what hand held two way?

[reg of the overflow]

my wife and I have a caravan, a 1961 SWB and I do a bit of solo hiking and bushwalking.


Struggling the other day trying to back the van into the very tight fit in the driveway, ( there is 200mm clearance each side) wifey was trying to yell instructions to me while I was struggling to see in the mirrors and work out where I was. I couldn't hear her nor see her and as it happens, fuses were getting short.


we plan to get a reversing camera in at some point but 2 way radios would be a good start point taking into account the other things I/we do such as me liking to go for a walk up some hill while wifey does the crossword in the car.


So, the question is, what sort of hand held unit do we need, other than two tins and some string? We are on a budget too so can't go for something too expensive.

[Blknight.aus]

pretty much any of the generic hand helds that run on AAA's will do the job.

I have several sets now stamped with digitor, tevion and digitech on the cases and with the exception of the name change and a modded battery pack and backing plate on the tevions that let them sit in a cradle charger they are identical once you remove the silk screening, right down to the PCB inside them.

Uniden UH037SX 2NB 80 Channel Ultra Compact 0 5W UHF Handheld Radios Twin Pack | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/UNIDEN-UH037SX-2NB-80-CHANNEL-ULTRA-COMPACT-0-5W-UHF-HANDHELD-RADIOS-TWIN-PACK-/390840239364?pt=AU_Electronics_Radio_Equipment&hash=item5affe4c504)

theres a link to the cheapest ones on EBAY.

Im not suggesting buying those exact ones (I would get the sames ones from one of the proper online shops selling new ones and not refurbs) but thats basically what you need.

be careful tho if you want to use them for winch controlling or to talk to a two way in the vehicle the 40/80 channel issue can crop up. if they'll only ever talk to each other for while you're reversing and you wont ever have lives or equipment hanging in the balance relying on the coms, get what you like.

[Bushie]

Slip down to your local Aldi this Saturday

https://www.aldi.com.au/en/special-buys/snow-gear-sat-17-may-2014/saturday-detail-wk20/ps/p/oricom-walkie-talkie-2pk/

$35 for 2 x 80ch couldn't go wrong.

Martyn

[Basil135]

Hand-helds sound like a great idea, and perfect for what you are suggesting.

Some have variable power settings, so that if you are close, you can turn the output down, and save the batteries, but turn it up higher when you go for your walks.

With regards to reversing, a hint that I learnt was to have the person guiding you actually stand in front of the car. They can move & get a good look down each side, and if you work out some simple hand signals (in advance ;) ) then it can really help.

As you get close to where you need to be, they can move back & check the clearances.

We had to reverse trucks thru a series of witches hats, with mirrors folded in, and side windows covered, totally relying on the person in front to guide us. Very difficult thing to do in the beginning, but eventually, we would end up having time trials... ;)

[Distortion]

I've used baofeng uv-5r for a few years off ebay and they are pretty awesome
may not be legal in aus however as they can be programmed to transmit and recieve in reserved bands

However for the price/feature set I haven't been able to find anything better

[superquag]

x2,


- though I had to manually enter every transmit & receive frequency... nearly 80 of them.
Got the USB cable, cloning one, software etc but could never get it sorted :(
Yes, 99.999% sure this Luddite is doing something rrong...:eek:

Cycle the battery a few times to get it's full capacity.

From memory, around $45