on site communication (two ways)

[Charlieh]

does anyone here use two ways for work? either working a distance a part, or climber to ground staff?

 

i have just got a set of sordin defenders with built in comms new off ebay which im changing the plug on to conect to my £20 binatone two ways (1.5km range realistically),

 

I do quite a lot of work with a chainsaw around the farm and dont always have someone with me, so the use of a two way is a real peice of mind, as there is 99% of the time someone in the house that can use the other if we need to contact each other, these two ways also have a radio built in so i can listen to some tunes when im milling etc, but someone can still get my attention!

 

I just wondered if anyone else had played about with this kind of set up, and how they had got on with it, and if anyones interested i will feed back how well it works as the total system has cost £55, (£20 more if i wanted another set of listen only peltors for a second helmet)

 

so for well under £100 its possible to set two people up with a relatively cost effective communications system,

 

we use kenwood two ways at the national park when we are airlifting, but they are only any good if A) you have your ear defenders off, B) the helicopter isnt near by, which means invariably you cant get hold of the person you want, and this is a situation where you really need to have good communitations (much like climber-gound staff)

 

comments or feed back appreciated

[Lee Winger]

I've got a cheap little BT might even be Binatone set , bigA has the same , kin useless if you ask me, i'd like a good rechargable shock proof and water proof set!

 

To be honest we don't have the need to use them that often and if we ,we use the old mobby!

[Charlieh]

i have had my set for 3years now, used them for field work in the scottish highlands for 4months solid and they are still going strong (they are rechargable come with a charging stand), the company i just bought the defenders of on ebay sell loads of units motorola, kenwood etc, but they are so pricey, especially for an item that will only be used probably a hand full of times a year, although i hope the plug i am putting on to it will also allow me to conect my MP3 player to it as well.

 

i have used the ear peice that was supplied with the radios under my ATV helmet, but it doesnt fit under ear defenders hence buying the sordin ones,

 

I have my mobile with me all the time but 99% of the time dont hear it, even when its on vibrate

[Lee Winger]

mine are an old set that run off of AA batterys

[Ben]

I thought Hasqvarna did or were doing some ear defenders with Bluetooth built in them. It's just an idea.

[Charlieh]

I thought Hasqvarna did or were doing some ear defenders with Bluetooth built in them. It's just an idea.

 

sordin do them but they are proper pricey (£250+per set ) and also thats only any use with a mobile phone, which is probably what most people will be using anyway, some of the areas i work in have no mobile cover, which is why we use two ways. (although the sordin BT ones do have the radio built in)

 

my main concearn currently is how comfortable the cable from the ear peice to the two way will be? i suspect the two way will have to go in a back pocket else the cable will be in the way

[treejumper]

I've got a set of Binatone Terrain 550's - 8km range - and yes I have tested them 'and this range is accurate' even in amongst the big stuff in forests

[Andy Collins]

Currently modifying a two-way system thats made for motorcycle comms, the only bit thats buggin me is the length of the cable to the ptt, be nice to mod that so it runs down the sleeve to the cuff. The boom mike is noise cancelling too which should be handy. the whole set up cost me about £40 so far.

[birchboy]

, the only bit thats buggin me is the length of the cable to the ptt, be nice to mod that so it runs down the sleeve to the cuff..

 

the ptt would be better mounted on the rim of the helmet somewhere,i wire down the sleeve may be a PITA and in the summer mostly wear t-shirts so it wouldn't work at all

[Andy Collins]

Ok so the cable runs down the sleeve ok, not too short, with the ptt on the wrist. The ear pads sit back in the ear defender so no unnecessary pressure on the ear, and the boom mike picks up the sound ok. Cant use the Vox as I think the noise of the saw will trigger it, but I'll test that tomorow. If it doesnt rain snow hail too much I might even do a test climb with it to iron any glitches