FRS 2-way radios

does any body use these much here?
I have a set of cheapo Motorola FR-50's I wish i would have bought the 60's for the 38 subcodes.

Does any body know anything about the "new bands" that are out! supposed to have longer range and manufactures are combining this new frequency range (i forget what it is called) into radios that have FRS also.
any experience with those? do i need to get a pair of those too?

thanks in advance

GMRS Web answers all.
http://www.gmrsweb.com/gmrs.html

I also have the FR-50's. I looked long and hard at different radios and found all FRS have the same range and wattage (set by the FCC). So it is more a matter of the kind of spears and mic used as to how clear the voices will sound. The next step up requires a license, but about triples your range. Most places that sell the radios will take care of returning the license and deal with the paperwork, but it is suppose to be a yearly fee (but who would know if your really using the radios or not?) I would like them just for safety & emergency reasons. Let us know if you get a different radio and how you like it.

I just bought several Motorola T6220's. They are good and reasonably priced. About $40-45 after rebates.

If you have a Costco near you, they have the Motorola 6210 for $29.95; it's pretty much fully featured, with the 38 subcodes, call tones, vibralert, and a compact size.
One problem with it is the battery door latch isn't all that secure, but that can be easily fixed.
Seems like they only have one color, Loud Yellow, but it's a nice unit.

I'm still using my Motorola TA-280, and it's working fine after years of use.

Just got a Jabra 2WayBud from CompUSA for it today, in fact, for $14.95; it's very useful when you don't want to be one of the annoying people that broadcast to everyone around you when using the radios, because it mutes the radio speaker, and it has an inline mic so you don't have to hold the radio up to your mouth when speaking. Mic sensitivity is a bit lower than the onboard one, but it seems clear enough.

These things are great for ski trips, shopping in the large malls and dept. stores, car-car.
The reason why these FRS radios took off where the CB walkie talkies didn't is probably due to the range and extended battery life compared with a CB handheld; these last much longer on a set of three AA's than the 8 AA's used in the typical CB-

There are differences between clarity between radios, as was mentioned; but I find the Motorola's in general seem clearer in transmit audio than some others like Panasonic.