Walkie Talkie

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by FabioC

Has anybody used or is using walkie talkies with a shoulder speaker on the boat? If so, what's your experience? What brand/model do you use and how did you fit it to the inflatable?

We mostly rely on hand signals too, but there are times when crew can't see captain and vice versa...

We've tried using really good Family Radios. Handheld, not great. With a voice-activated head mic, slightly better, but... the VOX feature has a time delay, so we ended up having to start each sentence with ONE TWO THREE... or something similar... to get the VOX working before we tried to say anything serious. These are only simplex, too, eventually a limiting factor as we noted that we sometimes needed to talk over the other if situations changed during our operations.

Then we tried cellular phone with Bluetooth ear pieces. Duplex. Better, but of course needs cellular connectivity. The earpieces never feel all that secure, but then again we never lost one.

We've since moved to SENA SPH10 Bluetooth headsets. Also duplex, plus they'll do other stuff (phone calls, music, etc.) if we were ever to care about that. Not inexpensive.

Eartec makes similar systems, although I think there's use other radio frequencies, I think not BT.

-Chris

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Jammer

"The OP proposed to use on board his own boat for communications between crew -- perfectly legal use of marine VHF. "

That is my understanding also.

There's even a specific channel for it -- in the UK, Channel 17, "Onboard Communications"

[BalticVicing]

Wou! You boys must have some seriously big bouts over there in US.

[a64pilot]

We have eartec systems, but rarely use them.
They work well, are apparently the systems used by Pro US Football teams and I believe NASCAR. Not sure about NASCAR, I’d suspect they would have a better built in system myself.

They are not cheap and have noise canceling mics, that work OK in strong wind.
Nothing is going to cancel strong wind completely.
A noise cancelling mic works as it has both sides open to the atmosphere, in theory noise that comes from both sides will be canceled and sound coming from only one side will dominate.
It’s not electronic trickery, it’s a simple physical thing.
It’s been around for a long time.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nois...ing_microphone

[FabioC]

Originally Posted by Red Sky

100% They are rugged, comfortable and secure to wear, have high quality audio and best of all they employ a full duplex communication system. Meaning, it’s like talking on a telephone. No PTT, no VOX. My wife and I speak in regular voices the length of the boat while anchoring and anytime I go aloft. We also wear them when we ride our bikes. The set that we have, Sena SPH -10, will connect up to four headsets, you can Bluetooth connect your phone for music or calls. Something like a 1000’ range. They’re pretty cool, not cheap, but worth it.

@s/v Jedi as well.
Can you elaborate on this? I am not a biker, but I looked online at bike intercom systems and those I could find are meant to be integrated in the helmet. I assume the mic does not have noise cancellation, since it is meant to be inside the helmet. Can these things work well in our scenario? i.e., with a headset, no helmet, and in windy conditions?
Thank you!

[FabioC]

Originally Posted by ranger42c

We mostly rely on hand signals too, but there are times when crew can't see captain and vice versa...

We've tried using really good Family Radios. Handheld, not great. With a voice-activated head mic, slightly better, but... the VOX feature has a time delay, so we ended up having to start each sentence with ONE TWO THREE... or something similar... to get the VOX working before we tried to say anything serious. These are only simplex, too, eventually a limiting factor as we noted that we sometimes needed to talk over the other if situations changed during our operations.

Then we tried cellular phone with Bluetooth ear pieces. Duplex. Better, but of course needs cellular connectivity. The earpieces never feel all that secure, but then again we never lost one.

We've since moved to SENA SPH10 Bluetooth headsets. Also duplex, plus they'll do other stuff (phone calls, music, etc.) if we were ever to care about that. Not inexpensive.

Eartec makes similar systems, although I think there's use other radio frequencies, I think not BT.

-Chris

Thank you for the info. I heard of the SENA, glad to hear that they work well for this application. I'll look into them.

[FabioC]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

We have kid's toy walkie talkies. Cost very little, from Toys R Us, a long, long time ago. We refer to them as "inter-galactic communicators."

The headset has a mike built in, and we put a little bit of sponge over it to cut down wind noise, fastened with a rubber band! Yes, mickey mouse, but works fine. Still need hand signals for the rain. I'm certain they are not water resistant.

However, I would exhaust the children's market before i went to motorcyclists headsets for hundreds of dollars.

Ann

Hi Ann, I know which ones you are referring to... do you use them regularly?

[FabioC]

Originally Posted by john61ct

Motorola T100, pair for ~$30, has a handsfree mode, use M6 type headsets if you want, $12 - 20 more.

I looked at the Motorola's on Amazon. Do you find them useful for this application? or does the VOX delay (there is another post on it) drive you nuts?
Thank you!

[FabioC]

Originally Posted by Reefmagnet

Cheap half watt UHF CB radios that have rechargeable batteries installed are our radio of choice. These are compact and used most times. They aren't waterproof but at twenty bucks each, not a big deal. I also have a 2w UHF unit that is waterproof and floats if dropped in the drink which is good for inclement weather use or for communicating over longer distances.

Another suggestion is to use Chinese programmable radios that are sold under a number of brands including "Baefong". There are "waterproof" models in the range, but "water resistant" is probably a better description. These things aren't 100% legal to transmit with if you don't have an amateur license, but can be purchased on Ebay very cheap and, if you stick to legal frequencies and power levels, it should mean you only ever end up in a minimum security correctional institution at worst if caught transmitting with one. They need to be programmed with frequencies and power outputs (they can transmit up to around 5 to 8 watts maximum but can be programmed as low as 1w default on a channel by channel basis) to make them morally legal but the programming isn't too hard if done with software via a PC and there is plenty of files for UHF and marine VHF frequencies available on the Internet. These units are very well made and can take a knock considering the price; and use a high capacity rechargeable lithium battery for power. Some need 10VDC for charging, which is a pain, but some also charge from USB. They also have shoulder speaker/mics as option available for a couple of dollars and you can configure them for VOX (voice activated transmission) operation. Not saying that I own one personally, , but if I did I think one programmed with a combination of UHF CB and marine VHF frequencies would be a pretty good standby because this gives you essentially two radios in one. As a bonus, they also have an FM radio function and LED torch built in which is also a surprisingly handy feature.

I have read the reviews on Bao Feng, they seem amazing devices for their price, almost too good to be true...

Which frequencies are better? VHF or UHF? I would not use these things as VHF radios, not even to listen to the weather channels, we have redundant VHF on the boat already... Since we have the boat VHF radio on all the time, if we use VHF for the in-boat radios as well, would it create interference with the main VHF?

[FabioC]

Thank you for the info on the legal ramifications of the different solutions. I'll check them out, it is certainly a requirement in our desired application to be able to communicate on-board AND stay out of jail...

[s/v Jedi]

BTW, aboard most ships they use UHF (instead of VHF) handhelds for on-board communications

Also, as a HAM you can create full duplex solutions but to get it to work as well as the bike intercoms it will probably cost more to do so. We use dual band Kenwood HAM radios for runabouting because of their range, their APRS position reporting back to the mothership and each other and they have marine VHF channels as well if needed. Baofeng and B-Tech radios as well: one can never have too many radios

[Jammer]

I've started another thread on "on-board stations." Apparently there are eight UHF channels set aside for this sort of use, that are available internationally at least to some degree.


http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ns-214551.html

[Red Sky]

Originally Posted by FabioC

@s/v Jedi as well.

Can you elaborate on this? I am not a biker, but I looked online at bike intercom systems and those I could find are meant to be integrated in the helmet. I assume the mic does not have noise cancellation, since it is meant to be inside the helmet. Can these things work well in our scenario? i.e., with a headset, no helmet, and in windy conditions?

Thank you!

Google the Sena SPH-10. Behind the head/over the ears. Two different mics. Work pretty well in moderate wind. Overall, they’re great.

[Reefmagnet]

Originally Posted by FabioC

I have read the reviews on Bao Feng, they seem amazing devices for their price, almost too good to be true...

Which frequencies are better? VHF or UHF? I would not use these things as VHF radios, not even to listen to the weather channels, we have redundant VHF on the boat already... Since we have the boat VHF radio on all the time, if we use VHF for the in-boat radios as well, would it create interference with the main VHF?

They are surprisingly good for the price. Plenty of info on the internet can be found on them. I didn't realise when I posted yesterday that uhf cb isn't a thing in some places, but as a DIY marine vhf they work as well as any of the commercial handholds. Cons are they are a little more complicated to use keypad wise compared to a dedicated radio and they don't float. I have read some cheap radios can radiate over adjacent frequencies but I have not found that to be the case with a couple of the models I have tried. I have a very expensive icom marine vhf hand-held, but I'd prefer a cheap radio to throw in a grab bag or to leave in an unattended dinghy or carry on land in a backpack.

We use uhf for ship to shore and even shore to shore because it's legal here, and there's nearly 80 channels to choose from and we cruise in an area where the vhf marine band is semi-jokingly referred to as "the comedy channel" (lots of charterer's) and no one uses the uhf channels. A radio with uhf and vhf as a hiking radio makes good sense. In fact, I noticed that Uniden recently released a model that does both here in Aus.

[ohgary]

Originally Posted by ahun

There must be an app for this!

Actaully there is... Zello.. FOr those with wifi repeaters on your boat take a look at the WIFI Radios. They run a couple hundred but can use wifi or 3g.


You can also use your cell phone to run the zello app.