Rocky Talkie 5 Watt Radio Review
It should go without saying that backup communications are a critical part of emergency disaster preparedness. Cell phone towers are very susceptible to damage from wind, debris, flooding, extended power outages which means your current primary means of communication could go down quite easily at at time when you need them most.
Two way radios are an easy way to have an alternative and powerful communication tool - not only during an emergency, but also in your day to day life. We use ours all the time when mountain biking or even when letting the kids wander around the neighborhood - they have a way to stay in touch without relying upon a cell phone.
I get asked all the time what to get, and the answer most people have already put into their heads is to buy something as inexpensive as possible. And while I understand trying to save money - we all spend hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars on our phones and then monthly service fees to boot. Cheap radios equal cheap performance and build quality.
That's why I got a hold of some of the 5 Watt Radio made by Rocky Talkie. At $180 each, they aren't the cheapest available, but they are built tough and will do the work when you need them to, and perform at a professional level and there are very few radios available at this price point that can offer that level of performance.
Isn't your life worth at least that?
There's other reasons too that we'll get into: IP67 (Waterproof), a Li-ion 7.4V 1800 mAh battery which can last from 4-6 days, and my favorite, Repeater access capability.
Let's look into the Rocky Talkie 5 Watt Radio and why I think you need to upgrade the radio's you might have with a couple of these.
Rocky Talkie 5 Watt Radio vs. Other Radios
I don't want to start an argument here, because there are some OK radios out there that you can buy for $20-30 that can do a lot. We have more than a few of them ourselves and discuss them at great length on BOBB, and think you should have them around - but they should be your backup radios, not your primary ones. Why do I say that?
Well look, you get what you pay for. Don't drop them. Don't get them wet. You'll brick them if you try to program it the wrong way. Don't be surprised if it just stops working one day. Electronics are electronics. They aren't perfect, they are quite complicated technology and failure is commonplace on low priced products.
That's why I think its imperative to have well-built equipment as your primary backup communications platform. (Yes, I just said primary backup, deal with it.)
I have radios I've spent over $1000 on. Why? I can communicate around the world with them. They are high-end Japanese made electronics. But I've also invested time in getting not one but 2 licenses from the FCC in order to do so.
Most people have no interest in that, or feel like thats something they could pull off. But just in case if you want to, here's how to get your ham radio license.
This is why we really like the radios that Rocky Talkie has been making. We got our hands on their Mountain Radio last year and have used them a ton. They have held up like champs and have graduated to living in my get home bag in the back of our car - a spot reserved only for the best products which we use on a regular basis.
(Yes, I have much more expensive ham radio HT's but only for my use, the kids don't touch those.)
The $180 5 Watt Radio is an upgrade to the $110 Mountain Radio in a number of ways - and I'll list them here because you can do this same sort of exercise with nearly any radio out there and you'll see why the 5 Watt Radio is so awesome:
- It's more powerful: 5 watts vs 2 watts means my signal gets out there better. Longer ranges thanks to using GMRS as opposed to FRS which allows more output power.
- The 5 Watt Radio is repeater capable, which means it can use a repeater to get even longer distances. In my area theres a repeater which covers an area of over 20 miles which turns my little handheld into a very powerful tool.
- It uses GMRS as opposed to FRS: even though the frequencies are the same, GMRS allows you more power, repeaters, and detachable antennas which means I can attach the 5 Watt Radio to my home antenna which is at 25 feet giving me much greater range.
- Waterproof vs water resistant: the 5 W is fully submersible, while the Mountain Radio can get splashed only.
- NOAA Weather Alert Capable: US wide 24x7 weather updates for each region of the country.
- Dual Channel Watch: you can have a primary and secondary channel running at the same time. Listen to a group calling channel while simultaneously be in a one-to-one channel.
- 2 Year Warranty: Rockie Talkie stands by their products so will cover you with a longer warranty than is industry standard.
And if it wasn't already clear enough, compared to the $20-30 radios out there the 5 Watt Radio is built to last. Much tougher and built to last harsh environments. That's what we want our gear to do.
Rocky Talkie 5 Watt Radio Hands-On
I have a pair of the RT 5 WR and have gotten to test-drive them for a while to see how they function in the real-world. Here are some of my impressions:
Solid Build Quality
The first thing I noticed was how well they are built. They are solid. Tight manufacturing tolerances lead to an all around superior product and you can feel it when you have one of these in your hands.
The buttons work great, the interface is easy to see and to use, and all around you can tell this is a very well built radio, no cut corners.
The speaker is very loud and clear - you can hear the radios from a mile a way (well...almost) when at full volume. I keep mine around 2/3 out of 10 for indoor environments.
The belt clip has a very strong spring and will hold on for dear life to nearly everything. Their is a backup clip and coiled leash that comes with each radio as a secondary attachment point which is a great feature.
Radio Functionality and Battery Life
The radio works as advertised. In suburbia you will get .5 to 1.5 miles. In the woods probably 2'ish or so. It's really subjective. The rule of thumb is to try to get line of sight, or get an antenna up in a tree and run a feed-line down to the radio - which is one of the best features of these radios but we'll talk about that in a second.
The batteries so far in my completely unscientific testing have held up as advertised. I'll use them for a few more months then come back with an update once I've broken them in some.
There is an automatic shut off feature that kicks in after 36 hours which is enabled by default. You can disable that feature if you want to, the process is listed in the manual.
How to Use Another Antenna with the 5 Watt Radio
The best thing about these radios is that you can remove the antenna and attach it to a much better antenna, up on a pole or house, outside a vehicle, up in a tree. This will give you massively expanded coverage depending on how high you can get it up there and your terrain.
Its easy: get an SMA male to BNC female pigtail cable, and grab some BNC feed line and attach it to your GMRS antenna of choice.
Feed Line
RG8X cables are good for small runs under 50 feet. If you want a longer run than that then you'll want something like LMR-400 but that gets expensive. (You'll lose signal power in the cable so the longer the run the better the cable you want.)
We prefer BNC connectors for field use as opposed to the PL259 type connectors you'll see on the backs of ham radios because they are faster to connect on and off. PL259 is fine, its just threaded so it takes more time to set them up. There's lots of adapters out there for all kinds of connectors so don't ever replace a cable just because it has the wrong end, just get an adapter.
Antennas
Get an GMRS antenna with a magnetic mount (this model comes with a pig-tail for the radio with SMA adapters and a PL259 feed line, which is perfect) to put on your vehicle, and run the feed line out through a window or a grommet somewhere. Your vehicle acts like a faraday cage, blocking the signal to and from the radio, so if you want to use it while on the go further than .25 of a mile you'll want an external antenna.
The 5 Watt Radio comes with 2 antennas, one small one and one big one. The bigger one gets you better range (in theory) but if you want to go totally over the top get a 42.5" tactical style GMRS antenna from Abbree (make sure to get the SMA MALE version) and larp your way to tacticool happiness.
Vfcomms.com Makes a cool foldable cloth GMRS antenna. Very light and easy to pack up (it folds down to only a couple of inches) but not cheap, and you'll need to hang it from something like a tree.
Some Things to Consider
A couple of things that don't break the deal for me on these radios at all, but are things you might want to know:
- You con't turn off the power on, power off beeping. I don't like beeping things. You can turn off the beeping for the button controls and the confirmation beep (after xmit) do turn those off immediately upon receiving your radio. Thank you.
- There's no way to turn off or dim the screen manually, which given it's made of LED lights (not an LCD) that makes sense but if you hit transmit or get a signal at night the display is quite bright, especially if you are trying to keep a low light posture. The screen does turn off by itself after a moment or two. A piece of black tape and locking your frequency is one way to fix the problem or by turning the radio inward.
- If you are scanning the display stays on. I wish there was at least a way to dim the display somewhat.
- There doesn't appear to be selectable squelch.
- The USB C charging port uses a flip open cover. I feel that eventually this might be a point of failure. I've seen waterproof speakers now that have waterproof USB C ports that forego the cover all together, I think thats the better way to go when possible.
- The scan function works a little on the slow side compared to my high end ham radios, but is average for a consumer grade product. Takes ~7 seconds to scan all the channels (with Repeater channels active.)
- With an integrated battery you don't have the ability to use AA battery in place like some radios have, and taking the integrated battery out requires a screwdriver. It's easy enough to get replacement batteries from Rocky Talkie, just not so easy to do the actual replacement. But USB C charging is the best charging protocol and I have a zillion ways to charge things with USB C so this isn't a huge issue and it's why I have different types of radios that can do different things.
Again all minor quips that don't take away from the radio's at all, these are just my preferences.
A Word About GMRS
GMRS radios are easy to get a hold of, and they work with your FRS radios as well (think Star Wars walkie talkies) but do require a license to operate. It's easy to get one, theres no test to take, it costs $35 and covers you and your entire family for 10 years. If you want to access local repeaters in your area you'll want to get a GMRS license which gives you a callsign which you'll likely need to provide to get access to the repeater.
Here's how to get your GMRS license.
GMRS Repeater Capability
There are very few repeater capable GMRS radios out there these days that aren't just off-the-shelf Chinese product. If you are looking for something that will really stand up to abuse, the Rockie Talkie 5 W Radios are really the way to go.
You have to unlock the repeater channels in order to see them, they are turned off by default from the factory, but it's easy to do, the video below explains the process.
Stop by mygmrs.com and look in your area to see what coverage might be available by any local repeaters and once you get your license you can request access to them once you have created an account on mygmrs.
5 Watt Radio Video Tutorial
If you decide to get one of these, or are just wanting to learn more about how these radios work, Rockie Talkie made a great video that's definitely worth your time.
Download the User Manual
Some of the functions of the radio aren't immediately intuitive, like powering up while holding down buttons to activate the repeater channels, turning off the the transmission beeps (always turn off the transmission beeps - especially if you are using repeaters!!!) so make sure to grab the digital copy of the manual and save it on your phone and computer.
There is a paper copy included in the box, so keep that around with you too.
Then practice, practice, practice!
Where To Get One
BTW If you buy anything with the links we provide on this page we might get a small percentage of the sale from the manufacturers end. For more info click here.
Rocky Talkie 5 Watt Radio
GMRS radio with IP67 waterproofing, 5 days of battery life, and 5-watts of power for optimal range.
Each radio is hand-tested to IP67 waterproofing standards (1 meter submersion) and includes a water-shedding design for quick communication in white-water.
The 5 Watt Radio includes useful features for the backcountry, including access to 11 weather channels and NOAA weather alerts, as well as dual-channel monitoring and transmitting. The radio’s GMRS designation unlocks 8 repeater channels to relay & extend your transmission range, as well as a removable antenna.
Available 5 Watt Radio Accessories
Rockie Talkie has a bunch of accessories available that work with the 5 Watt Radio that you might find useful to have. They aren't necessary to use the radios, but can greatly expand the usability of them.
Perhaps the most useful upgrade is the Waterproof Hand Mic for the 5 Watt Radio. It allows you to keep the radio stashed on your belt or on a pack and have quick and easy access to transmit and has an extra loud speaker so you wont miss a call. It also has an A/B button on it for dual channel mode, very handy. It's waterproof too.
Another great accessory for the 5 Watt Radio is the Carabiner Loop Attachments which are available in 2 different styles: an ultralight and a locking carabiner. These offer a great alternative way to attach the radios to a backpack, or duffel, or even to use as a hook for hanging them on a boat or UTV.
They also make two styles of mounts for the 5 Watt Radio, one with a suction cup and one with a Ram Mount claw - great for bikes, etc.
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