Am thinking of getting some walkie talkies for trips out and wondered what you guys recommended
thanks
Andy
Trips out in your car ?
Unless you are going to get a licence you are restricted to PMR446 which although they may state different ranges all have the same power so effectively the same range. They are pretty much all interoperable with each other. I personally have some cobra ones which have stood the test of time in theme parks with my family
I have used Baofeng (or Misuta) BF888S walkie talkies and programmed custom channels. I customised the channels t be a mix of the standard PMR446 channels for compatability with others like the Cobra and also 3 new channels on the extended frequencies released last year which means there is less interference as not many other walkie talkies use them yet. See here: https://icomuk.co.uk/Changes-to-digital-PMR446-Frequency-Bands-in-2018/3996/135/
They have been used with groups of about 10 of us with great effect both here in the UK and in Europe.
If you are thinking of joining North East Midlands Area on any of their runs you really need to be taking guidance from them
I’ve been using some cheap Binatone ones for about 12 years for my trips abroad, which have been fine between cars upto about 1km.
However this year I have bought a pair of Motorola PMR446 (https://www.7dayshop.com/products/motorola-talker-t40-2-way-walkie-talkie-radio-black-red-pack-of-2-p14maa03a1bb) for my trip to France later this week, it will be interesting to see how they compare…
If you buy them off eBay or similar, be aware they will NOT be on the UK frequencies and will be operating in bands that are allocated to others, e.g. Fire Brigade etc.
If you do buy the cheap ones then be prepared to have to reprogram them. The software is free but you will need the connection between the radio and your computer.
Search for “CHIRP” software for PC or MAC
I have the PMR channels programmed into my radio as channels 1 to 16 and, as a licenced operator have 70cm amature band as well.
One word of warning - PMR licenced radios are restricted to 0.5w of output power and the ones you buy will be anything up to 5w or more so even operating on the PMR channels they are illegal to use.
PMR446 covers band 446.0–446.2 MHz. Radios may now have removable antennas in some countries as long as the ERP does not exceed 500 mW (0.5w), for example in the UK. The general ECC decision however still requires integral antennas and the actual implementation varies between different countries.
Jeff G6BBN
Hello my MX5 Friend,
Ive been a member of NEM for a number of years now and to be honest we don’t use them that much. We use driving notes and we all set off together and follow the notes. Any single riders are asked to drive behind the leader and follow them as you cant drive and read notes.
The walkies are used by the leader, a person in the middle and 1 at the back just to highlight if we are all together or have all got split up.
I hope this helps
Thanks
Sandy