 Poster: A snowHead
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I know it's probably been asked before, but is there really much difference between Binatone or BT 2-way radios and the Motorola units costing 2 or 3 times as much?
We'll only be using them to arrange picking the kids up after there lessons and that sort of thing and wondered if it was worth spending the extra money.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I have a cheap pair of audioline ones. They work just fine, but for any radio, range in the mountains may be limited by terrain. If PMR 446, make sure is has the CTCSS feature (I think that's what it's called).
You may find the motorola ones have a charger base unit, but the cheap binatones will take AAA batteries (mine take 3, which is a realy stupid number!)
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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mine are cheapo oregaon scientific 25 quid or so a pair from argos inc docking station for charger, seem to work very well.....
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Range is more or less determined by line of sight with these things. US and European radios work on different frequencies so if you just want to talk to your other half your best off using a european one on US slopes and vice versa. Me and my mates have mostly used Motorola and they're good, other brands have also performed with no noticeable difference in quality.
I'd save the cash and buy the cheap ones, if you can't get through then use your mobile.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I use a combination of radio and mobile as well. You would be surprised by how long a range you can get on the radios though.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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DAVID F, no they all work on the same frequencies, apart from US sourced radios which interfere with a number of already assigned wave lengths. Haven't noticed any difference between Motorola and cheaper brands.
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i use the motorola xtn's which are very good, they are pmr 446 which means any radio unit built to this (public) spec will have roughly the same sort of range, which is line of sight.
they quote 2 miles which is about right but if there is a mountain between you and the othe person forget it.
ctss codes means you get more channels in the same radio bandwith and less likely to get other people cutting in.
dont forget..... europe spec cant be used in us and vica versa.
http://www.radioactivecomms.co.uk/viewProduct.asp?id=61&productType=Two%20Way%20Radio
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The only problem I've come across with a pair of Binatone 2ways I bought from Aldi was that as they were restricted to just 7 frequencies, I got a lot of interference from other people with the same kit. Other than that, distance wasn't a problem.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I use the us versions on Euro slopes - never get any interference. The rationing of frequencies doesn't appear to have any real life affect on emergency channels in the respective countries as far as I have been able to ascertain.
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I bought a pair from PC World, was NTL Brand I think.
The only issue was the relatively poor endurance with the standard 300mAh batteries.... would only get about 4 hours of 'standby' time.
Replacing with 700mAh ones from Maplin meant I could leave the unit on 'ready to receive' all day.... was easy enough to wire a pair of power plugs in parallel to charge both overnight without needing to take the batteries out.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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hamilton, the best use is in base to base (hotel room to hotel room) communication with regard to either getting out of bed in the morning or deciding which bar to meet up in in the evening.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Scarpa, the power output is only about half a watt so its unlikely they would cause any problems half way up a mountain.
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We have tried various different makes but ultimately settled on the motorolla as they seemed the most reliable, had the best reception, were easiest to use and the built in rechargeable batttery made life simple. The arm strap carrier is invaluable as well. i think I got a pair for GBp70. Other makes tried included Binatone and a couple of others that won various yachting magazine best in tests but in the mountains the motorolla is the best for us.
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You know it makes sense.
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Actually UK and US spec handsets do work at different frequencies. I recall ski guide saying that UK sets interfer with emergency channels in US. Not heard if the reverse is true.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Poster: A snowHead
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This topic is discussed frequently in many other web-forums and newsgroups. It is of interest to people in many outdoor sports.
My understanding is that there are three types of licence-exempt radios at around 446MHz. They are intended for the European, the American and the Pacific-Australasia areas. Using a radio outside of its intended area is likely to be frowned upon by the radio regulatory authorities where it is wrongly used. Three different frequency bands were probably chosen because no single band was available worldwide. Different countries use different bands for different purposes and so using these countries in the wrong countries may interfere with any of a number of organisations. I stongly recommend that these radios are only used correctly thus avoiding any chance of interfering with the proper users.
UK frequency allocations can be seen in a PDF from http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radiocomms/isu/ukfat
although this appears to be a 2004 document.
Details of PMR446 in the UK http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radiocomms/ifi/licensing/classes/business_radio/information/ofw57
Details of PMR446 use in Europe http://www.ero.dk/818B7698-2D99-431F-8D20-F41CA3B8AA56.W5Doc?frames=no&
I presume that other non-European countries publish their frequency allocations and usage conditions.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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The newsgroup alt.radio.family has a lot of good information about these radios. The last time I looked there it had a lot of USA contributors.
(Edited Friday to correct the newgroup name)
Last edited by Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person on Fri 9-12-05 9:21; edited 1 time in total
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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AxsMan,
Agree with that as I was somewhere on the vallee blance and could hear some buddies on Flagere... not exactly sure how far away that was but pretty good line of sight distance for these type of radios..
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FAQ
