Walkie Talkies can be very useful

[jymbee]

The 2-way radios I bought a couple years ago have proved to be very useful Originally bought a set of 4 to use around home where we have 3 different dwellings. They have some nice features, are very small, easily attach to belts, have a great battery life and have a longer than expected range-- at least enough to cover all areas of our property.

Took a few with us this trip and again they've proved to be very useful. Had some issues with brake lights not working on the coach (as posted earlier!). Not good traveling without those lights but as we had to get to the repair shop, she followed behind as sort of a "buffer" and we kept in constant contact using the radios.

Could have done the same with the phones I suppose but the radios were just easier and we didn't tie up the phones.

Also handy when I'm out hiking in areas with little/no cell coverage, backing into sites, etc.

There's many models out there and I'm not saying the ones we bought are any better than others, but the price of $45 for four radios was a no-brainer. Also each of these radios has it's own charging base which is a must-have to me. We have older radios at home but the charging blocks can't be separated and you have to charge both in the same charger-- major drawback IMO.

 

[MN Blue Skies]

Thanks jymbee for the info. Notes to self and DH... first locate our two way radios and see if we should update them before our trip out west.

 

[Ray-IN]

I bought the dual-band model Motorolas, FRS and GMRS. FRS is fine for line of sight, and GRMS is better for staying in contact when hiking and other things when you can get over a mile apart.
We also use ours when DW is at the house and I'm somewhere out on the property working. If she wants me she pushes a button and mine makes a noise I cannot ignore, even when operating the tractor.
For serious folks, the fairly new 2-meter ham walkie talkies are the best, and you don't have to take a test to obtain an operator license.

 

[John From Detroit]

I have both a ham license for chatting with other Amateur radio operators (E-Ticket) and a GMRS license for longer range chat with my non-licensed partners.

GMRS now days can use repeater systems There is one near me now) for the same kind of range Ham Radio operators get on their hand helds.. and those repeaters can be VoIP linked (or other ways) I've not yet used the local repeater as I need a Repeater capable radio to do so.

But it's nice.... NOTE with my ham license I can not only talk hand held to hand held to other hams but I've talked to people all over the USA radio to Radio (Slightly bigger radio) and .. Well the other day I was talking on my no-power hand held (It talks direct to the internet not by radio) To a ham in Japan doing the same thing on his Android Watch... NOT linked to a phone but direct to a cell tower.

Diet Smith's 2-way Wrist Radio that Dick Tracy used...... EXISTS.

 

[Larry N.]

FRS is fine for line of sight, and GRMS is better for staying in contact when hiking and other things when you can get over a mile apart.
We also use ours when DW is at the house and I'm somewhere out on the property working. If she wants me she pushes a button and mine makes a noise I cannot ignore, even when operating the tractor.
For serious folks, the fairly new 2-meter ham walkie talkies are the best, and you don't have to take a test to obtain an operator license.

GMRS requires a license, and ham radios DO require testing for a license. FRS is power and antenna limited, too, and is the only license free one that you mentioned. How do you plan to use those "fairly new 2-meter ham walkie talkies" legally?

 

[Ray-IN]

Larry, I stand corrected, apparently the requirements have reverted back to the standard Q &A testing. IMO it's still worth the effort if one has use for 2-meter radio.
I don't have 2-meter radios, just GMRS/FRS Motorolas, for which I posses a license. In fact I still have my license for standard CB radio from 50 years ago KEW 0304.

 

[Wilhelm369]

Funny you posted this, will be receiving a couple of GMRS units tomorrow. Went on FCC site over weekend to get license, that part of the site is down until tomorrow. My wife can walk MUCH farther than I can, and a couple of the places we camped at last year up in the Adirondcaks and VT have no cell coverage. She thinks nothing of 2-4 miles. These will make me feel much better.

 

[Excalibur]

Larry, I stand corrected, apparently the requirements have reverted back to the standard Q &A testing. IMO it's still worth the effort if one has use for 2-meter radio.
I don't have 2-meter radios, just GMRS/FRS Motorolas, for which I posses a license. In fact I still have my license for standard CB radio from 50 years ago KEW 0304.

Funny the things you remember. I remember my CB license too. KBFX 9402

 

[Larry N.]

Larry, I stand corrected, apparently the requirements have reverted back to the standard Q &A testing. IMO it's still worth the effort if one has use for 2-meter radio.

No reversion, Ray- perhaps your confusion is that you heard about them dropping the Morse code requirements, which happened with, initially, a reduction in the required code speed in 2000, I think, then a few years later they dropped the code completely, but the "written" test covering electronics and regulations is still needed. The Technician class license gives full privileges above 50 MHz or all ham bands, but very limited privileges below that. Two meters is 144 to 148 MHz for the freqs used by the handhelds.

I remember my CB license too. KBFX 9402

I think you have too many letters there: The pattern I remember was 3 letters and 4 numbers. I still have a directory from a club in the early '60s and every call in there (a few hundred) was of that pattern.

BTW, the old 26-27 MHz AM CB (class D) is still a useful thing to have (especially the handhelds), and though there is sometimes some interference from skip (signals bouncing off of the ionosphere), it typically has more range than the 2-watt-max FRS radios, with up to 4 watts output and no restrictions on using some other antenna than the one provided.

So there are many choices. This link gives a decent explanation and comparison of the choices:

FRS Vs. GMRS Vs. MURS - Craft of Manhood

For those of us with a passion for the boondocks, walkie-talkies are handy little devices. Until you try to get one. I’ve been craving peace of mind for my upcoming hikes in out-of-cellular-service bush walks. But when shopping for a transceiver, I banged my head on an anagram wall of choice...

craftofmanhood.com

 

[Alaskansnowbirds]

KNN 4559

 

[jymbee]

Funny you posted this, will be receiving a couple of GMRS units tomorrow.

Care to share what model you're getting?

 

[Excalibur]

No reversion, Ray- perhaps your confusion is that you heard about them dropping the Morse code requirements, which happened with, initially, a reduction in the required code speed in 2000, I think, then a few years later they dropped the code completely, but the "written" test covering electronics and regulations is still needed. The Technician class license gives full privileges above 50 MHz or all ham bands, but very limited privileges below that. Two meters is 144 to 148 MHz for the freqs used by the handhelds.


I think you have too many letters there: The pattern I remember was 3 letters and 4 numbers. I still have a directory from a club in the early '60s and every call in there (a few hundred) was of that pattern.

BTW, the old 26-27 MHz AM CB (class D) is still a useful thing to have (especially the handhelds), and though there is sometimes some interference from skip (signals bouncing off of the ionosphere), it typically has more range than the 2-watt-max FRS radios, with up to 4 watts output and no restrictions on using some other antenna than the one provided.

So there are many choices. This link gives a decent explanation and comparison of the choices:

FRS Vs. GMRS Vs. MURS - Craft of Manhood

For those of us with a passion for the boondocks, walkie-talkies are handy little devices. Until you try to get one. I’ve been craving peace of mind for my upcoming hikes in out-of-cellular-service bush walks. But when shopping for a transceiver, I banged my head on an anagram wall of choice...

craftofmanhood.com

I still have my Cobra LTD 29 in the van every trip. use it in traffic tie ups.

 

[Wilhelm369]

Care to share what model you're getting?

Baofeng UV-5R from Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BZ8CWQGX?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

 

[DutchmenSport]

We had a set of walkie-talkies years ago. They died. Just about a year ago we purchased a new set. When I am doing camp hosting and getting around the campground doing "stuff", my wife can reach me easy without using the phones.

I do like ours and uses them. They do come in handy when we really need them. So, I'm glad we have them. But more times than not, we just use our phones.

Now, ours say they have a range of 35 miles. In flat Indiana, across the open fields, the range is actually about 1.1 miles. (I still wonder how they can advertise 35 miles, when in actual use, it's only 1.1 ????) In the mountains of North Carolina, they only work if we are in the same valley!

We'll be using them later this year between 2 cars traveling together. I suppose we'll need to stay within 1 mile of each other though.

 

[Ray-IN]

Larry, I still have my old Royce SSB CB base radio in the basement. A technician modified it with "stuff", it has a miniature 3-way switch on the back that can access over 100 "channels" above the CB band. I didn't dare key the D104 mic, but I could listen to military radio traffic.

 

[Dan_Frisbie]

This thread reminded me to get some radios…
Kathleen and I use our phones to back in the RV and trailer, line up the hitch, and do light checks.
I have always worried that our next stop will have crappy/no cell phone reception. Now, the radios are on order in case we have that situation.

 

[Larry N.]

That D-104 is a good mic. I'm curious what vintage that is, since I'd not come across that brand when I was active on CB back in the '60s. I looked it up on the web and Royce Clothing is selling the model 642 AM-SSB unit for $425, and one for $445 which says SSB intermittent -- which are ridiculous prices for a CB radio, even a nice base station, but it's the only SSB model they show. Seems to have 40 channels, though, so it was after my active CB time. The other models shown are more reasonable prices though.

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

wonder how they can advertise 35 miles, when in actual use, it's only 1.1 ?

"Under optimum conditions" which means line of sight. No obstructions, like hilltop to hilltop and if you get far enough apart, no incursion by the curvature of the earth. I've talked to orbiting satellites with my ham radio "walkie talkie", those are a good 120 miles plus away, line of sight. With any basic receiver that can tune in VHF FM you can listen to the astronauts yapping from the ISS, they're out about 250 miles. The same walkie talkie talking to another one that's ~5ft off the ground (held to your face) with some trees and dirt in between, you're probably doing well to hit a mile. One analogy I use to demonstrate line of sight is a light bulb. Put a 100W light bulb on a 100 foot pole and you'll see it from a long ways off. That same bulb on a 5 foot pole you won't see nearly as far, being shadowed by objects on the ground. Even though RF can go through a lot of different things like trees and buildings, it's not without some loss so put enough obstacles in the path and the energy is absorbed before it gets to the desired point. I too have a set of FRS radios, two for the RV and I carry one in my hiking backpack. Besides pedestrian communications I will usually leave one scanning to see "what's around", besides kids playing sometimes you'll hear park staff or other users communicating which can be useful. As John From Detroit mentioned there are some linked GMRS repeaters here too and I've been toying with the idea of getting set up with those. Another tool in the toolbox never hurts.

Larry N. I recall the D104 was introduced sometime in the 1940's. It's a crystal mic and worked OK with thermionic radios of the day but when CB'ers discovered them (and astatic started making commemorative versions, "silver eagle" et al) they added the one transistor preamp in the mic stand. Gave the rather weak output a boost to whatever level you needed and made it mostly insensitive to input impedance. I think they sound kind of "narrow" (mostly mids) but if you're running a vintage radio, what better than to run a vintage mic.

UV5R's - I have 8 or 10 of them. I find them at hamfests used for $10 or so with the idea I'm buying a spare battery and antenna, and if the radio works it's a bonus. I have them in my cars, RV, backpack, my desk at work, winter emergency kit, wherever a radio is handy to have. I bought a number of AAA battery pack cases for them for the long term stored ones like the winter kit, that way I don't have to mess with keeping a battery charged. They're kind of clunky to program but for a nominal $25 new in the box price you get a radio that can operate ham, commercial, public safety, marine, weather, FRS/GMRS and receive FM broadcast. Not that it's legal to transmit anything other than ham frequencies, I like that it can pick up all that and "in case of emergency" I can use it for whatever need I might have. With CHIRP I burp in a standard channel map I put into all my UV5R's so the clunky programming on the fly is minimized. If I lose one or drop it in a lake no biggie, they're throwaways.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[lavarock1210]

When I am backing into an RV site, I call the wife on our cell phones. Then I set my phone on the consol with it in speaker mode. That way I do not have to hold the phone. There has never been a time we did not have cell coverage and if that were to happen then I would use our FRS radios.

 

[Alan_Hepburn]

Funny the things you remember. I remember my CB license too. KBFX 9402

I'm KFG2616 on CB and WRQD845 on GMRS...