Walkie Talkies

[LostTraction]

Hello Ph'ers.

I've been thinking of acquiring a set of car to car walkie talkies for me and my father. We tend to go on long road trips together so we need an easy way to help us communicate with each other. I've been looking around for a few but I have no idea which one I should go for.

If anyone has extensive knowledge on these and which one(s) they recommend, would be amazing.

My budget for this would be around the £30-£40 range.

Thanks.

[eliot]

take a look at ‘zello’ it’s an application that turns your mobile phone into a push to talk walkie talkie. Its all done over IP using mobile data, so as long as you have an internet connection they will work from the other side of the world’
You can create your own channels which can be open or password protected and as many people as you like can join it and talk / listen
All coms are simplex - which means only one person can talk at once
The app is free to use - no adds or anything

https://zello.com/



You can get dedicated ‘radios’ that look like walkie talkies with a push to talk button on the side - they are generally referred to as ‘network’ radios, but essentially they are just android underneath - as long as you all use the zello app everyone can hear each other.

They have many uses - especially for events and volunteering because everyone has a phone. There is a professional version available too for, well pro’s

https://www.moonraker.eu/inrico-tm-7-network-mobil...

https://www.moonraker.eu/inrico-t320-4g-wifi-netwo...

[BAD1]

These are what we used, Mitex UHF, tried and tested, not cheap, but do an excellent job in the way of comms, car to car.
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2...

[595Heaven]

We use Motorola TALKR T60 radios for our Euro trips.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Motorola-Talker-Walkie-Ta...

Cheap and cheerful, and range is good enough in most circumstances. The louder cars (Esprit!) tends to use with a headset, but otherwise they are fine clipped onto the seatbelt for easy access.

EDIT - looks like they have been replaced by the T62 model. Looks a bit more modern and allows USB charging which could be useful.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Motorola-PMR446-2-Way-Wal...

Edited by 595Heaven on Tuesday 17th September 06:49

[DSLiverpool]

For your budget get Motorola best you can.
If you can stretch to T80 / T82 travel pack it’s got everything in it.

[Miserablegit]

Cobra am1035 waterproof and good range
Fistmikes can be connected and throat mics/ ear pieces as well for when you are behind enemy lines...

[Exige77]

BAD1 said:

These are what we used, Mitex UHF, tried and tested, not cheap, but do an excellent job in the way of comms, car to car.
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2...

These are what we have used for the last 10 years for our road trips.

The handsets get smaller and cheaper every few years.

[Redline88]

eliot said:

take a look at ‘zello’ it’s an application that turns your mobile phone into a push to talk walkie talkie. Its all done over IP using mobile data, so as long as you have an internet connection they will work from the other side of the world’
You can create your own channels which can be open or password protected and as many people as you like can join it and talk / listen
All coms are simplex - which means only one person can talk at once
The app is free to use - no adds or anything

https://zello.com/



You can get dedicated ‘radios’ that look like walkie talkies with a push to talk button on the side - they are generally referred to as ‘network’ radios, but essentially they are just android underneath - as long as you all use the zello app everyone can hear each other.

They have many uses - especially for events and volunteering because everyone has a phone. There is a professional version available too for, well pro’s

https://www.moonraker.eu/inrico-tm-7-network-mobil...

https://www.moonraker.eu/inrico-t320-4g-wifi-netwo...

Problem with this is that it runs off of your phone so would be classed as using your mobile whilst driving (I think?)

[br d]

Exige77 said:

BAD1 said:

These are what we used, Mitex UHF, tried and tested, not cheap, but do an excellent job in the way of comms, car to car.
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2...

These are what we have used for the last 10 years for our road trips.

The handsets get smaller and cheaper every few years.

I have theses too. On a recent trip to Spain they worked from a lane in a dense, hilly forest to a moving car 3k away. Very good coverage.

[steve-V8s]

If you simply want fairly local communication within say half a mile or so you will probably find a pair of simple PMR466 hand portables will do the job. These are licence free low power radios that operate on 466mhz. The standard has been around for some years and has 16 selectable channels. Most radios also have a selective squelch system which means you can select a code so that in the event someone else is using the same channel the squelch won't open on your radio. There are some very cheap units available but I would avoid those as they are annoying for a number of reasons. If you spend a bit more you will get something more user friendly with a rechargeable internal battery, lower battery consumption on standby and generally nicer to use.

More recently some additional Digital PMR 466 channels have been added, they have some benefits but probably not for the application you describe unless you are operating in a very crowded area. There is very little activity on 466 so you are unlikely to struggle to find a clear channel.

Using a network radio system via the inter web dosn't seem to be the best solution for the application you describe. It is ideal if you need to communicate world wide but assumes a good and continuous data connection. If you are going to do that then you may as well simply phone each other.

[HantsRat]

Have a look at the Baofeng 888. Technically illegal to use on PMR 446 frequencies in the UK as antenna is removable and they're over 0.5w however might be worth a shot for a cheap radio and may be fine abroad. Just research what legal frequencies you can use.

[eliot]

Redline88 said:

Problem with this is that it runs off of your phone so would be classed as using your mobile whilst driving (I think?)

it's a grey area. As it's a simplex conversation it's not the same as having a mobile phone call which is the same reason you see top gear using fist mikes and radios. You can still get done for careless driving regardless of hands free etc if you end up in an accident which can be shown due to not concentrating.

There's a large community of ham radio people using this platform (https://zello.com/networkradio) and they all use hands free systems including button mappers where you can select a button on your steering wheel to act as a push-to-talk button.