Two way radios

[dragonflyer]

I am looking for some advice, please.

 

We will be meeting up with our daughter and family on a large campsite in Italy in the summer holidays. They will be in a 'static' and we are camping in the M/H.

 

Due to the size of the site I though it might be useful for each family to have a two-way radio to co-ordinate meetings, especially as we now tire so easily.

 

I notice there are a variety of models available on the internet.

 

My main query is-

 

Can I purchase any of the models I see for sale (except from USA)? Will they be legal in Italy or will I be contravening some radio frequency laws?

 

Thanks for your help

 

 

Joyce

 

 

NB: I would also be grateful for recommendations.

[naittaw]

I cannot comment on the legality in Italy issue but we used "Goodmans Private Mobile Radio (GPMR 117) a couple of years ago to keep in touch while travelling through France in convoy. We found it useful but limited, not so much due to range, as due to obstructions. It worked very well when in line of sight but otherwise was erratic.

[Syd]

Text messages are more reliable and cheaper, we use the two way radio's when travelling in convoy with our friends when they are usually very good

[njw]

when we go away we give each one of our 4 boys a radio each, which we got from maplin electronics and they work very well .even though they run on triple AAA,s they lasted a long time

[Clive]

Its much more fun if the Radio,s are illegal!

 

10:4 Good buddy, watch out for old Smokie and keep that pedal to the metal, green side up and .....

Y,know wnat I mean!

 

C.

(The Ayatollah)

 

 

[Robinhood]

If you wish to use in Europe, you should be looking for "PMR446" compliance.

 

These units can be used legally in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, ITALY, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania (channels 3,4,5,6 only), Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom.

 

Since this is the legal requirement in the UK, most consumer market two-ways bought here should comply.

[tonyg3nwl]

Hi, As a licensed Amateur Radio operator, I certainly dont condone the use of unlicensed radio transmitting equipment,, and know that some people use 27mhz cb type equipment. Provided that it carries the relevant type approval marking and is restricted to the 4 watt power level, then it is permitted in uk.

The other option is the handeld PMR radio walkie talkie things operating around 470mhz and again have to be type approved with the relevant eu badges/logos.

 

I would remind everyone of the laws regarding mobile phone use which must not be hand held and used by the driver. Not only is it dangerous, but expensive if caught or involved in an accident.

 

For keeping in touch on the move, it would be logical for the passenger to consider mobile phone, or walkie talkie , but must not distract the driver.

 

whatever you use , please drive carefully, and bear in mind all the scares about using mobile phones close to the head.

 

tonyg3nwl

[Peter Highe]

Hi

 

We got our rechargeable walkie talkies in LIDL. They are called TwinTalker 4710 DCP and have a 5km range (claimed!) and we use them primarily for reversing on site. It saves all that embarrasing arm waving! We also take them into large Hypermarkets to find each other as it is far too expensive abroad to ring each other on the mobile as we would in the UK.

 

Peter

[dragonflyer]

Thanks for your responses and advice.

 

It might be easy to text by phone BUT my fingers no longer work very well and our daughter's phone is USA based so would cost a fortune for what is convenient but non essential use.

 

We will not be travelling in convoy at any time, they will be flying in from the States. [That is why I know that US two way radios are not acceptable in Europe otherwise they could bring the ones they use when skiing.]

 

Thanks for the help

 

Joyce

[Mel B]

We use 2-way radios for reversing - me at the back, him driving - very useful indeed. How well they would work at a distance I don't know but as most seem to be at least a 2km range, and I suspect your campsite wouldn't be so big that you'd be that far apart! Having obstacles in the way does reduce the range somewhat but you'd be unlucky for them not to work. There are various makes out there, some cost a little, some a lot, in the end though they're basically the same so I wouldn't waste more money on them than you needed to, especially as you won't be using them much after the holiday, so don't go for anything with 'fancy' gadgets etc on them - some are voice activated which turn on and off as you speak without you having to press a button, but they can be a bit of pain as they often miss out the first word you say!

 

You wouldn't really want to leave them on all the time as they can gobble batteries or need a lot of recharging, so I'd suggest you need to have some sort of 'signal' to tell the other party to turn on their radio. The easiest and most convenient way is to dial the other person's mobile phone, but NOT to connect through then you don't get charged, the phone will ring and show you as a 'missed call', they can then switch the radio on (you'd already have your's on) and you can merrily chat away.