Walkie Talkie for children?

Oh shit! You’re upset with that content and tone? Don’t get your feelings hurt. Isn’t the government selling licenses for frequencies open all over the rest of the world a way to generate revenue? If not I don’t know what to call it, other than pissing off the public that knows better. You wouldn’t have any fun hanging out and drinking with us yanks because you would disagree with most of our content and tone. Cheers!

It would be a fair comment if the frequencies were “open all over the rest of the world” but they are not.

Even 27 Mhz CB spectrum is different in many EU countries, and the UK range is not available anywhere else, so our multistandard sets should be re-configured, depending on which EU country we are in.

Even the eight PMR446 channels were difficult to begin, e.g. in France one of them was not to be used in early days because it was allocated to some important service (railway police ISTR).

Maybe you could provide a spectrum map showing unlicensed bands “open all over the rest of the world” for me to study, and start using.

Please excuse my previous statement, I meant every open frequencies in the US and many other countries that use them as FRS and GMRS with walkie talkies bought over the counter and used unlicensed. You see my reasoning about the UK government charging for a permit? I think it sucks for the UK government to charge people to use these frequencies when other countries use them freely. Not trying to pick a fight man.

FRS and GMRS is pretty much a US and Canada only system. And until very recently (May 2017) FRS was limited to 0.5 watts. Same as the EU equivalent, which is PMR446. FRS has now been bumped up to 2 watts on some channels, but only this year.

All equipment used on FRS must be type accepted according to FCC regulations. Radios are not type-accepted for use in this service if they exceed limits on power output, have a detachable antenna or for other reasons. FRS radios must use only permanently attached antennas … This limitation intentionally restricts the range of communications, allowing greatest use of the available channels.

If you want to use GMRS, you are required to buy a license, $70 for 10 years.

Since Europe has about twice the population of the US+Canada, I suppose you could argue that PMR446 is the dominant license-free system, worldwide.

So, to summarise, across Europe, license-free, we now have 16 PMR446 analogue channels (though most sets only have the original 8), 24 more assigned for digital use, 69 channels for low power (LPD433), up to 80 channels of 27Mhz CB.

And then individual countries may have their own licensed channels, primarily for business use, in the UK we have fifteen, see http://static.ofcom.org.uk/static/businessradio/BusinessRadioSimpleUK.pdf

Handsets readily available over the counter, with the license application form included in the box. £75 for 5 years.

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/\_\_data/assets/pdf_file/0022/36823/nonexcelguide.pdf

The small license fee has the benefit for users that these bands are relatively uncongested. If e.g. UK Business Light 5watt radios, with their very useful range, on our crowded little island, were as popular as PMR446s, they would rapidly become unusable. Perhaps this is also the thinking behind your license fee for GMRS.

Damn… you guys are splitting sh*t to atoms…
OP, buy decent PMR with long antenna and enjoy.
For example: Intek MT3030 | 2-Way Radio Walkie Talkie | THUNDERPOLE
Mike

I’m sayin’. Dude went to a lot of trouble cutting and pasting all that data.

Yes, that is the sum of it :wink:

PMR446 in Europe, FRS in USA/Canada. Otherwise pay for a license.

I think I’ll opt for the Retevis RT602. They look professional, the brand has been recommended, they seem to be designed to appeal to children without looking like a cheap toy, they display the channel that is being broadcast on, and they come with Li-Ion cells and a charging dock. Don’t really think I can go wrong with that. If I get the 888s, I’ll have paid the same once once I’ve bought the programming cable - I’d rather have something that can be used legally out of the box.

Thanks for all the advice. Wasn’t imagining that I’d be stirring up a cultural hornets nest! :wink:

Thanks for the heads up, just ordered the cable needed for programming. Will program it to the 16 PMR channels.

I had a close look at those sets, and they would have been my second choice. Probably will get some for myself, as a cheap way to get into radio technology - it just isn’t possible for my to get interested in a topic without completely obsessing about it, not just when it comes to flashlights! :slight_smile:

I have 4 of the Baofeng 888’s here in the USA. One pair has the stock stubby antennas that are for the kids. The other set has longer Nagoya 7” whips.

They are programmed with FRS/GMRS frequencies. Don’t forget to buy the programming cable because the radios don’t come with one. It connects via USB to any computer and plugs into the ear/mic jacks on the radios. There are plenty of youtube videos on programming, which is very simple. The radios themselves are very versatile and have been as durable as I’ve needed them to be over the years.

Keep your eyes peeled for Amazon Warehouse deals… I bought my second pair for $12 Prime and couldn’t find a single thing wrong with them although they were sold as blems.

That’s the spirit, if you are going to do this, at least thank you for sticking to legit. frequencies.

If you want to know channel mapping to consumer PMR and CTSS codes for interoperability, send PM. I’d rather you did this correctly.

You will break the law by using it in your country the way you do and you disturb PMR channels for legit users.
Fi!
Mike

Nope. As already discussed, the 446 Mhz frequency is licence-free all over the EU.

They will do it anyway (until they get bored). Better they do it precisely. The genie is out of the bottle, and I doubt a few with a trivial amount more power will make any difference. As long as they stay clear of “other” bands :wink:

And maybe a tiny few might spark an interest in the real subject.

You are wrong. Read PMR446 usage conditions.
Non removable antennas and 500mW output power.
Otherwise it is radio piracy.
Mike

Only when used with approved handsets. Actually it is extremely tightly controlled and licensed, just you don’t have to worry about any of that if you just buy a proper one. Buy e.g a Baofeng and hopefully code it up near-enough and it will work, but never be legal.

Just as a divvy could code one up onto US FRS or GMRS frequencies, I suspect they would be dealt with quite harshly over there, if found out.

Thanks, I didn’t realise that. I’ve seen quite a few on ebay that were being sold as having several Watts, but I thought there must be an easy way to reduce the output power. Guess it would need a resistor mod though, and probably not much that can be done about the antenna.

I wasn’t aware how much there is to look out for, so I’m glad I started this thread … probably saved me from a few unpleasant surprises!

I reprogrammed my set to use:

446.00625 MHz
446.03125 MHz
446.05625 MHz
446.08125 MHz
446.01875 MHz
446.04375 MHz
446.06875 MHz
446.09375 MHz

There was a low power option, which I selected for al channels. I don’t intend to use the walkie talkies on channels that aren’t allowed.

You’re still effectively breaking the rules as they limit EIRP by saying 500mw and a tiny antenna but you wont get caught out.
I have some programmed with a few extra channels so that I can use those and know that no one else will be on them.