home > Consumer Reviews > Audiovox FR530 Ultra Compact 14 Channel LCD 2-Way Radios (Pair)

I don't understand why these have so many negative reviews here. My pair function beyond my expectations for a [$] pair of 2-way radios. I would agree that the volume doesn't go down far enough, but that's the biggest complaint I have. as for battery life, no electronic gadget functions well in cold weather with alkaline batts. cold weather is what lithiums are for.

Bought this pair of walkie-talkies as a Christmas present for my son. One unit didn't work right out of the box. My son was very disappointed. Since Santa brought these, returning them to the store was out of the question, so we sent them to Audiovox to repair them. Recieved them back 27 days later and they still weren't fixed. Audiovox service supervisor was unwilling to send me replacements, wanted me to wait for them to try and repair unit again!
My advice: buy Motorola walkie talkies.

i just received this pair of frs radios and have worked with them for 3 days on the same bateries and with excellent results. i live in a desert community of over 300 people and i have cut down on my cellphone use between me and my work partner .i use them at work and because they are so small they are easy to carry even in a pocket or on a belt with the built in clip.i dont have any problem with interference as this is the only pair in the community but now and again i can here someone 6.5 kms away .there are some nice features e.g. vox which helps when both hands are needed for work. The call feature is good because in a noisy work situation it helps to hear a ringing tone when someone is looking for you. i think the only problem i have is that i would like to buy a case for them and have not been able to find one --i dont live in america so that makes it more difficult. the radios seem very well made and the battery cover is closed very securly. i have not used any other type of frs radio but for the price i dont think you can beat these

Units have nice features, are easy to understand and use. Units were used on hunting trips. They offered good receptioon and transmission in wooded terrain. Units worked well with other name brand FRS units. My complaint was battery life, 3AAA's didn't last long with constant transmitting and cold weather, one hour to five hours was normal battery life. If a unit would'nt transmit it would still receive though. Battery level icon never changed.

this is my first family radio i've tried so i cannot compare it to other products PROS 1. i think it does what it should do 2. range between houses about 1/4 mile (free line of sight not tested yet)

CONS 3. volume control cannot be adjusted to really low levels - even in the lowest setting it is very load and impossible to use in noise sensitive areas - looks like that spec was set by a person with hearing problems 4. you cannot hold it to your ear when listening because the audible click that occurs when switching from receive to talk kicks your eardrum out (really bad for kids) - that must be terrible with headset