Walkie talkie

Hey folks. I'd like to know which talkie you're using. Something very small and easy to carry.  Thanks ✌

5 tugs- off belay

3 tugs- on belay 

Here's a recent relevant discussion:

https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/123017949/rocky-talkies

i love rockie talkies - super glad my buddy bought a pair

Derek Santavenere wrote:

i love rockie talkies - super glad my buddy bought a pair

I used these in the black canyon, they were amazing! Def helps to have these on larger climbs were communication is key or with less experienced climbers…(off belay…climb on…) for me it’s also nice to just joke around on the radios during a “serious route” takes a little pressure off the leader. 

Hello,

The rocky talkies were revealed to be a rebranded Zastone Mini 9, an out of production chinese walkie talkie. 

This is what was also recommended in the linked thread above.

Thank you.

ZT G wrote:

5 tugs- off belay

3 tugs- on belay 

This system works great 95 percent of the time. Unfortunately when the unknown happens, as it's bound to, if you're out of shouting distance it really becomes a problem. Especially in these windy gorges with the river going below, communication can be a nightmare. Having said that, I've yet to buy any walkies myself, though I always say I should ha

I have a pair of Dwalt DXFRS220 they are by far the smallest walk-in talkies I have ever seen, a square box that’s ~  2in x 2in x 1in, no antenna, no screen,  I wear it as a necklace or clip to my b strap with leash, (don’t trust that clip)

looks like they don’t make them anymore! That’s lame but it looks like cobra makes the same one- I found model # “ACT220WMT Cobra 2” and “cobra ACT220B” available on ebay and some other sites for around $50

are they great wallow talkies? No,  but are they so small I forget I have it on? yepp! And they work when I’m not line of site of my partner when they are one or 2 pitches away :) 

Does the technology exist yet to have a mesh network using cellphones? That would be the best, two phones broadcast or link to a mesh network and then use a voice walk-in talkie app plus one headphone and voice activation. 

I’ve been using walkie-talkies for years, and they’re still my go-to for quick communication. They’re so handy, especially when you need to stay in touch over short distances or in areas where cell service is spotty. I’ve had great experiences with various models, and it’s worth investing in a good pair. If you’re looking for reliable options, you might want to check out two way radios for sale. They offer a wide range of choices, and you can find something that fits your needs and budget. Whether you’re out camping or need to keep in touch on a large property, having a set of walkie-talkies can make a difference.

Rocky Talkies have been solid for me for years now but there are plenty of other, cheaper options. Anything is better than having to listen to people pretend that screaming at each other is effective, and that's not even addressing how obnoxious it is to listen to. If you rely on rope tugs, good for you but it's 2024 and technology exists so I'm going to use it.

I spent many happy years heaping scorn on folks who thought they needed walkie-talkies for climbing communication. Then, in my old age, karma happened. My hearing deteriorated.  For several reasons, I don't want to wear my hearing aids while climbing, so walkie-talkies had to be acquired (I bought Rockie-Talkies).

Now that I have them, I have to admit they make many things better. For example, there's no rope signal for "the wired #5 stopper is fixed---don't try to get it out."  There's is no rope signal for "I rapped past the anchor and have to ascend back up to it."  There is no rope signal for "you've got ten feet of rope left."  The list goes on and on.  The ability to communicate easily and clearly when things are going a little or a lot wrong is extremely useful and can save a lot of time in some cases.

I have heard some other parties deeply involved in oversharing, beta-slinging, and/or pointless banter.  Personally, I only use the radios for important climbing-specific exchanges.

As for tug systems, they can be made ambiguous by rope friction---we gave them up as unreliable years before walkie-talkies were an alternative.

I picked up some Midland X-Talker T10 this season and have felt like they were $30 well spent. Admittedly they are not as nice as rocky talkies and they likely won’t last as long. However, they were only $30 for the pair, are extremely light weight and fully serve the purpose of communicating on Multipitch. I’ve never had an issue with them. I also got eneloop rechargeable batteries for them so I don’t need to keep buying AAAs. So if you want a cheap way to just try out radios this is a cheaper version and I don’t see myself ever needing anything nicer.

Edit: the one thing I do not like about this walkie is that even when locked, the call button still seems to work and it’s pretty easy to accidentally bump it while climbing. Haven’t figure out a good solution to that yet other than being aware of it and trying not to

We originally bought the MidlandT51VP3 2-Way Radios but were having a hard time trying to MacGyver it in a position that was useful. We decided to bite the bullet and get Rockie Talkies. My partner has a difficult time projecting his voice, so these have come in handy multiple times. The leash is also great. 

I use Rocky Talkies......last week I climbed with My old climbing buddy in Tuolumne, who still is "old school" and tried to resist using them.....we were on a channel that had other climbers on it, so I told my buddy to say "belay on , my name" meaning to call out my name so as not to confuse other parties......

.......so that all day he would call out "belay off your name" instead of using my name........props to him for being ornery! 

John R wrote:

I use Rocky Talkies......last week I climbed with My old climbing buddy in Tuolumne, who still is "old school" and tried to resist using them.....we were on a channel that had other climbers on it, so I told my buddy to say "belay on , my name" meaning to call out my name so as not to confuse other parties......

.......so that all day he would call out "belay off your name" instead of using my name........props to him for being ornery! 

I climb in a crowded area and I assume there are a fair number of radio users.  In my experience, privacy codes (a misnomer) have always eliminated chatter from other users.

are there any radios that are legal to use in USA, canada, EU, and Japan? it's my understanding rockies aren't legal in EU or Japan.

ZT G wrote:

5 tugs- off belay

3 tugs- on belay 

Wow, only 5 tugs to get off.
Efficient. 

James C wrote:

are there any radios that are legal to use in USA, canada, EU, and Japan? it's my understanding rockies aren't legal in EU or Japan.

No. The unlicensed band for USA (FRS/GMRS) is 462MHz and 467MHz, Europe (PMR446) is 446MHz, NZ and Aus (UHF CB) is 476-477MHz and idk if Japan has an unlicensed band. The requirement of unlicensed radios is that they really, really, really can't interfere with any other traffic and each of these regions has designated these frequencies for something else. You will need a radio for each region.

Or you can get a chinese ham radio, program it yourself, and only use it in exactly the right ways and hope nothing ever goes wrong. But that would be very illegal and you shouldn't do it.

KM6TCA.

rgold wrote:

I climb in a crowded area and I assume there are a fair number of radio users.  In my experience, privacy codes (a misnomer) have always eliminated chatter from other users.

Good point......but it won't eliminate the other parties from hearing you, I think.....

John R wrote:

Good point......but it won't eliminate the other parties from hearing you, I think.....

That's correct, which is why I said the term "privacy code" is a misnomer.  You can screen out interference from other people on the same channel, but you cannot keep your conversation from being heard.

Perhaps I should also have said that it is easy to change channels.  In conversations with other people, I get the sense that quite a few leave radios set to whatever the manufacturer chooses.  I don't know if different manufacturers have different defaults, but I'm pretty sure that all Rockie Talkies come set to the same channel.  If you don't change it, I'm guessing you are more likely to end up on a party line.