Two way radios - advice sought

[Monkey Mark]

Evening all,

My family and I like to go away with our caravan. As our youngest two are just starting to have a little freedom at 4 & 5 years old I'm thinking of getting some two way radios to help. We tried it last year by borrowing a couple from work and it worked well both for the journey there (there was two cars) and also for whilst on site. It was easier to shout them back for dinner rather than have to go to the play area to fetch them (they were usually with one of the older kids for safety). Though I did worry about them getting damaged a little as they were about £170 each but the kids thought it was fantastic.

Anyway, onto my question. If I buy one make of radio will it work with others? Do they use the same standard frequencies?
I ask I'm thinking of getting maybe 4. Two reasonable ones for adult use and two cheap ones for the kids so it doesn't matter if they get lost or broken.
Anything in particular to look for or avoid?

Any advice or pointers please?

Cheers, Mark

 

[Rorschach]

Just get a couple of the cheapest mobile phones you can on a pay as you go tariff.

 

[Monkey Mark]

Just get a couple of the cheapest mobile phones you can on a pay as you go tariff.

Some of the sites we go to can be out in the sticks with no phone reception.
We all take our phones and also have an emergency phone in the caravan but often they are no use.

 

[SPSlick]

I have somewhere 2 pairs of these that work together. I used them the same way to let the kids go roaming. I'll dig them out and make sure they're still working and if they are see about getting them to you.

 

[Claymore]

Maplins used to have some great ones, we used them at Biker rallies etc and even Bike to Bike before the days of mobile phones and no worries about poor reception either.
Binatone and Motorola were quite popular then but there's loads available now.

 

[Rorschach]

Just get a couple of the cheapest mobile phones you can on a pay as you go tariff.

Some of the sites we go to can be out in the sticks with no phone reception.
We all take our phones and also have an emergency phone in the caravan but often they are no use.

Ahh fair enough.

 

[DiscoStu]

You need to check but most radios are PMR radios. Some have sub tones and some don't but even the ones with can be turned off so you should be compatible. In the cheap end but good end Motorola are good. Probably fine for what you want. I use Vertex but they are more professional and can be programmed from a PC etc. .5W is the maximum wattage you're allowed without a licence.


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[Monkey Mark]

I have somewhere 2 pairs of these that work together. I used them the same way to let the kids go roaming. I'll dig them out and make sure they're still working and if they are see about getting them to you.

That would be cool, thanks.

 

[Monkey Mark]

You need to check but most radios are PMR radios. Some have sub tones and some don't but even the ones with can be turned off so you should be compatible. In the cheap end but good end Motorola are good. Probably fine for what you want. I use Vertex but they are more professional and can be programmed from a PC etc. .5W is the maximum wattage you're allowed without a licence.


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It's a shame about the output limit. Understandable but a shame. I was hoping we could maybe use them when the groups split but don't think they'll manage but I'll give it a try.
When some of the more powerful ones are so cheap too

 

[DiscoStu]

The reason for the power output is legislative rather than technical it is possible to have PMR sets up to 50w without a problem (not sure how I know that). You should find that PMR is OK to 2 or 3km depending on terrain. Places like Maplin and even Argos sell them. I have professional sets but if I were buying for the kids I'd get them Motorola as they make high end kit as well and it tends to be pretty robust and reliable.


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[Fitzroy]

Used a Motorola set for years skiing before cheap phone minutes in EU, they worked great, v robust and well made.

 

[RogerP]

CB hand held radios are available for under a tenner and they have about 5w output so should easily do what you need. No licences required. Here's one there are others.
http://bigupgadgets.com/uk/baofeng-...h-radio-fm-transceiver.html?fee=13&fep=259286

 

[Monkey Mark]

CB hand held radios are available for under a tenner and they have about 5w output so should easily do what you need. No licences required. Here's one there are others.
http://bigupgadgets.com/uk/baofeng-...h-radio-fm-transceiver.html?fee=13&fep=259286

That is one of the ones I was looking at. I thought the limit was 0.5 watt? I must be missing something or miss understanding something.
And that's a good price too!
Edit: Postage is steep. Cheaper elsewhere, but I'll keep an eye on the site as it looks good.

 

[RogerP]

If that particular one is only .5w have a search for others - there’s loads out there.

 

[Monkey Mark]

If that particular one is only .5w have a search for others - there’s loads out there.

Maybe I didnt word that very well.
The one you linked to is indeed 5w output.
But i thought the law stated that the limit without a license was 0.5w?

Either way I may well go for one of these. They seem fairly easy to program and from what I believe they can have the power capped. i.e. limit it to 0.5w on the channels I would normally use but have a couple left at full power for an emergency situation (licenses do not apply under emergency situations I believe).

 

[RogerP]

The kids will love them. Let us know how you get on.

 

[DiscoStu]

The link for the radio in the post above is not for CB. CB works around 27Mhz whereas PMR is 446 and I doubt you'll find one that will do both. CB sets tend to be physically bigger as well. For what you want I'd go for PMR you can have CTCSS with it so you can effectively have your own channel. PMR is licence free to .5w most sets are technically capable of higher outputs 5w normally being the maximum for a handheld but it's not legal.


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[Monkey Mark]

ok, one more question as a few of you seem to know what you're talking about. Certainly more than me anyway.

If i was to get a cheap set for the kids and then another, for arguments sake we'll say a Baofeng (though it could be any programmable one), for myself. How would I find the frequencies that the cheap ones transmit on to then program mine to match?

 

[DiscoStu]

Depends on what you buy for the kids. If they are "play" type ones then they could be on also sorts of frequencies even wifi type frequencies. So your handsets may not be compatible. I'd suggest you went for PMR sets for you and the kids and then you can set the kids to a specific channel and CTCSS and you will then know what they have. Not all radios can talk to each other ie CB can't talk to PMR or VHF etc. PMR is common place these days and is cheap. We often use them when travelling in convoy and the adults have their channel but often the kids have them as well and use a different channel but if we wanted to speak or hear the kids we could just go to their channel.

Does that make sense?


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[Monkey Mark]

Depends on what you buy for the kids. If they are "play" type ones then they could be on also sorts of frequencies even wifi type frequencies. So your handsets may not be compatible. I'd suggest you went for PMR sets for you and the kids and then you can set the kids to a specific channel and CTCSS and you will then know what they have. Not all radios can talk to each other ie CB can't talk to PMR or VHF etc. PMR is common place these days and is cheap. We often use them when travelling in convoy and the adults have their channel but often the kids have them as well and use a different channel but if we wanted to speak or hear the kids we could just go to their channel.

Does that make sense?


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Yes that makes perfect sense. I do intend to get PMR sets for the kids, I just want something smaller for their little hands and so they can stick them in their fairly small pockets.
Do they come with the used frequencies listed?

Edit: It looks like most of the 8 channel ones come with a fairly standard set of frequencies so it should be easy enough to get them working together.