Leave your phone behind, and stay in touch on the slopes
27 JAN 2012
Don’t let lack of communication cast a dark cloud on your Family ski getaway: invest in some radios.
Cell phones are awesome: you can do just about anything with them! And there is the rub, what would you do WITHOUT yours.
Every year countless skiers lose their cell phones in the snow. It can happen during a crash, fall out of your pocket or worse of all drop it off the chairlift.
You can grab some cheap radios, and outfit the whole family for a whole lot less than losing one phone! If someone loses one, it isn’t that big of a deal. They don’t have a contract!
Its all about the right tool for the job, and radios work great. There are lots of channels to choose from, and are super easy to operate. Two-way radios—rugged, lightweight, compact—are perfectly suited for skiing.
You can choose from 2 configurations:
1. FRS (Family Radio Service) models—lower-power units that operate with a half-watt of power. They can transmit on 7 FRS channels and 7 shared FRS/GMRS channels (channels 1-7)—a total of 14 channels.
2. GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service)—higher-power radios that, for models used in outdoor recreation, typically offer 1 or 2 watts of power. GMRS signals can travel on any GMRS or FRS bands—a total of 22 channels.
There are lots of features available on modern radios as well:
Calling and Paging Features: Pre-set “calling” tones can let you grab the attention of other members of your party before you start talking. You can also set some models to vibrate instead of making an audible tone.
Scanning: This allows you to cruise through channels in order to find the one that your group is using. You can also use this feature to quickly locate an “empty” channel for your group to use.
Keypad Lock: This allows you to lock your settings in order to prevent them from accidentally getting changed as you go about your outdoor activities.
VOX: The voice-activated (or “VOX”) feature begins broadcasting automatically when you speak in the direction of the radio, thus letting you operate it hands-free. Mountain bikers and skiers find this to be a useful function.
Noise Filter: This allows clearer signals and enhanced range.
Headset Jacks: Jacks for microphones, headphones and microphone/headphone combos allow for hands-free operation. This is ideal for skiing where you might not be able to stop and answer the call.
Radio/GPS Combo Units: Though more pricey, Garmin RINO (Radios Integrated with Navigation for the Outdoors) units offer all-in-one nav/comm capability. A key advantage is peer-to-peer positioning, which allows you to broadcast your location coordinates so they appear on your fellow RINO users’ screens.
If you have a big family and you are driving down in separate cars, you can use the radios to stay in contact. This works in ‘Dead Zones’ that leave cell phones quiet.
The best feature of all – they allow you to be in the moment. Enjoy your family – uninterrupted, by emails that you were cc’ed in on for no reason.
