Communicator Recommendation?

You could get 2 bullhorns.

Milo, the wife's voice works for me also. I roll down the windows and let her do all of the leg work. When she screams STOP you can bet I hit the brakes.

I just thought I would update this thread in case anyone else is interested. We just bought a pair of Panasonic wireless landline phones for our home and happened to notice that they have a "communicator mode" that works even unplugged from the landline. And the work in full duplex! I think about forty bucks for the pair with charger stands. We plan to take them along for recharging while we are parked.

1775 wrote:
Such complicated responses. We use a pair of Motorola Walkie-Talkies. They cost about $50 to $75 for the pair, use either AAA batteries or rechargeable - most I have seen recently come with a charger and rechargeable batteries. Have no problem transmitting loud and clear the distance between the spotter and the driver (windows closed). That really is all that you need. You hear her, she hears you, and you ask where the heck she is directing you. What could be simpler for so little an investment.

This is what we have used for many years.

We had to do away with "Right" and "Left" and use "My Side" and "Your Side". Right and left posed a problem if the DW happened to be facing the direction that I'm backing in. The most important communication is "Stop".

It was very frustrating when she was some place that I couldn't see her waving her arms around.

I have my operators license. So I can use my good radios if needed, but I found that just cell phone with blue tooth works just as well with the spotter on the phone. I can hear them, they can hear me. Given that the cells phones are free mobile to mobile anyway it does not cost anything additional.

But if cell service is wanting, I have FRS, I have my VHF and my UHF. And even use an app call zello which is nextel like PTT when we are farther apart and FRS coverage would not work (it uses data but the app is free.)

I was looking at bluetooth intercom headsets, but ther are a little on the pricey side but claim up to 1000M for a 100 dollar headset (each.)

It doesn't matter what we use, Walkie-talkies, hand signals, red flags, white flags, flares, DW has no clue of where that trailer is headed. She can not visualize when the end of the trailer should start turning or where it's gonna end up. So she watches the blind side so if there is something there, she will holler "STOP" so I don't hit it. In the 35 + yrs, I've become perty darn good at backing. Haven't hit anything yet but we got a 5er now ....so look out here we come....lol

Ain't life GOOD!

Such complicated responses. We use a pair of Motorola Walkie-Talkies. They cost about $50 to $75 for the pair, use either AAA batteries or rechargeable - most I have seen recently come with a charger and rechargeable batteries. Have no problem transmitting loud and clear the distance between the spotter and the driver (windows closed). That really is all that you need. You hear her, she hears you, and you ask where the heck she is directing you. What could be simpler for so little an investment.

Semi-duplex has no advantages to this service. But there are ham systems that are set up as full duplex systems that cover the entire western United States, and you can add as many full duplex users as there are inputs. But I digress..

So you either have VOX or you have full-duplex, there is no reason whatsoever to have both. The problem with VOX is that the transmitter keys up without notice from background noise, especially when standing next to the engine of a DP.

I'm really not sure what the complication is. Grab the FRS and use it like an HT just like countless millions around the world.

(Edit: iphone spelling)

wa8yxm wrote:
...,As a Ham Radio operator I have worked Duplex many times (Two frequencies) and depending on where I am full duplex (Where you can cut in while I'm talking) is possible. In fact when I was working MY radio (The Dispatcher's radio) was full duplex.. Car radios are not....

you may be thinking of semi-duplex or two-frequency simplex. I worked 35-years in public safety communications and know of no full duplex radio systems. I've been retired nearly m9-years now and maybe there have been advances in trunking since I left...don't know. educate me if that's the case.

when i was dispatching on one of our conventional 470-Mhz repeater channels I could key down and stay keyed down and occasionally would when traffic was crazy busy. it was a method of maintaining control. I would be able to hear all incoming traffic but the other mobile units would not as I had the repeat audio tied up. let's say that while I was giving out a dispatch a unit on the street experienced an emergency. while I was talking that officer could key his mic and call in. i'd hear him because the inbound audio was coming to me over the phone line or microwave link. but nobody else would hear him because I had the repeat audio tied up. that's still not full duplex because the street officer would have to unkey his mic in order to hear my reply.

in normal operations (I talk/they listen or they talk/I listen) if I had an emergency broadcast to give I could key down over a unit calling in to make the broadcast and every mobile unit with a radio in receive mode would hear me...everyone except the unit who was calling in. that's because when I transmitted I was keying the transmitter directly again via phone line or microwave link.

for years the Illinois state police ran semi-duplex ops on 42 Mhz. the cars would transmit on freq X and listen on freq Y. the base would transmit on freq Y and listen on freq X. full duplex was not possible because even though the car and dispatcher were on separate frequencies the receiver on the squad's radio was cut out while the officer was transmitting on frequency X. the only way to operate full duplex was if the squad was outfitted with a second receiver listening to frequency Y and the base dispatcher had a second receiver listening to freq X...and that just wasn't the case. maybe some jurisdictions did that. you're right in the sense that full duplex can be accomplished with 4-radios but it's just not practical.

IMO hand signals are still the best way. if you're pulling in after dark the driver and passenger should get out and inspect the site and then, using a flashlight, agree on a set of signals.

Bumpyroad wrote:

rk911 wrote:


VOX is not full duplex, it simply replaces the need to depress the push-to-talk (PTT) switch.

I thought that was what the poster wanted, hands free operation.
bumpy

yes, but he mentioned full duplex as well.

"What a difference! We could talk at the same time. For instance, I could interrupt her in her monologue of "come on back!" to ask a question