Within the last several years, FCC authorized "Family Radio
Service". I know that many stores have great success with
them. Though, they are not legal for use by business. Just
families. Still, many stores use them.

They are seriously cheap on Ebay. And can be bought with
rechargable batteries, and charge stands. So you're not
spending piles of money on batteries.

Cheaper than using cell phone minutes for everything.

I like my gadgets. And FRS walkie talkies are on my list of
neat gadgets I like to play with. Who has used them, and how
did they work?

My major experience has been picnics. From picnic base to
firewood team, they are good for chit chat. The only time
I've used them for anything real, was one time I was pincic
with a friend. His daughter wandered off. He went to look
for her, and I stayed at the base.

Used them while working on a heating and AC job. They were a
serious help, there. We could have guys in the cellar, or in
the attic, and saved a lot of running around.


--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

Stormin Mormon wrote:
Within the last several years, FCC authorized "Family Radio
Service". I know that many stores have great success with
them. Though, they are not legal for use by business. Just
families. Still, many stores use them.

They are seriously cheap on Ebay. And can be bought with
rechargable batteries, and charge stands. So you're not
spending piles of money on batteries.

Cheaper than using cell phone minutes for everything.

I like my gadgets. And FRS walkie talkies are on my list of
neat gadgets I like to play with. Who has used them, and how
did they work?

My major experience has been picnics. From picnic base to
firewood team, they are good for chit chat. The only time
I've used them for anything real, was one time I was pincic
with a friend. His daughter wandered off. He went to look
for her, and I stayed at the base.

Used them while working on a heating and AC job. They were a
serious help, there. We could have guys in the cellar, or in
the attic, and saved a lot of running around.


There are 2 closely related flavors, FRS and GMRS, the slightly more
expensive and powerful ones. GMRS technically requires a cheap license,
but almost nobody bothers, and it does not seem to be enforced. Those
are legal for business use. Some radios swing both ways, since the
assigned frequency bands overlap.

They are cheap and useful, but not very durable, especially if you drop
them in mud or on concrete. We use real walkie talkies at work, but they
range from $750 for vanilla vhf, to ~$3k for the modern trunked digital
ones.

--
aem sends...

"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message
...
Within the last several years, FCC authorized "Family Radio
Service". I know that many stores have great success with
them. Though, they are not legal for use by business. Just
families. Still, many stores use them.

They are seriously cheap on Ebay. And can be bought with
rechargable batteries, and charge stands. So you're not
spending piles of money on batteries.

Cheaper than using cell phone minutes for everything.

I like my gadgets. And FRS walkie talkies are on my list of
neat gadgets I like to play with. Who has used them, and how
did they work?

My major experience has been picnics. From picnic base to
firewood team, they are good for chit chat. The only time
I've used them for anything real, was one time I was pincic
with a friend. His daughter wandered off. He went to look
for her, and I stayed at the base.

Used them while working on a heating and AC job. They were a
serious help, there. We could have guys in the cellar, or in
the attic, and saved a lot of running around.


--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.




I got some with a 3 mile range and they didn't work from my house to the
back of my property (over a hill about 1000 feet). I got some with a 7 mile
range and they didn't work as well as the 3 mile range. About the only time
I actually use them is while working on something when someone has to
monitor one thing while someone else is 500 feet away working on the
problem.

I was hoping they would work well enough so my wife or daughter could call
if they got stuck in the mud where there is no cell phone service. It's
less than a mile to the bad area and they don't work.

All-in-all I'd say they work a little better than the old four transistor
walkie-talkies I had when I was a kid.

On May 24, 11:44*am, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:
Within the last several years, FCC authorized "Family Radio
Service". I know that many stores have great success with
them. Though, they are not legal for use by business. Just
families. Still, many stores use them.

They are seriously cheap on Ebay. And can be bought with
rechargable batteries, and charge stands. So you're not
spending piles of money on batteries.

Cheaper than using cell phone minutes for everything.

I like my gadgets. And FRS walkie talkies are on my list of
neat gadgets I like to play with. Who has used them, and how
did they work?

I've had some Motorola Talkabouts for over ten years and I love 'em.
I use them when working to communicate between floors or from front to
back of the house, when following people in cars (you can actually
follow someone you're guiding when you have them, and you don't have
to be within sight), use them at large events and parks to stay in
contact (great way to give kids free rein and keep them in check at
the same time).

R

"Ulysses" wrote:

All-in-all I'd say they work a little better than the old four transistor
walkie-talkies I had when I was a kid.

Yeah, but it was funner playing Captain Spaceman back then.

Jon

"Ulysses" wrote in message
...

I got some with a 3 mile range and they didn't work from my house to the
back of my property (over a hill about 1000 feet). I got some with a 7
mile
range and they didn't work as well as the 3 mile range. About the only
time
I actually use them is while working on something when someone has to
monitor one thing while someone else is 500 feet away working on the
problem.

I was hoping they would work well enough so my wife or daughter could call
if they got stuck in the mud where there is no cell phone service. It's
less than a mile to the bad area and they don't work.

All-in-all I'd say they work a little better than the old four transistor
walkie-talkies I had when I was a kid.


The ranges given are a big joke. If you look at the fine print you may see
something strange like from the top of a mountain. Some friends have
communicated over 30 miles with them,but one was on top of Mt. Mitchell
(highest point on east coast). At much over 500 feet they are like a big
searchlight. If you can see it, you can talk. If there is a hill in the
way , forget it.

As a ham operator I have used the talkies for over 25 years. You just have
to know what can and can not be expected of them.

Stormin Mormon wrote in message
...
FRS walkie talkies: Who has used them, and how
did they work?



We use them whenever we travel and expect to be working an amusement park.
In Legoland, SeaWorld, Phoenix Zoo, etc. our Motorola Radio Shack 21-1854
worked extremely well. The channels were clear and uncluttered, they also
held a charge all day and well-into the night; I especially appreciate the
quick-charge that can be done if you go back to your hotel room to nap
between meals. Inside The Happiest Place on Earth, they were useless. Not
only did 700 others share the same thought about that radio's usefulness,
every one of them were holding dissertations on War & Peace. We've also used
them during those first years where I allowed my older daughter-units a
modicum of freedom (riding their bikes to friends' homes or to school
daily.) They worked fine for those trips and short jaunts. shrug



The Ranger

The Ranger wrote:
Stormin Mormon wrote in message
...
FRS walkie talkies: Who has used them, and how
did they work?



We use them whenever we travel and expect to be working an amusement
park. In Legoland, SeaWorld, Phoenix Zoo, etc. our Motorola Radio
Shack 21-1854 worked extremely well. The channels were clear and
uncluttered, they also held a charge all day and well-into the night;
I especially appreciate the quick-charge that can be done if you go
back to your hotel room to nap between meals. Inside The Happiest
Place on Earth, they were useless. Not only did 700 others share the
same thought about that radio's usefulness, every one of them were
holding dissertations on War & Peace. We've also used them during
those first years where I allowed my older daughter-units a modicum
of freedom (riding their bikes to friends' homes or to school daily.)
They worked fine for those trips and short jaunts. shrug

The ones with multiple "security codes" help eliminate a lot of the extra
traffic. You don't have to listen to everyone else's talk.

On Sun, 24 May 2009 11:44:20 -0400, Stormin Mormon wrote:
Within the last several years, FCC authorized "Family Radio
Service". I know that many stores have great success with
them. Though, they are not legal for use by business. Just
families. Still, many stores use them.

Unless you are outside cellphone coverage, what's the point?

Just use cell phones. WTs are just one more PITA piece of portable
electronics to lug around. My camera, cell phone, and walkman are enough.

AZ Nomad wrote:
On Sun, 24 May 2009 11:44:20 -0400, Stormin Mormon wrote:
Within the last several years, FCC authorized "Family Radio
Service". I know that many stores have great success with
them. Though, they are not legal for use by business. Just
families. Still, many stores use them.

Unless you are outside cellphone coverage, what's the point?

Just use cell phones. WTs are just one more PITA piece of portable
electronics to lug around. My camera, cell phone, and walkman are enough.

You don't have to pay monthly fees for walkie-talkies. Not everyone has
or routinely carries a cell, or wants to. And out in the boonies or at
a crowed public venue, availability is likely to be spotty or non-existent.

--
aem sends...

I can easily imagine getting cross talk from zillions of
tourists. At a moment like that, MURS color dot radios would
likely do a better job.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"The Ranger" wrote in message
...


We use them whenever we travel and expect to be working an
amusement park.
In Legoland, SeaWorld, Phoenix Zoo, etc. our Motorola Radio
Shack 21-1854
worked extremely well. The channels were clear and
uncluttered, they also
held a charge all day and well-into the night; I especially
appreciate the
quick-charge that can be done if you go back to your hotel
room to nap
between meals. Inside The Happiest Place on Earth, they were
useless. Not
only did 700 others share the same thought about that
radio's usefulness,
every one of them were holding dissertations on War & Peace.
We've also used
them during those first years where I allowed my older
daughter-units a
modicum of freedom (riding their bikes to friends' homes or
to school
daily.) They worked fine for those trips and short jaunts.
shrug



The Ranger

Cell service costs money. That's the point.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"AZ Nomad" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 24 May 2009 11:44:20 -0400, Stormin Mormon
wrote:
Within the last several years, FCC authorized "Family Radio
Service". I know that many stores have great success with
them. Though, they are not legal for use by business. Just
families. Still, many stores use them.

Unless you are outside cellphone coverage, what's the point?

Just use cell phones. WTs are just one more PITA piece of
portable
electronics to lug around. My camera, cell phone, and
walkman are enough.

AZ Nomad wrote:
On Sun, 24 May 2009 11:44:20 -0400, Stormin Mormon wrote:
Within the last several years, FCC authorized "Family Radio
Service". I know that many stores have great success with
them. Though, they are not legal for use by business. Just
families. Still, many stores use them.

Unless you are outside cellphone coverage, what's the point?

Just use cell phones. WTs are just one more PITA piece of portable
electronics to lug around. My camera, cell phone, and walkman are enough.

I recently dropped the mp3 player and also the camera for most occasions
because my phone can do that. It actually has a pretty decent 5 Mega
pixel camera with the only shortcoming being lack of zoom.

aemeijers wrote:
AZ Nomad wrote:
On Sun, 24 May 2009 11:44:20 -0400, Stormin Mormon
wrote:
Within the last several years, FCC authorized "Family Radio Service".
I know that many stores have great success with them. Though, they
are not legal for use by business. Just families. Still, many stores
use them.

Unless you are outside cellphone coverage, what's the point?

Just use cell phones. WTs are just one more PITA piece of portable
electronics to lug around. My camera, cell phone, and walkman are
enough.

You don't have to pay monthly fees for walkie-talkies. Not everyone has
or routinely carries a cell, or wants to. And out in the boonies or at
a crowed public venue, availability is likely to be spotty or non-existent.

--
aem sends...

Pretty much all of the carriers have some sort of "in network calling"
etc where the clock isn't running if you are called or are calling
someone on the same carrier. Our plan also includes the ability to add
10 additional numbers from any carrier or landline which are also off
the clock. I have never experienced a problem at a crowded venue because
carriers plan for that and unfortunately coverage also extends into the
boonies. A walkie talkie is just another radio to carry and charge a
battery and maintain.

On Sun, 24 May 2009 21:36:59 GMT, aemeijers wrote:
AZ Nomad wrote:
On Sun, 24 May 2009 11:44:20 -0400, Stormin Mormon wrote:
Within the last several years, FCC authorized "Family Radio
Service". I know that many stores have great success with
them. Though, they are not legal for use by business. Just
families. Still, many stores use them.

Unless you are outside cellphone coverage, what's the point?

Just use cell phones. WTs are just one more PITA piece of portable
electronics to lug around. My camera, cell phone, and walkman are enough.

You don't have to pay monthly fees for walkie-talkies. Not everyone has
or routinely carries a cell, or wants to. And out in the boonies or at
a crowed public venue, availability is likely to be spotty or non-existent.

I already have a cell phone. Most people do.
Another poster pointed out that WT's don't work terribly well in theme
parks where too many people still think they're a novel idea.

On Sun, 24 May 2009 18:43:31 -0400, George wrote:
AZ Nomad wrote:
On Sun, 24 May 2009 11:44:20 -0400, Stormin Mormon wrote:
Within the last several years, FCC authorized "Family Radio
Service". I know that many stores have great success with
them. Though, they are not legal for use by business. Just
families. Still, many stores use them.

Unless you are outside cellphone coverage, what's the point?

Just use cell phones. WTs are just one more PITA piece of portable
electronics to lug around. My camera, cell phone, and walkman are enough.

I recently dropped the mp3 player and also the camera for most occasions
because my phone can do that. It actually has a pretty decent 5 Mega
pixel camera with the only shortcoming being lack of zoom.

Cell phone's all have awful optics and I would only consider using
a cell phone camera if there was no other choice. Cell phone mp3 players
aren't much better. I know few cell phone's with an 80G drive.

George wrote:
aemeijers wrote:
AZ Nomad wrote:
On Sun, 24 May 2009 11:44:20 -0400, Stormin Mormon
wrote:
Within the last several years, FCC authorized "Family Radio
Service". I know that many stores have great success with them.
Though, they are not legal for use by business. Just families.
Still, many stores use them.

Unless you are outside cellphone coverage, what's the point?

Just use cell phones. WTs are just one more PITA piece of portable
electronics to lug around. My camera, cell phone, and walkman are
enough.

You don't have to pay monthly fees for walkie-talkies. Not everyone
has or routinely carries a cell, or wants to. And out in the boonies
or at a crowed public venue, availability is likely to be spotty or
non-existent.

--
aem sends...

Pretty much all of the carriers have some sort of "in network calling"
etc where the clock isn't running if you are called or are calling
someone on the same carrier. Our plan also includes the ability to add
10 additional numbers from any carrier or landline which are also off
the clock. I have never experienced a problem at a crowded venue because
carriers plan for that and unfortunately coverage also extends into the
boonies. A walkie talkie is just another radio to carry and charge a
battery and maintain.

I repeat- not everybody has a cell phone, or wants one. Nor does
everyone want to pay the monthly fees, for something they may only need
3-4 times a year. I only have a toy prepaid that costs me 8 bucks a
month, and have close to $200 in airtime built up on it, because I use
it so little. (traveling or the occasional days I am on call.) No way
would I pay $25-30 or more a month for a 'real' cell phone. It lives in
my briefcase, and I turn it on maybe once a week to check for voicemail,
if I remember. And if what you call 'boonies' has cell coverage, you
don't wander around much. Whole swaths of the country only have cell in
town and along major highways. It is only in last few years that Park
Service has encouraged cell towers in the larger remote parks, mainly to
make life easier for their people when clueless tourists get lost. As to
system saturation- it is better than it used to be, but they still have
to run in portable towers for major events, or lots of people can't dial
out.

--
aem sends...

AZ Nomad wrote:
On Sun, 24 May 2009 21:36:59 GMT, aemeijers wrote:
AZ Nomad wrote:
On Sun, 24 May 2009 11:44:20 -0400, Stormin Mormon wrote:
Within the last several years, FCC authorized "Family Radio
Service". I know that many stores have great success with
them. Though, they are not legal for use by business. Just
families. Still, many stores use them.
Unless you are outside cellphone coverage, what's the point?

Just use cell phones. WTs are just one more PITA piece of portable
electronics to lug around. My camera, cell phone, and walkman are enough.

You don't have to pay monthly fees for walkie-talkies. Not everyone has
or routinely carries a cell, or wants to. And out in the boonies or at
a crowed public venue, availability is likely to be spotty or non-existent.

I already have a cell phone. Most people do.
Another poster pointed out that WT's don't work terribly well in theme
parks where too many people still think they're a novel idea.

Toy FRS walkie talkies won't- real ones will work fine.

--
aem sends..

On May 24, 10:44*am, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:
Within the last several years, FCC authorized "Family Radio
Service". I know that many stores have great success with
them. Though, they are not legal for use by business. Just
families. Still, many stores use them.

They are seriously cheap on Ebay. And can be bought with
rechargable batteries, and charge stands. So you're not
spending piles of money on batteries.

Cheaper than using cell phone minutes for everything.

I like my gadgets. And FRS walkie talkies are on my list of
neat gadgets I like to play with. Who has used them, and how
did they work?

My major experience has been picnics. From picnic base to
firewood team, they are good for chit chat. The only time
I've used them for anything real, was one time I was pincic
with a friend. His daughter wandered off. He went to look
for her, and I stayed at the base.

Used them while working on a heating and AC job. They were a
serious help, there. We could have guys in the cellar, or in
the attic, and saved *a lot of running around.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
*www.lds.org
.

For 80$, Motorola says theirs do 25 miles. For 90$ 28 miles, around a
building over a hill, who knows maybe 100ft.

Stormin Mormon wrote:
Within the last several years, FCC authorized "Family Radio
Service". I know that many stores have great success with
them. Though, they are not legal for use by business. Just
families. Still, many stores use them.

They are seriously cheap on Ebay. And can be bought with
rechargable batteries, and charge stands. So you're not
spending piles of money on batteries.

Cheaper than using cell phone minutes for everything.

I like my gadgets. And FRS walkie talkies are on my list of
neat gadgets I like to play with. Who has used them, and how
did they work?

My major experience has been picnics. From picnic base to
firewood team, they are good for chit chat. The only time
I've used them for anything real, was one time I was pincic
with a friend. His daughter wandered off. He went to look
for her, and I stayed at the base.

Used them while working on a heating and AC job. They were a
serious help, there. We could have guys in the cellar, or in
the attic, and saved a lot of running around.

They're great around the farm, and we keep one on in every building. It's
like an intercom system that way, except you can pick up any radio if an
animal gets loose and takes off, and get help looking for it. Also, my son
and his wife took a car trip of about 1,000 miles a couple of years ago with
a bunch of friends in several separate cars, and the radios gave them a way
to stay in touch.

For the price, they're fine and work pretty well. I don't really buy the
distance claims, but they work fine where we use them.

"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message
...
My two mile walkies reached 0.7 miles in Rochester, NY, so
I'm with you on the distance claims. Car to car, line of
sight, should work well. And 14 clean channels. No skip, and
no cross channel. Yet. Until someone figures out how to make
a cheap linny and splatter the band.

Here is the fine print on some with the advertised 10 mile range.

1. The communication range quoted is calculated based on an unobstructed
line of sight test under optimum conditions. Actual range will vary
depending on terrain and conditions, and is often less than the maximum
possible. Your actual range will be limited by several factors including,
but not limited to: terrain, weather conditions, electromagnetic
interference, and obstructions.



All you have to do is find a place where you can see for 10 miles.

At work talkies are used all the time. They are the high dollar comercial 5
watt units. Due to the ammount of steel in the buildings we have a hard
time talking 500 feet sometimes. The building is very large (about 40 acers
under roof. The talkies work good outside the buildings.

On May 24, 1:35*pm, "Jon Danniken"
wrote:
*"Ulysses" wrote:

All-in-all I'd say they work a little better than the old four transistor
walkie-talkies I had when I was a kid.

Yeah, but it was funner playing Captain Spaceman back then.

Jon

I saw kids playing Cowboys and Indians. The Indians started a casino
and hired the cowboys as security. Go figure.

On May 24, 2:42*pm, "Ralph Mowery" wrote:
"Ulysses" wrote in message

...



I got some with a 3 mile range and they didn't work from my house to the
back of my property (over a hill about 1000 feet). *I got some with a 7
mile
range and they didn't work as well as the 3 mile range. *About the only
time
I actually use them is while working on something when someone has to
monitor one thing while someone else is 500 feet away working on the
problem.

I was hoping they would work well enough so my wife or daughter could call
if they got stuck in the mud where there is no cell phone service. *It's
less than a mile to the bad area and they don't work.

All-in-all I'd say they work a little better than the old four transistor
walkie-talkies I had when I was a kid.

The ranges given are a big joke. *If you look at the fine print you may see
something strange like from the top of a mountain. *Some friends have
communicated over 30 miles with them,but one was on top of Mt. Mitchell
(highest point on east coast). *At much over 500 feet they are like a big
searchlight. *If you can see it, you can talk. *

I heard the work better going downhill. ;-))

If there is a hill in the
way , forget it.

As a ham operator I have used the talkies for over 25 years. *You just have
to know what can and can not be expected of them.

On May 24, 1:13*pm, "Ulysses" wrote:
"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message

...



Within the last several years, FCC authorized "Family Radio
Service". I know that many stores have great success with
them. Though, they are not legal for use by business. Just
families. Still, many stores use them.

They are seriously cheap on Ebay. And can be bought with
rechargable batteries, and charge stands. So you're not
spending piles of money on batteries.

Cheaper than using cell phone minutes for everything.

I like my gadgets. And FRS walkie talkies are on my list of
neat gadgets I like to play with. Who has used them, and how
did they work?

My major experience has been picnics. From picnic base to
firewood team, they are good for chit chat. The only time
I've used them for anything real, was one time I was pincic
with a friend. His daughter wandered off. He went to look
for her, and I stayed at the base.

Used them while working on a heating and AC job. They were a
serious help, there. We could have guys in the cellar, or in
the attic, and saved *a lot of running around.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
*www.lds.org
.

I got some with a 3 mile range and they didn't work from my house to the
back of my property (over a hill about 1000 feet). *I got some with a 7 mile
range and they didn't work as well as the 3 mile range. *About the only time
I actually use them is while working on something when someone has to
monitor one thing while someone else is 500 feet away working on the
problem.

I was hoping they would work well enough so my wife or daughter could call
if they got stuck in the mud where there is no cell phone service. *It's
less than a mile to the bad area and they don't work.

That might be better suited for CB radios and/or walkie talkies. More
power. Better antennas.

Ralph Mowery wrote:
"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message
...
(snip)

At work talkies are used all the time. They are the high dollar comercial 5
watt units. Due to the ammount of steel in the buildings we have a hard
time talking 500 feet sometimes. The building is very large (about 40 acers
under roof. The talkies work good outside the buildings.

We had that problem too. Campus a quarter-mile on a side, with one
six-story wing and one steel-framed 14 story tower, and multiple smaller
buildings and service tunnels. Lotsa dead spots, especially below the
layer of steam pipes in the basement. I ended up putting a repeater on
the roof of the 14 story tower. We can talk over most of the county,
now, with 5 watt handhelds. For a situation like yours, they do sell
solutions involving little antennas attached to the ceiling in each
building, talking back to the base station via your corporate LAN.
Mini-repeaters, basically.

--
aem sends...

Pat wrote:
On May 24, 1:13 pm, "Ulysses" wrote:
"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message

...



Within the last several years, FCC authorized "Family Radio
Service". I know that many stores have great success with
them. Though, they are not legal for use by business. Just
families. Still, many stores use them.
They are seriously cheap on Ebay. And can be bought with
rechargable batteries, and charge stands. So you're not
spending piles of money on batteries.
Cheaper than using cell phone minutes for everything.
I like my gadgets. And FRS walkie talkies are on my list of
neat gadgets I like to play with. Who has used them, and how
did they work?
My major experience has been picnics. From picnic base to
firewood team, they are good for chit chat. The only time
I've used them for anything real, was one time I was pincic
with a friend. His daughter wandered off. He went to look
for her, and I stayed at the base.
Used them while working on a heating and AC job. They were a
serious help, there. We could have guys in the cellar, or in
the attic, and saved a lot of running around.
--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.
I got some with a 3 mile range and they didn't work from my house to the
back of my property (over a hill about 1000 feet). I got some with a 7 mile
range and they didn't work as well as the 3 mile range. About the only time
I actually use them is while working on something when someone has to
monitor one thing while someone else is 500 feet away working on the
problem.

I was hoping they would work well enough so my wife or daughter could call
if they got stuck in the mud where there is no cell phone service. It's
less than a mile to the bad area and they don't work.

That might be better suited for CB radios and/or walkie talkies. More
power. Better antennas.



Agreed. For in cars, a $40 Uniden and a decent mag-mount antenna (not
the short POS that comes with the radio), is a great thing to have. And
most police departments still monitor channel 19. The CB fad may have
(thankfully) died down among civilians, but 99% of all truckers still
have them. HazMat carriers HAVE to have them. I've called in many an
accident/breakdown over the years via CB. Still a lot of cell dead
zones when cities are more than 40 miles apart on interstate.

--
aem sends...

AZ Nomad wrote:
On Sun, 24 May 2009 18:43:31 -0400, George wrote:
AZ Nomad wrote:
On Sun, 24 May 2009 11:44:20 -0400, Stormin Mormon wrote:
Within the last several years, FCC authorized "Family Radio
Service". I know that many stores have great success with
them. Though, they are not legal for use by business. Just
families. Still, many stores use them.
Unless you are outside cellphone coverage, what's the point?

Just use cell phones. WTs are just one more PITA piece of portable
electronics to lug around. My camera, cell phone, and walkman are enough.

I recently dropped the mp3 player and also the camera for most occasions
because my phone can do that. It actually has a pretty decent 5 Mega
pixel camera with the only shortcoming being lack of zoom.

Cell phone's all have awful optics and I would only consider using
a cell phone camera if there was no other choice. Cell phone mp3 players
aren't much better. I know few cell phone's with an 80G drive.

I am quite impressed with the quality of the camera on my current phone.
It has decent low light capability, AF, panoramic stitching. The only
real thing it lacks is a long lens.

My phone has 24 Gb of memory. Since I have a 4 Gb mp3 player it really
isn't any sort of handicap. The main point is I don't need to put my
batbelt on if I don't want to and still have acceptable capabilities.

On May 24, 12:35*pm, "Jon Danniken"
wrote:
*"Ulysses" wrote:

All-in-all I'd say they work a little better than the old four transistor
walkie-talkies I had when I was a kid.

Yeah, but it was funner playing Captain Spaceman back then.

Jon

When I was a kid watching "Flash Gordon" at noon and "Captain Video"
at dinner...WTs were a huge dream at the war-surplus outlet (never had
one).
(I made 2 when I was about 12 that had a 100 ft range!)

"Ulysses" wrote in
:


"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message
...
Within the last several years, FCC authorized "Family Radio
Service". I know that many stores have great success with
them. Though, they are not legal for use by business. Just
families. Still, many stores use them.

They are seriously cheap on Ebay. And can be bought with
rechargable batteries, and charge stands. So you're not
spending piles of money on batteries.

Cheaper than using cell phone minutes for everything.

I like my gadgets. And FRS walkie talkies are on my list of
neat gadgets I like to play with. Who has used them, and how
did they work?

My major experience has been picnics. From picnic base to
firewood team, they are good for chit chat. The only time
I've used them for anything real, was one time I was pincic
with a friend. His daughter wandered off. He went to look
for her, and I stayed at the base.

Used them while working on a heating and AC job. They were a
serious help, there. We could have guys in the cellar, or in
the attic, and saved a lot of running around.


--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.




I got some with a 3 mile range and they didn't work from my house to
the back of my property (over a hill about 1000 feet). I got some
with a 7 mile range and they didn't work as well as the 3 mile range.
About the only time I actually use them is while working on something
when someone has to monitor one thing while someone else is 500 feet
away working on the problem.

I was hoping they would work well enough so my wife or daughter could
call if they got stuck in the mud where there is no cell phone
service. It's less than a mile to the bad area and they don't work.

All-in-all I'd say they work a little better than the old four
transistor walkie-talkies I had when I was a kid.



Well if your buddy couldn't hear you over the WT, you just yelled in it
loud enough so they could hear you anyway.

Evan Platt wrote:
On Mon, 25 May 2009 03:47:09 GMT, aemeijers wrote:

And most police departments still monitor channel 19.

I guess that depends on where you are. Here in Northern California
(San Jose area), I don't know of any PD that does.
I should have said non-urban PDs, I guess. Anybody that patrols highways
and takes money away from semi drivers.

And BTW, the folks in Northern California may get a tad upset at
somebody south of the bay calling themselves 'northern'. You are
central. (I used to know some people from out there...)

--
aem sends...

How do you figure that? If I'm on one squelch code, I won't
hear anything when the other guy talks.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Evan Platt" wrote in
message ...

You won't, but if two people on the same frequency are using
two
different PL tones (security codes), all you'll hear is
garbled audio
at best.
--
To reply via e-mail, remove The Obvious from my e-mail
address.

Stormin Mormon wrote:
How do you figure that? If I'm on one squelch code, I won't
hear anything when the other guy talks.

No, but the frequency is still in use, and you won't be able to xmit a
useful signal. Some of the fancier toy radios have a 'busy' indicator on
the channel readout for this situation. You are supposed to look at it
before you key up.

--
aem sends...

Interesting. I've never heard of such a thing.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"aemeijers" wrote in message
...
Stormin Mormon wrote:
How do you figure that? If I'm on one squelch code, I
won't
hear anything when the other guy talks.

No, but the frequency is still in use, and you won't be able
to xmit a
useful signal. Some of the fancier toy radios have a 'busy'
indicator on
the channel readout for this situation. You are supposed to
look at it
before you key up.

--
aem sends...

wrote:
On May 24, 12:35 pm, "Jon Danniken"
wrote:
"Ulysses" wrote:

All-in-all I'd say they work a little better than the old four
transistor walkie-talkies I had when I was a kid.

Yeah, but it was funner playing Captain Spaceman back then.

Jon

When I was a kid watching "Flash Gordon" at noon and "Captain Video"
at dinner...WTs were a huge dream at the war-surplus outlet (never had
one).
(I made 2 when I was about 12 that had a 100 ft range!)\]

Was that 100 feet of string and 2 paper cups?

Pat wrote:
On May 24, 1:13 pm, "Ulysses" wrote:
"Stormin Mormon" wrote in
message

...



Within the last several years, FCC authorized "Family Radio
Service". I know that many stores have great success with
them. Though, they are not legal for use by business. Just
families. Still, many stores use them.

They are seriously cheap on Ebay. And can be bought with
rechargable batteries, and charge stands. So you're not
spending piles of money on batteries.

Cheaper than using cell phone minutes for everything.

I like my gadgets. And FRS walkie talkies are on my list of
neat gadgets I like to play with. Who has used them, and how
did they work?

My major experience has been picnics. From picnic base to
firewood team, they are good for chit chat. The only time
I've used them for anything real, was one time I was pincic
with a friend. His daughter wandered off. He went to look
for her, and I stayed at the base.

Used them while working on a heating and AC job. They were a
serious help, there. We could have guys in the cellar, or in
the attic, and saved a lot of running around.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.

I got some with a 3 mile range and they didn't work from my house to
the back of my property (over a hill about 1000 feet). I got some
with a 7 mile range and they didn't work as well as the 3 mile
range. About the only time I actually use them is while working on
something when someone has to monitor one thing while someone else
is 500 feet away working on the problem.

I was hoping they would work well enough so my wife or daughter
could call if they got stuck in the mud where there is no cell phone
service. It's less than a mile to the bad area and they don't work.

That might be better suited for CB radios and/or walkie talkies. More
power. Better antennas.

More to the point, CB's used a lower frequency that worked around hills and
other obsticals. The modern ones are pretty much line-of-sight with the high
frequency they use.

Back in the 70's, a friend of mine in Detroit had a conversation using a
standard 5 watt CB one day with a guy in Venezuela. Skip was amazing sometimes.

On May 25, 1:19*am, Pat wrote:
On May 24, 2:42*pm, "Ralph Mowery" wrote:





"Ulysses" wrote in message

...

I got some with a 3 mile range and they didn't work from my house to the
back of my property (over a hill about 1000 feet). *I got some with a 7
mile
range and they didn't work as well as the 3 mile range. *About the only
time
I actually use them is while working on something when someone has to
monitor one thing while someone else is 500 feet away working on the
problem.

I was hoping they would work well enough so my wife or daughter could call
if they got stuck in the mud where there is no cell phone service. *It's
less than a mile to the bad area and they don't work.

All-in-all I'd say they work a little better than the old four transistor
walkie-talkies I had when I was a kid.

The ranges given are a big joke. *If you look at the fine print you may see
something strange like from the top of a mountain. *Some friends have
communicated over 30 miles with them,but one was on top of Mt. Mitchell
(highest point on east coast). *At much over 500 feet they are like a big
searchlight. *If you can see it, you can talk. *

I heard the work better going downhill. * ;-))

If there is a hill in the



way , forget it.

As a ham operator I have used the talkies for over 25 years. *You just have
to know what can and can not be expected of them.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

No! That's confusing it with car gas mileage.
It's great when you can take your foot off the gas and coast down
hill!
Unfortunately like with radio the earth not only curves but at some
point you have to come back up the hill!

FMRS and GRS frequencies are allotted by the FCC and the appropriate
regulatory authorities in many other countries, for relatively low
cost radios operating at a pretty high frequency and very low power.
They are not intended, no matter what some advertising may claim, for
long distance communication, or broadcasting.
That would rather be like claiming that because your car can do 150
mph it is 'possible' to drive at that speed across, say, New York or
Pittsburgh in dense traffic!

Proper choice of WTs, application and use are similar to that for any
other tool. For example; we have small wire welder. It works fine for
what we need; but is not the machine we would choose if building a
large steel ship or a bridge!

I can believe that the squelch code from one walkie would
open mine, while they were both talking. I was figuring on
the other sets taking turns transmitting. Not like they
would know, in reality. So, the Radar and Blake doubletalk
is very possible.

I really like my FRS walkie talkies. Problem is, I seldom
have anyone to talk with.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Evan Platt" wrote in
message ...
On Mon, 25 May 2009 21:44:36 -0400, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:

How do you figure that? If I'm on one squelch code, I won't
hear anything when the other guy talks.

I know this is an old post... But that's how radios work.
Even though
there's two different codes, if someone tries to talk to you
using say
code 7 while someone else is talking on code 8, you'll hear
a mix of
both. Try it sometime.
--
To reply via e-mail, remove The Obvious from my e-mail
address.

I have read the specs on some walkies. The ones with AA
batteries put out 500 miliwatts, the ones with AAA cells put
out 300 miliwatts. So, it's very possible the one set of
walkies worked better.

Other thing is antenna height. If she can get on top of a
hill (or stand on the car) the range will be farther.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


I got some with a 3 mile range and they didn't work from
my house to the
back of my property (over a hill about 1000 feet). I got
some with a 7
mile
range and they didn't work as well as the 3 mile range.
About the only
time
I actually use them is while working on something when
someone has to
monitor one thing while someone else is 500 feet away
working on the
problem.
I was hoping they would work well enough so my wife or
daughter could call
if they got stuck in the mud where there is no cell phone
service. It's
less than a mile to the bad area and they don't work.
All-in-all I'd say they work a little better than the old
four transistor
walkie-talkies I had when I was a kid.

And they further cripple the walkies by mandating a max
antenna length of 4 inches. The resonant quarter wave is 6
inches. Like you say, they are low power, short range
devices. My longest reach with them has been 0.7 miles.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"stan" wrote in message
...

FMRS and GRS frequencies are allotted by the FCC and the
appropriate
regulatory authorities in many other countries, for
relatively low
cost radios operating at a pretty high frequency and very
low power.
They are not intended, no matter what some advertising may
claim, for
long distance communication, or broadcasting.

On May 27, 5:15*pm, "Bob F" wrote:
Pat wrote:
On May 24, 1:13 pm, "Ulysses" wrote:
"Stormin Mormon" wrote in
message

...

Within the last several years, FCC authorized "Family Radio
Service". I know that many stores have great success with
them. Though, they are not legal for use by business. Just
families. Still, many stores use them.

They are seriously cheap on Ebay. And can be bought with
rechargable batteries, and charge stands. So you're not
spending piles of money on batteries.

Cheaper than using cell phone minutes for everything.

I like my gadgets. And FRS walkie talkies are on my list of
neat gadgets I like to play with. Who has used them, and how
did they work?

My major experience has been picnics. From picnic base to
firewood team, they are good for chit chat. The only time
I've used them for anything real, was one time I was pincic
with a friend. His daughter wandered off. He went to look
for her, and I stayed at the base.

Used them while working on a heating and AC job. They were a
serious help, there. We could have guys in the cellar, or in
the attic, and saved a lot of running around.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.

I got some with a 3 mile range and they didn't work from my house to
the back of my property (over a hill about 1000 feet). I got some
with a 7 mile range and they didn't work as well as the 3 mile
range. About the only time I actually use them is while working on
something when someone has to monitor one thing while someone else
is 500 feet away working on the problem.

I was hoping they would work well enough so my wife or daughter
could call if they got stuck in the mud where there is no cell phone
service. It's less than a mile to the bad area and they don't work.

That might be better suited for CB radios and/or walkie talkies. *More
power. *Better antennas.

More to the point, CB's used a lower frequency that worked around hills and
other obsticals. The modern ones are pretty much line-of-sight with the high
frequency they use.

Back in the 70's, a friend of mine in Detroit had a conversation using a
standard 5 watt CB one day with a guy in Venezuela. Skip was amazing sometimes.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Yup that was/is phenomenom of the frequencies used for CB Citizen's
Band (around 27 megahertz). Very close to the 10 metre (28 to 30
megahertz) Radio Amateur Band). But CB is also relatively low power
(about 3 watts). Licensed radio amateurs use variuos output power and
modes of transmission. Skip conditions depends on sunspots/solar
radiation etc.

My neighbour a trucker, here in Eastern Canada once had an interesting
'contact' with a State Trooper rushing to an emergency in central USA!
So under certain conditions very low power can transmit great
distances.

Looking up to say the space station with nothing intervening (no hills
in space!) very low power would work.

But to get all the radio frequency space or 'channels' needed
equipment has gone to higher and higher frequencies. Using frequencies
that would have been impossible to achieve, especially for cheap
'consumer electronics' only 50 years ago!

Our 900 megahertz cordless telephone works quite well for a couple of
hundred feet; but maybe somewhat affected by the aluminum foil in
walls of our house!

We once had a house trailer and despite the high power of the TV
transmitter a few miles away, TV would just not work at all inside
that metal shell!

And that's how radio goes; or doesn't.