Walkie Talkies
I know this topic has been covered before. But technology is constantly changing and improving(?) I want a pair of walkie talkies that the wife and I can use when she is hiking and I am at our camp...
Forum Discussion
Tvov wrote:
Another thing to think about is batteries. If you have walkies with "built in" rechargeable batteries that conveniently use a USB cord to a laptop or wall plug, great! IF you have access to the needed power.
Think about getting one with AA or AAA batteries - you can get those batteries anywhere, and you don't need a recharging setup. But... not as convenient.
Just something to think about.... because having said that, the pair I have use a charging port, lol!
I haven't used them in years, though.
X2 on the batteries!
I have two sets of Cobra FRS HTs laying around somewhere, bought them for a family "convoy" trip before cellphone plans were cheap. Me and my DW have Ham licenses but rest of my family does not, so that ruled out using 2mtr or 440 Ham bands..
The Cobras came with replaceable rechargeable battery packs and nice drop in desk chargers. The unfortunate thing was the rechargeable batteries only lasted 5-6hrs out of a 10 hr one way trip per charge..
But, The Cobras we bought, the battery pack area when the rechargeable pack was removed was designed to hold standard AAAs! That was a bonus, just had to make sure everyone had enough AAAs with them for the trip..
The are plusses with FRS and there are minuses, on the plus side, cheap, low cost, small, no license.
On the minus side, UHF band is line of site, FCC power and antenna size limitations limit the ERP (Effective Radiated Power) which limits the range to at best 2 miles under ideal terrain.
Not that I want to push one into becoming a Ham if they do not wish to but if one is expecting to have to deal with distances far greater than 1-2 miles a Ham ticket does open up your world to 2mtr band, no antenna limitations and higher transmit power.. Improved distance, 2mtr distance is better per watt of power when comparing to UHF.
Downside ham radio is each person transmitting needs to get their own license but with no code licenses and lots of Ham clubs that will help you get your ticket and a small donation to that club for the exam materials and filing it isn't all that difficult or expensive to get started.
My one local Ham club has enough VEs "on call" that they often setup an exam pretty much any time within a couple of days notice.
With the flood of cheap Chinese import Ham HTs you can actually get on 2mtr/440mhz for the same price as the cheap FRS Chinese radios (although some of the Chinese Ham radios do not have as good of quality over the brands like Icom and such..
