UKH

Hi all.  Looking to buy a pair of walkie talkies for communicating in no mobile areas.  Also to give on to my 9 year old when we are camping and he is off around the campsite in France.  

What do people recommend.  We have been looking at the Decathlon ones but all the reviews seem to be in French.  Does anyone have a pair that they use and can recommend?

We got a pair for use on sea cliffs. Our first pair was a set of Motorola TLKR T60 £40 but one of them developed an antenna fault I couldn't fix.

We replaced then with a set of Motorola TLKR T82 Extreme, more expensive but they're splash and dust proof and they can be charged using USB points in the van.

Whatever you buy I'd get a set where the 'rodger' beep can be turned off, that beep really p**sed me off until I figured out how to silence it.

Enjoy!

Hi there,

We bought these ones for our now 9 year old son and his pals when they disappear into the woods round our house. They are very good and rugged! Have had them for a couple of years now. They work very well

https://www.onedirect.co.uk/motorola/motorola-tlkr-t92-h2o?___store=uk&...

Heike

You could use google translate.

Make sure you get ones that support subchannels. There are eight channels for PMR walkie talkies, but more advanced ones support subchannels within these. This means you don't have to listen to everyone else who is on the same channel as you. I bought a cheap pair and I'm regretting it...

Thanks everyone.  

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rechargeable-Earpieces-Handheld-Transceiver-Surviv...

Got these for my daughter (4) birthday - work really well with good range for £25

Other ones are probably better quality/performance though

Qu'est-ce que c'est?

You can usually grab a pair of Motorola XT420s on eBay for reasonably cheap. They're pretty bomb proof and reliable! I bought mine second hand years ago and they're still going strong.

Just to be aware, to use legally without a license from offcom they need to be a PMR 446 compatible radio/transceiver  with a max output of 0.5 watt. A huge percentage of transceivers advertised, including some recommended in this thread are actually illegal to transmit on without your own offcom license!

If you're reading reviews on the Decathlon website, there's a translate button.

Excellent advice there from Pass and Peak.  I'm  a licensed radio amateur and if you buy an illegal set or one which transmits outside the PMR pemitted bands onto other users frequencies - such as amateur radio bans, you will be reported of Ofcom if you cause interference to other users.

All true, but perhaps worth remembering that there is no longer a need to pay for a CB licence as an alternative, not that the equipment is necessarily ideal for the purposes mentioned.  (I remember all those cases of "grooming" on CB the papers used to mention in the 80s, though it wasn't called such then!)

PMR446 is indeed excellent and it is possible to take advantage of terrain and long valleys sometimes to get useful coverage.  The ergonomics of the set are very important - ie will it stay set on frequency and will it behave sensibly if it gets a little damp.   Some Binatones and other cheaper sets had a poor reputation for erratic behaviour.  We used and still use the original Motorola talkabout TA200 and they have given great service in the hills of the Lakes, Cuillin and even the Alps.  On one occasion I called my wife at home in the Eden Valley from the High Street Range in the Lakes and got an unexpected reply from N Wales.  Line of sight ranges can be very good from hill to valley, sometimes over 10 miles and yet the range can be less than a mile in town or screened by hills/woods.

I didn't mean to sound 'officious' or negative!

Amateurs use 144mhz for lots of things and  145.200 - 145.5935 for voice  (VHF)

and also 430.0 - 431.0mhz (uhf) for voice.  

Both frequencies are commonly used as handies (hand held radios )  And max pwr of 10w.  Retailers selling these will normally ask for your callsign when buying one, but the're really not 'better' in terms of range or anything than the PMR ones.  

As you say at these frequencies everything is normally line of sight -regardless of power.

The old CB frequency was 27mhz and the frequencies up to to much higher frequencies were capable in good propagation conditions of turning up some exceptional long distance communications, if some what irregularly.   This is why, sometimes when there's high pressure you can sometimes hear 'foreign stations when listening to local or national radio on 88mhz!

Sorry, wasn't trying to appear to contradict, just add extra legal options

I'm guilty of operating HF from Glenbrittle at times ...

Me and my friends use these:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Binatone-Action-Black-Walkie-Talkie/dp/B01MCVPMF3/...

Only gripe I've got is that the call button can be pressed pretty easily while climbing.

The handheld sets I have were bought with standard aerials which aren't particularly effective at radiating power - so many radio amateurs buy better, more efficient radiating aerials.   (Ours are all screw on/off aerials) - I don't know whether PMR radios have removable aerials but if you can source a better aerial do so.   If you have a local amateur radio club, or perhaps a CB club, ask them for help   

There are also apps,  which can be installed on your mobile phone, turning it into an internet enabled radio.  There may be similar apps which need no amateur licence.  I know the club members who use these apps claim considerable European/continental coverage.  I've not used it so I can't make a comment.

PMR446 radios need to have fixed antennas to stay legal.

Just out of curiousity, have you experimented with any of the newer digital handsets? 

No experience at all.  My interest lies in using morse code, HF & SOTA.

Has some GP 400 Motorolas that  need harmonising  in frequency if anyone  knows how to do this I would appreciate  or could do.  

they can have removable antennas but the ERP has to stay under .5w