Walkie talkies

[Redtag]

Hi folks,
I'm a keen fisherman/camper with a slightly nervous wife.
I'm contemplating getting a pair of walkie talkies so that I can send frequent 'not drowned yet' or 'put the billy on, I'm coming back' bulletins to my wife while I'm away from the tent or car on some beach or river.
Any suggestions as to good units that are water resistant (now you see why my wife is worried!) and have useful range? I usually go fishing on foot, so the range I'm after won't be huge but there will be forest, river banks, sand dunes etc in the way. What are the limitations to walkie talkies and their line of sight requirements in terrain such as this?
Last week I was fishing in NZ, with my wife in a fishing lodge close to the river while I was out fishing. Do walkie talkies operate with a receiver in a room or a car? Can they be used to communicate with another car in a convoy or with a UHF radio in the case of an emergency?
I'd be grateful for any advice.
Redtag

[Merts]

There are a few water resistant handheld 80 channel UHF radios on the market.
Uniden and GME both do one. They aren't cheap (mid $200s each).

They will work over a reasonable distance and are compatible with vehicle mounted UHF radios.

edit:

Go for 5 watt units for maximum range. You should get a minimum of a couple of kms in poor line of sight conditions, and quite a few kms in good clear line of sight.

[nj swb]

There are a few brands on the market these days that offer "tradie packs" of hand held UHF radios, some of them rated IP67 (waterproof to 1m or so). I'm not in the market myself so I don't pay too much attention, but I would lean towards the "name" brands like GME & Uniden. I'm not sure how well Oricom's offerings compare, and I'd be very wary of the cheaper brands.

Money no object, I think it would be hard to go past this.

UHF is predominantly "line of sight", although it will bend / bounce to a certain extent. If you're worried that terrain may interfere with the signal, go for something with higher power - hand helds are available up to 5W. Similarly, if you're drawn towards some of the cheaper brands, opt for a higher output as a "compensation" for any range issues they might otherwise have.

I have a lower spec Uniden hand held, and a number of people have complained about the sound quality at the other end - even the truckie 200m in front of me on the flat.

[Merts]

These are advertised as 'splash proof', so I'm unsure how water resistant they are in comparison to the GME or Uniden offerings, but they may be worth a look. At around the $100 mark they are pretty affordable.

I have one and the quality is very good. I've lent it to others in 4WD convoys in the Vic high country and you wouldn't know it was a handheld as the sound quality is as good as any of the inbuilt radios.

https://www.auscb.net/about-us

[oscaroo]

I have the tradie pack of the Uniden 850s.

https://uniden.com.au/product/uh850s/

The seals are good if you've closed all the ports and have no accessories plugged in.

I've had the walkie talkie on the floor of an inflatable boat as I crossed camping supplies from one bank to another. There was water on the boat because i'm not particularly careful. The walkie-talkie was probably half covered with water and did not give me any problems then or now - a year or two later. No rust visible anywhere.

I use them for work occasionally and do not care if it is raining of if it gets sprayed.
I use them when 4wding and do not mind if they fall into the mud.

You may be able to find them at a discount when ebay has some sales. Otherwise yea they're expensive but the benefit is that I don't have to baby them.

Tradie packs are nice because they include accessories.

[littleriver]

https://www.gadgetcity.com.au/oricom-uhf2500-2gr-2-watt-waterproof-handheld-radio-twin-pack-p-4004.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0-T26uCy3wIVTg4rCh0WZABwEAQYBiABEgLHQvD_BwE&zenid=e45b8e476fb5a4ad4c0a26db38895b6c

These seem ok

..

[Keithyv]

^ These are $79 a piece in the latest Repco catalogue (so not too different in price)

[Redtag]

Great, thanks for all the advice folks. It sounds like I wouldn't be disappointed in the performance of these units. I'll have a look over the break.
Merry Christmas to all!
Redtag

[Redtag]

So, I got a pair of Uniden UH750s on sale from JB @ $278. Not the cheapest, but 5w
units and allegedly waterproof. Now looking for a cigarette lighter charger (not cheap, and harder to find) and a magnetic external antenna (quite cheap, one is on its way).
It will be interesting to see how much of the 17 km range that is achievable in river/coastal terrain.
Redtag

[littleriver]

So, I got a pair of Uniden UH750s on sale from JB @ $278. Not the cheapest, but 5w
units and allegedly waterproof. Now looking for a cigarette lighter charger (not cheap, and harder to find) and a magnetic external antenna (quite cheap, one is on its way).
It will be interesting to see how much of the 17 km range that is achievable in river/coastal terrain.
Redtag

Well done .. nice units ... temped to upgrade our unidens for them now .. keep us updated on their range and time before charges ...



..

[Redtag]

Well done .. nice units ... temped to upgrade our unidens for them now .. keep us updated on their range and time before charges ...

Will do, next camping trip to somewhere with fishable fresh water should be in February.
Redtag

[amec]

Water resistant and 5w output

https://www.jaycar.com.au/5w-uhf-handheld-transceiver/p/DC1068

https://www.jaycar.com.au/5w-80-channel-uhf-transceiver/p/DC1065

[oscaroo]

I had this one:

https://www.jaycar.com.au/5w-80-channel-uhf-transceiver/p/DC1065

It did not survive my car being flooded. They were in the door pockets (in my Subaru) when the creek rose and filled it up water.

The batteries or unit bozo'd itself and the contacts rusted. They were replaced by the Uniden 5w ones by the Insurance company. Those Unidens I have splashed many times and flooded them too (in a floaty boat) and they're okay.