Motorola T400 Review

A lot of people believe cellphones are the only devices to use when it comes to two-way communication. This is mostly because most people are used to cellphone as the only means of communicating two-ways. Walk talkies were developed long before cellphones and were initially known as “packset” until the name walkie talkie became popular. You may also be wondering why anyone should consider acquiring a talkie when you can easily make use of your cellphone.

There are gaps cellphones cannot bridge, and this is where communication devices like the Motorola T400 come in. For instance, there are situations where you need to stay connected to your group members or even family members despite the harsh weather conditions and poor cell reception. You might find yourself in situations where you might need a device with longer battery life. This is where a Motorola triumphs over a cellphone.

Cell service landlines and towers may fail during a disaster or an emergency. This is another place where two-way radios have an advantage over cellphones. Two-way radios will continue to work even in such situations instead of dialing individual phone numbers via phone. All members and workers can be contacted at once.

The earliest versions of modern communication radios were used by sailors sailing across the Atlantic Ocean. The radios served the sailors to help them bridge long distances and provide them with effective and clear communication with those that are further away.

Walkie talkies can also be used for outdoor activities like camping with friends or families or at a construction site where you need to stay connected with workers to coordinate the work being done or when you’re out hiking with your friends. In these situations, you can trust will triumph over cellphones any day. Below are some of the reasons why communication radios are more effective than cellphones

Today, there are hundreds of brands and models on the market. After looking at the history and uses of two way radios, let’s discuss one that may best serve your needs. With so many on the market today, it is easy to get confused when you have to choose one that will offer the best services for you. One that provides the best value for your money has a high endurance level without the need to replace it often, and one that’s portable enough without being too bulky. If you are looking for all these qualities in one device, you should look at the Motorola T400. 

Considerations Choosing the Motorola T400 Walkie Talkie

Unlimited communication

People can communicate for unlimited time with radios as there as no limit of time to talk and no call charges as well.

Get in Touch Effortlessly:

Walkie talkies render instant communication. With communication radios, you don’t have to dial a number and wait for the person to pick up the phone. Most can be clipped onto belts and allow your group members to answer immediately without even needing to reach out to it. 

Adaptable

These devices are usually come with a speaker, which makes it easy to speak to many people. It also helps you communicate with members of your group in a noisy environment, under a raging storm, a relentless rain, or under strong winds, and the great thing about this is that it can be used completely hands-free.

Handheld walkies are simple and easy to use. All you need to do is press a single button to communicate. It’s so easy to use that children can make use of communication radios effectively. 

Appearance 

The Motorola T-400 comes in a bright yellow color that ensures it’s easily seen and located even if it is dark. The device weighs 0.418 lbs without battery and 0.43 lbs when the battery is inserted.

Durability

The Motorola T-400 has a very durable body. The exterior of the device is tough, and the device is compact and handy in size. The device is also light and waterproof, capable of withstanding the harshest of weather conditions such as dampening rain, frigid snow, and other weather conditions that you might find yourself in. This feature means that you can relax, knowing you will be able to communicate with the group members no matter how harsh the weather gets. The device performance will not be hindered or affected by dust.

Motorola T400 Review

Frequency 

The Motorola T-400 has twenty-two channels from which you can choose from. It comes with a General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) and Family Radio Service (FRS) frequencies. The radio also comes with 121 privacy codes; this makes a sum of 2,662 combination options, rendering it very easy to locate an open channel network. The radio has the option of running a channel scan if a time ever comes when it becomes a bit difficult to find a frequency.

If other members of your group are using a different model of a walky talkie from yours, there’s no reason to worry. The Motorola T-400 allows you to connect and communicate with other GMRS or FRS as long as they are on the same channel and privacy code.

The radio also comes with access to private channels and hands-free operations. To be clear, the function of the privacy codes is not to keep your communication private. Instead, the side’s function is to prevent any other messages that are not from your group from interfering with yours. The radio can also access NOAA weather channels. The Motorola T-400 has one channel dedicated to informing you about national weather. Hence, if there’s a local emergency, your radio will signal you.

This device makes sure it’s possible to stay connected with members if the rest of your group for up to 35 miles in the mountainous region and about six miles if you are in open meters. However, the signal can be hindered by buildings in urban areas, reducing the coverage to about two miles. The Motorola t400 is not exactly the best in the market when it comes to frequency, but there are not many devices better than it in the market. The device has a push-to-talk boost functionality that helps the user increase coverages when you need to, depending on how far you need to cover. When you are not using the boost, you can always deactivate it to preserve your battery life.

Radio Operation and Battery Life

There are three ways you can operate your radio. The first option is to utilize the NiMH batteries (rechargeable), which comes with a battery life of eight and a half hours. The second mode of operation is to plug in the USB cable to an electrical outlet or connect it to yourself and the r computer or hook it up to your automobile adaptor. The device also comes with three charging options. With three charging options, you have three reasons to always have your device charged. You can charge quickly charge on your way to work in your car or plug it to your computer while at work. You can also decide to use the 3 AA batteries that are capable of going up for a day. The battery life is a reason you can perhaps consider getting a two way radio.

Hands-free Communication

The device comes with the iVOX/VoX, which allows you to keep hands free while climbing any rocky terrain or while hiking. In other words, it functions as a speakerphone and facilitates hands-free communication.

Keep it Private With Quiet Talk

Another fascinating feature if the Quiet Talk facility or QT is that it permits nonstop communication with other Motorola radios that also have this feature. The Motorola Talkabout T-400 can filter any annoying transmission for any radio that is not Motorola, especially in high busy and high traffic zones. The T-400 also has the FRS/GMRS feature, which shares matching channels and privacy codes irrespective of its brand.

Backlight

The Talkabout T-400 comes with a backlight on the screen in addition to displaying valuable information. The battery meter will inform you when your radio battery is running low. The battery meter will help you monitor the device’s battery life, so you know when you need to charge it. It possesses a built-in LED flashlight, ensuring that you won’t have to worry during power failures or unforeseen emergencies. The backlight is an excellent choice to have when you find yourself in situations of low lighting. This ensures that you can keep working or go about whatever you are doing without a problem.

The unit has the SCAN feature, which helps to identify which channels are in use. It also possesses the feature which allows you to install a distinct tone when you finish your conversation. What this means is that it will be replying “over” or “Roger” after you complete your conversation. There are ten tones to choose from on the radio when you’re performing this setting.

Keypad Lock

The radio comes with a keypad lock feature. This feature can come in very handy when using your walkie-talkie, especially because there are times when you can unknowing or mistakenly press a key or different keys on your walkie-talkie, changing some personalized settings or configurations you’ve made. The keypad lock feature prevents you from having your settings being changed accidentally. Furthermore, this function helps to prevent the user from pressing keys accidentally while on the go.

Price

The Motorola Talkabout T-400 is of the best walkie-talkie you can find in the current market. The device is just under 70 dollars, which is an excellent value for all the Motorola T-400 features. The Motorola Talkabout T-400 comes with 2 T400 two way radios, two NiMH rechargeable batteries, two micro-USB AC wall chargers, an owner’s manual, and the device also comes with a one-year manufacturers warranty.

Pros

• The Motorola Talkabout T-409 has a very durable exterior that’s compact and handy in size.
• The device comes with rubberized grips that make it easy to hold. The rubberized grips also help ensure that the radio remains in your hand without falling in harsh weather conditions like a rainy day or snowy day.
• The T-400’s has controls and buttons that provide a solid feel to it.
• The device does not come off as cheap, and the bright yellow color of the T-400, which is the family model’s color, makes it easy to locate.
• The audio of the device comes out fairly loud, providing clear communication between the uses.
• The device will also work with any radio device that is programmed with FRS frequencies.
• The build quality of the T-400 is better than it’s predecessors and much more durable too.

Cons

• There are a few aspects of the Motorola Talkabout T-400 that does not exactly measure up to standard. For instance, even though the device specifies a coverage of 35 miles, the actual range depends on the terrain and conditions of where you are. This means that if there’s a possible storm, the device will not be able to cover that range.
• You should also note that the range is over open plains and calm waters; therefore, if you decide to go mountain climbing with the T-400, you can expect a range of only two miles or even less.
• A lot of customers also have issues with the audio of the device. The radio feels solid, but the device’s downside is that it has a weak mic and speaker. On some occasions, even at max volume, you are still not able to hear someone speaking into the microphone very clearly.

• Many users were not exactly pleased with the battery life of the T-400, with the battery lasting only one day. It was expected that the battery would exceed this.
• Many users also felt that the charging base of the device would have made a big difference.
• One of the disadvantages that come with the T-400 is that the 22 frequencies can be easily listened to. This means you will be hearing neighborhood kids, truck drivers and others using the same channel.

• While the Motorola T-400 is excellent for hiking and other outdoor activities, you would need a different two-way radio if you are looking to find a radio for your security team.

FAQs 

What is a Walkie-talkie?

Walkie-talkies are hand-held two-way radio transceivers, more formally known as a handheld transceiver. Walkie-talkies were the most effective way to share information over short to medium ranges even before cellphones became popular. Walkie-talkies communicate wireless on a single, shared frequency band using radio waves.

How does a Walkie-talkie Work?

A group of people using walkie-talkies to communicate with each other has to tune to the same frequency band known as a channel. Their radio is always “receiving,” so their loudspeaker/microphones are most likely hissing with static, a little similar to a conventional radio that is not tuned to any particular station. When a person wants to talk to the others, the person will hold the push-to-talk button on the handset. The person’s radio will go

quiet as their loudspeaker switches over to a microphone. As they talk into it, their words are converted into radio waves and beamed out on the prearranged channel. The radio faces ar part of the electromagnetic spectrum, so they travel at the speed of light (300, 000km/per second); this ensures the waves are picked almost immediately by other handsets. The radio waves are converted into fluctuating electric currents, which the loudspeaker uses to reproduce the sound of the talker’s voice.

Conclusion 

The T400 is highly rated as one of the most usable hiking walkie talkies in the Talkabout series. The device is widely considered one of the best walkie-talkies around, even among kids and non-technical people. The T-400 is a bit bigger than other walkie-talkies’ in the Talkabout series; therefore, the T-400 might not be the ideal hand-held device. Nevertheless, the hands-free option allows the user to continue communicating with the members of your group while engaging in any activity that requires the use of both hands, like mountain climbing, for instance. The T-400 comes with in-built LED lights that can offer great help in an emergency situation. Generally, the T-400 is a great device that’s relatively easy to use, and it’s bright yellow color makes sure it’s easy to locate.

It is equally straightforward to use, which means your 10-year-old son or daughter in your group will easily use it without much or any complications. When you go mountain climbing, or perhaps hiking, the hands-off feature makes sure you’re connected without holding the radio. This feature helps to concentrate on your safety while at the top of the mountain. 

In conclusion, the Motorola Talkabout T400 is just as good as any other walkie-talkies similar to the product within the same price range. The device is best suited for an outdoor family experience like camping or hiking.