anyone know of a good place to get walkie talkies for security purposes - wanting to get a cool/decent ear piece with mic. Range is around 200m max (real short distance)

I took a look at dse but wanting to know what else is out there? Googled a bit but wanting some recommendations.

I tried using some little cheapo looking ones the other day at this event... maybe it was because we had them all set on channel 1 but they were rather crap - they only seemed to work short distance (like in the same room) and even then it was a hit and miss.

So any recommendations/stay clear of certain brands/models?

Roger, the eagle has left the nest, over.

Toys'r'us or at woolies in the toys section.
I tell you what's better the FM transmitting microphone... that is hours of fun.
Do they still make the yak back? Those were the bomb back in the Home Alone 2 days.

last edited by thermite at 11:32:27 15/Jun/09

I'm not sure that security services buy their communications equipment from Woolies.

I could be wrong though...

Just use two empty bakebean tins attached with string. Cheap and no need for expensive batteries.

last edited by mission at 11:34:34 15/Jun/09

Hmm well if you want to go up market a little more, you could get something a bit more high-tech and make you look like a real super-spy:

http://www.mintgadgets.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/star-wars-walkie-talkies-295x300.jpg



Or if you want to be like Tom Cruise from Mission Impossible

http://www.made-in-china.com/image/2f0j00VMWQkiSsAPqlM/Glasses-Walkie-Talkies.jpg

http://www.hogwild.net/images/Misc/MI2/tom.cruise-sunglasses.jpg
"These glasses will self-destruct. Awesome!"


link

last edited by thermite at 11:37:16 15/Jun/09

Or the more secretive approach:

http://www.theshoediva.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/getsmart2.jpg

Something like this... or this.

Make sure you spend OK $$ unless you have freaking awesome hearing. Even my $200 1W sets sound pretty trashy even with headsets.

Just go with a standard set of handheld UHF radios
1watt should do you nicely, half watt is the lowest the usually do and i find them to be a bit lacking. The cheapo's you were using almost definitely would be 0.5watt. Don't transmit on channel 1, that's a repeater channel. Use 9-21 or so.
Uniden is the undisputed king of value for money UHF products. Go ICom if you're cashed up, but GME stuff ain't too bad either. You should be able to pick up decent a ~1watt unit with headset for around a hundred or so.
That 2watt unit in the link above looks pretty good value for money. 5 watt (legal maximum) would be massive overkill.
ps only primary school kids call them walkie talkies.

last edited by MrHardware at 12:14:48 15/Jun/09

Use 9-21 or so.

9 is the emergency channel

BCF, Jaycar, Autobarn etc


Icom & GME are the generic type most people buy
they mostly make in-car units but they both do hand helds too

I bought a $99 1W GME one that pisses all over the $50 ones you get from autobarn etc, just wired it into the cigarette lighter so I don't have to worry about b82rez

the in-car 5W units are way better again

also; anaconda sell them too

9 is the emergency channel

You're dead wrong there mate. 5 is the emergency channel.
http://www.uhfcb.com.au/UHF--Channel-Infomation.php

Also, what teq said.

I got myself some uniden thinger, you can get an earphone/mic for it but my model doesn't have VOX, the next model up did. I believe it has a 1km line of sight range or something but we used to use them down the coast to co-ordinate "events" and it reaches heaps far.

I got it from DSE. It's a uniden UH-04X0R (omg leet h0ax0r but that really is the model).

Don't use 13. Thats our 4x4 channel.

Uniden are s***, anything less than 3mw is s*** so don't even bother. DSE have 5mw versions and they are suprisingly good and sturdy. Will go through multiple floors of concrete and has a 12k range which I have not tested :) If you have the coin go Motorolas.

5mw
12k range which I have not tested

give it a go. I bet you won't even be able to get half a kay.

we used to use them down the coast to co-ordinate "events" and it reaches heaps far.

By "events" you mean criminal activity?

Portable CB's "range" are 'evaluated' based on Line of Sight or in the pains/plain fields.

12km range becomes < 1 -1.5km's in suburbia.
So you can toss any of those pipedream ranges out the window unless you are able to access repeaters/channels.

We use headset CB's with our motorbike rides, they are pretty reasonable as long as you are close by. The more open a space the better the range.

By "events" you mean criminal activity?

Hope he's not one of those 'tards who block the highway. Though I do love blowing steam off on them and f***ing up their rolling blockades.

my wife has one of these 3 watt units:

http://www.gme.net.au/products/radio-communications/uhf-477mhz-handhelds/TX680

it's excellent, so much so that she never ended up getting an in-vehicle mounted unit. you can drop them down to 1 watt if you know you're going to be in close enough proximity to the rest of your group and save your battery life. it also has most of the common useful features the in-vehicle units have (vox, ctcss, scan, duplex, dual channel monitor)

not cheap though, but you get what you pay for pretty much

give it a go. I bet you won't even be able to get half a kay.

I have no doubt that I will never get 12k's. Maybe in a perfect scenario but it's not going to happen. I will test it one day but for the purpose they are serving, they are more than adequate.

By "events" you mean criminal activity?

Of course not.

Uniden are s***

mine works just fine.

http://www.prestigecom.net.au/