Walkie-Talkie

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johna

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I know there have been recent posts on these items but a search found nothing related so News of The World has an offer of two Motorola T4502 units for £27.99 + £2.95 P&P. Anyone have experience of these units or know of any others of equal or better value.



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Comet and Maplins have them at 29.99 per pair. The problem with this kind of set is the battery life. They eat AAA cells! Look for sets that have re-chargeable batteries fitted and come with a desk top (or connectable) charger. The BT Freeway are not very expensive. Probably not much more than £40. I think someone had a triple set deal for that money.

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Thanks for comments. Advert quotes 30 hours usage. I suppose the use of rechargable batteries is a possibility. Will look further a field before purchasing. Thanks again.
John

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I have just received a pair from Maplin on offer (1/2 price) at £19.99. Seem very good to me and come with charger and batteries. Postage is £2 something.
If you need the model no let me know.

Jackho

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30 hours might be on standby, i.e. not transmitting? Developing transmitting power is a drain. The other offer mentioned under, would be well worth considering.
But they are really useful, whichever you choose.
Rob

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I think the main problem will be now that they have come down in price there will be more about. With the limited number of channels you could be sharing with a lot of people once you get into a marina or other populated area.

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The Maplin walkie talkies are Model No. G5 PMR. Also in response to the last thread - you can set to your own unique selective frequency so as you don't get talk over from another channel.

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Even the cheap ones have the ability to tweak the standard channels to make them less susceptible to talk over by other users. I carry lots of charged N-Mh AA and AAA cells to cover all the bits of kit and recharge at whatever battery state whenever possible. They are so cheap now they don't have to be treated with the care they once did.

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What do people use these for? I got a set in the US. 2 mile radius, selective channels and all that. I bought them with left over dollars I had to use them up. I had intended to use them while sailing in France and Ireland to call from the pub to tell SWMBO that I was having another pint or to call to the pub to put my pint on. I have found that they don't work well around land and buildings. They are only effective if you have line of sight vision. Anyone else have these problems?

regards

David

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i bought a pair for use skiing (snow, i should add), but also use them boating. Advantage to look for is larger buttons so that cold/gloved fingers can use them, and a design that doesnt mean the ariel is stuck in your hip. battery life is fine for me. Bear in mind if its the rechargeables-you need to be able to recharge them somewhere. You can buy multipacks of longlife batteries for so little these days, and you have the advantage that if it goes flat-just pop in some more. Sound quality is actually pretty good, though dont expect it to bend round a headland or through a cliff ! And being a non marine product, its jolly cheap !!

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We use them on holiday around the place we stay (Loch Torridon). If any one of us goes to the village, usually by inflatable, it is easy to maintain contact for queries/problems. We also use one on shore and one in the boat when we go for a potter and can let shore know when on our way back etc. so someone can meet us with the dinghy. It's a small boat and not practical to tow/carry a dinghy with us.

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Shopping trips into town ("Ooh, I forgot, could you get some..."). Seem good for about 0.5-1km from the marina in a built-up area.
Kids around the marina ("Daddy, what's the code for the bog, please?"). Covers the whole marina
Kids between boats ("Daddy, we want to use 77 for a boys channel, but X keeps butting in..."). Only limitation is audibility over engine noise.

<hr width=100% size=1>Nihil curo de ista tua stulta superstitione.
 
WARNING.

If you are talking about the US Family Radio Service units they are illegal to use outside of the US. Check the casings and look for the designator "PMR 446" if they don't have it bin them.

PMR 446 is a Pan European, licence exempt service, FRS uses frequencies used by other services in Europe.

Mike

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.ofcom.org.uk/licensing_numbering/radiocomms/maritime_licensing/?a=87101>http://www.ofcom.org.uk/licensing_numbering/radiocomms/maritime_licensing/?a=87101</A>
 
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