Hands-free 2-way Radio's ? ?

[Straight Shot]

Does anyone currently use hands-free (VOX) 2-way radios on the job? My fiancé and I run our own company and it is a pain trying to communicate 30ft away let alone 200-300ft! (running out of baseball signals!) I am curious of how well the vox works near the high db's of the pressure guns (you know a workaholic, I hate to release the trigger to push a radio button!).

Christopher www.StraightShotPressureWashing.com



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[bigdog265]

Christopher,

While I am new to pressure washing I do know radios farely well

. I've never used radios on a PW job but I do use them in my other field of employment (EMS). I could not live without one.

Motorola's small FMRS radios are very durable and offer lots of accessories, but there are other good brands as well. I do suggest staying with a large company so that you can find the accesories you need. They also make waterproof carriers for the radios.

If you want a total hands free system then you want a VOX microphone to go with the radio. They turn on the microphone when you start speaking. Once you get used to them they are great.

The biggest thing to remember when you use a VOX unit is that you need to make a short humming sound before you talk or else the other end will not here the first part of your transmission.

Just remember that the FMRS radios are very common and cheap to purchase. Depending on you area, you may not be the only one on a specific channel. Most do offer 16 different channels to talk on so you may need to change channels if one is congested.

As for hearing on the job, most VOX units us an earpiece that picks up your voice through the ear canal as well as allows you to hear the other person. They do a farely good job of blocking outside noise on both recieving and transmitting

Good luck
Greg

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[rvagnoni]

Christopher,

The only problem I can see using these systems is not being able to hear the other party...mostly due to the noise being put out by the machines. I even sometimes will wear earplugs to protect my hearing....although it is probably shot already.


Some sort of vibrating system would work but I don't belive any of the manufactures have such a system.

Please let us know if you find one.


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Rick - Deck Care Plus

 

[Mike Hughes]

I use Nextel i1000 phones with the two way radio function. They are not hands free, but they do have a vibrating ringer so you don't have to hear it, you feel it. Some of the lower model phones do not offer vibrating ringers.

With the plan I'm on, I get unlimited two way minutes person to person.....if you have more then two phones, a group call would cost money.

I even have limited internet access and can send and receive email thru my cell phone......pretty cool.

Currently they have a buy one get one free deal on the phones.......check it out and see if they offer service in your area. www.nextel.com

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Mike Hughes
Everclear
Souderton, PA

 

[Straight Shot]

10-4 guys!
I looked into Nextel, but its system, which is very nice, is also very limited in my area (including many blackholes)! The unlimited feature is great, though.
Greg, great info. I think I've decided to go with something like you had described. I'll keep everybody posted on the functionality of the unit I try.

Christopher [over-and-out!]
Straight Shot
Fresno, Ca

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[bigdog265]

Chrisopher,

A couple more things to add.

1) I sometimes do wear one of those spongy ear plugs in the other ear to block noise.

2) The Motorola brand is Talkabout. You should be able to find them at any big discount store for $100 to $125 each plus the cost of the vox unit.

Good Luck
Greg

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[Glenn]

My wife and I use 2 ways while deer hunting. We get good reception and range from the motorola's we use. I guess they would work in a pw application as well. I just don't like to talk that much I guess. Only time we use them in deer hunying is when one of us shoots, or we are moving towards one another. Other than that we are in stationary stands.
Glenn

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"Hmmm, If everyone has a photographic memory... mine must be out of film."

 

[Accu-Wash]

We also use these for deer hunting. Gander mtn. just had a sale on the Midland Speakeasy II for $20 each. Smaller than a cig. pack. Just picked up 2 more. Then ordered online from JD electronics the earbud+microphone setup, + you'll need a Y adapter. It has a 2 level vox. The earbuds suck(they fall out of your ears!)so we bought stereo headphones by Philips called Splash. They have better quality speakers in them and the earpiece is molded to fit around your ear. We cut off the little Midland speakers and solder the Splash speakers on. Works great! We use the lapel mic. They aren't as good as Motorola but great for the money. Had reception in the woods over a mile.

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[Rick T]

i purchased six Motorola i500 plus through Nextel earlier this year and for the life of me I don't know how I managed to operate my business without them.Each crew wears one on their belt so that makes them immediately available to me.I have three of them capable of making phone calls while the rest are for two way and conferance calls only.The two way ability is fantastic (over 100 miles).It's like talking to the person standing next to you.Before I purchased these phones I had no idea how many questions need to be answered by each crew.It may sometimes get annoying being called so often during the day but the nice part of it is that I take the guesswork of solutions out of their hands.It also came in very handy when one of my men was operating a piece of equipment and it caught fire.I knew about it immediately and took appropiate action.If you have a crew working where you aren't these things are an absolute necessity.Well worth the investment.

RICK

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[Douglas Hicks]

We don't use radios for exhaust cleaning, but do use them when we service fire alarms and sprinkler systems. We are usually in a high noise environment and have found the collar mics are worth while. I found VOX was not available on commercial quality units.I spent more money, about $600.00 for 2 FM Kenwood radios, with 110v chargers, one 12v charger and collar mics. I've used the family radios before when duck hunting and bicycle racing. Shouting worked better than the radios. I bought from a local radio shop who sells and services comm gear for the local sheriff and state police.

Douglas Hicks
General Fire Equipment Co

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[rvagnoni]

Hey guys,

I have found out that Motorola now has a cellular phone system that does have vibrating mode on it. Somewhat cheaper than the Nextal system also.

Don't know all the details. Yoe will have to check with your local wireless store for more.

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Rick - Deck Care Plus