Features on the radio include: Auto-squelch, Auto-power saver feature, button beep confirmation, battery power level, Voice scramble(very nice feature), 14 channels and over 532 subchannels, a retractable antenna, a backlight display, and a couple more features.
The voice scrambling feature is awesome on the radio. If you have a home scanner and listen to the radio with the scramble ON, you could not tell what the radio is saying. Anyways, very very nice radio all around, good for just about any activity you want to do in fairly close proximity.
The full range of the radio is based primarily on line-of-sight communication if you want to reach the 2-mile mark. This radio can reach a 2 mile mark, but again, only if there isnt many obstacles in the way. However, I live in a very heavily forested area and the microtalk2 reached up to 1.5 miles with slight static.
The cabins we rented had no phones, so when we arrived, the FRS250s permitted cabin-to-cabin communications throughout the stay. My only regret is that we did not purchase the rechargable batteries. But even here, the radios performed better than I expected. Over a 10 day stay, we needed to replace the batteries ony twice even though we kept them on for up to 8 hours a day.
I was surprised to find that the published range of 2 miles was real. I was able to make contact from my boat on the lake to the cabin, a distance of about 2.6 miles. Of course the voice quality wasn't so good, but we were able to communicate.
In all, the FRS250 was a good value. It served us well and performed better than I expected.
#1 Transmission is clearer on Talkabout. No background noise. Cobra's had a background buzz - but you could still understand everything said. #2 Transmission Distance - was almost the same. Talkabouts worked about 50 feet further. However the Antenna factor is important in getting maximum distance out of the Cobra - see #3. #3 Antenna Position - If you don't have the Cobra antenna extended AND pointed in the direction of the transmitting unit - you don't get comparable distance to the Talkabout. #4 Confirmation Beeps - Cobras had 'em. Wish the Talkabouts did. #5 Vibra Alert - Cobras had it - wish Talkabout did.
I paid $89 each for the Cobra 280s. My sister's Talkabout 200s cost her $60 each. In the end, I returned my Cobras and plan to buy some Motorolas because I want the maximum distance (without having to deal with maneuvering the antenna) and the clearest transmission.
