walky-talky recs?

wrote in message
oups.com...
Anyone tried any modern-style walky-talkies for use when fly-fishing
with (fast hiking) friends, ones that will work in river gorges? Or,
ever see any side-by-side reviews of such?

I just spent the last three days scrambling up and down river canyons
with friends, and could really have used a good pair to keep us in
touch. We almost lost one guy. My concern is that the walkys won't
work in the deeper gorge areas. Any thoughts?

Thanks, Tim

There are two basic groups of radios that are widely used in the outdoors
and a third, that gets more use in construction. FRS (Family Radio Service)
has no license requirements and is limited to 1/2 watt. There are 14
channels and most radios have 38 "Private Line" codes (sub-audible tone or
SAT). They are currently pretty cheap, even for "good" ones.

Second class of radio is General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS). This is a
licensed service, though almost no-one applies for the license any more.
These radios are limited to 5 watts, often include the FRS freqs as well and
also have PL codes. For distance over open ground, all FM radios are
line-of-sight (about 5 miles maximum). For penetration of obstructions, the
more power the better. GMRS radios are about 100 bucks per pair for "good"
ones. Midland Radio makes a set with headsets, batteries and chargers for
around a hundred dollars per pair that work well. Cobra, Motorola, and
Uniden all make radios in this class. There are even GMRS repeater services
available in a lot of places that really increase range, though you will
need a license to subscribe to these.

There is also MURS (Multiple User Radio Service) that is on the VHF band
(FRS and GMRS are UHF) and require no license. Power is limited to 2 watts,
radios are more flexible and are often programmable (by the dealer) to meet
specific needs. These freqs are often simply programmed into commercial VHF
radios in the land mobile class. Thousands of options here, from 150 per
radio to over a grand (bells and whistles not used by anyone for any reason
under any circumstances). These radios are much more durable and
"professional" than the FRS and GMRS classes. (You can look just like the
cop on the beat with one of these).

Best bet over all, IMO, would be the GMRS radios, unless you need to spend
the extra money to impress your friends. (Which we all know fly fisherman
are prone to do)

Mark
(radio sales and service for over 15 years and running)

"Mark W. Oots" mark_ctc@(no spam)ameritech.net wrote in
:

Best bet over all, IMO, would be the GMRS radios, unless you need to
spend the extra money to impress your friends. (Which we all know fly
fisherman are prone to do)

Mark
(radio sales and service for over 15 years and running)




Some things to watch for:

Personally, for outdoor use, I like to avoid rechargable batteries, as they
aren't easily replaced in the field. This doesn't apply if I'll be in
contact with a car, and have a car charger.

Try to go with something light, unobtrusive, and "weatherproof"- whatever
that means. I'd prefer something waterproof, but the only waterproof GMRS
I can find is the Garmin Rhino, and that has a GPS attached and is way
overpriced.

Scott

Scott Seidman wrote in
. 1.4:

"Mark W. Oots" mark_ctc@(no spam)ameritech.net wrote in
:

Best bet over all, IMO, would be the GMRS radios, unless you need to
spend the extra money to impress your friends. (Which we all know fly
fisherman are prone to do)

Mark
(radio sales and service for over 15 years and running)




Some things to watch for:

Personally, for outdoor use, I like to avoid rechargable batteries, as
they aren't easily replaced in the field. This doesn't apply if I'll
be in contact with a car, and have a car charger.

Try to go with something light, unobtrusive, and "weatherproof"-
whatever that means. I'd prefer something waterproof, but the only
waterproof GMRS I can find is the Garmin Rhino, and that has a GPS
attached and is way overpriced.

Scott



Also, many of these radios have a weather alert feature. I recommend
this. Interestingly, the only time I've ever had it go off was hell year
at Penns Clave.

Scott

Thanks for all the info, guys. Very helpful. - Tim

Mark W. Oots (no spam) wrote:
Second class of radio is General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS). This is a
licensed service, though almost no-one applies for the license any more.
These radios are limited to 5 watts, often include the FRS freqs as well and
also have PL codes. For distance over open ground, all FM radios are
line-of-sight (about 5 miles maximum). For penetration of obstructions, the
more power the better. GMRS radios are about 100 bucks per pair for "good"
ones. Midland Radio makes a set with headsets, batteries and chargers for
around a hundred dollars per pair that work well. Cobra, Motorola, and
Uniden all make radios in this class. There are even GMRS repeater services
available in a lot of places that really increase range, though you will
need a license to subscribe to these.

You need a license to use ANY and ALL aspects of GMRS. Whether or not
you use a repeater you will need to be licensed. Here is the official
FCC GMRS page.

http://wireless.fcc.gov/services/per...generalmobile/

wrote in message
ups.com...


Mark W. Oots (no spam) wrote:
Second class of radio is General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS). This is a
licensed service, though almost no-one applies for the license any more.
These radios are limited to 5 watts, often include the FRS freqs as well
and
also have PL codes. For distance over open ground, all FM radios are
line-of-sight (about 5 miles maximum). For penetration of obstructions,
the
more power the better. GMRS radios are about 100 bucks per pair for
"good"
ones. Midland Radio makes a set with headsets, batteries and chargers
for
around a hundred dollars per pair that work well. Cobra, Motorola, and
Uniden all make radios in this class. There are even GMRS repeater
services
available in a lot of places that really increase range, though you will
need a license to subscribe to these.

You need a license to use ANY and ALL aspects of GMRS. Whether or not
you use a repeater you will need to be licensed. Here is the official
FCC GMRS page.

http://wireless.fcc.gov/services/per...generalmobile/


Hmm. . . I have a couple of a Cobra model. PR3175-2 WX EVP.
Used it little so far. Works "okay". Was important once when my fishing
partner decided to roll down a hill instead of just walking . . .rather
rapidly. . . but chose to do the rolling thing . . . twice. Met him at the
bottom. He decided to take a bit of time off from fishing for a bit.(grin .
.. .given the cuts and bruises)
We kept in touch with the talkies.
Given how I like to leap frog kinda with fishing partners, kinda neat way
to share how a certain area of the stream/river is fishing with the talkies.
I'm sure mine have certain channels that don't require a licence, and other
channels that do.
Just kinda fun to keep in touch. I haven't done the license thing, I just
stay on the other channels.
DaveMohnsen
Denver
(for this short venture, just couldn't keep laughing . . with my partner .
...for the first roll . . . was a da##, and the next it as a sh##. And then
this beat up 'ol fart met me at the bottom. . . .and didn't even break his
fly rod. . . but he was a little worse for wear. Thankfully he was okay, but
apparently lost his enthusiasm for climbing over boulders to fish upstream.
He sat a bit while I climbed around)