I've been tasked with getting a couple of 2-way radios for work. Budget around £40 to £50, less if possible. I work in a noisy but small place, so the radios have to be able to be heard by the user. I simply don't know where to look or what to look at...
2-Way Radios...
- Thread starter Kavalree
- Start date
Unless you have a license make sure they are PMR446 spec. Can they just be handheld or would a headset be useful?
For basic reliability something like the Binatone Latitude 100 is a good option but the lack of external headset support, lack of charging cradle or USB might make it worth spending a bit more depending on requirements.
For basic reliability something like the Binatone Latitude 100 is a good option but the lack of external headset support, lack of charging cradle or USB might make it worth spending a bit more depending on requirements.
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The ability to use an earpiece would be great. I don't think we have a license, but I'll look into it.
I probably should have noted, the radios are for 2 doormen, for when 1 is inside and 1 is outside. They will be left at the pub, and they can't interfere with the camera control radio either...
A little bit more than you are looking at paying but the "Motorola TLKR T80 Extreme Walkie-talkie - Twin Pack" seems to get good reviews and is fully featured with earpieces, etc. don't have any experience myself of that set though. You can also get cheap noname clones of that set (all over Amazon and ebay) but generally have mixed reviews.
Soldato
I've used quite a few PMR446 radios over the years, we had some more expensive ones in work which were maybe £40-50 each and i've used some cheap eBay ones which were just as good.
They work fairly well in work but i work on a huge site so you have to be sensible with the range, i've also used them on a road trip to Germany between 2 cars and they'd easily work over a couple of KM.
Never had an issue being understood on them or have any trouble hearing them as they've always gone quite loud.
They work fairly well in work but i work on a huge site so you have to be sensible with the range, i've also used them on a road trip to Germany between 2 cars and they'd easily work over a couple of KM.
Never had an issue being understood on them or have any trouble hearing them as they've always gone quite loud.
I picked up a couple of second hand Motorola XT420 handsets on Ebay years ago to use climbing. They're pretty much bombproof and still going strong! I think I paid about £70 for the pair and chargers but have just had a look and some have gone for around £50 recently.
Soldato
- Joined
- 11 Sep 2013
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NVM
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Man of Honour
Door staff will definitely want ear pieces, nothing worse than no having a clue what you oppo is on about when it's about to kick off.
BaoFeng 888S 4 pack is £45 and comes with headsets .. 16ch and cover pmr 466 . Quite a lot of Ham's use these brand of radio and although not up there as the best ever radio they work perfectly fine for there intended use .
Baofeng BF-T1 2 pack for £22 ish if you need something smaller
or Uv-9r if you need something waterproof .. there is also loads of other models with varios power levels and designs .
All can take headsets or speaker mics .. spare batteries are cheap and there cheap enough that you dont have to be precious about them
Baofeng BF-T1 2 pack for £22 ish if you need something smaller
or Uv-9r if you need something waterproof .. there is also loads of other models with varios power levels and designs .
All can take headsets or speaker mics .. spare batteries are cheap and there cheap enough that you dont have to be precious about them
Caporegime
These are utter rubbish. I have used radios daily for the past 10 years and icom. Were by far the best. I had one of those for 5 years and it was handled like gorilla. No problem what so ever. Some smart person decided to change to those cheap ones and they broke within weeks and the reception was junk. Ended up going back to icom.
Commissario
Of course Icom are better than Baofeng, you're paying £25 for a UV-5R which is a dual band handheld compared to £350-£400 for an Icom equivalent.
However, do not buy a Baofeng. They're not type approved for PMR446, they run ten times more power than you're legally allowed to run. They're not utter rubbish as said above but they're built to a price and they're not designed for the usage you're suggesting. Yes, many thousands have been sold to amateur radio operators (I have two) and they're perfectly acceptable as a cheap, throwaway unit providing the owner is aware of that. For my use (and most other radio amateurs), as a wireless to access the local repeater, they're fine.
Source: me, radio amateur with over thirty five years experience.
But they're not legal for PMR, not even close to it.
The Motorola XT420 mentioned earlier is a good choice.
However, do not buy a Baofeng. They're not type approved for PMR446, they run ten times more power than you're legally allowed to run. They're not utter rubbish as said above but they're built to a price and they're not designed for the usage you're suggesting. Yes, many thousands have been sold to amateur radio operators (I have two) and they're perfectly acceptable as a cheap, throwaway unit providing the owner is aware of that. For my use (and most other radio amateurs), as a wireless to access the local repeater, they're fine.
Source: me, radio amateur with over thirty five years experience.
But they're not legal for PMR, not even close to it.
The Motorola XT420 mentioned earlier is a good choice.
Caporegime
Sorry had no idea of the price difference as i do not foot the bill
Those Baofang ones broke their clips within a week and the speaker bit the dust very quickly. They would need charging constantly as the batteries were rubbish. I have 6 broken ones in the bottom of the works draw. Maybe I will take them home and try and fix them up to get a working pair.I thought we had Icom again but actually we have KENWOOD TK3000T now judging by the pictures. Even still thats £170 a pop. If i knew how much they were I would take more care with mine!
Soldato
Out of interest, what do you need to do to use them legally? A license of some sort? These are very popular in the Airsoft community.
EDIT: NVM - think I found the answer: https://www.essexham.co.uk/baofeng-radio-without-licence
Yeah aslong as you use the proscribed channels and a power output within spec it isn't a problem license wise the problem is not all the cheap ones are designed to work within the PMR spec. AFAIK there isn't a problem owning a device that is capable of operating outside the PMR446 parameters aslong as you operate it within them.
Soldato
I didn't know there were issues in using the UV-5R in the UK. The Chernobyl group I go with every year, we pretty much all use them. Guess nobody is too bunched over there to be honest.
So, what is the issue with using these without a license? Other than being illegal - why are they illegal?
So, what is the issue with using these without a license? Other than being illegal - why are they illegal?
Soldato
I think it's very unlikely you'd ever get collared for using them, but obviously the law/regs exist so you don't have every muppet running around and broadcasting on any frequency they want.
I had a similar problem recently. I ended up getting the Baofeng BF888s which are pretty cheap. If they break, I will probably replace them with something more mid range. We also ended up splashing out on an OFCOM Business Radio Licenses for £75 for 5 years which meant we weren't restricted to 0.5w and were off the PMR frequencies.
Also spent an extra £10 on a USB programming cable so we could change the frequencies and CTCSS tones.
Also spent an extra £10 on a USB programming cable so we could change the frequencies and CTCSS tones.
Soldato
You’d have to be causing prolonged, regular interference to a licenced frequency or to other systems for a complaint to get put into the Radio Communcations agency which is what would trigger the RA sending someone out to investigate.
The only way you’d cause this to happen on a PMR446 channel would be if you caused interference or channel blocking to one of the companies using PMR446 for cheap security comms such as mall security and Shopwatch.
Be aware that the cheap and cheerful Chinese PMR446 radios are more likely to transmit off-frequency and “bleed” over other channels than a Motorola or Kenwood radio will.
Ukraine has completely different regulation when it comes to frequency use I have no idea on their laws though. The why as to legality is things like interfering with commercial, emergency and military use, etc. some stuff theoretically there isn't a problem with but there has to be some kind of regulation - other stuff interference with certain frequencies will get a quite rapid response hah.
Soldato
You don’t need a license to purchase radios that are more powerful and can operate outside the PMR446 band in the UK. They are legal to sell, legal to buy and legal to won without a licence.
It’s when you use such a radio without a licence that you are in breach of OFCOM regulations.
It’s when you use such a radio without a licence that you are in breach of OFCOM regulations.