I currently work for an elementary school and we recently came up with the idea of purchasing a whole slew of walkie talkies so that we could better keep in touch with the supervisors on the playground, as well as get in touch with various staff members (such as the custodian or lunch personnel) without having to use the intercom system, which interrupts the classrooms. Our first thought was to go to Radio Shack because they have a solid reputation. We purchased the Radio Shack 22-Channel Walkie Talkie Radios with a charger, model number 21-1936. They were so disappointing that we tried, unsuccessfully on two different occasions, to return them (prior to having them for 30 days). They boast an 18-mile range, depending on circumstances, and I can understand a little leeway here, but in the case of these walkie talkies, that we tried to use from the inside of the building to the playground (nowhere near close to eighteen miles) we rarely get reception ample enough to communicate with each other. The Radio Shack model also notes that is has precautionary measures in place to ensure longer lasting charge power. The experience we had with these started off terrible and has only gotten worse. In the beginning, the battery did hold a charge for the entire school day, after that it has diminished steadily and it now only holds a charge for about an hour after being charged in full all night long. The Radio Shack walkie talkies were approximately $70.00 a piece and they truly provide more aggravation than they do help. There are only three good things that I can say about these walkie talkies, the first is that they have a sleek design that just looks nice, the second is that the charger is small and compact (and each one holds two devices), and the third is that these are very lightweight and not a bother at all to carry. Other than that, however, I would not recommend them to anyone at any price.
In comparison, the Motorola Talkabout SX800R two-way radios, which are comparably priced to the aforementioned Radio Shack model, in fact they are a tad bit less at approximately $55.00, work like a dream. They reach from the school building to the playground without a problem, the most important feature for our school. The battery charge of the Motorola model holds throughout the school day, although it too has shown some capacity to need charged faster than it did previously (when first purchased). I am not sure if that is a common feature in walkie talkies or just our experience with these two models. The Motorola, however, does hold a charge for the length of time that we need it, and the Radio Shack model does not even come close to doing so (dying most times within the hour). This model, although not so sleek and attractive as the Radio Shack (this one is bright yellow and does not really appeal to me style-wise) is just as light and compact as the other is and does not (nor does the other) pose a burden at all in carrying it.
All in all, we have two comparably priced walkie talkies that boast doing the same job, and only one that lives up to it’s self-touting; the Motorola. If you are in the market for a walkie talkie, I am not sure if you would like the Motorola or not, but I can with fair certainty say you will not at all be happy with the Radio Shack purchase, and worse, if you get them and they turn out to be not all you hoped for at minimum, getting your purchase price refunded could prove, as it did in our case, to be a lost cause.
