Home > Consumer Reviews > Motorola T5820 2-Way Radio AA (Sunstreak Yellow/Pair)

I bought a pair after losing an older T5200 (also from Motorola) which is not manufactured anymore. I figured that the new & more expensive model (which also has 1 Watt compared to 1/2 watt of the T5200) should work as good or better.

I was very disapoointed. Very poor sound quality. Audio is not clear and in many cases has breaks. I still have one T5200 left (I lost 1 out of 2) - eveyone in my family wants to use the older unit as the new T5820 does not perform. Plus, I paid for the T5200 half of what I paid for thr T5820...

I recommend not to buy this product. Go for the new cheaper & better T5720 (1 Watt as well, compact, great sound quality. The only limitation - no vibration alert. See my review on it).

I have found my radios to work 3- 4 mile on GMRS mode. The 1st time my wife and I used them both of the belt clips broke. I have e-mailed motorola R.E. this matter and asked for replacement belt clips. And have never recieved a response.

Please note that GMRS radio transmission requires an FCC license by you, your immediate family, or direct blood relative, and may only be operated by an adult except in emergencies.

The FRS frequencies do not require this; however, having both in one unit would be very tempting to use the GMRS frequencies. .... .

Use of these radios outside of the US is very likely to be restricted or prohibited except in unregulated countries and may interfere with otherwise allocated frequencies of medical devices, or other radio devices.

Note, these radios to not support repeater access codes.

SUMMARY: If you are planning on being licensed and want the extra range of GMRS, these are great entry-level radios.

To those who have problems with getting clear reception:

If you normally set you volume control to max, try turning it down a little (or more) if your reception sounds muffled.

I've tried this several times within city transmission and it helps alot with removing the muffled reception some users have reported (especially those who have purchased sets with rechargeable nicad batteries).

I think the volume control and speaker interface has not been designed well for max vol transmissions. (Note that new T5620, T5720 and T5920 have sound enhacing improvements for clearer voice transmissions, check motorola site for specs and launch dates)

Reason I like this set:
The 1.0 watt transmitter helps increase talking distance in built up areas as opposed to 0.5 watt frs radio sets. Price was a good deal with rebate. ...

I was shocked that the FCC extracts [$$$] from citizens to use these little babies; buyer beware!