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Can anyone recommend best walkytalkies to buy?

Scooby

By Scooby
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Jo_ Proficient

Jo_

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I've just been ordering some up for my b'day from everyone ... suggested the Doro WT91X Pro Extended Range 2-way Radio. They are waterproof! And indeed we may not use them often but mobiles don't always get a signal, we're moored at a marina so communication between us there will be handy and my OH is a tecky. AND - most importantly - I never had even toy ones when I was young so this is my chance!! :lol:

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davem399 Community Regular

davem399Donate to Canal World

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I bought a pair of Cobra Micro Talk w/t a couple of years ago, I think they were about £40.

 

We used them recently on the Marple flight and they were very handy. We were a crew of four and I had gone ahead to help a single-hander through the locks and was some distance ahead (and out of sight!). When a boat came up the locks I was able to advise our crew not to shut the lock gates so as to leave them a good road. Also to let them know where they would pass this boat.

 

Going down the Bosley flight we made good use of them again in a similar situation.

 

The range was adequate and the sound quality surprisingly good. Sometimes it was necessary to call the other person more than once to get their attention given the ambient noise, and in future I might obtain a strap so that the unit can be worn outside of clothing where it could be better heard, but these are minor quibbles. I wish we'd had them five years ago on the Huddersfield Narrow instead of using our mobile phones to discuss the level of the pounds, it would have been much better.

 

I think w/t's are like mobile phones, if you haven't got any you can't imagine why you'd need any, when you've got them they can be very useful in certain circumstances.

 

 

Steve

 

We've got a set of Oregon Scientific ones which seem to work quite well (bought from Argos about 4 years ago)

 

Apart from getting info regarding the status of locks ahead, we also found ours very handy for getting through the last narrow part of the canal into LLangollen.

 

Dave

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Nickhlx Veteran

Nickhlx

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Jo - Good for you ! Hope you have fun....

 

Richard... I admire you ( truly !) but I would really struggle, myself, with no 240 volts AND no accumulator - do you have to hand crank the engine ? or perhaps you have a horse ? - do you have to re-shoe it regularly and carry its food ? Is it "frowned upon" to have a few of these "new fangled" gadgets ?... I guess if you have no mains then you may not need a galvanic isolator.. the Axiom has not been proved or disproved with time, so its virtues or otherwise remain suspect. If you choose to have minimal or no electricity then I guess that makes the decision up for you on TV... Are you a recluse ? ( nothing wrong in that) just that I would not expect you to even have a PC either, or is that in some way "necessary" ? Also to be well out of range of where "dongle signals" reach .... We didn't have them 50 years ago and so I suppose we don't "need" computers now really, other than most like to be able to be in touch when they want to be. I am not a technophile, so if I don't understand I teach myself until I do.... but I do respect your ways...

 

Nick

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tomsk Experienced

tomsk

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I have a hand signal for those I see using walky-talkies, it involves forming a circle between thumb and fingers of the right hand and moving vigorously up and down in their general direction as we pass.

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RLWP Veteran II

RLWP

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Jo - Good for you ! Hope you have fun....

 

Richard... I admire you ( truly !) but I would really struggle, myself, with no 240 volts AND no accumulator - do you have to hand crank the engine ? or perhaps you have a horse ? - do you have to re-shoe it regularly and carry its food ? Is it "frowned upon" to have a few of these "new fangled" gadgets ?... I guess if you have no mains then you may not need a galvanic isolator.. the Axiom has not been proved or disproved with time, so its virtues or otherwise remain suspect. If you choose to have minimal or no electricity then I guess that makes the decision up for you on TV... Are you a recluse ? ( nothing wrong in that) just that I would not expect you to even have a PC either, or is that in some way "necessary" ? Also to be well out of range of where "dongle signals" reach .... We didn't have them 50 years ago and so I suppose we don't "need" computers now really, other than most like to be able to be in touch when they want to be. I am not a technophile, so if I don't understand I teach myself until I do.... but I do respect your ways...

 

Nick

 

Now I feel that I have to justify myself to you. Which I'm not inclined to do.

 

Richard

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Dalesman Rising Star

Dalesman

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That's what mobile phones are for, though.

 

 

 

Mobile-to-mobile costs nowadays are next to nothing, though. It would take us a long time to spend the cost of a walkie-talkie system on phone calls.

Personally, I'd feel a right pillowcase using a walkie-talkie in public, but I'm OK with a mobile.

All very fine if you have a mobile signal but, on the canals you are more than likely to be in a blind spot...

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Nickhlx Veteran

Nickhlx

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Now I feel that I have to justify myself to you. Which I'm not inclined to do.

 

Richard

 

 

No, you don't ( shouldn't) - it's a free country ( mostly) so your ways are fine by me...

 

I am not the Inland Revenue or Customs & Excise... :lol: to whom we all ( most) may have to

justify our actions to...

 

Nick

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Phil Ambrose Veteran II

Phil Ambrose

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I have a hand signal for those I see using walky-talkies, it involves forming a circle between thumb and fingers of the right hand and moving vigorously up and down in their general direction as we pass.

 

Not a very useful post for someone who is just after a bit of info, just because others choose to use something you do'nt or do something in a different way to you does not make them wrong. Oh and my wife and I use Cobra PMR's and would not be without them.

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Steve King Contributor

Steve King

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I have a hand signal for those I see using walky-talkies, it involves forming a circle between thumb and fingers of the right hand and moving vigorously up and down in their general direction as we pass.

Careful tomsk, George Michael got himself arrested back in 1998 for doing that.

 

 

Steve

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Guest

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I have a hand signal for those I see using walky-talkies, it involves forming a circle between thumb and fingers of the right hand and moving vigorously up and down in their general direction as we pass.

 

Good job you didn't see us on the L&L in August then as our crew found them very useful indeed, :lol:

 

However when the batteries went flat we seemed to manage just as well... :lol:

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ditchcrawler Veteran II

ditchcrawlerDonate to Canal World

Posted
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Not a very useful post for someone who is just after a bit of info, just because others choose to use something you do'nt or do something in a different way to you does not make them wrong. Oh and my wife and I use Cobra PMR's and would not be without them.

We have a pair of Motorola's that sit in a single base to recharge, They are very water resistant as I have left mine on the roof in the rain overnight.

Down side the charger is 240 volts and the battery packs don't seem to last very well, but they can be replaced with 3 AAA cells.

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Swallowman Collaborator

Swallowman

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Posted (edited)
Well said Swallowman the only comeback that I could think was "Bet your neighbours are glad when you are cruising"

 

Thank you and yes, we do use WT's (showerproof LIDL ones at £24.99 the pair c/w earpieces and charger) because my wife has a throat disorder which means she can't raise her voice much above a whisper. Jolly useful sometimes :lol: but a bit of a nuisance on the boat.

Edited by Swallowman
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homer2911 Rising Star

homer2911

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I have a hand signal for those I see using walky-talkies, it involves forming a circle between thumb and fingers of the right hand and moving vigorously up and down in their general direction as we pass.

 

If you make that hand gesture to me when you see me using the WT, I do hope you can swim!

 

There are many occasions when they are worth their weight in gold - you walk ahead to set the next lock, maybe it's windy etc, and your steerer isn't in a position to see whether a boat is coming up or down the lock, or maybe it's round a bend anyway. How useful to be able to tell them instantly exactly what's happening and what action to take - slow down, speed up. Mobile phones take time to connect, even if there is a signal in the area.

 

A real marriage-saver! Cheap and cheerful Argos ones are perfectly adequate.

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stickleback Proficient

stickleback

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That's what mobile phones are for, though.

 

 

 

Mobile-to-mobile costs nowadays are next to nothing, though. It would take us a long time to spend the cost of a walkie-talkie system on phone calls.

Personally, I'd feel a right pillowcase using a walkie-talkie in public, but I'm OK with a mobile.

 

Costs of mobiles maty be low but I'm not buying a 2cnd one when the walkie talkie works just fine, with no ongoing costs and instant response - unlike the mobile where you have to wait for it to dial - IF there is a signal where you happen to be.

 

Tomsk - your hand signal - obviously a well thought out, lucid and intelligent response. Should widen your circle of friends no end.

Stickleback

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