Motorola SX700R 2-Way Radio

I bought the Motorola SX700R 2-way radios to use on fishing trips. In groups of two or three it is pretty easy to fish within sight of each other, but beyond three people it gets really tough not to spread way out. Additionally I have noticed that in some of the faster moving water, say in a gorge with a fast moving mountain stream you could actually be pretty darn close to each other but not a have a prayer of verbal communication. So before our last trip (four people on this one) I bought these radios to help keep us in touch. So far they have performed well, without bowling me over.

What You Get
So when you buy a set of Motorola SX700R 2-way radios you get... two radios, of course. These radios each come with a holster that has a clip. You can either use the radio alone, in which case you’ll be stuck holding it or sticking it in a pocket or something, or you can slide it in the holster which has a clip on it. I clipped mine onto the front of my vest so I could hear people calling easily and also reply with only one hand. The Motorola SX700R 2-way radios also come with a charger that can accommodate both radios at once, even while they are in the holsters which is pretty nifty. You can opt to use traditional batteries but the set comes with a 2 NiMH rechargeable battery packs. Finally, there is a extra set of black faceplates. I guess some people are going to worry about swapping all kinds of colors onto the radios but I consider it a pain to have more crap to keep track of. I assume you can buy more colors, but I wouldn’t know.

Radio features and how they perform
The Motorola SX700R 2-way radios offer 2 watts of power with GMRS. I don’t know the particulars of GMRS But I know it is supposed to boost the range. The radio requires an extra license for GMRS which I think leads to some confusion. The radios that have GMRS also have the license that is required. You don’t have to buy one yourself or go to radio classes or anything. The 2 watts and GMRS is supposed to deliver a range of up to 12 miles. Maybe in the desert where the terrain is flat, there are no obstructions, and not a lot of atmosphere to get in the way. In the mountains in and out of the streams I would guess the range is about 1 to 2 miles. That happens to be fine with me, but I just want you to have the right expectations before you buy.

To put it succinctly, the sound quality of the Motorola SX700R 2-way radios is good. When in range of the twin I could hear clearly with the volume low. I like to keep it as low as possible so as to disturb the sounds of nature as little as possible. The radio rested on the front of my vest and yet in the midst of a roaring mountain river I could still hear the calls clearly and easily carry on conversation.

As far as privacy the Motorola SX700R 2-way radios offer 22 channels each with 121 privacy codes for a total of 2,662 different combinations. I think the idea is that there is no conceivable way you won’t be able to find a way to keep your conversations private. Now I realize that I paid for this technology but the truth is that we turned the radios on and they were on channel 1 and we used channel one for three days on two different rivers and I never heard a voice that wasn’t in our fishing party. So much for that, but the features are there if you need them.

Motorola estimates that you will get 10 hours of talk time on traditional alkaline batteries and 7 hours out of the included rechargeable NiMH battery packs. I can’t give personal experience on battery life because I can’t fathom talking that much before recharging. We used them sparingly over the course of a few days with no battery issues.

If you want to use the radios at night the Motorola SX700R 2-way radios offer a back lit display as well as a battery meter. There is a NOAA weather alert feature which I don’t know if I will ever in my life need but for some reason I am comforted having it. The radios are very light and one hung on my vest without me even knowing. They are easy to hold, ergonomic I think is the fancy word with rubber on the sides to help give you a snug grip. There are other features like a vibrating call alert, a keypad lock, and a time out timer. I can’t tell you in depth about these features because I haven’t used them.

Conclusion
When it is all said and done I am happy with the Motorola SX700R 2-way radios. It occurs to me that I might have been happy with a less expensive set but those extra features are there if I need them. My set came to about $70 with shipping and I suppose that is a fair value. I see now that they are going for a mere $50. At that price I suppose I recommend them even more strongly. I haven’t ever owned a different set but these are good for me. I may pick up two more so we can wire up the whole group. I do recommend them.