 Excellent info on snowboarding communication gear!.....WHERE YOU can get it..... You will learn all about cell phones for emergency use,two way radios used for convenience and emergencies, satellite phones, and even emergency beacons called PLBs for personal locator beacons...All of these can be used for snowboarding communication in an emergency If you want to find out all about avalanche transcievers and beacons!...Please go to the AVALANCHE EDUCATION PAGE right here right now! You can find out all about using GPS systems for backcountry navigation here GPS RECIEVERS AND NAVIGATION PAGE. Then navigate your way back here to learn more about backcountry snowboarding communication gear !!! CELL PHONES Cell phones are a very convenient and widely used way to keep in touch in bounds at your favorite ski area and also in many backcountry areas also...They are the most popular means of snowboarding communication They are widely used and convenient because just about everyone has one... The downside to a cell phone is that the reception is hard to count on and it is only by trial and error that you can know if you will have reception in any given area...I have found from personal experience that my cell phone might work fine one day, then have no reception the next day in the exact same area , especially during times of heavy snow and high winds, making my phone useless until I moved to another area... Still they are widely used and work well when there is reception... NEXTEL CELL PHONES There is only one cell phone I have used in the past 6 years and thats the NEXTEL with push to talk...I would never go anywhere without it... With statewide coverage on the push to talk feature and then nation wide coverage including Hawaii. It is cool to have unlimited time for free to talk on the PTT mode to anyone nationwide... So if you live in the USA, I STRONGLY advise you to check them out and use the PTT mode as much as possible... INFO ON TWO-WAY RADIOS So lets look at the two way radios first...There are two basic types of two way radios used for snowboarding communication... FRS (Family Radio Service) and GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service) ... FRS radios have a maximum of 2 watts power and ranges up to 2 miles . GMRS radios have maximum 5 watts of power and a much longer range up to 14 miles under optimum conditions... FMR radios are very inexpensive and work well just about anywhere within their range.They are used mainly for ski area inbounds snowboarding communication... GSMR radios need a license from the FCC if you are in the USA... The license is easy to get (no test) pay the cash, but it is a basic government ripoff... I do not recommend a GSMR radio unit unless you absolutely need one...There are also many hybrids which combine FMR and GSMR bands on the same unit, again you need a FCC license to use the GSMR channels... I do not know about requirements for other countries, obviously if you are using these types of radios in another country, you need to check the local requirements... Be aware that the frequencies of these radios made for the USA, may be restricted /illegal to use in other countries for snowboarding communication... The effective range of these radios is based on a direct line of sight and the range is affected by any obstacles such as hills, gullies and other obstructions... But these radios are very popular for snowboarding communication with good reason...It allows you to keep in touch with your buddies or gang when you get separated and spread out over the runs... The other plus is they will work within their range where cell phones will not...This can be very important as last year I relied on my cell phone for snowboarding communication but had trouble at times with connections and quality depending on where I was on the mountain... If there was an emergency I would rather have both my cell phone and a 2 way radio...That way I have reliable snowboarding communication no matter what... So who are the best companies...The top five companies are Motorola, Uniden, Cobra, Kenwood and Audiovox...There are even more companies if you look around...Motorola and Cobra seem to be the top two...With Motorola having a very large selection of models to choose from... One company I can recommend is Midland which has a good selection of powerful and affordable two way radios...Their two way radios get my HOT PRODUCT rating...They make very popular CB radios and other more powerful radios so you can be sure that they have a good product in their two-way radio line up... WHO HAS THE BEST 2-WAY RADIOS ??? Check out REI.com One company that does carry Midland is X10.com Another company that carries two way radios is PCmall.com...PCMall.com HOT ELECTRONICS! COOL PRICES! For another good source for two-way radios used for snowboarding communication is Target.com...Try Target.com where you can Expect more, Pay less in the Electronics Shop at Target.com Now chase after these deals at the Im gonna mention one last place which really isn't a snowboarding shop,but a great place to do comparison shopping, if you already got your WISH LIST ready to go... Visit BizRate.com which is a kind of product search and pricing comparison engine...Compare the prices and styles on a huge number of two way radios used for snowboarding communication or ANY other snowboarding products you can dream of...Click here to get there and then look in the electronics section under two-way radios to find some cool deals on these radios BIZ RATE.com comparison shopping, plus product reviews and best prices from top-rated online stores. For snowboarding related products besides two-way radios...Compare prices at BIZRATE.com on snowboarding gear from lots of online stores. TWO-WAY RADIOS FOR UK SNOWBOARDERS There is also OutdoorGear.co.uk look in the Garmin GPS section-communications subsection which has the FreeQuency PMR and the Motorola PK2 two-way radio 2-packs you could use for snowboarding communication...
One other cool shop not really snowboard related but with lots of cool BoyToys is Check out  paramountzone.com. They have the Vibra Alert two-way radio with a 5km range and good price in their sports section, just scroll down their sports page aways and you will see it...SATELLITE TELEPHONES Ok I do not know anything about Satellite telephones except that they can be very handy in remote areas and very expensive to operate...If you want to learn about or shop for a satellite telephone you could use for snowboarding communication ... Try Bizrate.com, they are not a satellite telephone shop, but a great place to do comparison shopping, if you already have an idea what you want or know what you want... BizRate.com is a kind of product search and pricing comparison engine...Compare the prices and styles on a number of satellite telephones that can be used snowboarding communication or ANY other snowboarding products you can dream of... Click here to get there and then type in satellite phones in the search box to find some cool deals on these phones BIZ RATE.com comparison shopping, plus product reviews and best prices from top-rated online stores...For snowboarding related products besides satellite phones...Compare prices at BIZRATE.com on snowboarding gear from lots of online stores. PERSONAL LOCATOR BEACONS ( PLB's) Personal locator beacons or PLB can be used for extended trips into the backcountry where you may be days away from the nearest road or facility...Although very expensive they can be used in an emergency to signal for help, often as the only way to use as snowboarding communication even if it is one way communication only, they have been used to save peoples lives...You can find 1 of these units at... Another place that carries these units is REI.com DON'T FORGET TO CHECK OUT THE SECTIONS IN BACKCOUNTRY GEAR AND THE SECTION ON AVALANCHE SAFETY avalanche education, awareness, avalanche safety gear and survival gear...BEFORE YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT GOING BACKCOUNTRY!!! One last thing... I am a Snowboarding Master but I am NOT an Internet Master, see how this site was PLANNED then BUILT and is QUICKLY and EASILY maintained... PLUS ...more importantly how to attract the right traffic to your business website by clicking on the graphic!!!  If You are like Me, Then I KNOW you want to be out doing some outdoor activity, not sitting in front of your &$@?* computer all day................ See how with SBI ! .....Check it out TODAY ! IF you have ANY questions here is a convenient way to ASK OTHER SBI USERS A QUESTION KNOWLEDGE IS POWER! INFORMATION IS KNOWLEDGE!!!! INFORMATION IS YOUR POWER!!! USE YOUR POWER!!!! |
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