event radios

[mrmattday93]

hit here,

 

am looking to buy a set of radios that can work across a range of about 2-3 mile.

 

there are two different sites that we need to cooperate and communicate between which are about 2 and a half miles apart from the furthest points of each.

 

dont know if there is an industry standard radio or what not.

 

budget is £1000 ish for about 10 radios so £100 each.

 

also not sure if this would require licensed band radios or not, and so would anyone know how much this is?

 

regards

matt

[Stuart91]

I'm no expert in this area, but I'd recommend talking to a supplier who is familiar with the area you'll be using the sets in. I know from hiring in radios previously that 2-3 miles across a city centre can be a very different proposition from a rural location. The lie of the land also has an effect - for one even we needed a repeater for less than 1 mile, because there was a hill in the way.

[mrmattday93]

I'm no expert in this area, but I'd recommend talking to a supplier who is familiar with the area you'll be using the sets in. I know from hiring in radios previously that 2-3 miles across a city centre can be a very different proposition from a rural location. The lie of the land also has an effect - for one even we needed a repeater for less than 1 mile, because there was a hill in the way.

 

were located in north wales, so is a rural area ( just outside a "city") also means I dont think there are any local suppliers. one site is on top of a hill and one in the valley, so there isnt any hill in the way as such.

[djw1981]

A short google picked up a few north wales suppliers, and http://www.cadenradio.co.uk/two-way-radio/contact-form/support.php who despite being just in England have website blurb saying they cover N Wales.

[Stuart91]

were located in north wales, so is a rural area ( just outside a "city") also means I dont think there are any local suppliers.

 

Yeah, getting quotes from suppliers based in North Wales will be far better than random folks from the other end of the country or completely anonymous internet outfits.

[Dave m]

don't farmers use radios at all?

 

maybe an agricultural supplier might be better in this case?

[paulears]

I'm closish to an expert - in so much that I have quite few clients I service with radios, and I operate a hire license too. There are a few things you need to know.

 

Hand held radios are in reality extremely short range from radio to radio. Dismiss all the claims of distance - they are hopelessly optimistic. The good news is that you can actually buy extremely cheap radios that are quite decent that hold their own with the more expensive radios.

 

The license you can obtain which in OFCOM speak is called the 'simple' license for £75 allows you to choose from a collection of frequencies, in either the UHF or VHF band. Across a single site radio to radio (some people call it back to back) works ok and is reliable. However, if you need miles instead of metres, then it's unreliable in the extreme. Topography is critical. On top of two mountain peaks ten miles apart - no problem. From the valley to the next valley is impossible. If anything is in between to prevent line of sight - it's probably not going to work. The solution is a repeater. In real money terms a device that you stick somewhere with a high aerial system that can hear both sites, and then anyone connecting to the repeater can hear and talk to anyone else. A cheap one is maybe £700 new and up to double that for a clever one. The simple license does NOT cover repeaters. My suppliers license allows me to set up a system and hire it out, or indeed 'park' it for up to a year so clients can try it out before buying their own. In your area, you should be able to hire such a system. You could buy it, and license it, BUT, it is then a site specific license - termed a technically assigned license and this involves OFCOM checking the coverage so they need precise locations for the repeater, the height, the power output and aerial type.

 

It's no good thinking buying more powerful radios will solve the problem - it doesn't.

 

You can now also buy very clever radios that are digital and have interesting facilities - specific person to person, text messages, emergency buttons (lone worker capable) and you can have talk to anyone, or talk to smaller groups or individual radios. The controller can stun radios - maybe if one gets stolen - you enter it's code and zap it!

 

Radio wise - the better quality in terms of reliability and perhaps ruggedness will start at perhaps the £150 each price - but like everything else nowadays, you can buy cheaper types - £25 upwards that you can treat as disposable. Some can be IP rated for the rain, some have zillions of features and keypads, some just 16 channels on a knob!

 

So your budget will do the job - but you have a bit of faffing around to do with the license. You could get a system running for your budget, including the license, but they will be at the budget end, because the repeater will soak up a large part of the budget. Second hand ones sometimes pop up that are programmable.

 

I don't sell radios - most of what we do is packages and rental, but if you have specifics, I'm happy to produce you a shopping list if it helps. There are some excellent Chinese cheap radios, and there are some terrible ones - but beginners only see the hype in the ads - which frankly is always ridiculous.

 

Programming the damn things means specific cables and software, which isn't that easy to source - but we programme Kenwood, Icom and Yaesu regularly plus dozens of the Chinese ones.

 

Drop me a PM if you are confused and I'll elaborate. Paul

[kerry davies]

Unless you are using them frequently then buying handhelds is often not cost effective. I had control of a bought in set of 18 for one client which were used 6 to 10 times a year. I also hired sets for other clients about 10-12 times a year and that worked out cheaper over a five year period because of losses and damage. It never failed to amaze me that users took far more care of hired in kit than kit they "owned", but that's the way people are.

 

I would suggest you took Paul up on his offer of advice but do give him specifics and exact location so he can check everything. It may make no difference but saying you are "rural" when you have 3 RNLI bases, RAF Valley, the helicopter rescue service, the coastguard and Snowdon mountain rescue on your doorstep might alter the possibilities.