Mikee

Hi guys/gals,

I'm looking at buying a pair of two way radios for general tomfoolery and shenanigans with my little boy. After having a quick look about in the usual catalogues etc it seems £50 gets you a fairly decent pair with a range of 5-8km.
I just looked at some cobra ones from the US with a 25-30 Mile range for £60 all in. (Cobra cxr950)- would these be legal over here? They would be great for tunnel runs etc I'm guessing the UK specs are poor because they have to adhere to some kind of restrictive legality.

Does anyone have a pair that have decent 'real world' range? Any help/recommendations garatefully received- go easy on me, I'm a two way radio newbie! Budget will be £50-£60.

JackClark

US versions are not legal here and all distances stated are line of sight.

Midlife......

iTrader: (2)

I think we have had 3 sets for general tomfoolery with the kids.........used a couple of times and they lose out to other things.

I'd spend 20odd quid on a couple of small Motorola's used on building sites.

Shaun

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

I can recommend the motorola ones, mine are a few years old now, but they worked really well on a trans european motorbike trip between me and a mate, and i still use them every now and then and they are over 10yrs old, over.

RobsyUK

iTrader: (2)

why are the US ones illegal.. hmm get these

Mikee

What are the legalities here then?

I'm kinda working on getting the best I can afford- £50 or so, you get what you pay for etc, I'd just like as much range as I can get really.

boxst

I have two of the 50 miles US Uniden ones and they work for a mile or so through buildings or a good 2-3 miles in the forest.

They are illegal as they interfere potentially with some of the reserved bands in the UK although I have not had any problems. I rarely use them though ..

Puff The Magic Wagon!

iTrader: (2)

PMR Radios - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PMR446

Do a google, no licence needed.

They "could" have their power turned up

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

From Wikipedia:

"the U.S. and Canada uses the FRS system, which provides a similar service on slightly different frequencies. FRS frequencies are allocated to the emergency services in Europe, notably the fire brigade in the UK, police in Russia[2]. Interference with licenced radio services may result in prosecution."

hodgy0_2

We have a few sets, the most important feature IMO is that they come with rechargeable battery pack - plus charger

Otherwise you are constantly replacing batteries


We have a make called Doro, very good little radios

http://www.doro.co.uk/Products/Other...cts/Doro-wt87/

EddScott

You should see if you can get the ones that sound like the radio chatter in Half Life 2.

I was in a store once and the 2 ways were making the same coms noises.

Mikee

Had a quick look at the Doro ones- they look pretty good.

Any other brands to look out for?...

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

I have a pair of TTI TX-1446 which I use for bike-to-bike communications. They work well but aren't without flaws: the waterproof covers over the sockets fall off, and the little red button that locks the keypad can become dislodged and stops working properly. Voice quality and range are excellent, though.