The big problem is that if cell networks are down, they are dead in the water. Most of the bigger HAM and GMRS repeaters have battery backup and generators. And while yes, you can use them without a license in an emergency... if you don't have a license in many case you won't get the access tones or be able to thoroughly test to make sure your equipment is configure right with better than factory rubber ducky antenna, alternative charging sources, etc. This is just like Zello app on a phone but does have the advantage of switching carriers (like Google's Fi service). With 30+ years in Red Cross Disaster Damage Assessment Teams, I would HIGHLY recommend people look at radio alternatives if they are intending it's use after any form of natural disaster. And if EMP/CME is your concern, keep a spare in a Faraday device... bag, box or can as long as it's properly shielded.
@@yoseifmichael9058 Oh, absolutely. In facts radio traffic exploded last week during AT&Ts outage. Within 10-15 minutes of the start we knew nationally who/what/where was out. In many/most prepper groups an emphasis on radio comms is high priority. In my own case working on Red Cross Disaster Damage Assessment Team radios are essential. After hurricanes there rarely any cell towers left standing/functioning. And while yes, the big companies are great on bringing mobile units in... that's long after critical/life saving comms are needed. Get on the air and stay safe!
@@yoseifmichael9058 Not true, these "radios" are reliant on a cell network signal, although not dependent on a particular network, At&T, Verizon, etc. But at the end of the day, no cell network, no workie.
If you’re in a desolate area with no phone service at all from any carrier your radio doesn’t work either. They’ve done some very deceptive advertising here.
I’ve noticed that for myself. There very difficult to reach despite there remarks of getting back to you in a couple of hours and once for myself, it was days later they were back in touch by email. A day or two would be fine.
They ban you for simply pointing out their FAQ that shows you that these will run you $50/radio/year, then they delete your comments explaining that to other people who have asked. These are just rebranded TXQ G1 radios that run on the Global-PTT system. You can buy Global-PTT radios and get the SIMs from TXQ and have your own management screen w/o having to deal with Rapid Radio and their slimy marketing. Reading their marketing on their site nearly makes me vomit.
So Maybe the lovers of this product just want them for everyday normal times use,like businesses, ranches, family that are miles apart things like that. These also use All the cellular companies towers and LTE systems, not just onecarrier like a cell phone, look at the FCC coverage map for these systems, fir non grid down comms, you will need to work to find a place with no signal,there are some, but not many spots compared to those With coverage.
@@jeffrooke8439 exactly, allot of hate for them (due to the company advertising, and deleting of comments) but they were what i was looking for. I wanted a simple walkie for distance like the old Nextels. For $50 a year per radio its $8.33 a month.
Yes these are not ham radios. These are for people who want a walkie talkie that has no limit on distance. You can use these anywhere in the country or anywhere in the world. Great for 60-100 miles away and talking to your spouse or another driver etc... Ham radios do not work for that. I have one and it does not go more than 5 miles in my area, and I have all the repeaters set for the state.
What towers do these work on? I asked them and they said "all the major carriers" However when I recieved them, they don't work in my area. Unless you have Verizon for service, there is no service here. So begs the question what is the "Major carriers" they use?
@@spsjason2these don't work on Verizon???? I've traveled all over the country and that's the most consistent network in rural parts in my experience. It may not be *good* coverage but when my friends with ATT can't make a call/text and neither can I with Tmo, my work Verizon phone has always worked.
You are correct. If you desire emergency comms the best options are a HAM radio, GMRS as an alternative but far less range. HAM Tech license is easy test that most can pass with less than 20hrs study. GMRS requires no test, but to get on most repeaters you will need a callsign to get access to the repeater operator to get the access/key tones. I'm not hear to bash Rapid Radios... Their Emergency Radio would be a better option for emergency, and if their programming service keeps current with repeaters and tones for your area the $19.99 fee is very fair. Caveat: GMRS repeaters are being added with 10-12 per week in the U.S. so your radio may need update programming at least once a year, preferable twice or more if you monitor what is new in your area you can do it with a little study. BUT... initially, I WOULD buy their programming service.
@@TomRolfson hi Tom New to all this..ham systems can be expensive,, I want to just be able to contact my family all within 50 mile radius,,the uniden's and midlands can't /won't cover that unless perfect conditions..what system /brand would you suggest and how to outfit it..thks so much appreciate your time
@rnpopcorn5915 There are a couple excellent YT channels that you can find based upon subscriber count. Out of respect for Iffy I won't post them here. However, some basics to understand. The distance on radios whether 3W or 10W is really very little, distance achieved is based more on LOS (Line of Sight). One expression often used in radio is "Height is Might" and thus in an emergency always remember getting to a hilltop or even rooftop if you don't have a tower/rooftop mounted antenna you may have to physically go there. So first, at ANY distance more than a block or two, generally avoid "bubblepack" radios found in big box stores. In HT (Handy Talkies) the entry is GMRS which is a $35 license w/no test and good for 10yrs. Depending on where you live that in a direct person-to-person (Called Simplex) will get you from 1-5 miles (theoretically 50 miles if someone is on a mountain and can see the person below - line of sight). In GMRS you can use Repeaters. There are several sites that list repeaters by location myGMRS com is the largest of these. With a very high repeater you can potentially reach 50-75 miles in suburbs and 5-25 in large cities. (Sometimes you can get lucky and get a bounce off of buildings.) Then from there is HAM - the entry level "Technician" license requires a test... I've never found anyone who could not pass it with 12-20hrs study. That will get you into some other frequencies (GMRS uses "Channels" and is relatively limited where HAM opens you to MANY frequencies which can reach significantly further.) but is not really much more expensive. Many thousands of us started-out with a Baofeng, upgraded antenna and were able to use repeaters (GMRS or HAM depending on radio which cost well under $100 for radio, antenna, programming cable, potentially 12V power supply or magnetic roof mount antenna. Most of us start there and grow into better radios, taller antennas, etc. I hope this helps as a starting point or understanding of basics.
Basically, we need satellite phones that dont use cell towers but satellites, but you do have to have a monthly subscription. There are some comparible prices to this phones cost. When the shtf satellite is the way to go as long as you have solar or generator charging options
These rely on the exact same infrastructure as cell phones. If one works and not the other its bc they have different carriers, sims etc It could even be that the unit has multiple carriers, but you could find a phone that does that for far cheaper than $400
A company known as Global PTT sells annual sim cards in sets for about $100 which is around the same price range rapid radio does. 72 countries are operational with them sims. Not bad considering it uses very low bandwidth depending on the audio quality you choose.
how about going to a spot that no cell service at all to any of the main carriers. you are just testing AT&T. Verizon and other carriers have other towers near by on other frequencies. just because it is dead for AT&T does not mean it is dead for verizon or anyone else like tmobile.
I would not know where to look. Today there was a nationwide outage all of our cell phones were dead most of the day, those crazy radios kept signal all day.
Try them out in the Canadian Northwest, Yukon territories and the northern remote parts of British Columbia. There are no cell towers and that means no 4G, 5G, or LTE. Rapid radio will do nothing except consume batteries.
Here is the link, you will have to cut a hole in the top for the Antenna. Rapid Radios said they should have there own covers aval soon. I just has a couple of these already and they work good. www.ebay.com/itm/115621721700
@@IffySignals and it’s the 100% truth . These guys are a shady company and want to scam people by locking you in with their fancy advertisement , yet not disclosing the yearly fee. Notice how it says on their ads “No monthly fees or subscription fees ever”? Well the $50 is a fee they refuse to disclose and hope customers won’t read their fine print and just purchase , because of the radios capabilities . Such a bs practice and company too bad too because I liked the radios . But I won’t be tricked into a fee and then being blocked for asking about it
@@patharvey9214 many won’t read all the info when you see a add that says “no monthly fees” they’ll get click happy and make a blind purchase then find out afterward . They are deliberately media shy to scam people . Some guys buy 5-7 radios but they don’t look at the $50 a year fee . That quickly adds up . They are just a crooked company
If you mention the fact that their radios run on prepaid SIM cards that you bought with them, and that they will cost you $50/radio/year to keep running, they BLOCK you from their media pages.
@@tfeltmat2903 all I did was ask that question and they blocked me on facebook, so I called them and asked and they were very rude and hung up on me. I have filed a BBB complaint on them today. Next I will be filing a complaint with the federal trade commission.
people have just paid 50-to-35 $ to use like 2 clogged repeaters, on a band that requires no license, except for the part that gets the range stated on the blister pack at grocery store, not that there is anything wrong with that. 😊
Do they have an open or random channel, for just contacts, like Amateur Radio? Also, does each channel or group, after asking permission, allow anyone that asked to join? can you temp turn off or ignore a channel, and let them know you are logged off of it, and as a channel creator, moderate and block people that are rude or jam the channel?
@@ERICtheLATE You don't get to create channels, you don't EVER get to contact someone who doesn't have a Rapid Radio. Your cellphone is a FAR more capable radio, and can comm with any phone anywhere.
Distance between radios is irrelevant, you're talking from the TXQ G1 radio in hand to the tower, which then sends the data over the network to wherever the other TXQ G1 radio is connected. A better question is how far away is the cell tower THAT YOU ARE CONNECTED TO.
No.. need cell service! I have noticed they hold service better than my cell phone. I have lost single multiple times on my iPhone (ATT service) and this still has 4G, it will switch to LTE when 4G is not available.
All cell towers have Stingrays in many areas across the country and around the world. It wouldn't surprise me that they can capture and decipher 256bit code. It might take awhile but it's not impossible.
Rapid Radio makes regular UHF/VHF real "radios" and this is what you should get. They offer a programming service also which is really nice so that you can get your local channels added, state police etc. But understand the rules first before you hit the "transmit" button.
They're not entirely interchangeable. There were enhanced 3G formats that providers were calling 4G. Plus there were phones that while they did LTE data, were incapable of doing LTE phone calls. A work around such as Google Voice or Skype would have to be used.
Why are they a scam John? Unlimited range walkie talkies that use cell service. $50 each per year. Pretty good if you have a use for them. The $50 a year is for (i have no clue if thats a good deal or not, so let me know) using cell phone towers.. somebody has to pay for that.
@@IffySignals The deal is good, but they are thin skinned on their social media pages. They still brag about "No monthly fees" - which is correct to the letter, but violates the spirit of the advertisement. They need to be up front about the fact that with every radio you buy, you've also purchased a SIM card that's good for one year. If you want those radios to work after a year, you have to purchase another SIM card for $50 per radio.
Under their FAQ section: Is there a monthly fee, their answer is "Absolutely NOT! There are no monthly fees or contracts ever!" I found "EVER" to be highly unlikely and through these comments I learn that the fee (that they say doesn't exist) is $50 per month after the first year. While these radios may be a good option and even a good price for someone wanting comms with the range of a cell phone, the fact that they obfuscate it is concerning and disappointing. Also in FAQ: Will radio work in area with no cellular coverage? The answer should be no but they obfuscate there too. They say, "It will work better than a cell phone for sure!" While this may be partially true, the radio will not work without a functioning cell tower and coverage. Note that their 12 month money back guarantee expires at the same time your $50 bill for continued service will appear. I wish the advertisement would just be honest and indicate 1st year service free/included in purchase price.
@@HMSResolute $50.00 per year per radio , monthly ,50.00 divided by 12 is $4.17 so IF you were paying monthly it is darn cheap. And it is Not 50.00 per month per radio after the first year, still 50.00 per year.
