Two way radios in Europe...???
 

Hi, everyone,

Hoping someone can help me with this. My husband and I are going to Paris, Florence & Venice in 2 weeks :-)

Since there is a real likelihood that we could become separated (eg: I'm shopping, he's sipping cappucino) I was thinking of getting 2 way radios so we could locate each other. (I definitely could have used those a couple of years ago with my sister!)
My question: If I buy the radios here, will they work in Europe?
Also, I noticed on the store website that an FCC license is required. I wouldn't need that in Europe would I? Would I need the license before I could take the radios out of the country?

Any info would be greatly appreciated!

Buy a pair when you arrive in Europe. They are inexpensive, and once you get cought jamming emergency frequencies, you wish you had stayed at home.
Seriously, DON`T.

I'm not sure about France and Italy, but in the UK, it is illegal to use US 2-way radios because they use the same frequency as their emergency services. It may be the same in the rest of Europe.

We solved the problem by purchasing two inexpensive tri-band gsm unlocked cell phones on ebay. Then you just need to purchase a pay as you go SIM card for the country you are in.

Whoa! So glad I asked! I'll definitely not mess with that stuff...
I'll look into the ebay route...

Look at acquiring some European legal walkie-talkies. They're called <b>PMR446</b> and do not require a license.

Of course, the reverse will also apply, in that you cannot use European-freq radios in the USA.

But don't expect those cheap European-spec PMR466 2-way radios to give more than 1/4 mile coverage in built-up areas (less when one of you is indoors). They are ok in the open air (when hiking say, 1-2 miles), but for true accessibility get two cellphones with local sims.

We have used walkie talkies in several parts of the world and they were great. We were blissfully unaware at the time of potential conflict with official frequencies.

The only time we had a problem was in Mexico, when some guy ended up yelling at us in Spanish on our band. However, he was just another tourist trying to use the walkie talkies to communicate with the others is HIS party, and he was really pi$$ed off at us.

We now own 2 quad band phones and will use them in future with local SIM cards. Since they are our US cell phones which we would take anyway, it saves us carrying an extra bit of gear.

My experiences (with Germany-bought) walkie talkies, used in France and in Germany is pretty much identi cal to what Alec says.

Useful for two cars trying to keep together on the highway (when the car in front gets out of range - - it's time to led the rear car catch up!)

Not so useful for two people on foot (plus you feel stupid if anyone is even vaguely near you, on a sidewalk, for example). Moreover, you might even find in the near future, that Parisian gendarmes might take more intrest in who you are, and why you are talking by walkie-talkies... then they would otherwise.

Best wishes,

Rex

We're moving toward the cell phone each idea - going to try it out in September. I've taken my daily-use T-Mobile phone 3 trips now and it is a nice convenience.

I agree with Travelnut about using cell phones instead.

Two-way radios are faster and cheaper than cell phones and their range is sufficient for many purposes. The audio may not be very clear. The police in Paris (they are not gendarmes) don't care as long as you are using radios that are legal in Europe (meaning radios that work on the correct frequencies, which in turn means that you should buy them in Europe, not the U.S.).

Can't you just agree on a time and place to meet? It's worked for us for 30 years with no expense, nothing to carry, and no worries about causing an international incident.

But there are many times that things happen (unexpected delays, change of plans, etc...) that it would be nice to be able to communicate with a fellow traveler.

Not a necessity, but nice to have. :)

We just got back from a trip to Greece in which we used European based walkie-talkies. We bought them through an internet site and had them sent to us here in the US before the trip. We found them very useful....even reaching each other within a few blocks of busy Athens. They were great on Naxos......allowing us to do our own things and yet keep in touch. No strange looks whatsoever. And each call of course is &quot;free&quot;. They were among the most useful items of our trip.

I've often gotten curious looks when I've used the walkie talkies, but I think because they are not as common as cell phones, people are just wondering if I am with government security or a film crew.