Linn, try reversing the screen - make the background black and the letters white. At one time you used to be able to emulate the old black or amber screens - probably in the accessibility settings.

If you don't solve the walkie-talkie question by the end of the week, let me know. I think I have a pair in my eBay stash that works fine up to about 1/4 mile that I used when the kids were younger (they'd take one with them when they went to explore the woods across the road - half of the fun was reporting back to home base with the walkie talkie.)

As a note to those not familiar, the decluttering threads have been running for a while, as a general public service to all and sundry at Mudcat. ☺ Drop in and make yourself at home (that is, dig your home out from under to find it with the encouragement of the declutter crew! We're all at some stage of making paths through, rearranging, or planning for more efficient operations.)

SRS