Post by gatekommand on Jan 19, 2013 12:50:22 GMT
Hi all
just wondering if anyone uses the licence free hand held radios (I hate the "americanism" Walkie Talkie) in conjunction with camping?
They would be quite handy for both on site communications and mobile to mobile whilst on the road, in convoy.
For anyone that has not used these radios they can be bought from electronics stores and even Argos. Prices range from around £15.00 per pair to many hundreds, depending on what you want.
Some have call tones akin to a mobile phones to alert other users. Some have so called "privacy" tones - they don't give you ANY degree of privacy but they DO stop you hearing other users on the same channel unless they use the same tone.
The radios vary in size from small bricks to a mobile phone like size.
For the more technical amongst us they have 8 channels around 446 MHz hence the system is called PMR446 (Private Mobile Radio at 446 MHz). The effective radiated power is 500mw (1/2 watt) of RF energy. Most use frequency modulation (FM) although there are also digital radios out now but usually cost an arm and a couple of legs!
Some take rechargeable battery packs which may be expensive but I prefer the type that take ordinary AA batteries so they can be replaced with Nimh rechargeable ones from Argos.
People always ask about range but this can be anywhere between a few meters and a few miles depending on height, terrain and building construction if indoors.
So to sum up I am interested in gauging their popularity amongst the camper scene and also is there any particular channel popular at camp grounds?
I hope people have stayed awake whilst reading this and maybe even found it interesting ;D
Neil AKA GateKommand
just wondering if anyone uses the licence free hand held radios (I hate the "americanism" Walkie Talkie) in conjunction with camping?
They would be quite handy for both on site communications and mobile to mobile whilst on the road, in convoy.
For anyone that has not used these radios they can be bought from electronics stores and even Argos. Prices range from around £15.00 per pair to many hundreds, depending on what you want.
Some have call tones akin to a mobile phones to alert other users. Some have so called "privacy" tones - they don't give you ANY degree of privacy but they DO stop you hearing other users on the same channel unless they use the same tone.
The radios vary in size from small bricks to a mobile phone like size.
For the more technical amongst us they have 8 channels around 446 MHz hence the system is called PMR446 (Private Mobile Radio at 446 MHz). The effective radiated power is 500mw (1/2 watt) of RF energy. Most use frequency modulation (FM) although there are also digital radios out now but usually cost an arm and a couple of legs!
Some take rechargeable battery packs which may be expensive but I prefer the type that take ordinary AA batteries so they can be replaced with Nimh rechargeable ones from Argos.
People always ask about range but this can be anywhere between a few meters and a few miles depending on height, terrain and building construction if indoors.
So to sum up I am interested in gauging their popularity amongst the camper scene and also is there any particular channel popular at camp grounds?
I hope people have stayed awake whilst reading this and maybe even found it interesting ;D
Neil AKA GateKommand