Walkie Talkies

Miss Coolette · Post by **Miss Coolette** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 3:56 pm

Pardon me if there is already a post about this (and if you know if it, post the link and I'll head that way!) but I'm curious about walkie talkie usage on the playa. I want to get some to help me find my campmates when we arrive and for general jollies during the week, however, I noticed last year that by Saturday night when out with a friend his walkie talkie barely worked at all because so many people are on the channels. Is it like that all week? Is there any benefit of getting them with GPS?

Any other tips/hints/suggestions/compliments? (just thought I'd throw that in there)

Cheers
Miss Coolette

Hoolie · Post by **Hoolie** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 4:41 pm

There is a walkie talkie discussion going on, but it's oddly placed in the "share resources" section.

http://eplaya.burningman.org/viewtopic.php?t=20244

Yeah, there are many voices on all the channels out there. So, lots of crosstalk and false alarms.

The best way to find your friends upon arrival is to look in the database at center camp info. Whomever sets up camp should register their location there. They have a bank of computers, and you can input your name, camp name, location, etc. There is even a section to put in more specific information (e.g. right next to the giant purple flounder). So you just punch in your friend's name, and up comes the location.

phil · Post by **phil** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 5:00 pm

Louise and I started with FRS, and it got overrun, so we got our GMRS licenses and switched to GMRS and now it's unuseable. We've switched again to ham radio, and it seems to be working for us - keep our fingers crossed. There are so many people at Burning Man, that there are not enough FRS/GMRS channels for everyone to share. GMRS is completely overrun by unlicensed users who bought FRS/GMRS combination radios and never bothered with the license. Grrrrrr.

I hate to add to the traffic, but why don't your group and you get your ham licenses? There's no requirement to learn morse code - just a quick test and you're in. If you're in the Bay Area, Louise and I will be glad to plug you into the ham community.

GPS adds nothing to communication other than if you want to know where you are or where friends are, and you don't need a radio for that. There are lots of separate GPS devices that don't tie you to a radio.

robbidobbs · Post by **robbidobbs** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 5:39 pm

I plan on bringing my cb radio this year. It will probably have wicked bad traffic, but that's the fun of cb's.

Captain Goddammit · Post by **Captain Goddammit** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 5:55 pm

I'm gonna chime in as someone who has tried most of these... it's generally not worth it. I second pretty much everything that has been said.
Screw it.