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View Full Version : Rino 110 or 120 [FRS radios]



SeansMom
09-17-2006, 10:41 AM
Has anybody used these for the theme parks? I'm considering the 120 for our use at DL. I like the ease of being able to locate the other members of our party. Before you suggest it, we don't and won't have cell phones. (Ours are provided by work and can't be used for pesonal use.)
Although spendy, these seem like nice units. So...anybody???

Bolivar
09-17-2006, 11:16 AM
Let's talk about the radios for a minute. They come in two flavors: Family Radio Service (FRS) and General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS). The FRS radios use a lot less power than the GMRS radios. In fact, you are required to get an FCC license to use GMRS though I don't think anybody really does. FRS came out first and until recently the GMRS radios were pretty expensive so most people have FRS radios. This means that of the radios being used in the park, probably 90% of them are FRS. There are a limited number of channels so if you use FRS you are going to be sharing it with others. But there are privacy codes so you can block them out and they can block you out. But, you still can't both talk at the same time and this can cause some confusion -- you have them blocked so you don't hear them talking and try to talk yourself; then your two signals interfere with each other.

GMRS is a lot more powerful and not as many people have it, so you are likely to have a channel all to yourself and you can reach each other person better. I have used FRS radios in the park and they work, but are pretty spotty.

The two radios you mention have both FRS and GMRS so there is no issue right? You will just use GMRS, have a channel to yourself and powerful radios. Well, it isn't quite that simple. For whatever reason, the federal government only allows the transmission of voice over GMRS, they do not allow data transmission. So, the radios only transmit GPS data when you are using FRS.

I haven't used GMRS only FRS and I haven't used them with the GPS. I can tell you that it can be difficult sometimes to talk because others are talking at the same time. Also, if someone is on the other side of the park they likely won't receive you. Also if they inside a building (Indy, Space, Buzz, etc.) they won't receive you. The marketing with the radios say that they will go two miles, but if you look at the fine print they say under ideal conditions they can go up to two miles. These things require line of sight, the signal doesn't go around things. So their being on the other side of buildings and trees can block the signal. Disneyland being full of buildings the signal gets blocked a lot.

They work, but you can't always get through, so you have to stop, make a call and wait for an answer, maybe get one, maybe not, then try again later if not. All this might be better with the GPS because maybe when the signal works it will tell you where they are and that will be enough, I don't know.

I know, way more information than you wanted. Maybe someone who has used them will come along with the simple answer.

The Little Mermaid
09-17-2006, 11:34 AM
The Rino 110 is the unit we use for our outdoor adventures but I would not recommend relying on FRS nor GMRS (which requires the purchase of a separate family license) radios in the park. The frequencies are just too cluttered there. Finding a "clear" frequency is a chore and as those radios are line-of-sight and low-powered, any obstruction can be a problem. After the 2 adults in the household took a test that required very little study (for the most basic license, you don't even need to know Morse code anymore), we switched to hand-held Ham radios and it's easy to use any attraction, store or restaurant for position reporting. The only problem we occasionally have is with ionic bounce.

Keep in mind, tree cover and signal bounce may not allow the Rino's GPSr to lock onto enough satellites to get a good fix and you may find yourself unable to use the position reporting feature. Also, you must have at least 2 Rino units for the feature to be of any use which means you will spend approximately $500!

Consider buying some cheap prepaid cell phones instead. Wal-Mart has a special on this one (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4965455) and you can load it with a card in your price range. At the cheapest configuration you'll spend around $75 each and you won't have to carry around plenty of batteries (yes, we use rechargeables with our Rino and it does have a pretty impressive battery life but we still carry around 2 extra sets [6 batteries] just in case).

Hope this helps!