The popular FRS category continues to evolve into new form factors, with this year yielding the rise of a new market niche: the portable base station.
Some portable base stations are basically battery-powered FRS units that can also plug into a wall jack to double as an intercom or "always on" FRS. Others are more powerful intercoms, offering more features, and are larger than FRS but still portable. Still other base stations are intended for stationary use only.
Leading the pack in this market niche is Unwired, with several new models, joined by Audiovox. RadioShack and Topaz3 are also offering stationary base stations.
Unwired, which introduced the first stationary base station product last year, said its UFR-BS10 continues to gain in day-to-day sales, indicating an expanding niche, according to president Larry Richenstein.
Product Description
Unwired Sort UFR-BS10 2-Way FRS Base Station makes conversation undemanding. Refer to visitors or relatives, as much as 2 miles away, on targeted frequencies, with out a smartphone quotes or licensing expenditures. Acts well with any logo FRS radio unit for 2-way communicate or as a room video display. It operates on AC or DC persistent, so that you might go away it on perpetually.
Amazon.com Product Description
The Unwired Science UFRBS10 base station FRS 14-channel radio acts well with any logo of FRS radio unit for two-way communicate or as a room video display. Its 14 channels and 38 subcodes constitute 532 imaginable choices that offer clean conversation and compatibility with all brands of two-way FRS radios running on the comparable frequency. The UFRBS10 has a long-range/short-range option selection. The long-range placing facilitates the UFRBS10 base station to speak with any logo of FRS radio inside of a two-mile quantity. The short-range/intercom placing restricts the conversation quantity if wanted. During this mode, the UFRBS10 will likely be located in a primary place, consisting of the kitchen, and dialogue with other FRS radios or stationary base stations inside of quick distances. The place cognition retailers the 5 most often utilised settings. The UFRBS10 additionally elements VOX for hands-free take advantage of, name alert to ring other FRS radios, and a communicate affirmation tone that notifies the other birthday party that it truly is clean for them to reply. The UFRBS10 base station comes with an AC adapter that facilitates the unit to run perpetually. The bottom is wholly transportable, and uses 4 AA batteries.