therealdoctor

Hello to all,


Will need to set up 2-way head sets for 2 follow vehicles and 4 bikes. Any suggestion on radios to do such. Would like all of them to be on same channel.


Thanks

rumrunn6

used these when they 1st came out at radio shack on hikes & bike rides. they also picked up baby monitors. the earpiece is also a microphone picking up your voice through your skull. kinda cool w various sensitivity settings. just bought a new set at a yard sale, looks like they were never used. now I have 4. I'm sure there are better more modern versions out there. looks like they had a cpl diff models. looks like you can still find some on ebay. I remember using them between cars too, so long as the cars were next to each other. I think they used an FM band. good luck!

Athens80

Maybe www.terranosystems.com ?

steve-in-kville 

Most FRS and GMRS (family band) radios can be outfitted with headsets. Many are even bluetooth capable.

twodownzero

FRS was designed for exactly this.

GMRS requires a license but will give you a little more oomph.

steve-in-kville 

We used to have a few GMRS repeaters in our area!! Gone now... and yes, I do recall having my GMRS license some years back.

njkayaker

GMRS requires a 5-year license that costs $70.

FRS doesn't require a license (because the transmitters output less power). Lower power means less range.

Many GMRS radios support FRS. I'm not sure if I would rely on FRS (having the option of GMRS might make sense).

https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-adv...ay-radios.html

Trevtassie

Depends on the range you need. I've used these for touring.... https://www.vertixglobal.com/collections/velo They'll get around 500m. The noise cancelling and voice activation is excellent.

steve-in-kville 

We are talking a group of cyclists plus a pace car. Its not like we're bouncing transmissions off the moon! I can't see why FRS wouldn't be enough. I've done some pretty wild things with a 2-meter ham radio and 1 watt of power.

njkayaker

Why do you assume everybody is always going to be close together?

The extra range/power allows the radio to work better around obstacles too.

It's not like the cost to have the option of having GMRS is a big deal.

FRS radios are capped at 0.5 watts. GMRS radios appear to typically have 1-2 watts.

You don't provide enough info for anybody to have any idea whether your ham radio things were "wild".

Bacciagalupe

What about cell phones with unlimited plans?

More seriously, aren't there still Push To Talk phone options?

twodownzero

The difference between .5 watts and 4 watts on FM is not enough to notice with a rubber ducky antenna. It's FM! FM is either way above the noise or inaudible; there really is no in-between.

I have hit repeaters 70+ miles away on flat ground and further than that with 4 watts on 2m/FM.

If FRS won't work for you, it isn't the power. It's the crappy antenna on the handheld unit you have to use. And it'd be really hard to put any kind of efficient antenna on a bicycle, but even if you could, UHF depends on antenna height way more than power or antenna design.

In other words, get yourself some cheap FRS handhelds and go for it. More "power" isn't going to solve anything; I've talked to people in over 130 countries on this earth and it certainly wasn't power that made the difference.

Everyone who knows nothing about radio/antennas seems to think radio operators are stupid for telling them that power does not matter, but it really doesn't. I have never seen an FM contact that wasn't possible with 5 watts that could be done with 50 watts with the same antenna. On the contrary, the only time I bump the power up on my FM rigs is if someone tells me I'm scratchy on 5 watts. With the right antenna, 5 watts will do the same thing 500 will.

njkayaker

Yes, antennas matter more.

But, as you pointed out, there isn't much you can do about that on a bicycle.

Your weird rant isn't useful.

njkayaker

Cell phone reception might not be available consistently.

I believe the "push to talk" options require a special network of there own. That's another availability issue.

FlamsteadHill

No experience, but have seen recent promotions for Bear Tooth. Might want to check it out.

beartooth dot com

steve-in-kville 

IIRC, pro-tour teams have mobile radios in their cars.... one for general race info and one for their own team radios. Those mobiles on UHF are most likely pushing 40 watts. Not sure what the riders themselves are using, power-wise, but at a budget of $30M, I can't see them using something they bought at walmart!!