Hi Guys,
We are taking 2 tintops with 6 people on a holiday driving through europe and was wondering whether two cheapish walkie talkies would be fine to
use.
Found these that have a 5mile range but do you reckon they would work abroad when doing 70mph?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Doro-WT77-Family-Walkie-Talkie-up-7km-NEW-/250656266520?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_ConsumerElectronics_SpecialistRadioEquipment_SM&a
mp;hash=item3a5c471918#ht_637wt_913
[Edited on 27/6/10 by eddie99]
ive used them things before,i could shout further,how about proper CB radio or PMR
Bear in mind that they may have different laws on radio usage too. My seem a bit pedantic but it could ruin your holiday.
That is true, anyone know any radio laws in France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, Holland?
At that price I would go for it, try them out here before you go.
Those things are a bit cack...
Get some semi pro ones... atleast you then might get a little better range... but still only about half a mile..
The EU uses a different CB frequency, and PMR's in the UK are not permitted for use abroad because of their frequency allocation.
Get youself a pair of Midland 42 CB radios, which operate on 40 UK 27Mhz frequencies as well as 40 x EU Frequencies.
Be warned, that not all UK Sold PMR's use the correct frequency, so wither buy them from a reputable dealer or go for a CB frequency radio.
Neither of which require a license any more.
Quite often the range claims are based on a line of sight test or a calculated distance based on power and frequency, but in optimal conditions.
My midland 42's can get about 4 miles when running from the car adapter and with a 1m whip Mag-Mount antenna mounted to the car. If i were to
install my 50W power amp, i could transmit a lot further, but this isnt entirely legal.
CB's should only have a power output of 0.5w (from memory) before they need certification. This may be 1W, but its been a while since i played
with CB power outputs etc. All facts can be found on the radio communications agency website.
[Edited on 27-6-10 by MakeEverything]
the 7km will only be in ideal contitions ie no buildings trees or hills. but no doubt will stll work over a resonable distance. Amazon have then
cheaper but only 80p.
Dave
Some of the cheap PMRs are shite. I've got a pair which as soon as I got them I stashed away. You basically had to be standing on top of someone
for them to receive a signal.....
A lot of the tour7eners use PMRs on their intercoms. Can't remember which one is popular but I do know a software hack can up the power quite
nicely
Have used that sort of thing in the mountains (not great to be honest) and in car club convoys - useful for the guy at the back to tell the guy at the
front to slow down because someone's wheel's fallen off!
That's too expensive though - these binatone's are only 10 quid. They only say 3km range but they'll all be pretty much of a muchness,
this ones just being more honest: -
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BINATONE-LATITUDE-100-PMR-2-WAY-WALKIE-TALKIE-RADIOS-/400131777915?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK
_ConsumerElectronics_SpecialistRadioEquipment_SM&hash=item5d29b6657b
If you're driving in convoy etc they should be fine, but expect problems if you blast off miles down the road obviously!
They're legal across europe as far as I know, just not in USA.
Yup just bought some for £7.50 inc postage. Will test them out, Its only for pretty much in convoy, so maybe a couple of hundred metres at most. Just to save huge costs on phones. Thanks for the advice, if these don't work, i will try some of the more semi pro ones.
Because the PMR 446 radios are UHF and very low power, your really looking at line of sight only for 100% reliable comms , doesn't help the
situation if you are sat inside a farraday cage (which a car definaltely is) and the arerial is sheilded by your head when in use on most of the
walkie talkies I have seen
I did some experimenting with them a few years ago and got some very impressive results distance wise...but involved bolting the thing physically as
high as was possible and running the mic and speaker wires into the house...no reason you coudln't do the same into the car and put the PMR radio
in a tupperware box gaffa taped to the highest point
External aerial on the car and CB freq's will generally do a lot better as they are much higher power and lower frequency
IIRC the Euro freq's are also legal here now, and should also be licence free
Not monitored CB for a while so unsure if its awash with idiots or wiped out with interference by those too lazy to run cat 5 cable
I have seen sets being given away on freecycle so maybe the latter
Regards
Rob
i used Walkie Talkie they were only cheap ones, and where fine to use with a really good range, if you are in convoy and out of 5 mile range you are
lost.lol
quote:
Originally posted by MakeEverything
CB's should only have a power output of 0.5w (from memory) before they need certification. This may be 1W, but its been a while since i played with CB power outputs etc. All facts can be found on the radio communications agency website.
iv used 2 cheap walkie talkies from car to car before - works ok as long as the car in front - or behind is really near you - but thats all you really need in effect - 'err turn left here etc'