Motorola FV300 2-Way Radio, Pair
- Features Include: Up to a 10 mile range-22 channels and a standard scan-15 levels of digital volume-Featherweight design
- Featherweight design and rugged structure makes it perfect for campers and hikers. 32 hour battery life
- With 22 channels and a standard scan feature you can stay in touch wile you are out and about.
- Up to a 10 mile range.
- 15 levels of digital volume.
The Motorola Talkabout FV300 has a range of up to 10 miles for indoor and outdoor communication. Its a featherweight, compact design is ideal for campers and hikers, and its rugged structure can survive the toughest treatment. With 22 channels and the standard scan feature, this two way radio makes it easy to stay in tough while you are out and about. The FV300 also features an accessory connector, permitting use of an audio accessory headset for easy hands-free operation.
List Price: $ 19.99
Price: $ 12.70
ECR4Kids Happy Caterpillar Climbing Structure
- Caterpillar-shaped climbing structure
- Designed for use indoors or out
- Large boot-shaped “feet” hold the unit firmly in place
- Easy to assemble; fade resistant
- Measures 56.30-Inch by 37.00-Inch by 47.64-Inch
Climb in, on, or around the Happy Caterpillar! Kids’ ages 2-4 will love to play on this colorful climber for hours of educational fun. The brightly colored body segments can be assembled in different ways with large “feet” holding the unit in place for safe play. The Happy Caterpillar can be used for indoor or outdoor fun.
Happy Caterpillar – great for preschool age fun!
Kids can climb in, on, or around the Happy Caterpillar.
A Creative Place for Preschool
List Price: $ 349.99
Price: $ 312.99
Entry-level walkie-talkies that are practical and kid-friendly,
Motorola makes a whole family of walkie-talkies (or 2-way radios). This set of Motorola FV300 2-Way Radio is the cheapest and smallest available. They are so light and compact that even a kid can handle one of those with ease. But don’t let the small size and low cost fool you, they actually work just like the real things – provided you start with the correct expectation…
First of all, forget about the advertised range of “up to 10-mile”. As in the case with ALL walkie-talkies, the claimed transmission range is the best case under most optimal conditions. Namely: transmitting from one hill top to another with clear line-of-sight, no other RF interferences, weather is perfect, Jupiter aligns with Mars, etc. In real life urban environment, a range of 1-2 miles is more likely. With that in mind, those walkie-talkies are still useful for communication in a large shopping mall, for example. Or you can just hand them out to your kids as toys.
Secondly, forget about the claimed battery life of “32 hours” because it is the time in standby mode. If you do a lot of transmission back and forth, a set of 3 AAA alkaline is likely to run down in 3-4 hours. This is because the power requirement is much higher during transmission (just like the case with cell phones). Here is my measured current consumption:
- During standby: 25-30mA
- While receiving: 50-100mA (depending on volume)
- While transmitting: ~350mA
If you don’t like to keep buying alkaline AAA batteries, here’s a suggestion: use rechargeable batteries. You need 3 each of AAA rechargeable cells for each radio. I recommend using low-self-discharge NiMH batteries such as Sanyo eneloop (best quality) or Tenergy Centura (lowest cost). You also need a good ‘smart’ charger that can handle odd number of cells, such as the Sony Cycle Energy BCG34HLD4KN Power Charger. Note that each radio actually has a charging port near its base. But to use that you have to buy the Motorola charger, instead of a general-purpose AA/AAA charger.
When you first power-up the radios, you need to use the MENU button to configure some options, such as which channel to use, ring-tone, sleep timer, etc. One pleasant surprise is that: the walkie-talkies actually remember your previous selections when you replace the batteries (provided you swap in the new batteries quickly). This is very helpful because you don’t want to repeat the setup every time you replace the batteries.
Considering its low cost, this pair of Motorola 2-way radios is a great bargain. It is a practical tool for short-range communication, and great for kids to play with, too.
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Does the job on the cheap, but range nowhere near 5 miles advertised.,
3.5 stars. I bought these walkies for use on a cruise. The walkies did the job on the ship and I was successfully able to communicate with my friends while on board. There was often static during the calls, and conversations greater than 5 words each way, were difficult to hear. We were able to communicate, because we kept our responses to 1 or 2 word answers. I was able to reach my friends anywhere on the ship, the Carnival Elation. Once I left the ship and went to Ensenada, Mexico, I was unable to reach anyone in my party. I got nowhere near the 5 mile range advertised.
Having never used a walkie before, I found the setup and use extremely user friendly. I did not have to replace the battery for the entire length of the cruise (4 days), and I used the walkie multiple times per day. I did turn it off after going to bed.
I purchased the pair from Radioshack for $20, and believe that for the money, you can’t expect more than you get from this radio.
Summary:
Pros: low price, user friendly, lightweight, uses three AAA batteries
Cons: Quality of call, range is nowhere near 5 miles as advertised.
I would recommend this product to anyone who wants a cheap way to communicate with others, for short (no more than 5 words per response) conversations, within a 1 mile radius.
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Not Compatible With All Other Motorola Talkabouts,
All of the 12 different Motorola Talkabouts that I have bought over the past 11 years, including my 1999 T-5950 model, ALL had 121 Interference Elimination Codes (Privacy Codes, or Squelch Codes). The radios use this code when they transmit to activate the speakers on the other radios in the group on the same channel and code.
The model radio listed on this page does not have this code. That is fine if you only use FRS/GMRS radios without codes, but if you want this radio to work with others that use these codes, you’ll have to disable that feature on all the other radios.
As for range, I tested it at 100 meters, through a couple of houses, and it worked fine, with some static audible. I like the fact that all the buttons, including volume, can be locked, so that pockets and kids can’t change the channel, or turn it down by mistake.
This is, by an inch, the smallest Talkabout I have owned, which is good. The radio body is just 3.5″ long.
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Best purchase YET for my 3 year old !!!,
This caterpillar toy is the greatest climbing toy ever! …my daughter climbs, hides, sleeps, plays and decorates her space as she wishes in this super fun playhouse!
From the moment my husband put this thing together…(which wasn’t too difficult since screws and tools are NOT required!) ….My daughter loved it!!!! Instead it Comes with big hard plastic bolts that are easy enough to pop in ! Took about 30 min total!
It is quite large but perfect for toy room or basement playing area or just anywhere as long as you have an extra couple of feet around it !
The plastic is not smelly or cheap
Great quality well made!
Allows children to make up their own games using their imagination combined with what toys they already have, instead of constantly buying new toys to keep them entertained! My daughter rediscovered all of her old toys at the bottom of the toy box when she first got this ! It definitely inspired her!
Great buy…. I was going to buy from amazon but found this at a Christmas sale for half price and boy I’m glad I did!
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Sturdy for Daycare,
I bought this for daycare children and am using it indoors. It does take up a large amount of space and would take a awhile to take a part for storage. The kids love it! It gives them some physical activity during the winter months. Also, has been good as a reward; if someone has a super day, they get to nap in the caterpillar. They have named it “Happy Cappy”
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Fantastic toy,
I was looking for a tunnel that wasn’t made of fabric, that could be jumped on and could hold up to 6 boys. This is the tunnel!
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