Home > Consumer Reviews > Uniden GMR645-2CK 22-Channel 6-Mile GMRS/FRS 2-Way Radios with Charging Cradle (Pair)

These do a pretty good job for the money. I haven't tried them on water yet, but in the city, with houses, trees and other things blocking the line of sight, we get a little over a mile in range. The NOAA weather stations come in loud and clear so far. This will be a great feature when we're out hiking. They're also pretty compact and light. When you consider the fact that these come with NiMH rechargeable packs (or you can use 4 AAA's per radio) and the recharger base, you get quite a bit for your dollar. On the other hand, it looks like the Uniden GMR855 might give you a little bit better range (without the NOAA weather feature) for about the same price, but if you can get these on sale or with a rebate, it's hard to lose.

We use these for car caravanning, walks, communicating around the house and yard, hiking and camping. They have performed well for us.

Nice features:
- come with chargers & 2 batteries (NiMH) - real nice.
- NOAA weather channels
- they are durable & they hold a charge for a couple of days under normal use
- they are small, but not too small
- the key layout is easy to use and hard to hit by accident (volume up/down doesn't get bumped to zero by accident!).
- the radios can be on and used when charging
- they are fun to have and easy to use
- price is right
Not so nice:
- the chargers aren't interchangeable with the 10 mile Uniden radios (model number GMR1038-2)
- take 16hrs to fully charge
- menus aren't intuitive. Keep the manual handy! (For most uses you don't have to use the menus)
- line of sight. If a straight line to your target is obstructed, you probably can't talk to them (that is the type of radios these are - not an issue specific to this model)

Range - line of sight radios are fickle. I have only used these on the low power FRS channels (8-14 are low power channels and don't require an FCC license to use). I have had intelligible conversations at 4.3 miles (as a crow flies) on low power. And I have lost radio contact at 1/4 mile on other occasions.

Fine radios at a fine price.

I purchased these radios (under $40 for the pair) for use in my pool service business. They are great on residential job sites and working in building complexes; however, any use beyond that and the range is too poor. I tried using them between two job sites several blocks away (about 1/4 mile) and they were useless. I had hoped to use the radios for hunting/hiking/etc. but I don't think the range is adequate. Still, you can't beat the value for short range applications. For more demanding applications, I would research using a more powerful commercially available radio system.

I bought this radio because it was recommended by Good Housekeeping magazine. When the radios arrived, one radio did not work correctly. The Uniden customer service website was no help. It took them 6 days to reply to my message and they still did not give me an answer. I thought Uniden was a brand to trust. Obviously, I made a huge mistake.