I have had an amateur radio license for close to 20 years and have always had a hard time justifying the cost of a radio. These work as well as the much more expensive radio I owned a number of years ago. If you want something basic that works this is a great option time will tell how it holds up but I can break probably 20 of these things before I hit the cost of some other radios on the market

Great radios! I use them as walkie talkies. I bought two at first, tested them on Mammoth mountain, and was impressed enough to buy another two for bigger groups. The voice quality and reception was impeccable. A far cry from the garbage Uniden toys my friend used on the last trip that were unintelligible and had no reception in most places. Battery life on these is a couple of days. So these are good.

However, if you didn't already know, they're not legal to use as set up out of the box. They can be made barely legal though if you set them on public bands. Im sure the FCC has better things to do than hunt down hikers with "illegal" Chinese walkie talkies, but at least you should be aware of the regulations.

I will show you the quick setup I did on all of my radios. Programming by hand is really easy once you get used to the menus. I wouldn't bother with the CHIRP software.

1) Set the squelch to 7. This will mean you hear less random static, only solid signals. - Menu, 0 (SQL), Menu, 7, Menu.
2) Enable dual standby, so you can monitor two frequencies at once - on A and B at once. This will give you a better chance of reaching your buddy on one of the two channels if the signal is too weak on one. It also allows you to talk on a less busy channel if you don't want to talk over someone else. - Menu, 7 (TDR), Menu, ON, Menu.
3) Delete the first 10 channels from memory. They're not legal to use in the US, and you want to make room for your own channels. - Menu, 28 (DEL-CH), Menu, 001, Menu (you just deleted channel 1). Menu, up arrow, Menu (you just deleted channel 2). Menu, up arrow, Menu, etc. until you delete everything up to channel 10.
4) Set the two wide band MURS channels as channels 1 and 2. [The following is handwavy and not rigorous fact, but should do for casual purposes.] MURS are public access bands that require no license to operate on, and they allow higher transmission power than FRS (regular walkie talkie bands), and will probably carry further in the wilderness than GMRS due to the longer wavelegth. MURS allows up to 2 watts of transmission power and doesn't require any licensing, unlike HAM and GMRS. This radio does 1W on low power and 4W on high power. I'm assuming no one will come arrest you if you transmit at 4W in the woods (I don't think there's a way for anyone to tell from a distance what power you're transmitting at; antenna gain is a potentially bigger variable in signal strength). The only caveat is that this radio is not certified for FCC part 95, which means you technically can't use it on MURS, GMRS or FRS. Again, I doubt anyone will knock down your door for using these as walkie-talkies as long as you're considerate. You're using the band legally, but with an uncertified device. This is not the case for FRS (too high power) and GMRS (needs license). So, IMO, MURS is safest from a legal standpoint if you don't have a license.
a) Set transmission power high (or low if you want to stay strictly legal on MURS - at 1/4 the power your range would be about cut in half). - Menu, 2 (TXP), Menu, HIGH, Menu.
b) Make sure you're in wide band mode. - Menu, 5 (WN), Menu, WIDE, Menu, Exit.
c) Make sure you're in Frequency Mode by pressing the red VFO/MR button.
d) Type 154600 (on the home screen, not in the menu) - this is one of the wide band MURS bands.
e) Store it in memory for channel 1. - Menu, 27 (MEM-CH), Menu, 001, Menu, Exit.
f) Type 154570 - this is the other wide band MURS band.
g) Store it in memory for channel 2. - Menu, 27, Menu, 002, Menu, Exit.
5) Now switch to narrow band mode, since the next 3 MURS channels are narrow band only! - Menu, 5 (WN), Menu, NARR, Menu, Exit.
6) Now store the three narrow band MURS bands in channels 3, 4, 5, as above: 151820, 151880 and 151940.
7) Switch back to wide band mode for any other bands you might want to store. - Menu, 5, Menu, WIDE, Menu, Exit.
8) If you have a GMRS license, or want to be a bit of an outlaw, you can store some GMRS bands, as well. GMRS requires a license and an FCC part 95 radio, which this is not. But the transmission power allowed is up to 20W, so you're well within the power limits with this radio. The procedure to store channels is the same as for the MURS bands. You can find the available frequencies with a google search. A couple of frequencies are: 462.600, 462.725.
9) If you want to be a bit of an antisocial scofflaw, you may add some FRS (regular walkie-talkie) bands as well. The issue here is that the power limit on FRS is 0.5 watts, and this radio only goes down to 1 watt on low power. Also, it requires a part 95 radio, which this is not. Again, these two issues shouldn't be a big deal. FRS does not require a license. A couple of frequencies are: 467.687, 467.662.

You're all set up! Now set both radios to channels 1 and 3 let's say. Press A/B to talk on channel 1. Press the PTT button and talk away. Press A/B again to talk on channel 3, and again PTT to talk away. If you can't reach your buddy on A, try on B. I like to have a MURS band on A (lower fewquency), and an FRS or GMRS on B (higher frequency). That way I'm more likely to get a signal in any given conditions.

Hope my instructions are not too confusing. Simply pressing the buttons I wrote down in sequence should get you set up. Good luck!

Love these radios. I got these so that I could have better communications while riding in the woods on our ATV and UTV's. First night I charged them up jumped in my UTV and after about a mile and a half I checked in with the wife and she could hear me no problems. I went ahead and ordered the longer antenna so that it could get more reception but I think they are also great the way they sit.

I feel these would be great in a survival kit or times when power goes out. There are ways to tie them into repeater and all types of other things to do with them.

Poor durability of the external component pieces of the radio due to accidental physical torture. Knocked the clip loose and accidentally dropped off the belt clip and the internal battery retainer clip broke, resulting in no self locking-in feature of the battery. Unless you electrical tape the battery in place, you were permanently off the radio airwaves. Secondly, the included headset is recommended for skilled, less clumsy operators. The cable is like a thread and if you happen to snag up on something, say goodbye to your headset. Instant wiring short. Lastly, the pin that physically acts as the hinge pin for the belt clip itself has worked it's way completely out and disintegrated the belt clip assembly like a grenade when the spring let loose. Replaced and reassembled it, still good as new. For now anyway...

As for the reception? VHF Simplex directly radio to radio broadcasting at 520.99875 MHz, the physically highest capable frequency at eight watts max signal on both transmissions from radio to radio in a dense 156,000 population city is about 1¾ MILES MAX on an irregular clear interference day with an elevation change difference between radios of about a ⅛ mile.

The rest of the radio and the circuitry is awesome. Hence the four star rating.

Using for amateur radio purposes. I have been super pleasantly surprised by what this radio does for the price. It's no Yaesu/Icom/Kenwood whatever, but it's now become the HT I take camping/hiking etc. I wouldn't bring my "usual" handhelds along on anything for fear of a drop/hit, whatever to my expensive equipment. This radio actually goes along with me and does a great job. Side by each with my other HT's this one hears just as well. With an antenna upgrade it does decent on TX. I use the software for programming, which to me is only slightly annoying, but is easier than doing it through the radio (which isn't really all that bad in the first place, just takes a small learning curve time from what I am used to).

Again, for the price (THE PRICE!!! MAN, THE PRICE IS INSANE CHEAP!) this radio is an outstanding winner. I bought one for my XYL too, very nice for what we use them for. Very nice, not junk as some state. The one's I got from this seller are the real deal, and are backed with a US warranty, haven't had need to use. Worked right out of the box and I am pleased.

Super fast shipping, for free. Had the radios on Monday when I ordered them over the weekend prior (!) can't beat that!