Home > Consumer Reviews > Uniden GMR885-2CK 8-Mile GMRS / FRS 2-Way Radios With Charging Cradle (Pair)

After many purchases and returns of different brands of GMRS radios (that fell far short of what they claimed), I have fallen in love with these Uniden 8-mile radios. Why? Many reasons come to mind. Sturdy and well made, these radios have a LARGE display that is wonderfully backlight by an orange glow, unlike many others that have a small display that I have to squint to see. The buttons are nice, large and easy to press. The menus are a cinch to use and do NOT require a lot of button presses. A Key lock feature is also included so you don't change settings by accident. Rechargeable NiMH batteries are included with the charger and result in LONG battery life. The radios also have a weather radio built in that can monitor for watches/warnings and alert you with alarms even if you are using the radios as a two-ways. But most importantly is the range, and these DO NOT fail. Through thick trees and a hilly environment, my Unidens manage to reach about 1.3 miles. Who knows how far I could get in an open area! These radios are a MUST for anyone looking for a great two-way radio!

I tried Cobra 3 years ago (FRS) and the power management was horrible. The batteries were expensive and they didn't work after 2 years! Than we tried Audiovox 1 month ago and we took it back because of the range which was supposed to go 6 mi. But it didn't go even a quarter of a mile going through some trees.

Then I got these Uniden and they are the BEST I have ever had. The menus and the buttons are just perfect. Unlike the others this one had a separate menu to change the channel instead of being in the same menu as the vox, lock, privacy, etc. It's rating is 5 mi without boost and 8 mi with boost. And w\o boost it went three times as far as the audiovox which is rated 6 mi. Then with the boost I got another mile going over hills. And I love how it comes on instanly. Oh and the belt clip is very sturdy. I can't even force it off unlike the audiovox. Also not as alkward to have it on.

I usually am quite a critic and probably never gave a 5 star review but Uniden deserves it they definitely exceeded my expectations.

p.s. I never tried the motoral but after I looked at the reveiws I didn't want one. I Hope this helps you decide!

I bought these as my personal radio as chief of a search & rescue and emergency communications provider. This replaces a good Radio shack 4 watt radio that was great, but ugly, bulky and heavy.

Our team has tried motorola radios, audiovox and magnavox. All of which my kids now use. Motorola does not hold a candle to these Uniden radios.

So far I am pleased with the durability and range, but I can not find ANY printed statement of the power output. It just says "up to 8 miles" which we know is not going to happen. I hope this is a 4 watt radio, but I somehow doubt it. Probably 3. The fact that they dont even say makes me wonder if it is less.

Still, with the NOAA reciever these are far better than COBRA which cost alot more and work as well as my kids old power-rangers walkie talkies.

One complaint though, on the smaller uniden radio gmr325-2 the keypad lock has a single keystroke to lock and unlock. On this radio you have 6 keypresses to lock and then you havev to turn off the radio to unlock. On other brands, and other unidens this is not so. And on Motorola you can resume the keypadlock even after powering on and off. But that is not enough to make motorola radios worth buying over this unit.

BTW, someone here tried to compare these to HAM radio. That is not a valid comparison and I dont think he knew what he was talking about.

Im only giving them 4 stars becasue they failed to tell me the actual wattage of this radio. So I cant say if its a 5 star product now can I?

My hubby and I got these as a Christmas present and I have to say they have been a nice gift.
We hadn't had a chance to really test them until recently, and we were both impressed with their performance. We haven't tested the range out in the flat, wide open, but we were able to get a range of about 2 miles in the moderate hills, trees, and buildings in town.
The NOAA Weather option is pretty nice, especially when you want to get a quick, area-specific forecast. The weather alert feature would also come in handy to let you know when bad weather is coming your way.
The reason we chose these specific radios was because of the good reviews from others here at Amazon, and I'm happy to say that they steered us in the right direction. There are other features that might have been nice to have - vibrating alert, or hands-free headphone/speaker set - but these radios contained the most of the features we were looking for. We're not disappointed.

I bought this radio a week ago and tested it in various situations. I tested it in the Dolphin Mall in Miami, wich is the biggest mall there, and the radios responded nicely but didn't cover the mall completely. I then went to the beach and tested the range there, well my estimate is about 2-3 miles tops, but the other radio was in the hands of my wife so i supose that if the person that had a hold of it would have being standing up, she was taking a sun tan, the range would have been longer. I would say that this radios aren't capable to trasmit to 8-miles as stated, but than no family radio out there trasmits at the rated distance. You can improve the distance reception by not using the squeltch, using the monitor button, and maybe there you get the 8-miles range, but there is no purpose in using a radio in that way.

I think that they are worth the money and I would buy them again, just don't expect to get a Ham radio range from a family radio.