Walkie Talkies or PMR

[mica]

Does anyone know which is the best buy. I understand a feature was done on them a while ago, but cannot find which issue.

Has anyone tried them and had good or bad results. Which is the best and the cheapest.

Many thanks for any response.
Regards,
Mica


MICA

 

[JeremyF]

Sailing Today did a review last year. I bought a set of Motorola walkie talkies, and am pleased with the performance, despite their strange looks. However, don't think you are going to get hand-held PMR range from them. They emit significantly less than 1 watt ERP. However as a fun thing for the kids to use, and for comms between dingy and yacht, or shore and yacht they are great.

Make sure you go for rechargeables, ideally with Ni Mh batteries, and not NiCads.

 

[Mr Cassandra]

I bought mine from carphone warehouse .Motorola Talkabouts Work very well the kids take one to the beach or if they want to feel grown up into the towns, for shoping. range about 2miles Or we lend one to another boat we are crusing with and can keep in contact , save going down below and/or using VHF .Range on the water about 4miles . I think I paid £99 for the two It was about 2years ago so the price may have altered either way cheers Bob t ps I have only used in Greece .

Bob T

 

[mica]

Dear Jeremy,

Thanks for your reply. Why not ni cads, is there a problem with them?
The cheaper ones seem to use ordinary batteries, which is not very convenient if you don't carry a load of spares, but I don't know the difference between NiMH and NiCads. Do you have any information on why one type is better than the other.

Many thanks,
Mica

MICA

 

[Guest]

NiCad have a horrible memory problem, so it you only partially discharge them, or partially recharge them, you end up with batteries that only work between those boundries.

NiMh do not have this problem, so while they may be a bit more expensive in the first place, they will last you a lot longer, especially for the use that you intend.

NiCad are great for delivering high current, for use in model racing cars etc, as long as you fully discarge them every time then fully recharge them. If you do use them then make sure that you get a charge that constantly cycles them.

Spend the extra I would say.

 

[JeremyF]

Nickel Metal Hydride don't have the same level of memory effect as NiCad's. To get decent performance out of NiCad's you should let them run flat before recharges, otherwise they gradually loose capacity.

If you choose a walkie talkie with standard AA cells, you can start with NiCad, and change to NiMH when they conk out - Boots sells them. Thats what I plan to do with the ICOM handheld I bought at the LBS with NiCads

 

[Mr Cassandra]

The battery in mine say 3.6v nickel -metal hydride Have had no problems charging or them keeping the charge it also came with a extra body that will take 4 AA if for any reason you cannot charge them, they have been well used , as this type of equipment would be, with to children and friends using them for aprox 3mts every year Dont know if they are the best type but if i was buying new I would get this type again cheers Bob t

Bob T

 

[Guest]

I bought three Icom PMR's for use round the farm/boatyard. They seem to have a build quality and range of useful features that the cheaper units lack - it no doubt depends on how often you will be using them as to whether it is worth paying the extra.( Maplins £99.) These have worked over a range of two miles or more.

 

[mica]

Thanks everybody, terrific response to my question as usual. What a mine of information this site is.

Sounds like Icom's are very popular. Will definitely convert to NiMH whichever set I get. I presume the batteries are all the same size and connections in the same place. Can I put NiMH in the type that come with ordinary 3 xAA or 4 x AAA?

Has anyone gpt the Goodmans Tracker or Telcom TW1000? Being only £70 for a pair, would I be wasting my money buying the cheaper ones or are the more expensive ones really worth the extra.

Cheers chaps

MICA

 

[Guest]

I have seen NiMh and NiCad in AA but not AAA as far as I can recall. Get them from your local DIY who will have the charger as well

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by Wstobbs on Wed Jan 16 11:06:31 2002 (server time).</FONT></P>