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MCaver
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MCaver
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PostWed Jul 17, 2002 9:45 am 
What does everyone use for communication on the trail, if anything? I've been thinking about getting a pair of walkie/talkies (never liked that term), but thought there might be something better since I haven't looked into it yet. I'm looking for something pretty inexpensive, under $50 or so. Brand and/or model recommendations appreciated.

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salish
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salish
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PostWed Jul 17, 2002 10:56 am 
Michael: I bought a pair of Motorola 250 Talkabouts this past winter in anticipation of a PCT section I was planning on hiking this summer. My hiking buddy is really fast and I'm notoriously slow, so we thought it was be a good idea to have these, since we get separated once in a while. The hike is not going to happen, but I've used them for other things and they are great. These are line-of-sight devices so you sometimes lose some reception in deep gullies and depressions, however. The range appears to be about a mile or so, although I've communicated at almost 1.5 miles at times. I paid something like $59.99 for the pair, on Ebay. As a hiker myself, I'm very aware of unnecessary noise on trails and I would keep the use to a minimum so as not to annoy other hikers.

My short-term memory is not as sharp as it used to be. Also, my short-term memory's not as sharp as it used to be.
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Tom
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Tom
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PostWed Jul 17, 2002 11:08 am 
Those FRS radios (aka walkie talkies) work great not only on the trail but also if you're following someone in a car. I got mine a couple of years ago at Target for around $50 / pair. I don't think there's a huge difference by brand. My only recommendation would be to get some that come with rechargeable batteries - if you leave them on all day you'll go thru a lot of batteries. I think I saw a pair of Cobra brand FRS radios at Costco that came with rechargeables.

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lopper
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lopper
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PostWed Jul 17, 2002 11:43 am 
I usually am a non-fan of gadgetry......but I must admit that the Motorola Talkabouts that my wife bought last year have come in handy on several family outings.

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-lol-
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PostWed Jul 17, 2002 11:51 am 

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MtnGoat
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PostWed Jul 17, 2002 1:06 pm 
cobra works fine but I *hate* the ergonomics. We have a pair, I'm pretty sure they're cobras, and the buttons do not have a good tactile sense and the placement is lousy, IMO. If I had to do over, I'd shell out for the Motorolas.

Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock. - Will Rogers
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janders
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PostWed Jul 17, 2002 3:53 pm 
If you *ever* intend to use them somewhere with lots of people like a ski area, mall, or Disneyland (did a family trip to D-Land and two-way radios were a life saver!), buy the radios with sub-channels. There are only 14 FRS frequencies and FRS radios are becoming extremely popular. With sub-channels, you get 38 sub-channels per FRS channel which filters out chatter on the regular channel and other sub-channels. Doesn't always work that great and anybody not using sub-channels will hear you but it does help filter out alot of noise. People who gravitate towards these radios aren't really familiar with radio etiquette so you end up with alot of transmissions like "Hey, are you there?" to which fourteen people reply "Yep, I'm here.". shakehead.gif

"Oh dang!" - Captain Amazing
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MC
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PostWed Jul 17, 2002 3:59 pm 
There is a new generation coming out GRS radios which require a license fee but allow for greater power and range and several more channels. BTW I was able to talk to my family in Jackson while on Grand Teton about 20 mi, (but line of sight) with a Motorola 250. Garmin has also combined these with GPS to automatically indicate your position if you wish.

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Allison
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Allison
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PostWed Jul 17, 2002 4:44 pm 
The low-tech, cheap, lightweight solution is a plastic whistle.

www.allisonoutside.com follow me on Twitter! @AllisonLWoods
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Ulrich
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Ulrich
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PostWed Jul 17, 2002 4:54 pm 
That's what we carry.

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MtnGoat
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PostWed Jul 17, 2002 5:02 pm 
whistle in morse code and you're all set for two way!

Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock. - Will Rogers
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-lol-
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PostWed Jul 17, 2002 6:56 pm 

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Erik the Nav
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Erik the Nav
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PostWed Jul 17, 2002 7:50 pm 
whistles
whistles came up in some other thread, here they are again, so now I'll respond. I have one question/hesitation about using them: they're also a recognized emergency signal. If I'm back in the hills somewhere and hear whistles blowing, I'm likely to go looking for who needs help. Probably just call the cops here at home. Long ago when I was a punk kid (as opposed to the punk old fart I am now), a bunch of us started using whistles to signal each other -- obnoxiously, in an urban setting at night, and yes, we did keep getting lost from each other -- before long, some cops responded. We were rattled (cheese it, the fuzz!) -- turns out the cops were cool with us, just wanted us to knock it off 'cause they thought we were calling for help. Same 'don't use emergency signal' goes for red flares, red smoke, and come to think of it, I think we recently used a red cyalume light stick which probably should have been marked "emergency signalling only." Was it red? So, anyway, that's my hesitation about whistles.

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Randy
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Randy
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PostWed Jul 17, 2002 9:29 pm 
Most certainly red.

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Allison
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Allison
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PostWed Jul 17, 2002 9:56 pm 
You guys are on acid. One was green, and the other one was orange. The green one was the one I hung at the trail so you could find us.

www.allisonoutside.com follow me on Twitter! @AllisonLWoods
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