hand-held radio/ walkie talkie

[ZIPPY5150]

And they are ANNOYING to those on the ship-especially when given to kids-"MOM, MOM, MOM, where are you????" (with 40 MOM's answering the call). Use post it notes, the cabin voice mail system, a specific meeting time, etc., etc. You REALLY can't get lost on a cruise ship.

 

That is not the answer I was looking for. I have used GMRS radios on board cruise ships for years. No one has ever complained about my use. They are for my wife and I and another couple ONLY. I always put them on vibrate mode and I DO respect other people's space. I'm just looking for something better.

 

I appreciate your input.

 

Bob

[Bill S]

In general, UHF works better from inside many structures than VHF, at least that is my experience. However, steel is steel, and even at UHF frequencies, communicating with radios is difficult in a steel environment. Maybe some one with a lot more radio experience than me can offer a solution for you.

[ZIPPY5150]

I found a new radio system called TriSquare eXRS radios. http://www.trisquare.us/index.html They work in the 900 mh range. If I understand the technology of radios correctly the frequency is more important the wattage as far as use within a cruise ship, due to all the steel. The higher frequency will work better, as far as clarity of recieption. The eXRS radios are 1 watt, which should be enough at the higher frequency to do the job on the ship.

 

I think I'm going to give them a try on my next cruise in September. I'll post a report on how well they worked here.

 

Bob

[Fascist]

I found this thread while searching for an answer to whether a 1/2watt UHF walkie talkie will have the range on a cruise ship. From reading the above, I'm guessing they won't. I'm not interested in spending the money on higher wattage radios this close to the cruise, but did I understand correctly that a 5W transmitter power will have a decent coverage over the ship? I'm in Australia, so a 5W UHF CB handheld is perfectly legal without special licensing requirements. How badly will the decks attenuate the signal? Will a 2W suffice?

 

All questions for next time. I have 0.5W that I use for bushwalking, but even then I'd prefer probably a 2W or even a 5W.

[beachchick]

I found this thread while searching for an answer to whether a 1/2watt UHF walkie talkie will have the range on a cruise ship. From reading the above, I'm guessing they won't. I'm not interested in spending the money on higher wattage radios this close to the cruise, but did I understand correctly that a 5W transmitter power will have a decent coverage over the ship? I'm in Australia, so a 5W UHF CB handheld is perfectly legal without special licensing requirements. How badly will the decks attenuate the signal? Will a 2W suffice?

 

All questions for next time. I have 0.5W that I use for bushwalking, but even then I'd prefer probably a 2W or even a 5W.

 

I can't help you all that much except to say that we simply find them too darn much hassle and don't like to add to the "Can you hear me? Where are you? What are you doing?" conversations. My dad (and most of my family, all of whom are members of the ARRL and who use a wide variety of equipment) have found that metal superstructures do attenuate signals somewhat, depending on the type/density of the metal and distance. I wish I could be more specific, but as the black sheep of the family in that regard, I really don't have much experience with use onboard any ship, cruise or otherwise.

 

As to what I bolded above: That's fine for you in Australia. You can use whatever is legal there while you are there. But we are talking about different countries which use different frequencies and which have different laws. It doesn't matter one smidge that you bought something legally in Australia and it doesn't matter one iota that you use it legally there. Other countries don't care; they only care whether you are following their laws, communication and otherwise. The same goes for cruise ships. Just because you can buy and use a 5W UHF CB in Australia doesn't mean that it's allowed on all cruise ships. You need to check the regulations for each one. If you intend to use them while the ship is in port, the local laws will apply even if you are using them on the ship. Please check your cruise line's restrictions and confirm whether it will be legal near your various ports.

 

beachchick

[Fascist]

As to what I bolded above: That's fine for you in Australia. You can use whatever is legal there while you are there. But we are talking about different countries which use different frequencies and which have different laws. It doesn't matter one smidge that you bought something legally in Australia and it doesn't matter one iota that you use it legally there. Other countries don't care; they only care whether you are following their laws, communication and otherwise.

 

beachchick

 

I know that, and that wasn't my query. We are doing domestic cruising only, so the international licensing issues aren't relevant. Obviously, in my effort to prevent any replies like yours above, I failed to mention that. I only added that to try and prevent the "you need a special license for GPRS" replies that assume I'm in the USA. My query was what sort of transmitter power is required onboard. I see that you have edited your post and added some more information to try and be more helpful, which I appreciate. It does make your post decidedly less rude sounding. Do you recall how much higher power you are talking about? 1W, 2W or 5W?

[Fascist]

For the benefit of anyone else searching the forum, here are the results of some preliminary research I have done on the South West Pacific islands and radio frequency allocations:

 

Australia and New Zealand have the same frequency allocations for the unlicensed UHF CB frequencies:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UHF_CB

 

Vanuatu has adopted the same frequency allocations as are current in New Zealand:

http://www.telecomregulator.gov.vu/attachments/051_Draft%20Information%20Paper%20on%20Short-range%20Devices.pdf

 

New Caledonia is an overseas territory of France and as such uses the European equivalent of the license free UHF system known as PMR446.

[Fascist]

The FRS wikipedia page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_Radio_Service) has a good section about similar services in other regions, however looking up the FRS/GMRS, UHF CB, and PMR446 shows that none of these three services share any frequencies. There are other services also. China has a similar service in the 406MHz range.

 

FRS: (USA/Canada) 462MHz/467MHz, 14 channels (channels 1-7 shared with GMRS), 0.5W max power

GMRS: (USA) 462MHz/467MHz, 8 channels, licence required, 50W max power, 5W max on shared FRS channels for GMRS licence holders

GMRS: (Canada) frequencies as USA, no licence required, 2W max power

UHF CB: (Australia/NZ/Vanuatu/Samoa) 476-477MHz, 40 channels (soon to be extended to 80 channels in Australia by ACMA. Backwards compatible with the existing 40 channels although older radios may interfere with the 80 channel models due to wider channel bandwidth), 5W max power

PMR446: (Europe/French Polynesia(Tahiti), New Caledonia (I think, it's not very clear)) 446MHz, 8 analog channels, 16 digital channels, 0.5W max power

 

Shared FRS/GMRS devices also approved in Brazil and other South American countries, according to the article above, but no mention about power restrictions.

 

Try as I might, my Google-fu isn't strong enough to find any info on Fiji

[beachchick]

I know that, and that wasn't my query. We are doing domestic cruising only, so the international licensing issues aren't relevant. Obviously, in my effort to prevent any replies like yours above, I failed to mention that. I only added that to try and prevent the "you need a special license for GPRS" replies that assume I'm in the USA. My query was what sort of transmitter power is required onboard. I see that you have edited your post and added some more information to try and be more helpful, which I appreciate. It does make your post decidedly less rude sounding. Do you recall how much higher power you are talking about? 1W, 2W or 5W?

 

As I recall, 2W seemed to be pretty decent with 5W, of course, being better. I suspect (but can only guess) that cruise ship size makes a big difference too? Based on our experience with 1/2W w/t's on a pretty big ship (120,000 tons), I'm positive we would have had no issues at all if we'd had 2W instead.

 

Yes, it would have helped to know that you'll be cruising domestically so that other countries laws don't apply. I'm sorry you felt my post was rude as it certainly wasn't intended as such. But not having a clue that you wouldn't be leaving Australia, I had no way of knowing that your reference to legality there had anything to do with your actual cruise itinerary.

 

beachchick

[Fascist]

As I recall, 2W seemed to be pretty decent with 5W, of course, being better. I suspect (but can only guess) that cruise ship size makes a big difference too? Based on our experience with 1/2W w/t's on a pretty big ship (120,000 tons), I'm positive we would have had no issues at all if we'd had 2W instead.

 

Yes, it would have helped to know that you'll be cruising domestically so that other countries laws don't apply. I'm sorry you felt my post was rude as it certainly wasn't intended as such. But not having a clue that you wouldn't be leaving Australia, I had no way of knowing that your reference to legality there had anything to do with your actual cruise itinerary.

 

beachchick

 

Thanks for that. That really answers my question. The ship we will be on is the Pacific Dawn. (70,000GT) No worries about the post. Probably just another example of the written word struggling to convey the nuances of the spoken word. If we enjoy this cruise, we will likely do a Pacific Island cruise next, so it's good to know where ours are able to be used.... if we do indeed find a need for them.

[BallFour4]

The higher the frequency and the higher the power the better the radio signal.

 

Good luck finding anything but toys that are VHF and have transmit power of 0.5 watt. Your 0.5 watt power radios will perform poorly on a ship. We took our first pair ones aboard and they didn't work at that power.

 

GMRS/FMRS combo radios are almost all 5 watt transmit power on selected frequencies. When you review the manual that comes with the radio it will tell you the power by channel.

 

We have carried Motorola models for close to a decade with no problem on ships ranging from the Celebration to RCCL's Freedom of the Seas. They worked fine about 80% of the time.

 

Your question is about use on the ship and you got opinions for days about what others perceive as a nuisance. Five watt powered radios are for sale in the gift shop of all eleven cruise ships I have been aboard.

 

As to international frequency interference and laws prohibiting them ashore, you might listen in closely before you transmit in port. I have yet to hear a public service transmission from a GMRS radio. I have also yet to see any document or proof of these devices being illegal in foreign ports. I stand to be corrected...

 

Mass market cruises are not the quite floating libraries of the sea with quiet time from bow to stern. An occasional transmission or communication would do no long term harm to your fellow passenger, and vibrate mode works great.

 

Also, speaking with a loud voice does not enhance range. UHF radios have two sides to the transmission. One is the RF or transmitted radio signal, the second is AF or audio level. The RF is what gets "you there" to your other party.

 

Look at the packaging of the radios, look for GMRS ones with full power. For those in the states get the US license to be legal when you use them at home.

 

Consider a local purchase versus eBay or the web for your investment. If you have a problem with them they can be returned quickly.

 

Finally, any thread loaded with comments built around emotion or perception is within the spirit of the boards, just shallow in facts.

 

Now you have a few more facts.

 

 

.

[BallFour4]

VHF vs. UHF I'm totally confused now. Which one do I want on a cruise ship VHF or UHF? I get the whole thing about higher power is more likely to work better on the ship. But which band will penetrate the ships superstructure better?

 

I've used Motorola T5950 1 watt FRS/GMRS radios with limited success. I want to upgrade to something that will work much better. I will pay almost anything for great clear reception on and off the ship.

 

Any advise would be appreciated.

 

Bob

 

Bob, I have a pair of Vertex Standard business class radios that are UHF and 5 watt. They worked incredibly well on the ship and ashore on the past two cruises. The radios are small, rechargeable and have several channels.

 

The bad news? They were a couple of hundred dollars for the pair. I use them in a side business I have and at our church on events I help manage.

 

You might consider renting a pair of business class radios for your trip. Search the phone book for a local shop and see what you can find.

 

 

.

 

[Fascist]

As to international frequency interference and laws prohibiting them ashore, you might listen in closely before you transmit in port. I have yet to hear a public service transmission from a GMRS radio. I have also yet to see any document or proof of these devices being illegal in foreign ports. I stand to be corrected...

 

From my limited research, it seems that most American countries (north and south) have standardised on the FRS/GMRS system so the vast majority of destinations on cruises from the USA, you should be fine.

 

However, I can tell you that ACMA (Australian Communications and Media Authority) can and does come down hard on out of licence transmissions. Here is a link to the Australian frequency allocations: http://acma.gov.au/webwr/radcomm/frequency_planning/spectrum_plan/arsp-wc.pdf. There is a section of bandwidth in the 460-470MHz range that is allocated to aeronautical navigation... I wouldn't be using your FRS/GMRS radios anywhere near and Australian airport, which pretty much rules out all major ports. There are also mobile (cellular) phone transmissions within this range, so you'd probably be lost in the chatter there, but I can guarantee it is not legal under the Commonwealth Radiocommunications Act 1992, section 42:

 

46 Unlicensed operation of radiocommunications devices
(1) Subject to section 49, a person must not operate a
radiocommunications device otherwise than as authorised by:
(a) a spectrum licence; or
(b) an apparatus licence; or
(c) a class licence.
Penalty:
(a) if the radiocommunications device is a radiocommunications
transmitter:
(i) if the offender is an individual—imprisonment for 2
years; or
(ii) otherwise—1,500 penalty units; or
(b) if the radiocommunications device is not a
radiocommunications transmitter—20 penalty units.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply if the person has a reasonable
excuse.
Note:
A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matter in
subsection (2) (see subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code).

[BallFour4]

From my limited research, it seems that most American countries (north and south) have standardised on the FRS/GMRS system so the vast majority of destinations on cruises from the USA, you should be fine.

 

Looks like you have done excellent research!

[Fascist]

Looks like you have done excellent research!

 

Thanks, but I wouldn't call it excellent. I haven't researched the American side of things extensively... only as far as it relates to my local situation, and a few extra things that turned up while I was doing that. Most western countries are fairly easy to research, but smaller countries such as those in Central and South America are more difficult. In my region, for example, it is not currently possible for me to find out quickly what the requirements are in Fiji, as from what I can tell, they are in the middle of (as of June this year) a spectrum management restructure, so short of actually contacting their new department, I have no idea what they will decide. The assumption is that they will follow the majority of governments in the region and do what they normally do, which is follow Australia and New Zealand (which has a financial benefit for their citizens in readily available and already cheap devices), but as they say.... assumption is the mother of all f@%$ ups!

[Smokeyham]

[quote name='ZIPPY5150']VHF vs. UHF I'm totally confused now. Which one do I want on a cruise ship VHF or UHF? I get the whole thing about higher power is more likely to work better on the ship. But which band will penetrate the ships superstructure better?

I've used Motorola T5950 1 watt FRS/GMRS radios with limited success. I want to upgrade to something that will work much better. I will pay almost anything for great clear reception on and off the ship.

Any advise would be appreciated.

Bob[/quote]


As was noted in a previous post, all else being equal, UHF will penetrate through buildings, etc. better while VHF covers longer distances. I believe I saw NCL staff carrying UHF radios on my last cruise.


However, short of buying some type of business-style radios (which are quite expensive), the best you can probably get is the FRS/GMRS combination. One of the previous posters had business-style radios, and those seemed to work well; so if this is something really important to you then it might be worth investing in a pair of those. I would do some research on what you want, then try E-Bay if you feel comfortable with that.