Wilkie talkies

[merseybluenose]

Trip to moreton coming up and want to get a Walkie talkie setup to keep two cars in coms. Have no idea on what is good, just want something that is cheaper than a $100, rechargable and gives a good range (only ever had cheap crap when I was a kid that gives no range and is hard to hear

Any advice would be good....

[Back In Black]

We have about 20 Uniden 1watt hand helds in the nursery, with a range of about 1.5 - 2km, plenty enough for us, but may be a bit small for you. We get them from Dick Smith at about $100 per set with recharge unit.
Tony

[Agrav8_and_Lulu]

I've got a set of uniden uh038sx-2 I think they were around $120 at that time from d smith electronics. Had them in the car and for bush walking and never had a problem. There good for around 4km, but remember that is line of sight. For what you want them for, maybe worth a look?

Daz

[Muddy Toes]

I've got a UNIDEN UH710SX-NB 1W 80 CHANNEL UHF Handheld Radio that came free with the UHF I've got in my Patrol.

I've got absolutely no bloody idea what kind of range it has or how good it is (it's still new in the box) but your welcome to borrow it for your trip if you can scrounge another one up.
It's probably what you'd be looking at with your budget so best keep your money and just borrow mine if you wish.

P.M me if your interested...I'm at Redland Bay.

[Horse]

You will need at least a 1W unit. This will give you a couple of KM of useful range inside the vehicles. Its not hard to get out of range when cars are travelling at a reasonable speed though

[morphias]

I use handheld UHF on my motorbike - use them for normal rides and the occassional big trip. Really handy for talking in the group as well as to truckies, etc, to find out what is happening on the roads.

I use little 2 watt units. This is the new model of what I use:

http://www.prestigecom.net.au/index....oducts_id=1264

I get my comms gear through Prestige in WA - they are brilliant to deal with and have free freight.

http://www.prestigecom.net.au/

If you want more versatility, you can step up to a 5 watt model which can be connected to an external antena, so you get the best of both world's - more range but can still pull it out and walk around with it.

Ben.

[Stik-ugly]

Have a look at Bias as they had a special deal on hand held radios.

[cormorant]

3 things I have learnt the hard way.

Cheap UHF is often cheap battery pack and expensive replacements. If not used on a regular basis and charged the batteries didin't last and then were not widely avaliable. Buy one that will accept aa or aaa NiMH batteries ( or have aadaptor that fits in) so you can replace them forever and even go for higher MAh .

Buy a aquapack or similar cover if anywhere near water or sand or greasy hands or or or or .................. Fine sand, sunscreen and water are a radios natural enemy apart from adults. The kids ones copped a hiding and lasted ages and the adults ones probably didn't get enough use.

Headsets are getting loads better so I can hear but buy a walkie talkie with standard mic fittings so they are avalible as generics when you break one.

If you have your lic is there any reason not to use VHF and have it as a back up safety item on the boat as well if you are not wanting to talk to other traffic on land?

[SatNav]

"Trip to moreton coming up and want to get a Walkie talkie setup to keep two cars in coms."

"If you have your lic is there any reason not to use VHF and have it as a back up safety item on the boat as well if you are not wanting to talk to other traffic on land?'

1. If you have your lic then you should know better?

[kizza1]

http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView...UBCATID=1048#6
its a little out of your price range but its an excellent unit and worth the extra dollars.
my brother gave me one (he works at aspley jaycar) and i used it on a recent trip out to miles. we were getting a minimum of 1km through to about 4km range in the cars. battery lasts at least 2 days on 5w mode. it is 80 channel, liion battery, normal headset plug and you can buy an adapter to hook it up to a higher gain car arial if you want. it is clearer than my hard wired oricom unit.