Need some decent walkie talkies that also work in Europe?

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zac

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I have no idea if all just work anywhere but i need a decent pair of walkie talkies that can work at a good distant ( a mile or two). They must be able to work in Europe ( Spain/Portugal/France mainly). Anyone got any suggestions? Are rechargeable ones better than batteries that you replace? Mainly use when out walking but will come in handy when trying to get into tight spaces seeing as with the trailer we are 42ft long. I can never here what my wife is saying lol
thanks in advance
 
We have Cobra radios, work well on and off our bikes here and all over Europe. Sometimes they pick up marine signals so we move to another wave
band
 
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I use these, they are great. You can't really go wrong with Motorola gear. It's always well made, but you'll pay a bit more. Lots of accessories too. When in convoy (which is a lot) we use them on voice-activated with an earpiece so quite safe too.

Amazon product ASIN B00QQKPOFO
 
Electraglide said:
We have Cobra radios, work well on and off our bikes here and all over Europe. Sometimes they pick up marine signals so we move to another wave
band
Click to expand...
Jim said:
I use these, they are great. You can't really go wrong with Motorola gear. It's always well made, but you'll pay a bit more. Lots of accessories too. When in convoy (which is a lot) we use them on voice-activated with an earpiece so quite safe too.

Amazon product ASIN B00QQKPOFO
Click to expand...
nicholsong said:
Of course they will work anywhere because they only 'talk' to each other.

Whatever you buy check the range first as some are more powerful than others.
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Thanks for the quick responses and advice, will give them all a look over.

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Please be aware there are MANY illegal sets out there.. Anything with more than .5w output requires the user to hold a commercial licence
Radio's not conforming to PMR446 regs are open to confiscation and the user a hefty fine

The reason for it is that there is a LOT of sensitive equipment using frequencies around 446 megs, including medical stuff

PMR446 kit is legal throughout Europe and conforms to the Rome treaty
Germany and Austria are particularly hot on it ( and the only countries I bother to carry my radio licence ! )

Obtaining a licence for a more powerful setup is not difficult as it is really only a paper exercise but last time I looked the cost was about £75 for 5 years ( and there is STILL considerable debate as to the validity of a UK issued licence in some countries because of the commercial aspect )
 
You could give the Zello app a go which allows your mobile phone to act as walky talkies.

Zello | The Most Reliable Push-to-Talk Walkie-Talkie App

Stay connected with your team using Zello - the leading push-to-talk app for frontline communication. Download Zello for work and get PTT walkie-talkie and radio features. Visit us now.
zello.com zello.com
 
Hi I used four of these when in Europe. They can be easily reprogrammed and have and are by amateur radio enthusiasts with a laptop. But you need to be careful.
I have also bought the larger batteries.
Good quality product compared to Motorola, Cobra etc.
Colin
 

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For tricky manoevering we have a pair of the rechargeable cheapo Lidl Silvercrest brand for under £30. Less than .5 watt but the instructions say that for use in Italy a permit is required.
 
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We use our phones, unlimited minutes, no legal issues, nothing else to lose or forget to charge, ( or just plain forget?)

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We use the Zello app on smartphone. It's free (or was 3 months ago) works all over the world with unlimited range, as long as you have a phone signal. It uses your data allowance. Try it it's impressive ?
 
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Two on Tour said:
You could give the Zello app a go which allows your mobile phone to act as walky talkies.

Zello | The Most Reliable Push-to-Talk Walkie-Talkie App

Stay connected with your team using Zello - the leading push-to-talk app for frontline communication. Download Zello for work and get PTT walkie-talkie and radio features. Visit us now.
zello.com zello.com
Click to expand...

Have just downloaded this on my phone and iPad, never heard of it, works well! What a larf ?
thank you!
 
dbnosey said:
Hi I used four of these when in Europe. They can be easily reprogrammed and have and are by amateur radio enthusiasts with a laptop. But you need to be careful.
I have also bought the larger batteries.
Good quality product compared to Motorola, Cobra etc.
Colin
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These have a 3w output and are illegal to use without a licence. They also need to be reprogrammed before use as the default frequencies they come with are illegal everywhere even with a licence.
 
dbnosey said:
Hi I used four of these when in Europe. They can be easily reprogrammed and have and are by amateur radio enthusiasts with a laptop. But you need to be careful.
I have also bought the larger batteries.
Good quality product compared to Motorola, Cobra etc.
Colin
Click to expand...
Completely illegal EVERY WHERE unless operated by a licence holder unless set up with 12.5kH channel spacing ( from memory 446.00625 up ) with a max output of .5w
Get caught using those things you will DEF have your collar felt
Frequency range covers police and fire channels, power output ten times the legal level
Should only be used by licenced operators and even then come under restricted use rules..
Put it like this.. Those sort of radios are, in the telegraphy world, the same as a 5 kilo drone being used around an airport would be viewed by CAA!

Talking of drones just reminded me of something
Those radios also cover the frequency range used by many military strike drones !!! Could be interesting :Eeek: :rofl: :

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You might like to consider CB radio, there are specific channels that are legal in Europe, I have a handheld one with an external antenna mounted in my 4x4. if your vehicle has a metal roof you may also need an external antenna to get any distance.

I found this company very helpful http://www.4x4cb.com/
 
I have a couple of Baofeng gt-5tp radios. They are programmed to comply with the Simple UK radio Licence ( which I hold) and as such are perfectly legal in the UK
No problems with police broadcasts as all UK Police radios are encrypted and therefore can’t be listened to without registered encrypted radios.
My radios are programmed to transmit at 4 watts ( licence max is 5 watts) so they have a range of up to a few miles.
Portable CB radios are a good idea too and will be legal in Europe as long as you use the correct frequencies as will the lower power PMR446 radios.
 
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We just use our mobiles on Three, when manoeuvring especially in and out of the shed which is tight I just put my mobile on speaker and put it in my top pocket (y)

Martin
 
Allanm said:
No problems with police broadcasts as all UK Police radios are encrypted and therefore can’t be listened to without registered encrypted radios.
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Not that it would affect you Allan, as you have them set up right, but just because someone cannot HEAR plod because as you correctly say, they use an encrypted digital coms method, does not mean to say a wrongly set up unit will not transmit over them and cause issues with their coms ..
They would not hear any audio but certainly would hear the heterodyne and interference !
 
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Simple advice is that unless you are a licenced Radio Amateur or have a commercial use licence stick to branded PMR446 or CEPT CB radios. They are legal anywhere in Europe.

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I'm totally ignorant of such devices and have little intention of improving on that situation.

However, for those who are thinking about them, does anyone have any THOUGHTS on what might happen post-Brexit? [I appreciate "we don't KNOW"; hence my request for thoughts. Or perhaps the experts do know, because it is covered by some international treaties with higher jurisdiction than EU?]

TIA - Gordon
 
As Martin funflair says surely it's easier to use mobiles, you have duplex coms, Tx & Rx at the same time so can be used hands free.
No good waiting for the misses to shout stop if she forgets to press the Tx button on a Walkie Talkie.
 
Lenny HB said:
As Martin funflair says surely it's easier to use mobiles, you have duplex coms, Tx & Rx at the same time so can be used hands free.
No good waiting for the misses to shout stop if she forgets to press the Tx button on a Walkie Talkie.
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It would if just for reversing but i need this for other purposes which a phone wont work and in places where i dont even get a signal. Definitely need the walkie talkies just deciding on which ones to get. Some good info though as didnt know some of what has been mentioned so very useful
 
Don't believe what the jokers on ebay etc state regarding range.
0.5w isn't going to get you 5 miles in the middle of a city or a mountain range.... 500 yards more like.
Research what you're looking at and read reviews.
 
pappajohn said:
Don't believe what the jokers on ebay etc state regarding range.
0.5w isn't going to get you 5 miles in the middle of a city or a mountain range.... 500 yards more like.
Research what you're looking at and read reviews.
Click to expand...
Appreciate the advice.

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I swear by these, use nylon string if you dare. Makes you sound like Tiny Tim :whistle2:

phone.jpg
 
zac said:
It would if just for reversing but i need this for other purposes which a phone wont work and in places where i dont even get a signal. Definitely need the walkie talkies just deciding on which ones to get. Some good info though as didnt know some of what has been mentioned so very useful
Click to expand...
In all honesty you may as well get the cheapest you can find.
They all HAVE to conform to MPT1307 and unless you are going to risk it they are much of a muchness
Even the kids 2 channel jobbies are basically the same
Of course the major advantage of that is, if they are legal they will all work with each other :-)
 
Rapido925M said:
I'm totally ignorant of such devices and have little intention of improving on that situation.

However, for those who are thinking about them, does anyone have any THOUGHTS on what might happen post-Brexit? [I appreciate "we don't KNOW"; hence my request for thoughts. Or perhaps the experts do know, because it is covered by some international treaties with higher jurisdiction than EU?]

TIA - Gordon
Click to expand...
Rest assured such things as radio coms will not change.. They have not changed for donkeys years* and have nothing to do with the EU at all

*The only place that has changed the rules is the UK.. Relaxing many to conform to other countries after a great deal of pressure from various world wide organisations, most of which, like the UK, are signatories to Rome convention of 1961 :)

So just for once, we do know precisely what will happen post Brexit.. Nada... squit, sod all !! :)
 

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