Motorola T9500 Review

Motorola T9500 Review

FCC ID: K7GT9500


An FCC Issued GMRS license is required to use these radios.

Power Output:
1.03 Watts GMRS
.11 Wats Low/FRS

This radio has a nice attractive package that fits comfortably in the hand. Its design prevents
it from sitting upright, such as standing on a table. This radio has both CTCSS and DCS coded squelch
for interference protection.

Sound Quality. The radio had a nice smooth sounding audio. The compander feature assists
in removing background hiss. Volume levels are not high enough to compensate for extreme
background noise, as you may experience at places such as amusement parks. As these
radios have a compander circuit, hearing radios of other brands may sound a little odd, as they
don't have the same circuitry. For the most part, this isn't too objectionable.

Ease of operation: The menu was easy to navigate and access to functions was simply laid out.
Access to the advanced functions was easy, and rarely required consulting the manual.

Advanced Functions: This series has the QT interference protection. This allows similar radios to
communicate with one another, with added protection against other radios "opening the squelch".
This is used in conjunction with CTCSS/DCS. (NOTE: This is not an encryption or
scrambling system, and does not prevent others from hearing you)

These radios offer NOAA weather reception with a weather alert function.

Ranges:
Advertised Range: up to 26 miles
Tested Ranges:
Car to Car: .75 miles
Car to house: 1 Mile
Person to house: 1 mile
Person to person outdoors: 1.3 miles


Battery Life: The supplied pack indicates loss of power after 4 hours or so. It remains
useable for 8 hours (which is my test standard, typical for most folks) I suggest extra
batteries. I used AA rechargeables which definitely exceeded 8 hours full power.
The supplied chargers ONLY charge the supplied pack and will not charge other
batteries. This is a drawback. Also, the charger is not a "smart" charger. You run the risk of overcharging.

Additional Comments: I found the belt clips to be capable of easy damage. I didn't
break them; but they don't seem very durable. Other than that, I can't complain. I
found these radios of a very good quality, and will enjoy using them.