Walkie Talkies

The Black Oil

I had a situation not so long ago wherein I had to call mountain rescue. They were great. I didn't need to be directly rescued in the end. I just walked to the Land Rover.

Phone coverage was crap and patchy. I was wondering, whilst being mindful of not wishing to be over-reliant on technology, about the viability of walkie talkies in terms of range, cost, effectiveness, etc. This would be for contact as I got separated from the people I was with. I'm safe and well otherwise.

Any thoughts?

Alun

I've wondered about that myself too as they often have sets on offer quite cheaply in Lidl. I'd imagine they'd be OK if you had line of sight but not much use otherwise, i.e. the rest of the group had disappeared over the top of the next hill.

Phone coverage here in Wicklow can be quite patchy, even rather perversely, when you can clearly see Kippure mast!

fits

We always carry them as he is a much faster climber than i and its great to be able to keep in touch.

Oink

Yeah I tried to use handheld radios in Glendalough. Not great. Had to use the portable one in the van in the end.

The Black Oil

So, the quality of coverage is more so dictated by local factors than that of your hardware? Understandable if that's the case.

Oink

I'll let a pro give more specifics but I know that vodafone have a map that shows areas with more/less coverage, so that might correlate with radio comms - to some extent.

fits

We find them pretty reliable. Coverage is very different to phone coverage. Rarely have a problem. And you'll likely get someone if in a bind, even if not who you are looking for.

The Black Oil

What model/spec ones do you have?

CardinalJ

I have a pair of motorola TLKR T7s. I haven't used them for hiking in ireland but I use them skiing when ever I go as groups are constantly being separated, and roaming costs a ton.

They have a claimed range of 10km which I have never been able to fully test, but they have worked with no problem between my apartment in Leopardstown and the top of Two Rock which is around 6km. Again though this is almost a clear line, which is the key to them being useful. There can be bits of mountain in the way which is generally not a problem unless you're quite far apart.

When connection between them is poor you could still send morse code if you were in trouble.

Thargor

fits wrote: »

We always carry them as he is a much faster climber than i and its great to be able to keep in touch.

I had full 4G broadband on top of Djouce a couple of days ago, great view of Dublin from there so not a surprise I suppose.

CardinalJ

Thargor wrote: »

I had full 4G broadband on top of Djouce a couple of days ago, great view of Dublin from there so not a surprise I suppose.

Roundwood was one of the first places to get 4G bizarrely. Was at the top of Tonelegee on Saturday morning with full 4G as well.

fits

Yeah well recent places weve used them include in vicinity of mount cook. No 4g there i can tell you. Also carauntoohil where i was picking up taxi drivers with dub accents for a while, which was rather strange.

Alun

There are plenty of dead spots in the Wicklow Mountains where you won't get a phone signal at all, let alone a 3G/4G data connection. The Glenmalure Lodge being one of the most notable.

The Black Oil

Presumably, the battery life of a walkie talkie is better than a smartphone - no screen brightness, apps, data or other resources hogging power.

CardinalJ

The Black Oil wrote: »

Presumably, the battery life of a walkie talkie is better than a smartphone - no screen brightness, apps, data or other resources hogging power.

Kind of like a smart phone it depends heavily on usage. I take all battery life times with a pinch of salt.

Also cold effects mine worse than smart phones. Like I said, I use them skiing more than hiking, but a winters day here with wind would do the same.

The batteries are easier to replace though as they reach end of life cycle, something I probably need to do!

Losty Dublin

The Black Oil wrote: »

Presumably, the battery life of a walkie talkie is better than a smartphone - no screen brightness, apps, data or other resources hogging power.

Whenever I am out walking I'll make sure that all apps are closed and that the network is switched to 2G and data turned off. The difference to the battery life is phenomenal and it will keep me going for a day no hassle.

Pat Mustard

Losty Dublin wrote: »

Whenever I am out walking I'll make sure that all apps are closed and that the network is switched to 2G and data turned off. The difference to the battery life is phenomenal and it will keep me going for a day no hassle.

You could also use flight mode in your phone, which conserves battery by disabling calls/texts etc. while keeping your phone on for taking pictures etc.

Losty Dublin

Pat Mustard wrote: »

You could also use flight mode in your phone, which conserves battery by disabling calls/texts etc. while keeping your phone on for taking pictures etc.

You could though apps like Runkeeper or Map My Run won't work at all when you have Flight Mode
Enables. Also, you would be uncontactable until you turn it off though that may be a benefit to some :-)

Alun

Pat Mustard wrote: »

You could also use flight mode in your phone, which conserves battery by disabling calls/texts etc. while keeping your phone on for taking pictures etc.

That's what I do. When I'm out walking, my phone is inside a waterproof case, inside a plastic bag, stuck in the bottom of my rucksack. If anyone wants to contact me then, tough. I'm more concerned about being able to use my phone to make calls should I need to than receiving them.

I've also considered getting one of these for emergency use only, but despite it sounding like a good idea, some of the reviews aren't great.

Pat Mustard

Losty Dublin wrote: »

You could though apps like Runkeeper or Map My Run won't work at all when you have Flight Mode
Enables. Also, you would be uncontactable until you turn it off though that may be a benefit to some :-)

True but you can switch flight mode off intermittently to check messages if necessary.

Also, I understand that when hiking, the phone can waste additional energy searching for signals.

unkel

Losty Dublin wrote: »

Whenever I am out walking I'll make sure that all apps are closed and that the network is switched to 2G and data turned off. The difference to the battery life is phenomenal and it will keep me going for a day no hassle.

I bring a battery pack. Smaller and a bit lighter than a phone and it has a capacity of about 5Ah so this gives my phone 3 charges (one from the fully charged phone plus 2 charges from the pack)

Costs about €10 so cheap solution

I do find the GPS app on my phone (GeoGPS for windows phone) is bad for battery life, even if you check it only once in a while

The Black Oil

Mobile data knocks out about 10% of my battery almost as soon as I turn it on. It dwindles further if I use it. I'm not a heavy user by any means. I only really use it for work conferences, which are infrequent. 2 hours of tweeting (work only, not personal) tends to zap it fairly sharpish. I had to turn on data to active the link mountain rescue sent me re getting a grid reference.

I do have a Nokia C2-01 which I could take as a spare handset. You can make emergency calls without a SIM card, right? Can someone call you back if you don't have a SIM, though? Would be tricky to transfer a SIM if you're stuck somewhere in poor conditions.

Thargor

Just bring a power bank with you, its not that much extra weight for days of extra battery life, this is mine, never go anywhere without it and it has a built in torch aswell so 2 birds with one stone, 16000 mAh keeps all my electronics powered for a week when travelling:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/16000mAh-Portable-External-Technology-Motorola/dp/B00D5T3QK4/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1432673225&sr=1-2&keywords=anker+power+bank

unkel

3 Amp output as well. That's a serious kit for just £20!

Losty Dublin

unkel wrote: »

I bring a battery pack. Smaller and a bit lighter than a phone and it has a capacity of about 5Ah so this gives my phone 3 charges (one from the fully charged phone plus 2 charges from the pack)

Costs about €10 so cheap solution

Sounds like an excellent option. Where could one get one of these packs?

unkel

Losty Dublin wrote: »

Sounds like an excellent option. Where could one get one of these packs?

See the link in Thargor's post. His is a very powerful one, but a good make and good value at £20 incl. shipping

Amazon have loads of different makes / models in different price ranges, starting from only a few euro

Thargor

Just a warning to check the weight and dimensions of mine aswell, its a bit on the large side but it does have a small LED torch that lasts forever built into it, I like it because I carry a lot of electronics with me. Anker has a 10000 mAh version aswell that will give you a couple of charges and I got a 5000 mAh version for my mother on mothers day thats basically like a fat tube of lipstick, no torches in either of those though. Anker is a very good brand.

Fiskar

Thargor wrote: »

Just a warning to check the weight and dimensions of mine aswell, its a bit on the large side but it does have a small LED torch that lasts forever built into it, I like it because I carry a lot of electronics with me. Anker has a 10000 mAh version aswell that will give you a couple of charges and I got a 5000 mAh version for my mother on mothers day thats basically like a fat tube of lipstick, no torches in either of those though. Anker is a very good brand.

Ditto, bought the same one as I carry a few electronic items of varying power. Should be here Tuesday. This unit can power up an Ipad and a smart phone twice. It is too dangerous to rely on a fully charged phone alone without a back-up power source.

The Black Oil

Been recommended ViewRanger app. Looks interesting.

unkel

Installed that today too. And Barry, I paid you again for the digital maps to go with this app even though I already own the paper ones

Alun wrote: »

Phone coverage here in Wicklow can be quite patchy, even rather perversely, when you can clearly see Kippure mast!

Very patchy indeed. I was actually pleasantly surprised I had voice cover all the way from Blessington to Mullaghcleevaun during the week (but no data at all). The kids were worried if I was alright on my own in the dark in the middle of nowhere and speaking to them eased their minds

A map of voice coverage in Ireland would be very helpful. Anyone got any link?

Alun

unkel wrote: »

A map of voice coverage in Ireland would be very helpful. Anyone got any link?

Each provider usually has a coverage map for voice, 2G, 3G and 4G on their webpages, although this is just theoretical based on a terrain model. It's usually OK for the strong signal areas but not so reliable for the areas on the fringes.