two way radio for shoots

[Oz_Beachside]

im in need/want of a way to communicate with a subject at a great distance in a noisy crowded environment, and thinking a two way radio may do the trick.

thought I would ask if any radio comms buffs in here may know somehting suitable. its for the odd occasion, rather then needing high end stuff. only need battery life of 3-6 hours, range only about 200m max.

ideally somehting that has hands free, or mic lock on at the photographer end, and then a belt clip at the subjects end, loud enough so they could hear when clipped on back, or sitting on the ground out of the shot.

only really needs to be one way...

what and where can I get for say $100? ideally small units...

[lkgrainger]

I just bought a set for the kids from Dick smiths, which only cost me about $60. Its a 40ch UHF which I didn't like because I didn't want just anyone to hear them, but upon further inspection found that it also had 4 sub channels for each of the 40ch UHF.

Leigh

[Antsl]

Sometime ago I helped a mate on a road trip type shoot ... we started in Adelaide and drove up to Cairns and I knew our main concern was that often we would be out of phone coverage. The agency suggested spending a couple of hundred dollars on a Satellite phone but I suggested we get a couple of UHF radios. As it happened, I bought a couple of Uniden 3-watt handhelds for $275 and the agency contributed $200 for the hire of them. I thought it was a good plan.

Anyway, the radios work well over a couple of kilometers although I point out that if you unlucky you might discover a lot of other people sharing your frequency. What is good about this set I bought is that they come with a couple of handset options including a handsfree option that clips over there ear and is activated by voice. This may not be that good in a crowd but I think there is also the option to use the Push To Talk option with it. I think these units can be very handy in certain situations.... give it a go I say.

[Biggzie]

I use 2 Electrophone TX-6000 handheld CB's and 1 Uniden UH-040XR Handheld.
The Electrophone are switchable between 1 & 5 Watts and the Uniden is either 250 or 500 mWatt.
I have a Electrophone headset and also a speaker/microphone. both of these also plug into the Uniden too.

The Uniden works on 3 AA batteries and would easily do what you want. I think it cost me about $60 - $70
Its quite small too

[dm_td5]

Any reputable UHF CB handheld would do. Most handhelds are 0.5 to 2W but some go to 5W. More power more range, but 0.5W is all you need for up to 1km line of sight. GME or Uniden are the pick f the affordable, Motorola, Icom and a few others are usually more expensive. Most of the small hand helds work on AA's so probably the same as your flash, therefore just need a few more rechargables with you.

Biggest problem you will have in an urban environment is other people using the channel as there are a lot of ab-users of CB UHF frequencies.

[Oz_Beachside]

thanks for the feedback., perfect.

i have been out of the radio comms for near on 20 years, my last thingo was called an AX144 I think, lol, AM and SSB.

uniden have some voice activated (VOX) with small earpiece and mic, I think might do the trick. looks like they have a new "coding" which limits the channel between two similar "coded" handsets, so that might provide better privacy...

I think these may work well for this price point... thoughts?

http://www.uniden.com.au/AUSTRALIA/p_uh043sx2_index.asp

[Hudo]

Hi Bruce

hahaha I remember a AX144, it was one of my old hobbies and for me like you it's been 20 yaers as well. UFO019 was my call sign back then. Tri band Yagi's and vertial antenna's making my parents place look like well no so attractive and causing RFI to the neibhours TV's when the after burner kicked in pumoping out 200 watts... lol..

Back on subject. We have been using a Uniden Scanner with a Blue Tooth ear peice for covering events. Only good for one way traffic as we have not been able to find a suitable device part from UHF Unidens, on a belt clip with a VOX type of mic. I would assume Motorola make very nice units but they'll be at commercial price tages. Not saying this solution is cheap but in our video work on 2 camera jobs while Kate and I have a strategy such as she takes the wide shot and I go in tight having a open mike wireless comms would be so benefitial. Here are a few solutions both wired (much cheaper but 200M may not be practical) and wireless. We have not tried these but we plan to try and buy if suitable.

Mark

http://www.videoguys.com.au/scripts/prodlist.asp?idcategory=275

[AndyL]

Oz,

GME (others too) market twin packs.

I paid around $140 for a couple of these a while back. I use them as an inter-bike intercom when on the road with company. Works a treat in that role and also allows me to listen in to trucks if they are close for wildlife reports.

Some cattle stations also use these when working in the yards. It saves yelling over the racket of cattle.

They are 0.5W units that are reliable over 400-500m depending on conditions. 1km is a bit of a stretch. They come with an earpiece (handy for noisy environments) and microphone for hands free operation with VOX (voice activated transmit). Something to be aware of is that VOX can sometimes hold the channel open in noisy or windy environments. EDIT: this something that is not exclusive to these units. They slip into a shirt pocket easily and are rechargeable.

Cheers

[AndyL]

Seems I was likely wrong

[Oz_Beachside]

thanks all, some great feedback.

i picked up a pair of uniden UH043sx-2, with VOX earpieces from DSE for $100, think these should do the job well enough (right on budget after some haggling).

[dawesy]

thanks all, some great feedback.

i picked up a pair of uniden UH043sx-2, with VOX earpieces from DSE for $100, think these should do the job well enough (right on budget after some haggling).

For what it's worth, I tend to find CH39 is pretty empty most of the time. Avoid 10, 18 and 40 as they are 4wd, caravan and truck channels respectively and tend be have people on them. 1-8 are also bad depending where you are as they are repeater channels, same with 31-38. Ch1 in Sydney is horrific, and certainly not safe with kids about.

Should do the job well for you though.

Cheers.

[lkgrainger]

Check your instructions it may have sub channels like the ones I bought the kids, there will be very little or no chance that someone will be on the same sub channel within the short distance that they operate.

Leigh

[DPowell]

Hi,

How are they working out for you?

I recently did some investigation into handheld UHF radios for work and found the Uniden ones to be the best of what was available.

We ended up with 3 pairs of uh036 and 2 pairs of the 2W uh065. My application was inside a building however and these performed very well, considering the metal and reinforced concrete, so if you have a situation like that, you should also be able to make decent use of them.

I haven't done testing on maximum range yet but agree with the others regarding the use of the CTCSS in-channel coding to make it less likely others will overhear or interfere with your conversation.

Regards,

David

[DVEous]

... Obsolete ...

[v81]

If your rigs have CTCSS, then you can make use of that to squelch out other traffic on the same channel.
Other users WILL hear you, but you will not hear them, unless they are transmitting the same CTCSS tone that you have set your rigs to use.

Thought I'd highlight the above.
So many I know get the wrong idea regarding CTCSS, not helped by marketing crap that implies these are extra sub channels.
This is not a feature that offer private channels, such a feature does not exist (legally).
All it does is block out unwanted signals, and allows signals from a unit running the same 'code' as yourself.
People without CTCSS can hear you plain as day, you however wont be able to hear them.

[who]

A keenly priced source of UHF gear is http://www.prestigecom.net.au too for anyone interested.

Also, Ch 22 & 23 ( I think, or it maybe 23 & 24) are reserved for non-voice telemetry too.

[_robbo_]

are there any legal issues to using handheld radios? Are UHF ones of all power ok to use?

i know in Japan they dont allow anything thats 1watt or up?

[Biggzie]

Yes, in Australia UHF CB can only transmit up to 5 watts and 27Mhz CB can only transmit upto 4 watts

[andy]

Since people are talking rules and laws etc I thought I'd throw in that further info can be found on the Australian Communications and Media Authority website HERE.

And the 'class licence' that authorises use of CB stations can be found HERE. This licence defines the max power, channels, purpose of use etc that are allowed.

[_robbo_]

perfect, thanks for that Andy