Motorola TLKR T5 PMR Walkie-Talkie
Price: £5 with shipping
Sold As: For spares or not working
Manufacturer: Motorola
Model: TLKR T5
Power: 0.5W
Stated Max Range: 6Km
Antenna: Fixed internal loop
Run By: 4x AAA (in each set)
Notable Features: Unusual antenna, Channel busy alert, room monitor, timer, priority scan. dual watch, auto power off ALT – Accelerated Life Tested (tests include: vibration, moisture, drop-test, salt, fog, heat and cold)
True Condition: Handsets in excellent condition, box in good condition, belt clips never used, charger dock in good condition.
First Impressions
With a less than usual appearance these Motorola's stand out from the crowd. Where is the Antenna? Is it for hanging up in the shower? The antenna is the loop and its not waterproof for starters!
These are not a new design. The TlkT T5 and the lesser TLKR T3 have been on the market for a few years now. Their impact on the Walkie-Talkie world is unknown. This particular design no longer appears in the mainstream so was it a little too bizarre?
Appearing on ebay were these fine specimens advertised as being for spare parts or not working. Taking a punt I won the auction and paid 99p for the radios and £3.50 postage which seemed alright at the time. These were quite expensive radios when new so if I only got one working it would be worth more than the £4.50 I paid.
The package arrived in the original retail box. Inside was both handsets, 2x unused belt clips, a docking station, 2 X battery packs and instructions.
The radios are well made and robust. The usual Motorola quality. The keypad is well laid out and the PTT discreet.
Apart from the slightly tatty box everything is as new. The handsets are in excellent condition, not a scratch or a mark on anything. This radio kit has had a good life. Hardly any use and kept in good order.
Looking at the set you might wonder what's wrong with them? Why are they not working?
Testing
According to the previous owner one of the radios worked ok and one radio had a bad battery pack.
I tested both radios and found that both rechargeable packs were knackered so I chucked them out.
Rather than spending around £15 for two new packs I simply installed 4x AAA batteries in each set and turned them on.
This does mean that I can't recharge these handsets in the docking station now (the contacts are in a different place) so for the time being the dock is going into storage. I might change my mind about buying new batteries?
Both radios came on as expected and were already preset with ctcss codes. Once these were removed I ran some basic transmit and recieve tests in the house. Indoor performance was great. Clear and loud audio was heard from the speaker.
For close communications these are as good as rest. The room monitor feature could be useful but tying up one of the eight PMR channels whilst it's active seems a little selfish.
Running the scan feature the radios were able to pull in most of the local signals but not as many as the old goodmans GMPR's.
Using the dual watch function was straightforward enough. The radio will simultaneously watch two channels, breaking through when a signal is recieved. This features works well and has its uses.
Outdoor performance was average. No worse or no better than any of my other handsets. The recieved audio was crisp and clear. A distance of up to 2 miles can be achieved in most situations before the signal drops off.
These radios have not been tested at altitude yet but I'm not expecting anything special.
Headphone jack and 9v charger socket on this side
Neat little PTT on this side
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