Obsolete? More like oh-so-l33t!

Abandon all myths, ye who enter here! You’ve stumbled onto Myth Ruiners, where we explode some popular misconceptions without infringing on the intellectual property and trademarks of Discover Communications, Inc. and its subsidiaries! POW!

Today we’re talking walkie-talkies, good buddy! Which brings us to …

MYTH: You use trucker slang on a walkie-talkie. You’re probably thinking of CBs. As the esteemed authorities at Yahoo Answers put it, “Use of jargon and radio talk will just make you sound like an idiot, on a walkie talkie.” Oh, yeah, also, over the years, “good buddy” has acquired a very specific meaning very different from what it meant in the '70s. MYTH: RUINED!!

MYTH: Mobile phones have made walkie-talkies obsolete. They’re completely different devices with completely different purposes. A simple, cheap, durable radio device makes a lot more sense to keep in touch with your friends on a camping trip, or to call the kids in from the backyard, or to communicate across a large construction site, or to call back up to the vacation house from the beach. Group conversations are a lot easier. And you don’t have to worry as much about the expense if they get wet or lost or stolen. Not even the smartest phone can outsmart a tumble into a crevasse. But if you lose a five-dollar walkie-talkie, eh, big deal. MYTH: RUINED!!

MYTH: A 5-mile range walkie-talkie is just as good as a 16-mile-range one, if the walkie-talkies are never going to be more than 5 miles apart. The range rating on walkie-talkies is highly, highly theoretical. Maybe on the Bonneville Salt Flats, on an especially clear day, with no obstructions or interference, you might get half the listed range. Cut that in half again for the more common range, and in half again for the minimum you can expect. So a “5 mile” walkie-talkie is really more like a “2/3rds of a mile or less” walkie-talkie. Pay a little more for higher-range ones like these. It’s the difference between walkie-talkies that work and walkie-talkies that are practically useless. MYTH: RUINED!!

MYTH: They’re “two-way radios”, so you only need one pair. That’s a misnomer: these support group conversation. Do you need that? Well, what if you and your spouse have at least one kid? What if someday you manage to convince more than one friend to go rock-climbing with you? Extensive studies of horror movies have shown that losing contact with the group is the leading indicator of imminent axe death. Do you want to be the odd one out of the walkie-talkie group when the homicidal maniac comes prowling? MYTH: RUINED!!

Take a moment to collect the shattered remnants of everything you once knew as reality. Then go buy a bunch of Cobra MicroTalk 16-Mile Pre-Charged Two-Way Radios. We’ll see you next time on Myth Ruiners… OR WILL WE?