Home > Consumer Reviews > Motorola TalkAbout T5420 (AA) Graphite Black 2-Way Radio (Single)

Have used this on two car vacations or work related trips, also use this as an intercom unit with the recharging base, because we live in a large house. We bought three and only use it within a half mile or less and have never had a problem. Purchased 4 years ago and the batteries still maintain a charge for a week with limited use. Very reliable.

Purchased two and they are working great! We use them to talk between cars on the road. Excellent value.

The problem is the reception range, which is miserable. Clear reception is for only a couple of hundred feet, provided there are no obstacles. The signal disappears completely at about 1/2 of a mile. However, in the Magic Kingdom park of Disneyworld in Florida, we had difficulty maintaining any communication at all, probably due to a lot of buildings and steel structures around. Therefore, I consider these units as not a real communications devices, but rather just children's toys. Also, in this case, clearly, you get what you pay for: the item is cheap and it works like a cheap item.

The Motorola Talkabout T5420 is a great radio if your looking for an inexpensive way to keep in touch. Like most radios, don't expect this to get to 2 miles, more in the 1-1/2 mile range. When I was hiking mount modadnock I got about a mile of these which is pretty good considering all the trees and rocks. My freind also brought along an Audiovox FR-540 Radio which also had a 2-mile range but proved to be better becuase of its clearer voice, smaller size, and got a bit more range than the motorola's. (I'd reccomend those if you don't want to get a license but want a good radio). I've also noticed that these radios sometimes having a longer range (and clearer voice) than my freinds 5 mile version, and a clearer voice. Overall, a good product well worth the money!

Having been burned by toy walkie-talkies that cost almost as much as these and barely work at two feet, let alone two miles, we were skeptical. Our son got a pair of these while we were on vacation, and they worked great. They were easy to use. The audio quality was very good. They fit in your pockets or can be used with the clip attachment. They were easy on the batteries. They worked clearly at just over 1 mile of beachfront (fairly open terrain). They worked well through 9 floors of steel and concrete. They were dropped once and worked flawlessly. These are great for the whole family. Highly recommended.