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I' going to be doing a lot of wine tasting biking tours again this summer along the river Danube. When my group get's over 20 it becomes a bit harder to control so am thinking of providing the slowest rider with a radio and maybe one mid pack to contact me at the front if there's a problem. This will let me take bigger groups.
Could anyone recommend something half decent that's not too expensive? Thanks in advance.
I use the baofeng UV-5R for a few things, great bits of kit, batteries last well and you can get earpieces for them so you dont miss any messages when people radio you.
I use Motorola T80s at work - think we've got about 10 now, had them for around 3 years.
They've been fine (ecological survey work, but not really extreme weather). The only issues have come up from user error, like forgetting to charge them or not holding down the button for a second or so before starting speaking. I haven't had a range issue, but on most sites that hasn't been an issue - it might be a bigger factor on bike tours, though.
Check the frequencies you can use in Germany are the same as in the UK if seeking recommendations. For example (and it's slightly different I acknowledge) the frequencies used for cheap radios in North America are used by the fire service in the UK....
PMR frequencies are license free across most of the EU. So maybe not the UK soon 😉
For this kind of use I find a speaker mic that clips to the rucsac strap with the radio on the bag works well. Not used so much for biking but it's my set up for skiing and occasionally other outdoor activities.
I can supply the latest Motorola T92, designed for rugged outdoor use - waterproof, alerter, torch, warning tone to alert others etc.
Currently PMR446 which is a euro wide agreed band plan. I'm not aware of any plans to change this under B****t.
PM me with your e mail address and I'll send a brochure pdf etc.
Should be able to work an STW discount.
My only comment is that a group of 20+, wine, bikes and one leader. Interesting risk assessment....
And where do I sign up?
My only comment is that a group of 20+, wine, bikes and one leader. Interesting risk assessment….
It's wine tasting so they are not really people who want to get completely drunk.
And where do I sign up?
@sweaman
In the uk, the emergency services are on an encrypted digital system that uses the mobile phone network. Airwaves.
Im not sure a handheld radio can imterfere with it.
I have a box full of the Baofeng BF-888S ones here for various marshalling tasks and they are very good. Just a couple of things to note:
1) Out of the box, they are technically illegal to use in the UK (and rest of the EU presumably) as they are set to frequencies that are not permitted for unlicensed use - i.e. outside of the PMR446 range. You can reprogram them with a USB cable (optional extra) and a bit of dicking about with their software - plenty of help available online. Not sure if this is still the case for the current version, but well worth checking
2) They are capable of putting out 2000mW - more than the 500mW that an unlicensed PMR handset is limited to in the UK. Personally, I'd be less concerned by this as all you're going to do is screw around with other unlicensed users and if you're using them in the middle of nowhere, you'll be fine anyway
Otherwise, battery life, clarity and robustness seem excellent for such a cheap piece of kit. Recommended.
@beer. Interesting. That might be an urban myth then or from a few years ago.
In the uk, the emergency services are on an encrypted digital system that uses the mobile phone network. Airwaves. Im not sure a handheld radio can imterfere with it.
Airwave is digital but doesn't use the mobile network, it's a completely separate system using frequencies much closer to the PMR channels. You can't listen in but you can still potentially jam their receivers by transmitting something else on the same frequency.
The UK fire service can use frequencies in the 450-470MHz range for short range personal firefighter radios, though primarily 457MHz. This is different to the longer range Airwave system for vehicle <> base comms.
The US FRS/GMRS radio channels are around 462MHz so within the range that the fire service use.
While the are not legal for unlicensed us in Europe the FRS/GMRS channels are pretty busy in any European ski resorts.
Edit: In fact just doing a bit of digging and 2 of the FRS/GMRS channels are the same frequency as two of the duplex channels used by the fire service.
So what can I buy that's legal and won't mess with other systems.
I don't really want to annoy the authorities here in Austria? They might send me back to the Uk.
Sorry for the slight derailment. My point was that it's best to buy locally as buying from China or Amazon US or similar might mean you annoy people. Buying something in country will give more confidence it's not going to tuned to the wrong frequencies.
Any PMR446 radios, such as the Motorolas offered, are legal across Europe. Sorry about the side discussion on the US radios that are available from the likes of ebay but are not legal in Europe.
No problem. Many thanks.
Just as a point of note. As a professional, I ONLY supply legal radios and equipment that meet UK and Euro specifications and are designed/set up to not cause interference to other services and users.
eg Motorola, Icom, Kenwood, Peltor etc.
I PM'd you Dr Nosh...
drnosh, can you get a good price on Peltor headphones?
Peltor headphones?
What sort are you after?