 Poster: A snowHead
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Good evening,
Firstly, I've searched the forum for recommendations but I'm not very tech minded and I'm going around in circles
We're going to Tignes in April and my two boys are in ski school for the first time.
Can anyone recommend a good set of walk talkies, I'll need 3 in total with a budget of about £100 ish
Or I could get them a cheap PAYG three mobile phone which I know doesn't cost extra to use abroad
Thanks
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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*not a radio geek and happy to be corrected by any that come along after me*
I can't compare them to anything else, but my relatively cheap (i think i paid about £35) Binatone things have done exactly what I've expected of them and not failed yet, can't really ask for more. I think that in the PMR446 category these things operate in the transmission power is capped so there's probably not a lot to be gained by spending a whole lot on a set.
Other frequency bands exist but there's all the tech mumbo jumbo and rules etc that really aren't worth bothering with unless you already know it's what you want.
IMHO when they're in range, walkie talkies are much more convenient than phones, you just press a button and speak, no need to take gloves off, no need to navigate menus. Keeps communication going for all the little things that one would normally not bother making a phone call to say when out of earshot like 'head in X direction' or 'meet you at the bottom of Y chair' etc. Great for groups of mixed ability when you want to bomb off and do another lap before the slow ones get to the chair or whatever.
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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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I have had an earlier (think 10 yr old) set of Motorola talkabouts. They have been fine, till I lost one last year... (mislaid in a bar, I suspect).
So this year, as I needed more radios (I now have family of 5) I've gone for TLKR80 Extremes. I paid £138 for a set of 4. I chose these on the basis of being more rugged and supposedly more powerful, with a stated range of 10km. I seriously doubt they'll get near 10km in real life, but whatever, it's better than something that suggests it may make 3km.
They have not yet been used in anger.... But functioned fine in 'trials', although they faded at 3km distance with one set being used by my wife 'indoors' and myself 'outside' in the flats of Hertfordshire . So not a true open air trial...
In my experience, in the mountains, don't expect radios to work anything other than in reasonably close proximity - suitable for using broadly on the same piste with 500 to 1000m range, when it's better than waving or trying to shout. Or when you are on the lift and need to converse with some of your party on the same lift. If there is anything like a lump of rock in the way, don't expect them to work.
I have generally found them useful, ("I'm at the bottom, where are you?" ) for chit chat, and were certainly more useful before mobile comms got cheaper (or I cared less for that expense vs the ridiculous price of a pint in the Alps) For more certain comms over distance, or simply the convenience of a text, a mobile will 'win' - Assuming there is reasonable coverage.
Have you got any 'old' pre-smart phones, that you could repurpose with a sim only contract? We are doing that also for the kids this year....
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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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@jjams82, i agree. Sometimes it's just easier to press 'push to talk' and have a simple chat. With a belt clip, and a lanyard attachment my radio is attached to my rucksack strap and is easily 'to hand'
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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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@Richie_S, That's exactly how i use mine too.
The gf I used them with (learner) had hers where the 'call' button would get pressed when she fell over, purely by coincidence of placement - it was a wonderful combination of helpful and amusing to know every time she'd fallen on her ass out of sight of me.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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We have an elderly set of Binatone ones......20 quid for 4 of them. They still charge OK and last the day after a decade of use. Tested them over 5 miles separation with no issues. Line of sight is important. If the kids get around the other side of a hill then they don't work. They are branded as Binatone Latitude...probably from about 2003
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+1 for Motorola TLKR Extremes. Although for your use case mobiles would be better.
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We have Cobra MT600's which I think are the equivalent of MT645 I see on Amazon for £40 a pair. I have to confess we used them quite a bit first two holidays but then lost the charger cable so have used them more infrequently since. Can be handy/fun on occasion.
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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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We bought a set of Cobra MT645. My son and his friends enjoyed playing with them, but their use as a communication device in the mountains is questionable IMO, unless you have them accessible. There always seemed to be other people on the same channel, and we'd end up having to repeat things a lot to get the full message. Put them in a pocket and you may as well get out your phone.
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@Themasterpiece, Agreed. Hence, i put one on my rucksack strap - easily accessible (i did have an armband, but lost that with the radio last year). Not sure I can convince my wife to do that, but the kids are well up for having them accessible... and have had fun coming up with call-signs for each other!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Admit I have various drawers in various places with walkie talkies and attachment cover batteries etc. They haven't been used since mobile phone coverage was complete in the Alps. Walkie Talkie coverage tends to be patchy at best, plus of course they do not support ski tracks or Yuge... and they don't take pictures 
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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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Unless you're using a repeater there's no "coverage" concept - it's broadly line of sight.
I like Chinese programmable radios - Baofeng. They're more robust than consumer stuff and can be programmed with both European and North American legal frequencies. They'll work with repeaters and have the ability to run with higher power where legal, plus lots of cheap compatible antenna upgrades etc.
I use a UV-82 which is about £25 and capable of daily use. I prefer it to significantly fancier gear as it's robust and flexible.
The catch is that you have to program them...
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You know it makes sense.
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Many thanks for your replies
Much appreciated
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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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Pop this app on your smartphone, and hey-presto, you have a Walkie Talkie:
www.zello.com
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Poster: A snowHead
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I'd go for a some old GSM handsets, I'm not sure if "3 mobile" sim cards work with phones that dont support 3g or greater.
I've tried using "walkie talkies" on a ski holiday before and found them useless.
I believe the UHF frequencies that they work at just dont go around corners.
Plus you may find the channels very crowded. They are good fun though.
The conversations on them usually go like this:
"CAN YOU HEAR ME?"
"WHERE ARE YOU?"
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?"
I must admit I really am an anorak "da-dee-da"
--. ...- .-.. .. -..
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