I love the fact I can use my rugged handhelds right out of the box and their battery life is outstanding! I installed the hardwired GMRS in my jeep along with the intercom system. Using teh acctive filter made it easy, everything was already wired with highquality connections. Just had to connect one set of wires to the battery. I went with the Alpha Balss carbon fiber headsets and they are the best. light weight, breathable, excellant sound and the push to talk is soooo great to use while on the trail. no more fumbling with a wired microphone. Wish I'd upgraded 10 yrs ago. oh yeah, I called rugged and they were extreamly responsive and helpfull.