 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi All,
I've decided I can no longer afford the costs of texting or phoning to try to find friends on the mountain.
Two-way radio seems like a solution - I can get a set of 2 fairly cheaply, but they only have a 3km range.
Will I find them of any practical use or do you really need to consider radio with a longer range?
Anyone got a recommendation (and the main object is to save money!)
Hamish
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Welcome Hamish,
We use the Motorola rechargable 2 way radios. Great as long as you have clear line of site, obviously dont work if there is a mountain ridge in the way. Any radio with a greater range and you're looking at VHF, for which you need a licence & training.
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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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Hamish, I've used them a couple of times and they are ok if you're all on the same side of the mountain. As soon as someone drops below the other side they are useless and phones are only option IMO.
Due to the limited number of channels you'll also find several people interfering with you!
Just as a general reminder, if you're with 02 they now offer cheaper calls abroad - you have to text a number to get these, info on their website somewhere. I think other providers do as well as they all got slapped by compotition watchdag about high charges.
Alternatively buy a cheap pay as you go sim when there and just use that for week
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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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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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We used them for a two or three years, but found them a bit of a PITA eventually - always going off in lessons and the like. Plus as the kids have got older, separation anxiety isn't what it used to be.
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Hamish, Very much depends on the resort. As long as you understand their limitations they're great.
btw, I'm with Orange and just before I went away they offered me 75 txt messages abroad for £15 - thought that was pretty good.
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Hey, I used to ski with some friends back home in Australia and we found them great (within their limitations).
We would travel in a conveoy of 3-4 cars to the snow (about 9 hour drive) and use them the whole way. We would then use them at the resort (both on the snow and in the town centre itself).
Obviously they don't work always (as a result of terrain/interference etc), but we would always have a 'meet you at 11am at such-and-such' type arrangement anyway!
there are a few let downs (as others in this forum have mentioned) but they do have some usefulness!
Over and out big buddy.....(crackle crackle)
A
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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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Hamish, We use Motorola talkabouts, range of 6km, they worked fine for us.
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Plus you can have interesting and rewarding conversations with your teenage kids who are riding on a different lift chair as follows:
"Wing Commander Bong to Field Marshal Ming, come in Ming - Bong over"
"Field Marshal Ming to Wing commander Bong, receiving, go ahead Bong - Ming over"
"er, Field Marshal Ming, is Able Seaman Mong present and accounted for? - Bong Over"
"Negative Bong, Mong not with me, - Ming over"
<breaks>
"Corporal Ding to Wing Commander Bong and Field Marshall Ming, Able Seaman Mong is sat next to me, - Ding over"
"Good show Ding, don't want to leave anyone behind. - Bong out".
Hours of fun for all, God knows what the french sat next to us thought 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Good for calling down someone through a sticky patch... or go left for a great line, avoid those rocks below you....thats sort of thing.
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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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also ideal if you're trying to shoot a mini movie
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Hi Hamish,
Just come back from Colorado (Winter Park & Copper Mountain) and picked up a pair of rechargable Motorola (T6500's) 2 way radios for $100 (£80-£90 over here!).They worked fine. However, personally, I would be wary of cheap brands and "kids stocking filler models".
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You know it makes sense.
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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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These should do the trick, £25.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Im thinking about doing the same thing myself. However, this may sound like a silly question but we need 4, so would it be easier to buy 4 at once or would it be fine just to buy two lots of two (different models). will this work properly?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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We were a large group with quite a few kids and the radios proved invaluable, pick me up, meet me, has anyone seen little Jonny etc.
As above, as long as you are all on the same side of the mountain you can communicate.
We were all using different makes at the full range of costs all with a good range of available channels selectable, so found a quiet channel and used the same one all week. Managed at one stage to get comms from top of mountain to bottom of cable car in village below.
Radios advertising longer range are only longer range for line of sight, this means when there is nothing in the way, so the shorter range radios are just as good as the more expensive radios as when you put a mountain in the way, nothing is getting through.
Good fun too.
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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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the ones I was talking about in Australia were a pair that we initially bought to try the out plus another pair (same model I think) that we added to the mix PLUS another couple of random other brands - think you need to check that they work on the same cahnnel/frequency etc.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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AxsMan, Did you write the script for Airplane?. Roger, Over, Under, and Out 
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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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Frosty the Snowman, Surely you can't be serious? ....
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Very subtle
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So what's the best way to use them when out on the slopes. In a pocket? Hands-free headset? In a holder?
I would imagine a holder on the upper arm would work well but make you stand out somewhat. I suppose a headset would be the best way if you don't want everybody to look at you when you use it in the lift queue.
I also wonder about equipping my kids with them. I worry they will put them down and leave them somewhere.
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Sutts, The north American versions use different frequencies and are illegal to use in the UK. I think they're illegal in Europe as well. I think the frequencies are used by the aircraft.
UK (and European) models are illegal to use in North America.
IIRC broadcasting on unauthorised frequencies is a criminal, not civil, offence.
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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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| nessy wrote: |
So what's the best way to use them when out on the slopes. In a pocket? Hands-free headset? In a holder?
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I haven't used them, but in Neiderau last month, SuperEagle and Chucky had a pair, which they kept in holders attached to the straps of their daysacs.
I didn't notice what brand they were, but as others have said, they seemed to work reasonably well so long as they were both on the same side of the mountain, but not when there was a lump of rock in the way.
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Got four from Argos for about £80, 8Km range. Fine when on slopes, but put one person back in the appartment or in a bar and not so clever. we kept them in pocket and used the call function. No crossed wires as over 300 channels.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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AxsMan,
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Surely you can't be serious? ....
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I am, and don't call me Shirley.
Roger the Dog.
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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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I keep it on a hook on my rucksack
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Tomsk, Yes, I am aware of this. As I seem to ski mostly in the U.S , I did buy these for this specific reason.
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You know it makes sense.
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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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I always thought it better to keep it in a pocket to preserve the battery life by keeping it out of the cold / wind ? Is this not really necessary then ?
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Poster: A snowHead
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masmith, Our motorollas seem to last all day fine, in or out of pocket. Determining factor seems to be how much 'chatting' you do. 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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AxsMan, How many toffee vodkas to you need to transmutate into Wing Commander Bong? 
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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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Use a cell phone.
Two-way radios are for losers.
They make you look like a 10-year-old playing hide-and-seek.
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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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| Whitegold wrote: |
Use a cell phone.
Two-way radios are for losers.
They make you look like a 10-year-old playing hide-and-seek. |
Radios are free to use
Mobiles are somewhat expensive to use when overseas.
Simple economics says use radios.
So I may be a 10 yr old hiding/seeking loser, but my bank balance will appreciate it.
Gotta lurve antagonistics Yankees 
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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kermit, Nail on head!
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Dixons do some for about £25, they'll probably have them at the airport.
I've had mine for about 6 years and they still work fine. One of the most useful things i've ever bought and a lot less hassle than a phone.At £25 it doesn't matter too much if you drop one off the chairlift ,and a replacement will probably still communicate with the old one.
As for range I've used them up to 10miles from the summit of Snowdon. Some friends managed to pick up a clear signal with theirs from a motorcyle rider in Carlisle, from the top of Cross Fell - probably 20 miles !
Obviously they won't bend far around obstacles.
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ive used them and they worked ok.. but charging all 4 of them up every night was a pain the butt.. texting on mobiles is so much easier
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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've got some Motorola's with a 5km range. Worked far better than i expected them to and were well worth the cash. A super buy.
We had some people at the bottom in the bar talking to people right at the top of the resort. Great coverage.
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FAQ
) , but txting/calling from abroad is prohibitively expensive (ie 50p/txt - and I'm used to making £10 of credit last 3-4 months 
(I did put a ski-brake elastic around the clip to be sure).
