Anyone ever use Walkie Talkies to stay in touch in cities? Paris?
 

I just bought a pair of walkie talkies, think there is too much interference? They work wonderfully in the blizzard weather skiing. I know though, not other interference on a mountain.

What do you think?

American walkie-talkies are illegal in all of Europe, because they interfere with emergency frequencies.

There is a European service called PMR446. These are the only radios that should be used there.

Gosh, I had no idea that walkie talkies were illegal. We used them last Christmas in Garmisch to keep our family together. We sent one with our son who arrived ahead of us and when I turned ours on and heard him, I couldn't believe that we'd actually made them work. Now I learn we shouldn't have. Oops.

Robes, how about my Dick Tracy wristwatch? The range is less than five miles.

Hope someone here can help me with my walkie talkie problem. We bought a set for our Med cruise last summer. We wanted it specifically for the ship. If he was at the pool, he could tell me where,(I have a bad leg), I could stay in the room and he could let me know where to meet him for breakfast. Stuff like that. Anyway, we would decide what channel to use and then we would not be able to use it, because others were on it, or not would come on, or there would be too much static! Funny, it worked okay in Rome and Barcelona (are you sure they're illegal?) So, my question is, what were we doing wrong, and how can we fix it? It will be a long time till I can move easily, and if they work, they are a great help to us. Thanks. BTW, they have an 8 mile radius and 22 channels.

motorola and other brand walkie talkies are sold here in europe, so maybe they are "on" another legal frequency. The PMR446??
they sound like a great idea to me.

"Funny, it worked okay in Rome and Barcelona (are you sure they're illegal?)"
Do legal things work, and illegal things not work? Does that make my brother-in-law illegal?

oh dragggggggggggggg!!!!

Really robbespierre you are sure...that just stinks. I thought I had such a good idea. I do have a calling card that works 4cents a minute to Europe from U.S. I guess I will just use that! Friend has a cellphone. I have gone plenty of times without a cell. I am just worrying a bit about the young person I am traveling with. We get lost, whatever, I want her to feel like she can find me in a pop or I her.

Thanks for the heads up before I open the talkies~!

Here is a website that explains the explains and confirms Robespierre's info. The European model only cover a maximum of 2 miles in OPEN COUNTRY... So I suppose if you are hiding from your little brother in a field or you are skiing on the bunny slope these will come in handy!

disappointed but will survive :(

I just searched on ebay.co.uk for PMR446, and there have been dozens sold in the past month, some for a few quid.

US FRS sets cannot be used in Europe (different frequencies and power output). Sure they will work, but you may cause interference on emergency services who use similar frequencies. PMR446-spec sets are widely sold in Europe from as little as $40 a pair. The quoted range is 2 miles in ideal condition. In downtown areas it could be as little as 200 yds.

Zwho
The difficulty you faced using your walkie-talkie on a cruise ship is probably to do with thick metal walls and hulls, which were weakening your signal.

I think if you are taking a cruise you can call the cruise co. . I am sure the staff uses something.

Some cruise ships have the walkie talkies available for rent.