Best PMR Radio for kid <-> parent comms?

[HDPete]

Hi all,

 

We've booked our first cruise on P&O Ventura from Southampton around the med on 16th August - we're all very excited!

 

I would like to get 2 or 3 PMR radios for onboard as my lad, who's 6, is likely to explore and spend a lot of time in the kids clubs (or at least we hope he will!). PMR radios vary greatly in price and functionality, so are there any particular models that people could recommend to give a good all round performance?

 

Something with a charging docking station would be handy I guess.

 

Thanks in advance

Pete

[MJPByron]

I use radios for airsoft and paintball outdoors, and while I couldn't really say which are the best, make sure any radios you purchase either come with rechargable battery packs or can work with regular rechargable batteries.

 

Don't even bother asking Radio Shack people anything about the radios they have - they know nothing.

 

I've had the best luck with Midland FRS/GMRS radios; they have about 2/3 mile effective range outdoors. On a ship, I couldn't tell you for sure since metal and aluminium might do weird things to a radio signal. If you find a set of Midlands with a charger and battery pack, I would snap it up. They might run about $30-$40 on Ebay before shipping.

 

I cannot recommend Radio Shack branded radios - mine didn't even have a half-mile effective range outdoors. That's downright pathetic.

 

I've heard good things about Motorola radios.

 

Whichever radios you do get, let me know - I might be willing to buy them off of you after your cruise so I can have a backup set.

[cb at sea]

Is your 6 year old going to want to lug that around all the time?

[RoofingPrincess]

IMO, if your lad is in the kids' club, he doesn't need the radio. If he's not, he should be with you (again, my opinion) - so he still won't need it. And I know that my son at 6 years old could not be trusted to keep track of something like that, and he was a fairly typical kid.

[dna1990]

Trisquare EXRS get fairly good reception.

 

But remember any steel ship is heck on radio reception.

 

Not sure if you are from UK, and I don't know the specifics - but some radio types are not allowed in parts of Europe. I don't know the specifics on EXRS.

 

And please use them discretely, nobody wants to hear alot of beeps, static, and two parties yelling at each other to be heard.

[satxdiver]

The OP is from Europe and probably UK. PMR446 two way radios are the functional equivalent of FRS/GMRS radios here in the US. They do not operate on the same frequencies and are not interchangeable. The frequency allocation in Europe is different than here in the US. It is illegal to operate a PMR446 radio in the Western Hemisphere just as it is illegal to operate a FRS/GMRS radio in Europe.

 

Perhaps some Europeans will respond to the OP's question. In general though the ship is made of metal including the walls in your stateroom (great for magnets though). Radio waves have a problem getting through metal. The bottom line is the PMR446 (or FRS/GMRS) two way radios will have a problem in some parts of the ship and will not work. It all depends on where the two way radios are being used and how far apart they are. If you are on one of the lowest decks and are trying to talk to someone on the highest deck, you probably will have a problem.

 

Out of curiosity I did a google on pmr446 and found the following website:

 

http://transmission1.co.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=index&catid=&topic=2

 

It might give you some good advice.