When you know you want a Coleman FRS Radio you need 2-Way Talk.Com!

GMRS WEB Magazine

May 22, 2000

Coleman FRS Radios are
ready for a rugged family Summer.

As an avid camper there was one thing I learned very early. Coleman means quality. I still own the 9 x 12 Coleman tent my family used on vacations in the late 1960's. The old Coleman camp stove and gas lantern from that time have been trusty companions on trips spanning a quarter century. You can still buy parts for the lantern. When I saw the Coleman FRS radios advertised at 2 Way Talk I had to see them for myself. 2 Way talk and Wireless Marketing arranged to send Coleman radios to GMRS Web technical Editor, Paul Shinn for evaluation. I wasn't disappointed. Coleman made a wise choice selecting these models by Wireless Marketing. These radios have Coleman quality. Read Paul's review and see how these radios stack up against the competition. [Doug Smith, Editor GMRS Web Magazine]

The Coleman CR401 Review

You've seen Family Radio Service radios being used everywhere. The mall, at schools, in the stores, on the beachs, the ski slopes, on the road, anywhere you would expect to find people, you see FRS radios. As a rule, average people are not very nice to, or patient with radios... The people at Coleman figured this out and took the leap to produce radios that lend themselves to these diverse activities well.

Obviously, radios + children = a need for unrealistic durability. Radios + grandparents = radios that need to be easy to operate, and radios + families = radios that have all the features and are inexpensive. Add all of this up and you get the Coleman CR-401.

First impression of the CR-401 was that this is another beefy radio from the real-world R & D group at Coleman. A few pleasant surprises were the small size and the list of features in this affordable gem. You get all the usual channels, privacy codes, and scanning. But also included are a self contained battery pack, power saver mode, busy lock, and selectable beep tone.

First of all, the self contained battery is really neat. Similar to the battery packs available on high end professional business band radio gear, the entire battery pack removes in one self contained unit. To replace the 3 'AAA' alkaline batteries, you remove the pack from the radio, then slide it apart to expose the cells. Installing rechargeable batteries is also possible, as the CR-401 is designed to use both. With this arrangement, it is nearly impossible to get the batteries to 'fall out' by dropping or mishandling the radio. I hate when you drop a radio and the batteries scatter! Coleman was really on top of this.

The power saver mode is not explained in the manual, but I spoke with a representative at Coleman and got the inside scoop. With the power saver in the 'auto' mode, when the radio has been left idle for an hour and several minutes, the radio goes into a 'sleep' mode. It turns itself off until a button is pressed, at which time it springs back to life. You can disable the power save mode easily if that isn't something you want.

Something you might want for sure (especially for the over-anxious kids) is the 'busy lock' function. What this does is disable the radio's transmit capability when it is receiving a signal. If you've ever listened to FRS traffic before, you have heard mom slowly explaining something to Jr. while Jr. keeps keying his transmitter over his mom's transmission to say 'Yep' and 'Nope', therefore missing lots of mom's words. Then, the inevitable repeating of the transmission, etc. Now, you can prevent Jr (with his sugar high) from keying his radio until you are done! Sweet.

Especially worthy of note is the CR-401's tough look and feel. The case is some sort of rubberized plastic. I don't know what it is, but it sure is strong! You can't scratch it, break it, or disfigure it easily. This radio is built to last a long time. You can get a CR-401 in yellow or Coleman's dark green color. The dark green just seems more 'fun'. GI. Joe would be proud to have a CR-401 strapped to his belt.

Channel selection, volume control, and privacy tone selection are done with the up and down arrow buttons. It is a little less convenient that a volume knob, but you can get used to it. The back-lit LCD display tells you with numbers what channel you are on and what privacy tone (if any) you have selected. Above that information, there is a little speaker icon with several sound wave 'lines' next to it. As you raise the volume, you see more corresponding sound wave 'lines', while decreasing the volume takes them away. When you power up the CR-401, you are greeted with a pleasant, cheery tone sequence. Pushing buttons gives you a high pitch beep to confirm your keystrokes. The scanning speed is very fast for an FRS radio, probably the fastest one yet.

The push to talk button is easy to find, but a little small. If you are using the CR-401 while wearing gloves, you may have to remove them. Also, the case of the CR-401 appears to be designed for use in the left hand only. It is awkward to hold the CR-401 in your right hand. During the 'Tina' phase of testing, that was the first thing Tina noticed. The next thing she noticed was how LOUD this radio gets!! The volume was all the way up when Tina turned it on, and someone was talking. She almost dropped it (although it would not have hurt the radio if she did), it was so unexpectedly loud. You will not have to hold this right on your ear at the theme park to hear the other side of your conversation!

The microphone is about normal sensitivity, while the receiver is about 'high end' average as well. I found the sensitivity to be on par with other high end FRS radios, and the selectivity to be slightly better. The receiver passband is still wide enough that communication with GMRS radios will be no problem. There is no annoying 'companding' going on inside the CR-401, and the receiver is not very prone to Intermodulation interference.

If you are so inclined, you may add a speaker/microphone by simply plugging into the jacks right on top of the radio. Next to those plugs is an LED which illuminates green while receiving a signal and red while transmitting.

Even though the CR-401 is very small and lightweight, Coleman still saw fit to add another unusual feature for FRS: a metal sprung belt clip. This is no ordinary plastic afterthought! The CR-401 has a removable belt clip that is plastic on the outside, but uses a metal frame, giving it unbelievable holding strength, and assuring that it will not be broken the first time you bump something while wearing it on your hip. Coleman thinks of everything...

The attention to detail sure sets the CR-401 apart from some other FRS radios designed for outdoor activities. Coleman says the CR-401 is splash proof. I could only test the radio in rain but found it to be no problem. I'll bet you could use the Coleman CR-401 just about anywhere, maybe even some places other FRS radios don't survive. Get some, if you want radios that do everything and don't break.

Click here to see how the Coleman CR-401 stacks up against the others on the GMRS WEB FRS Radio Comparison Chart

Thank you!

GMRS Web magazine would like to thank Coleman and Wireless Marketing for allowing us to review these Family Radio Service radios. A special thanks to our advertiser 2-Way-Talk for their assistance in arranging this review.

Warning

It is illegal to use your FRS radio in other countries. (Canada is the ONLY exception!) You could be fined and/or arrested if caught using your radio anyplace other than the United States. (More accurately, use your radio only where the FCC has jurisdiction over radio regulatory matters. Canada may approve the use of FCC type accepted FRS radios soon.) It is also illegal to use these devices on aircraft! Before using any radio transmitting device on board a ship you must have the permission of the Captain. When in doubt about whether you can use your radio where you are traveling please research the rules before you leave!

FCC

PRSG

Last updated May 22, 2000