21st Century Connectedness:Choosing A Small Portable Two-Way Radio
Nov 17 '01
The Bottom Line You see more and more of these radios turning up in places. When you decide to go shopping for one, here are some tips to consider.
Small Portable Two-Way Radios have begun to catch on in the last few years as technology makes electronic gadgets smaller and lighter. You can find them all over the world.
What do you look for in one of these devices? There are several things to know and remember.
First of all, remember that old maxim: "You get what you pay for." In this field the really good units are going to be somewhat expensive. If you are using your radios on a climb up a tough mountain or in a ski resort or in a sand-and-water situation, you probably ought to pay more because you are asking the radio to give you hazardous duty performance. If you just need something to entertain the kids as they play in the backyard or you need to keep in touch while you and your family members are in different ends of the mall, the less expensive units will do. So the first thing to consider is "What will my radios be used for?" If I were going to climb Mount Everest, the radios I might need would probably cost $1,000.00 apiece. My own portable two-way radios were bought to help mountain climbers on moderate American mountains communicate with each other, so I bought Motorola units that cost about $250.00 apiece. But you can get perfectly servicable portable 2-way radios for light duty at 1/10 of that cost. So need/price is the first thing to think about.
The second thing I would think about in portable radios is quality. If my life depends on something and other people are depending on my life to continue, I tend to go with the best equipment I can get. Will the radio still work if it gets wet in a storm or dropped into a fishpond or the ocean? How likely is it to break if it accidentally gets dropped on a pile of rocks on a mountain or a sidewalk in a city? What's the guarantee cover? Remember: you want something you can depend on in times when you really need to communicate. Don't be penny-wise and pound foolish. Don't get a toy. Get what works and will work under stress.
The third thing I would think about is electrical power. What kind of batteries does the unit require? Are the batteries rechargable? What are the recharging units, if any, like? Can I recharge the radio from my car's lighter socket? If I can't recharge the batteries, what kind of batteries do I need and what will their life be if I leave the unit on for several hours? Consider electrical power.
The fourth thing to consider is range. Many radios are advertised as being a 5-mile or a 2-mile radio, but that is only on a flat landscape under ideal conditions. If you can, either conduct a real-world test on the radios or ask someone who has actually used them for a while what kind of range they have.
I have found two nice uses for my own portable radio set. A long-distance drive with two cars can really benefit from these. The two drivers or others in the two cars can stay in touch rather well as long as the cars are in reasonable range.
Another good use is avoiding cell-phone charges if you are in range. This can become your cell-phone substitute in many circumstances and that is good.
A nice plus with many of these units today is that you can get hands-free attachments. A voice-activated microphone/headphone unit could really benefit anyone with their hands and eyes occupied, like a vehicle driver, a cyclist, or a hiker/climber. If that might be in your need profile, keep an eye out for units such as these. My Motorola has that feature, which Motorola calls VOX.
I don't think having a multi-channel unit is all that important for most people. Most people are just wanting to communicate between point A and point B. But there are many radios today that will let you connect with points C,D,E,F, etc. The thing of it is, in real life, most people don't need that extra feature.
I expect that this type of radio will get smaller over time and one of these days they will be built into watches (probably first by Casio) or something. people just like to stay in touch. And when a cellphone is too expensive or a cell tower isn't near or there is another problem, these little radios can often fill the bill. Just start with what your real application is going to be and work upward from there.
Roger, over and out!
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