2way radio Questions and Advice

[CannaRed]

I need to purchase a set of walkie talkies. At least 4 that would work together.
I need to be able to respond to my elderly grandfather. I know most have a button to push where it causes an alarm so I can come running.

The signal needs to travel from the north side of a house through several walls and go south about 100 yards/meters or so across a small country road and power lines into my house.

I'm hoping all my ballasts and lighting won't interfere with the signal.

Will 2 LED fixtures, a 250w magnetic ballast, a 315w cmh electronic ballast, and a 600w hps electronic ballast, interfere with me being able to get proper signal? For that matter there is also a street light nearby. I remember the instructions booklet for the 600w said it could interfere with maritime emergency communications.

Im not sure what frequencies the other lights interfere with or if that even matters.

I know some of those 2way radios say 35 miles but I think they measure that on flat ground without buildings.


Any recommendations for a good set of walkie talkies, that will work for my situation? Any other advice I should know?

 

[Cvh]

Baofeng UV-5R is the legend. Cheap, very powerful and fully unlocked.
Maybe check also some other 'easier' models.

Also take note that the UV-5R might be illegal to possess in your country. But chances of getting caught are near nihil.

The most powerful Baofeng is the Baofeng GT-3TP Mark III Dualband 8Watt.
I really like that one.

 

[Phaeton]

Used these at work so I could be found while out in the yard. Not the greatest fidelity but good enough to know who needed me.

https://www.wish.com/product/5daeef...1I85KLrh2U7aY1065LtuxRoCkGoQAvD_BwE&share=web

Lots of other choices that cost more but unless someone is trying to sing the less expensive models work fine.

 

[growshopfrank]

Those old mike/nextel cellphones make excellent short range walkie talkies.
they have a off the tower setting where they direct connect easy to set up and very private if that matters.
Them and their accessories sell for very cheap or free.

 

[PizzaMan5000]

I have a baofeng UV9R with a super long antenna. I can talk to friends 2 miles away, with both of us indoors.

The detachable antenna and high power make it technically illegal.... So I stay on the FRS frequencies (because it's probably only recreational users, not licensed ham operators or critical public services.

Only shenanigans I have pulled, was during lockdown. Some little kids nearby were playing on "channel 1, or 462.612 iirc. They were playing hide-and-seek or something. They were coming in static-ey.

I wanted to stimulate their imaginations, so I broadcast the sound of a small wrench dragging along the teeth of a Ford CVH flywheel in my garage. Sounded creepy. I hit them with the full 8w (their radios are .5w with crap antenna, my 12" 8w signal probably came in crystal clear on their end... Like clearer than their friends radio)
I didn't hear a peep for the rest of the day lol

They probably thought it was a ghost or something.

 

[PizzaMan5000]

Used these at work so I could be found while out in the yard. Not the greatest fidelity but good enough to know who needed me.

https://www.wish.com/product/5daeef...1I85KLrh2U7aY1065LtuxRoCkGoQAvD_BwE&share=web

Lots of other choices that cost more but unless someone is trying to sing the less expensive models work fine.

Ya know, the regular (channel 1-12 etc) frs radios are the only legal choice without getting a license.

I guess to amend my little short story KIDS AND CARELESS PEOPLE SHOULDN'T HAVE A BAOFENG!!
It could cause trouble for miles!
Hell, *I* shouldn't have a baofeng.

 

[flylowgethigh]

Baofeng UV-5R is the legend. Cheap, very powerful and fully unlocked.
Maybe check also some other 'easier' models.

Also take note that the UV-5R might be illegal to possess in your country. But chances of getting caught are near nihil.

The most powerful Baofeng is the Baofeng GT-3TP Mark III Dualband 8Watt.
I really like that one.

LOL, by coincidence I had that radio on my speed dial today. It was supposed to be the radio of choice for the antifa thugs. 128 channels. I want a scanning feature...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...om-20&linkId=50ae5b321a9812d183ebad6fa4245683

 

[CannaRed]

Are these baofeng radios easy to use?

I'm worried my 90 year old grandmother won't be able to operate it.

Battery life?
Somebody gave us a cheapo set if walkie talkies, they have rechargable batteries, but they don't last all day.

I need something that can be charging and operating at same time, easy to use, and has a call button that sends an alarm.

 

[Cvh]

^Baofengs have a long battery life. They can be on and in the charging station no problem. The charging dock is were the radio should be in if your in the house.

For your specific case, I would go with a model with the least amount of buttons. That would make things easier to operate.

Be sure to take one with at least 5watts of power.

Look into their catalogue.

 

[GOT_BUD?]

I need to purchase a set of walkie talkies. At least 4 that would work together.
I need to be able to respond to my elderly grandfather. I know most have a button to push where it causes an alarm so I can come running.

The signal needs to travel from the north side of a house through several walls and go south about 100 yards/meters or so across a small country road and power lines into my house.

I'm hoping all my ballasts and lighting won't interfere with the signal.

Will 2 LED fixtures, a 250w magnetic ballast, a 315w cmh electronic ballast, and a 600w hps electronic ballast, interfere with me being able to get proper signal? For that matter there is also a street light nearby. I remember the instructions booklet for the 600w said it could interfere with maritime emergency communications.

Im not sure what frequencies the other lights interfere with or if that even matters.

I know some of those 2way radios say 35 miles but I think they measure that on flat ground without buildings.


Any recommendations for a good set of walkie talkies, that will work for my situation? Any other advice I should know?

For that distance, the most you'll need is 3 watts. You could probably get away with 1 watt honestly.

Yes, your ballasts will cause interference. But it's nothing that will disrupt communications.

Friends and I used cheap radios from Walmart when we would go cruising around the mountains and we could easily hear each other from a couple miles away.

 

[CannaRed]

Somebody gave me a three pack of ONN walkie talkies.
Each one takes three AAA rechargable batteries. Last night grandma hit the call button and instead of hearing the alarm I just heard a chiro. I went over there anyway and she hit the right button but the battery died at that instant. Same thing with another one of three a couple hours later!
Cheap ass batteries I guess. It's a cheap ass set of radios too.
They were fully charged but just don't last. The directions say not to charge the radio while it is on.
I'm going to do some online shopping later today, I have to take grandpa to a doctor's appointment.
Thank you everyone for your help!

 

[PizzaMan5000]

Way too many buttons IMHO. Took me a few days of googling to figure it all out.

If you aren't on top of a hill, it's unlikely that any handheld radio will reach far beyond 2 miles due to line of sight.
^^well, they can if the weather and frequency are perfect... But I don't understand that, and thus don't have a ham license. But 3miles tends to be the limit at 6' from the ground, even for an illegal ham radio.
If you're in the country, and using it for monitoring a senior, I'm sure you'll have no FCC visits.

The baofeng is like operating an aftermarket CD player, alot of menus and stuff.
Also it has two talk buttons. One for each channel it can monitor. So you could accidentally listen to one channel, and talk on another. You can select the same channel twice, but you have to have two frequencies up... Idk why.

I think you need to find a baofeng ham for you, and a nice walkie for them. You can listen to FM on the baofeng and have it monitoring the frequency your grandpa is on. The UHV/VHF will interrupt the fm for you.

Edit: baofeng speakers get LOUD!

 

[flylowgethigh]

<Also it has two talk buttons. One for each channel it can monitor. So you could accidentally listen to one channel, and talk on another. You can select the same channel twice, but you have to have two frequencies up... Idk why.>

That would be useful if the enemy you were stalking or evading were on one freq and your team was on another. But the scanner defeats that.

Remember the old base station radios where all that was needed was to push the transmit button? Sounds like that is what she needs, while you have a portable walkie talkie that works with it. Maybe a few, and trade them out for charging.

 

[CannaRed]

<Also it has two talk buttons. One for each channel it can monitor. So you could accidentally listen to one channel, and talk on another. You can select the same channel twice, but you have to have two frequencies up... Idk why.>

That would be useful if the enemy you were stalking or evading were on one freq and your team was on another. But the scanner defeats that.

Remember the old base station radios where all that was needed was to push the transmit button? Sounds like that is what she needs, while you have a portable walkie talkie that works with it. Maybe a few, and trade them out for charging.

Yes!! it would be perfect if they had one of those one or two button bases. And I had several walkies. I need to try to find something like that. Thanks