Reasonably priced walkie talkie?

backthephilup

Need to get a set and don't want to pay too much as they won't be getting a lot of use. Only really need them for night games and outdoor games at big sites. Have seen guys using cheap ones from Aldi and wondered what was the general consensus and what brands/models you guys are using.
Thanks in advance for any advice or opinions you can share

CpcRc

Aldi or lidl get in binatone ones which I found to be pretty good. But I don't think they will work with motorolas as the motorolas have their own version of ctcss or whatever is used on the "subchannels".

Lemming

CpcRc wrote: »

Aldi or lidl get in binatone ones which I found to be pretty good. But I don't think they will work with motorolas as the motorolas have their own version of ctcss or whatever is used on the "subchannels".

If the channels are all on the PMR 466 frequency; which they should be, then any radio on the same frequency or sub-frequency will be able to do the job for you.

OP; what's your notion of "reasonably priced". Or better yet; what's your general budget? Saying "reasonably priced" is meaningless and varies wildly from player to player.

backthephilup

I was originally intending on spending about €100 on a set of two then I had an attack of meanness and decided to started a thread to see if I could get a decent set on the cheap monies would IMO be better served on some nice Helikon camo gear. I likes the camo gear
These were the ones I had originally picked outhttp://www.pixmania.ie/walkie-talkie/motorola-tlkr-t8-walkie-talkies/08910360-a.html
Your probably going to tell me that they are reasonable and a fair price for what I require........

T4RGET

backthephilup wrote: »

I was originally intending on spending about €100 on a set of two then I had an attack of meanness and decided to started a thread to see if I could get a decent set on the cheap monies would IMO be better served on some nice Helikon camo gear. I likes the camo gear
These were the ones I had originally picked outhttp://www.pixmania.ie/walkie-talkie/motorola-tlkr-t8-walkie-talkies/08910360-a.html
Your probably going to tell me that they are reasonable and a fair price for what I require........

we use Binatone Action 950's set of 4 was 130 or something. We got them in Argos. They come in 2's as well but the set of 4 is better value. Anyways I don't think they sell the 950's anymore and now sell the 1000's which, hopefully, by their name, indicates they're just the next 'generation' .

As for the team's set of 950's they're pretty decent tbh. They have some range in open fields. something like 5-6km, although they're advertised as 10 km. You'd probably get that in ideal terrain. We use them at hilltop and Redhills and never had a problem with hearing, receiving or sending. They're very clear. The only down side is they take single pin headsets and their headsets are a pain to find. We got a set of four for 20 something euro each but one has already broken when it got caught on a branch - the single pin doing its wonders unfortunately

Hope it helps

CpcRc

Lemming wrote: »

If the channels are all on the PMR 466 frequency; which they should be, then any radio on the same frequency or sub-frequency will be able to do the job for you.

OP; what's your notion of "reasonably priced". Or better yet; what's your general budget? Saying "reasonably priced" is meaningless and varies wildly from player to player.

I think the open channel might work but beyond that I'm not sure. PMR just covers 8 slightly different frequencies.

As for whatever is used to try and separate them further, I'm not sure if there is a general rule for what should or shouldn't be used and may be up to the manufacturers discretion.

I have a binatone action 950 and couldn't talk to people on cheap motorolas some times, I think that happened if I had a sub channel on. HAven't used it in a while as I got another radio since.

Edit: I would recommend the binatone action 950 or similar

T4RGET

CpcRc wrote: »

I have a binatone action 950 and couldn't talk to people on cheap motorolas some times, I think that happened if I had a sub channel on. HAven't used it in a while as I got another radio since.

That's odd. I've never had problems syncing up with other people's walkies

Lemming

CpcRc wrote: »

I think the open channel might work but beyond that I'm not sure. PMR just covers 8 slightly different frequencies.

Eight channels, with CTCSS sub-channel division to provide another 32 channels. Simply put, if your radio can't do CTCSS, you have eight channels to use. Further, frequency is frequency is frequency; meaning it doesn't matter a jot what radio you're using. If you're on that channel/sub-frequency, and so is the other guy, you can both communicate.

Edit:

• PMR466 - includes the 8 channel frequency details
• CTCSS - includes the 32 sub-channel frequency details

Lemming

Or to summarise:

Channel Frequency (MHz)		Sub Freq.(Hz)

1	446.00625	1  - 67.0	20 - 131.8
2	446.01875	2  - 71.9	21 - 136.5
3	446.03125	3  - 74.4	22 - 141.3
4	446.04375	4  - 77.0	23 - 146.2
5	446.05625	5  - 79.7	24 - 151.4
6	446.06875	6  - 82.5	25 - 156.7
7	446.08125	7  - 85.4	26 - 162.2
8	446.09375	8  - 88.5	27 - 167.9
			9  - 91.5	28 - 173.8
			10 - 94.8	29 - 179.9
			11 - 97.4	30 - 186.2
			12 - 100.0	31 - 192.8
			13 - 103.5	32 - 203.5
			14 - 107.2	33 - 210.7
			15 - 110.9	34 - 218.1
			16 - 114.8	35 - 225.7
			17 - 118.8	36 - 233.6
			18 - 123.0	37 - 241.8
			19 - 127.3	38 - 250.3

For example

• Using channel 1 'dead' would mean that you are broadcasting on 446.00625 MHz.
• Using channel 1/sub-channel 19 would mean you are broadcasting on 446.00625 MHz with 'tone' of 127.3 Hz

The only caveat I'll add to all of that is I've heard of some cheap radios having 8 channels + 8 sub-channels; in that case you need to figure out what sub-channel each of those sub-channels is programmed for (i.e. by trial and error), but it WILL be one of those sub-channel frequencies listed.

FizzyCola

I have the Motorola tkr t6. I've only used them once so far. Haven't needed them much to be fair. The batteries last ages. They are nice and small so fit in a standard enough size pistol mag pouch. Mics are easy get for them. The set comes with a charging station but as far as I remember you can use AA batteries as well. They have 8 channels with 32 sub channels.

sawdoubters

argos or amazon uk

ShRT

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Motorola-P14MAB03A1AS-TLKR-Twin-Radio/dp/B003Z11QTA/

These are the TLKR T6 mentioned by FizzyCola (set of two with charging stand). Headests are available on amazon, or ehobbyasia seem to have a set on constant sale.

http://shop.ehobbyasia.com/cactus-vox-ptt-2-wire-acoustic-tube-earphone-mic-headset-talkabout.html#.UuHBhNLFLsM

CpcRc

Lemming wrote: »

The only caveat I'll add to all of that is I've heard of some cheap radios having 8 channels + 8 sub-channels; in that case you need to figure out what sub-channel each of those sub-channels is programmed for (i.e. by trial and error), but it WILL be one of those sub-channel frequencies listed.

I think that was it. other radios had 8 sub channels and mine had 38. I came to a game to sling plastic, not to spend the morning in the parking lot checking every ctcss combo.

Lemming

CpcRc wrote: »

I think that was it. other radios had 8 sub channels and mine had 38. I came to a game to sling plastic, not to spend the morning in the parking lot checking every ctcss combo.

Spend the morning? Seriously; it takes all of five minutes to note the differences. Even less time again if you just want to find any sub-channel that works for both of you and stick to it. And the benefit of spending those five minutes is? Besides helping out a fellow airsofter and feeling fuzzy & warm inside, it only has to be done once to note what frequency a radio's sub-channel is set to (if it doesn't have the full 38).

If you're going to complain about spending a few minutes sorting out your comms and/or helping someone else sort theirs, then you'll not of course think about the amount spent making sure mags are loaded, batteries are plugged in, guns are working, etc.And if something was amiss, you'd stop and take the time to sort it before running off to "sling plastic". So why not your radio?