BTECH MURS-V1 MURS Two-Way Radio - License-Free Walkie Talkie for Business, Retail & Personal Use | Long Range Communication for Manufacturing, Warehouses & Outdoor Activities

Why would you need a radio like this? Well, first of all they are fun! Second, they're great for camping, skateboarding/bicycling With Friends and a backup in case you don't have cell service where you are. but I also love about these is the fact that you don't need any license to operate them, just purchase and go without worrying about getting fines or put in prison. My wife and I purchased these for our bug out bags and so far we've been very happy with them. We live in an urban area so most likely we will be bugging out (if we ever had to) in a very dense environment with a lot of different buildings and obstacles that would definitely interfere with this radios connectivity. Hopefully we never have to use them!Why you should:If you're worried about getting by the FCC then purchase with confidence because these ones are legal without a license!My wife and I tested these radios out in an extremely Urban environment. Heavy warehouse and buildings, highways and what have you. These radios held up very well in my opinion. between the broad and narrow band frequencies we were able to get great communication between each other at more than 1/2 mile range (we stopped testing it at that point so it may have worked at a longer range). A half-mile may not sound like a lot (because it really isn't) but in an urban environment where you might be bugging out that is probably all you will really need. if you were to take these to a forest you will probably be able to get well over a few miles of range if you have an open line of sight or some light trees.Another cool thing is that if you're bored it has an FM radio to keep you somewhat entertained. It came with some cool accessories like an earpiece but we most likely won't be utilizing those. So far the battery life has been fantastic!***Pro Tips***1) You can get better range with these if you need to by swapping out the antenna. You can find many different options on Amazon as far as what will fit this particular product.2) Instruction manual specifically tells you not to store these radios for long periods of time at 100% charge. It tells you to store it at about 40% charge in order to maintain the batteries quality and safety.Why you shouldn't:I found these radios just a little bit confusing to use. along with keeping these in our bug out bags we are also going to be keeping the instructions. There's no way we're going to remember how to use all the functions on the go if we are not using these everyday. Although it is pretty simple to just click and talk this radio does come with some functions that you might want to explore and in order to remember what those functions are you will need the book unless you have a great memory.the talk buttons were acting up just a little bit, you have to hold them relatively hard in order for them to work in some cases. I also read another review about someone who had a problem with the talk buttons.Honestly this thing in my opinion is stupid expensive. Around $60 per radio? You got to be kidding me. I feel as though they raise the price on this product because you don't need a license for it. You have the same quality radios floating around on the market and sometimes even the same brand for a fraction of the cost. I was very upset about the price but because these were license-free I bought them.Although I think this is a great purchase. I would not have honestly purchased this particular radio if it was not legal without a license. I liked the fact that I didn't have to worry about getting in trouble and that is why I purchased this particular brand. I would definitely not steer anybody away from this brand or this particular radio, I think that it is capable and works well.I've only had this for about a month or so now, but so far its been pretty decent.I work overnight shifts at a large retail store and wanted to bring in my own transceiver to keep an ear out on whats going on around the store. It works perfectly fine functionally. I haven't done any sort of scientific measurements, but the RX (reception) on the BTECH vs. Motorola's they provide in-store are about the same. Although I did change the stock antenna to a NA-701C, and then to a Smiley Slim Duck 5/8 155 MHZ-version so i don't know how much worse/better the stock antenna is.TX-ing (transmission) wise I have had no issues to complain about it. The truck-drivers coming in to unload seem to hear me just as well as I can hear them from the inside of the building.I am taking one star off because of the belt clip. The screws come out very easily. Over the course of the day they'll wiggle out more and more until its completely out. I have managed to catch this before its happened but if i didn't, it would probably just fall off my belt. Over tightening the screws may result in stripping because of the cheapness of the screws themselves. However Ive added a bit of super glue to the contacts AROUND the screws, and that has kept them in place. I would not recommend gluing the screws THEMSELVES however (such as with loctite) since the belt clip may, for example break in the future and you're going to need to get those screws out without worrying about stripping them in place. So again, i only suggest gluing the contacts of the of the belt clip to the radio.Battery has lasted me about one full shift and a half shift. So you will need to recharge it every night. I bought the extended battery BL-8L and that one has lasted me two full 8-hour shifts and another half shift from one charge. Note that I have no battery saving option enabled so my battery life is a "near worst-case scenario". I might try and use some of the battery saver option just to see how long it goes. The only reason i do not have the battery saver options enabled is since I have noticed the beginning parts of some transmissions being cut off when the option was on. Maybe by about a half second at most. Having the battery saver option off however does not miss receiving anything.One nice feature is the fact that it can receive FM broadcast radio, then switch back to MURS when it detects an incoming signal. Then after a few seconds will go back to the FM broadcast radio station without ever touching the radio itself at all. Pretty nice when you want some quiet music while stocking the shelves or fixing something, but also wanting to keep track of the store at the same time.The speaker gets decently loud, although i do wish it could go louder but not sound distorted.Overall i'd say its a good buy at around USD fifty bucks. I would NOT recommend getting a different antenna like i did however, or the extended battery and such. Adding all the accessories up costs about as much as a used RDM2070d on fleabay, and those arent really bad radios at all either (probably a way better front-end as well). They will be used and not come with much, if any accessories however.But if you're a weirdo like me and want to BYOD for whatever reason, then this will do you fine.