Need advice on buying walkie talkies/CB radios

Forums › Gadgets, robotics, home automation, electronics (including wearables) › Need advice on buying walkie talkies/CB radios

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

33 posts

Geek

#955938 21-Dec-2013 18:37

I think earpieces. I want the crew to be not so obvious to the audience.

Definitely want to have peace of mind! Is the wattage the main thing to go for? Any other features I need to make sure it has? Which model/models do you think would suit?

sonyxperiageek

2958 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#955941 21-Dec-2013 18:43

For your use as stated in your first post, I think the main thing is the range - which is mainly what the Wattage is for, since you're not going to be relaying 'Government-secret' type of things around!

And Uniden are one of the best in handheld CB radios me thinks!

Sony

noob

33 posts

Geek

#955943 21-Dec-2013 18:45

Oh good to know, thank you!

andrewNZ

2487 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#955950 21-Dec-2013 19:06

Keep in mind that UHF is line of sight.

I was looking at handhelds just this week, I ended up giving up on the idea because I don't think 2W radios will do the @1-2km I need because there'll be a small hill or a bit of bush in the way. Apparently foliage soaks up signal like nobodys business.

I also read that the advertised range is absolute best case and you're unlikely to achieve it even in good conditions.

I'd be very interested to hear how they go if you do use them.

gzt

17104 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#955951 21-Dec-2013 19:09

I know nothing about CB which is why I'd want to find out - on a busy day at the Viaduct how many
- channels are in use?
- unused channels are interference free?

noob

33 posts

Geek

#955953 21-Dec-2013 19:12

Some of the unidens have 'duplex capacity' which involves a 'repeater station' which supposedly can get over buildings and suchlike.

oxnsox

1923 posts

Uber Geek

#955962 21-Dec-2013 20:15

CB radio is free to use for everyone, you can't claim a channel as your own. For that sort of use you should be looking at alternatives.
If you're using the service in a commercal way its not seen as 'in the spirit of the service'. You might want to dwell on that, or at the least have a plan B in place if you get interferrence or hassles using the CB environment.

Repeaters would have to be provided/installed by somebody, and as CB is a free service you'd have no control over its availability.

Rember CB is free and there for everyone, from the kids who got them for Christmas to those who think it gives them some authority.

It might do what you want, but there's no guarantee like those you'd get from commercial alternatives.

Equinox IT

Cloud spending continues to surge globally, but most organisations haven’t made the changes necessary to maximise the value and cost-efficiency benefits of their cloud investments. Download the whitepaper From Overspend to Advantage now.

sonyxperiageek

2958 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#955963 21-Dec-2013 20:21

andrewNZ: Keep in mind that UHF is line of sight.

I was looking at handhelds just this week, I ended up giving up on the idea because I don't think 2W radios will do the @1-2km I need because there'll be a small hill or a bit of bush in the way. Apparently foliage soaks up signal like nobodys business.

I also read that the advertised range is absolute best case and you're unlikely to achieve it even in good conditions.

I'd be very interested to hear how they go if you do use them.

For line of sight and the 'advertised range" yes, but that is why I suggested a slightly higher W as a precaution. And for doing what the OP said, if they did get a 2W, I'm pretty sure it would do the job extremely well.

Sony

sonyxperiageek

2958 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#955966 21-Dec-2013 20:37

oxnsox: CB radio is free to use for everyone, you can't claim a channel as your own. For that sort of use you should be looking at alternatives.
If you're using the service in a commercal way its not seen as 'in the spirit of the service'. You might want to dwell on that, or at the least have a plan B in place if you get interferrence or hassles using the CB environment.

Repeaters would have to be provided/installed by somebody, and as CB is a free service you'd have no control over its availability.

Rember CB is free and there for everyone, from the kids who got them for Christmas to those who think it gives them some authority.

It might do what you want, but there's no guarantee like those you'd get from commercial alternatives.

It would be highly unlikely that there will be 80 pairs of walkie talkies all on each different channel, talking at the same time, in one location, I think. :)

Plus the OP could set up CTCSS on their walkies which will essentially block out the other person on the same channel if such an occasion was to occur.

Sony

BlakJak

1275 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#955968 21-Dec-2013 20:43

The Line of Sight thing is pretty important. If you can reliably get more than about 2-3km out of a UHF PRS (UHF CB) handheld in an urban environment you're doing pretty well. _Intermittantly_ you might get out beyond 5km, but if something solid gets in your way, good luck. (This is my personal view and runs int he face of what most of the vendors promise)

For comparison I regularly use a commercial UHF simplex (plain old radio channel) on an annual event that runs from Princes Wharf to Mission Bay (Auckland) . We can get around to Ngapipi Road but there's often a need for someone in the middle to act as a relay/repeating station. A lot of that comms is across the water (no obstruction) but those guys working in and around the CBD built up environment find their range and readability quickly dissapear.

PRS radios are the only real solution for you if you want cheap-and-cheerful but you will need to bear in mind the contention (others use it), lack of regulation (noone's gonna enforce good manners) and limited power and range of the gear.

There's plenty of outfits from whom you can lease commercial gear, that may or may not come with repeaters that will help you. Even repeaters have dead spots depending on where they are, and they also usually introduce a delay in engage-then-speak-then-disengage cycle as the repeater keys up - depends on how it's set up.

For the Personal Radio Service, otherwise known as UHF CB refer to the General User Radio License for all the details:

http://www.rsm.govt.nz/cms/licensees/types-of-licence/general-user-licences/citizen-band-radio

A typical Uniden set for use on this spectrum is like this:

http://www.dicksmith.co.nz/telephones-accessories/uniden-uh720sx-2nb-uhf-handheld-2pk-dsnz-d1983

No signature to see here, move along...

BlakJak

1275 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#955969 21-Dec-2013 20:44

For clarity, I think the UHF CB option in the Wellington Waterfront area is probably your best option, but go for the units with the best TX power you can manage, and be prepared to switch channels about to avoid other users, interference etc.

No signature to see here, move along...

sonyxperiageek

2958 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#955970 21-Dec-2013 20:46

gzt: I know nothing about CB which is why I'd want to find out - on a busy day at the Viaduct how many
- channels are in use?
- unused channels are interference free?

What do you mean by "unused channels are interference free"? Wouldn't all "unused channels" be "interference free" because there is no one talking hence "unused"? Unless both persons with a walkie were extremely far away, which wouldn't have anything to do with an unused channel.

Basically unused channels are interference-free because if they were not interference-free they would be used. :)

Sony

richms

28168 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#955997 21-Dec-2013 22:07

No, you get all sorts of intermodulation that will make certain channels unusable depending on what other radio stuff is around.

Keep in mind they are all cost engineered cheap consumer radios, so quality is not high on their list, and the range tests will be done in a quiet RF environment, or else not even done at all and just calculated with the theoretical output power and reciever and knowing the loss for the distance.

Richard rich.ms

noob

33 posts

Geek

#956002 21-Dec-2013 22:15

oxnsox: CB radio is free to use for everyone, you can't claim a channel as your own. For that sort of use you should be looking at alternatives.
If you're using the service in a commercal way its not seen as 'in the spirit of the service'. You might want to dwell on that, or at the least have a plan B in place if you get interferrence or hassles using the CB environment.

This is part of the Fringe Festival and not a profit-making activity (even if it sells out).

noob

33 posts

Geek

#956005 21-Dec-2013 22:25

BlakJak:
A typical Uniden set for use on this spectrum is like this:

http://www.dicksmith.co.nz/telephones-accessories/uniden-uh720sx-2nb-uhf-handheld-2pk-dsnz-d1983

Thanks for the link, BlakJak. That's the kind of thing I'm looking at. I was in Australia this week and saw some of the Uniden units in JB Hifi. There are some new ones just released to the market, apparently. Very similar but I guess the new model (seem to be on the NZ website but not in NZ stores yet, as far as I can see). I'm thinking I'll give the 2W ones a try.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4