great idea, bad model

Author's Rating:

Pros: Easy to use; plenty of channels; nice price

Cons: Turns on too easily - batteries drain; slides out of clip-on holder too easily

The Bottom Line: 
Family radios are a great idea, but this is not the best model. Although the range and options are fine, the design is seriously flawed.

Author's Review
The Cobra 220 family radios were the right price at $70 for a pair of them. We have used these radios for six months, while driving in separate cars, at the airport, skiing and at the mall.

PLENTY OF CHANNELS
With 14 channels and 38 privacy channels for each, finding a channel without cross traffic hasn't been a problem. Then again, we haven't tried using them at Disneyland yet, and I hear that's the ultimate test, since there are so many people using family radios there.

ADEQUATE RANGE
The range has worked fairly well, although the advertised 2 miles is definitely stretching it, even in optimal conditions. They worked good for skiing. In areas of heavy radio traffic, at the airport, for example, they don't work nearly as well or as far. But that's to be expected.

DRAINING THE BATTERIES
Each unit takes four AAA batteries, which can be drained in about a day if the batteries are left on. Why would anyone be stupid enough to leave the unit on that long? Well, unfortunately, it isn't hard to do. The on/off button for the power is on the front top of the unit and, although it does beep when it is first turned on, it frequently gets turned on accidentally.

Unless batteries are replaced almost daily, these radios can't sustain all-day use. Even though the radios go into power saver mode when they have not been used for 10 seconds, it may not make much difference in high-traffic areas such as Disneyland because the radio has to weed out all the messages on the set channel, even though the only messages you hear are the ones on the set privacy channel. My parents bought these radios and couldn't figure this concept out, so they ended up draining their batteries after two days of vacation and they returned the radios to the store when they got home.

POOR HOLSTER DESIGN
Each radio comes with a holster, which was designed for easy access. For me, this has definitely been a negative rather than a positive feature. While carrying my baby on the moving walkway at the airport, the radio slipped out of the holster and batteries went sprawling.
I had to retrieve them quickly before reaching the end of the walkway. That was no fun.

GREAT IDEA, BAD DESIGN
Although the family radio is a great idea and it is good the FCC opened up the 14 license-free channels, there have got to be better-designed radios out there.

UPDATE: The design flaws in this radio have rendered them virtually useless to us. We have owned them for six months and we have stopped using them because they are always in need of fresh batteries. The newest models don't have the on/off button problems but the old models are still being sold. Save yourself the hassle and buy a different radio.