wrote:
I've been trying to do research online to find the best pair of GMRS
radios for vacation/travel use. I'm building the $80 FCC license fee
into my figures, and have about $160-170 to spend, so the pair of
radios should cost no more than $80-90.

Not that I would ever advocate ignorning the law, but I understand that
the majority of GMRS users don't bother to get the required FCC license.

You should consider MURS radios as well. Some advantages of MURS are 1)
no license required, 2) you can use external antennas for greater range,
3) no repeaters permitted in MURS spectrum so less chance of
interference from that source, 4) less popular, so less interference
from other users.

Go for a five channel, 2-watt, 38 CTCSS tone radio. I prefer radios
that can take rechargeable AA NiMh cells...you get good battery life and
the cost of replacement batteries is very reasonable.

http://wireless.fcc.gov/services/personal/murs/

There are a limited number of suppliers of MURS radios, so I can't help
you with product selection. Here's one that seems to be popular.

http://www.dakotaalert.com/catalog/p...products_id=56