Walkie Talkies? Any things to look for?

[musicorn]

On our last family cruise on the Radiance of the Seas we had an Oscar Code (Man Overboard). I could not find my son onboard for what seemed like forever but was probably 30 minutes. So I am thinking that walkie talkies might be a good investment.

What should I be looking at?
How much range will I need?
How many channels?
Is water resistent best?

Anything else I need to think about?

[diy dave]

It might be a good investment. I've only seen people with them, and they were on a shore excursion at the time. Looking at the American replies on this subject , they say they work ok.. My experience is with my own handheld CB radios when four wheel driving, and they use the UHF frequency, which is supposed to only work in line of sight, I don't know what the signal would be like inside a cavourness cruise ship.

[musicorn]

The more I research the more confused I get. Signals, different countries with different laws etc. My son is keen to get them but maybe they are too hard to work out.

[Sandielle]

I have seen people using them, so some must work. We thought of taking ours but decided against it as I didn't think we really needed them.

(However, I couldn't find my DH - yes DH - last time, so I'm rethinking the situation for next time!)

[thied]

thart at about $40 a pair with 40 channels and go up in price from there

http://www.au.best-price.com/search/...FQyJpAodb1__pQ


or dick smith

http://dicksmith.com.au/car-gps/radi...FQFLpgodxw5vnw

[LouLou28]

I seem to recall that you could hire them on some ships ($5/handset/day) I can't say I saw them promoted on our recent P&O cruise - but I would assume/hope that the ones they hire on board would work through the metal/decks/etc ... There was a thread on here some years ago about what strength/wattage (or something technical like that) you would need to look at in order for them to work in the environment of a ship.

Would have been frightening not being able to find your son under those circumstances!

[happyaussies]

I personally wouldn't bother, just arrange to keep a check on each other by the ship's phone message system. Phones are around the ship and in your cabin.....

If your son is not old enough to do that, then he is not old enough to be "out" on the ship alone

[LouLou28]

Originally Posted by happyaussies

I personally wouldn't bother, just arrange to keep a check on each other by the ship's phone message system. Phones are around the ship and in your cabin.....

If your son is not old enough to do that, then he is not old enough to be "out" on the ship alone

The other system we use is the 'post-it note on the cabin mirror'. We leave a note for the kids as to where we are and they do the same ... when they were younger the rule was 'if you can't find us - come back to the cabin and wait' ... although they generally found us around the ship.

[musicorn]

Originally Posted by LouLou28

The other system we use is the 'post-it note on the cabin mirror'. We leave a note for the kids as to where we are and they do the same ... when they were younger the rule was 'if you can't find us - come back to the cabin and wait' ... although they generally found us around the ship.

This is what we usually do. I must say on the P&O ships it has been easy but on the larger ships there are many more places to be and it is a little more difficult.

The situation mentioned was very stressful as the customer service people would not put out shout outs to anybody to avoid panic and there was a rumour going around that it was a teenage boy that had jumped. Turned out to be an older guy who had a fight with his wife and he attempted to jump but was pulled back.

[happyaussies]

it must have been stressful...hope it wasn't for toooo long. I like the post it notes idea.

Have a good night all
B&B

[didiaust]

We had a set on Rhapsody 18 months ago - they were great . We purchased them on board foe about $45. No idea of the brand as we gave them to a young family waiting to board.

Di

[Icerecon]

Hi Musicorn - on Radiance of the Seas they where selling pairs of non brand type of handheld radios for $38 USD which is a great price.

In Australia Dick Smith sells pairs of Unidens of $99 Model UH038SX-2NB. Uniden has an office/repair area in Australia. These radios have a battery pack and can take AA batteries as well which is also handy if you forget to charge them overnight. They are line of sight but on a ship they appear to work OK as a lot of children had them on our last two cruises, I have not tried them myself but bulkheads decks etc will impact on their performance being made of metal.

Your son will obviously start using the radios at home and in Australia in a few years the standard will be 80 channels (really 77 channels) so what ever you purchase ensure they are marked something like 77 NB Channels.

I have a couple of older Uniden Handhelds and they have been working for well over 5 years on the same batteries.

Jaycar and other electronic shops also sell them, so look around.

To answer your other questions - waterproof handhelds are quite expensive double the price, most handhelds only have a 5W output and that is a legal requirement in Australia, you do not need a license for UHF CB, and they are quite easy to use. Other information can be found at:

http://www.uhfcb.com.au/

I hope this helps. I am a Ham Radio Operator and have tried to write this as simple as I can so if you have any further questions please ask.

Stan - VK1FSTJ

[thied]

Originally Posted by Icerecon

Hi Musicorn - on Radiance of the Seas they where selling pairs of non brand type of handheld radios for $38 USD which is a great price.

In Australia Dick Smith sells pairs of Unidens of $99 Model UH038SX-2NB. Uniden has an office/repair area in Australia. These radios have a battery pack and can take AA batteries as well which is also handy if you forget to charge them overnight. They are line of sight but on a ship they appear to work OK as a lot of children had them on our last two cruises, I have not tried them myself but bulkheads decks etc will impact on their performance being made of metal.

Your son will obviously start using the radios at home and in Australia in a few years the standard will be 80 channels (really 77 channels) so what ever you purchase ensure they are marked something like 77 NB Channels.

I have a couple of older Uniden Handhelds and they have been working for well over 5 years on the same batteries.

Jaycar and other electronic shops also sell them, so look around.

To answer your other questions - waterproof handhelds are quite expensive double the price, most handhelds only have a 5W output and that is a legal requirement in Australia, you do not need a license for UHF CB, and they are quite easy to use. Other information can be found at:

http://www.uhfcb.com.au/

I hope this helps. I am a Ham Radio Operator and have tried to write this as simple as I can so if you have any further questions please ask.

Stan - VK1FSTJ

very well said as we do use hand helds around the farm.

[ceejay3377]

I have often wished for walkie talkies, as my husband often "goes missing" and isn't where he says he will be when he said he would be there.

On our last cruise we used magnetic bulldog clips to stick notes on the wall. They are a bulldog type clip attached to a large round magnet and I found them at Chickenfeed for $2 for a pack of 6. Since many surfaces in the cabin (including walls) are made of metal, you can stick them on the wall, write a note, and clip it in. Of course, this will only work if those you are travelling with actually bother to write a note letting you know where they are!

I have found that post it notes can sometimes not adhere very well to the finish on some walls.

For those who have used walkie talkies, have you found that you have to "share the air" with many others?

Cheers,

[musicorn]

Originally Posted by Icerecon

Hi Musicorn - on Radiance of the Seas they where selling pairs of non brand type of handheld radios for $38 USD which is a great price.

In Australia Dick Smith sells pairs of Unidens of $99 Model UH038SX-2NB. Uniden has an office/repair area in Australia. These radios have a battery pack and can take AA batteries as well which is also handy if you forget to charge them overnight. They are line of sight but on a ship they appear to work OK as a lot of children had them on our last two cruises, I have not tried them myself but bulkheads decks etc will impact on their performance being made of metal.

Your son will obviously start using the radios at home and in Australia in a few years the standard will be 80 channels (really 77 channels) so what ever you purchase ensure they are marked something like 77 NB Channels.

I have a couple of older Uniden Handhelds and they have been working for well over 5 years on the same batteries.

Jaycar and other electronic shops also sell them, so look around.

To answer your other questions - waterproof handhelds are quite expensive double the price, most handhelds only have a 5W output and that is a legal requirement in Australia, you do not need a license for UHF CB, and they are quite easy to use. Other information can be found at:

http://www.uhfcb.com.au/

I hope this helps. I am a Ham Radio Operator and have tried to write this as simple as I can so if you have any further questions please ask.

Stan - VK1FSTJ

Stan

Thank you so much. This has made it easy to understand.

[Icerecon]

Originally Posted by ceejay3377

For those who have used walkie talkies, have you found that you have to "share the air" with many others?

Cheers,

Hi ceejay3377

'Sharing the air', should not be too much of a problem with old radios you have 38 channels and the new radios I mentioned will have 77 channels, so if you find some one on a channel just move to the next vacant channel.

Stan