Restrictions on Walkie Talkies?
 

I'm planning on bringing my husband's walkie talkies that he uses for skiing to France when I go with my family next week. Are there any restrictions in using them in Paris? They'll be in my checked baggage without the batteries in them.
Thanks!

Highly illegal, transmission power to high, frequencies partly used by police and ambulances!!! Buy a pair of PMR-446 standard walkie talkies when you arrive in France.

We took my husband's walkie talkies from USA to France last year and used them while driving in two cars to coordinate pit stops, etc. while en route and then to meet up when we had each gone our own ways exploring in towns.

They worked fine and we never heard anyone else on the same frequency...as in maritime use where you definitely find out very quickly if you're on the "for official use only" channel!

Gosh-I never thought about legality-just if it worked! And it worked fine. OOPS.

Be careful, police will get quite upset. It's not like you're jamming some private broadcasts!

Baaaaadddd idea, for the reasons logos mentions.

Totally illegal. Klondike was lucky.

&quot;<i>Are there any restrictions in using them in Paris?</i>&quot; just to clarify - we don't just mean they are illegal in Paris - they are illegal everywhere in the country (an most other European countries too)

Why not just use a cell phone?

Cell phone will be very expensive, esp when roaming.
Just get a pair of cheap local-spec walkie-talkies. They cost as little as &pound;20 or 30 euro a pair and is on sale at just about anywhere - supermarket, electronic shop, mobile (cell phone) shop, fuel station etc.

The PMR-446 only have a 2 mile range so they probably won't do much good unless you're staying fairly close to each other.
Walkie's with over a 2 mile range (GMRS frequency) are also illegal in the U.S. unless you have a license ($80).

p.s. I believe the WT you buy over there cannot be used when you get back here (US), either... the emergency frequencies are opposites.

Walkie-Talkies operating in CB-Band use the same set of standard frequencies and modulation in the US as in Europe. Only additional frequencies that may be legal in some European countries and not legal in others may vary.
The handsets have to carry the CEPT logo to be legal in Europe, though.
Nevertheless, sub frequency use and regulations vary within Europe.
Emergency ch are same, i.e. ch9.

PMR is a rather new sub standard in the UHF band developed in Europe which may operate in the US, too, but is actually not standardized there as it will interfere with radio amateur operations in the US.
PMR equipment you buy in Europe should carry the FCC logo to be legal in the US.

Again, any radio equipment has to carry the CEPT logo.

Please, don't post this &quot;nonsense&quot;. This is dangerous! No, we're NOT talking about CB band here this were &quot;grandpas&quot; frquencies. The americans are not THAT far behind, even they don't still live in the seventies. :D. Those &quot;gurken&quot; have been recycled a long time ago. It's UHF today!!

We're talking about the stuff sold EVERYWHERE in the US for little money using 462mhz and 467mhz opposed to PMR446 in the EU. Don't bring those to Europe.

I have never in my life seen anyone using walkie talkies in Europe.

Good grief, I know that &quot;walkie talkie&quot; is not a synonym for CB anymore, but was simply trying to describe that there exist radio communication devices which operate on the same bands in the US and Europe, and that there exist devices which do not.

CB is still widely in use - even though your local Mediamarkt or Radioshack kid will not have heard of it.

American FRS is operating on frequencies not legal in Europe.
European PMR is operating on frequencies not legal in the US.
So any PMR device the OP will buy in Europe/France, may only be used while in Europe.

That's why you have different symbols of compliance on those devices, either FCC or CEPT.

In Germany, an American FMR would operate in the same band as the wireless services of the railways, with the latter broadcasting with 400 times more power than an FRS handheld.
Radio bands consists of more than one channel, so even IF someone like klondike blocked one channel with his conversation, the assigned wireless service would switch to an available channel.

It seems to be a growing fashion here at Fodor's forums to make a mountain of any molehill.
Using an American FMR device is illegal in Europe, agreed. No doubt whatsoever. No way to make it legal.

But I see no sense in always changing into &quot;drama mode&quot; and scaring other posters' pants off as if they were causing a trail of bloodshed by using an illegal radio equipment for several seconds a day.

To add a bit of drama: Under some legislations, it CAN already be illegal to bring unlicensed radio equipment into the country - not only the actual use.

&gt;Using an American FMR device is illegal in Europe, agreed.

Those are the facts!

Yessir: Verboten, verboten, verboten!

I am always deeply touched when I see that the proverbial love of the Germans for fighting for the principle still exists :-))

It's about questions of life and death, where it's inappropriate *smartassing* (does this word exist) others with totally irreleant and contradictory information.

As a result they may misjudge the situation and make the wrong descision. Those devices are illegal for a purpose. The purpose, among others is to prevent any person from being harmed, rescue works delayed or public safety endangered.

I do understand the need for those regulations and I'm complying with them. You'd better do the same!!!

Chill