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I bought a cheap and cheerful set of Motorola but I need something better. They are just toys essentially..
I'd prefer something with a docking charger type arrangement. I'm happy to pay a few quid for them.
Can you recommend some?
Her: "Why do we need walkie-talkies? Our relationship is over."
Me: "Our relationship is what? Over."
Motorola make some decent ones that are definitely better than toys. We have a few T80s which work well. Had them quite a few years so there is probably a newer model.
Midland are quality, I have a couple of pairs
Also been impressed with the Amazon special Retevis 6 piece set that I got for the lads to trash on site. Have to get a specific model for a suitable weatherproof IP rating
Depends what you mean by "better". They might be more robust, with a longer battery life, but if they're PMR, they'll be the same frequency and range as anything else.
I used to use ICOM MIL spec radios on the motorbike, but it was still as limited as any other PMR.
Quick n easy way to improve walkie talkies is a better aerial. Get ones that'll allow you to change over n put something like a Nagoya instead of teh rubber ducky that comes standard.
Retevis if you don’t have the money for the pro Motorolas. We’ve got a few for camping and they’ve done well, many come with charging bases too.
The aerial on a PMR446 radio is fixed and cannot, or should not be removed.
All PMR radios are made to the common specification, but spending more money, Icom, Motorola, Kenwood gets you a much better quality build, better audio, better battery pack, removable battery, spare battery, drop in intelligent charger, repairable etc, etc.
If you want more oomph, power, you need to get an Ofcom licence and buy a business radio and correctly programme the radio to the licence terms and conditions.
Unfortunately, there are too many people about abusing the airwaves, bit like too many people with 'tuned' ebikes or throttle controlled e bikes, which in reality are electric motorbikes.
I figure this thread will have all the amateur radio enthusiasts in one place so may as well ask here...
Has anyone else used Meshtastic for outdoors stuff? I've built up a few and the "WhatsApp over PMR" seems to work really well, particularly with the location reporting and mesh-relaying.
My only real issue with it is the fact that my electronics building, particularly soldering, is on a par with my bike mechanic-ing. Of the 5 I've built 3 worked, 1 didn't, 1 did then starting smoking and burnt through the display.
Tbf, that last one still technically works, albeit with no display, but I'm reluctant to trust it not to go up in flames and have retired it.
I bought 3 second hand Motorolas with chargers and a 5yr licence for about £175.