They both allow dropping the tramsmit power below 4w, but who knows what they level actually transmit at. If i were using them for anything more than listening to air-traffic control and the occasional road trip i would be a lot more concerned.

My point about the power was that all else being equal, more power is more range. And given the illegal radios way out power yours, but still dont get decent range is a good indication of how bad their antennas are.

Almost every radio reviewer tests line-of-sight range, which is almost always pretty good, so it ends up being meaningless.