Walkie-Talkie or baby alarm

Anne-Sophie · 20/03/10 - 10:49

My husband is an invalid and spends most of his time in bed. I am completely exhausted from running up and down stairs and we are looking for a way to communicate within the house.

Friends have suggested a baby alarm or even a walkie Talkie.
Can anyone advise me which would be best and know of any good products.

Thanks.

Cruachan · 20/03/10 - 10:51

... or a pair of cordless phones with an internal call (intercom) facility

Here is an example of one such: http://www.kikatek.com/product_info.php?products_id=44275&source=froogle

Anne-Sophie · 20/03/10 - 11:03

We do have cordless phones which can communicate between each other but I am afraid he will press the wrong buttons and maybe interfere with incoming calls.

We need something simple to use without too many functions which would confuse him.

Cruachan · 20/03/10 - 11:09

Anne-Sophie wrote: »

We do have cordless phones which can communicate between each other but I am afraid he will press the wrong buttons and maybe interfere with incoming calls.

We need something simple to use without too many functions which would confuse him.

Ok, with a walkie talkie a button of some sort would normally need to be pressed to alert the person at the other end of the need to speak.

With a baby alarm the person at the remote end is reliant upon the person at the other end hearing a sound.

In my opinion a walkie talkie would be better but if you've concerns about the ability to do the right thing in terms of button pressing, you are left with a baby alarm.

But, are there not specialist devices for people in circumstances like yours?

[Deleted User] · 20/03/10 - 11:12

A baby alarm would mean you could be summonsed anytime without the need to him to press a button. However he would not know you have got the message unless you reply. With an intercom a alert is sent (I believe) which would be answered first.
Intercoms would require batteries, whereas a baby monitor could be plugged into the mains mostly.

Alternatively, could you not move him downstairs

[Deleted User] · 20/03/10 - 11:12

i am in the same position and bought a set of binatone walkie talkies for 13 pounds in maplins they were binatone latitude 100 i found them to be excellent

GaseousClay · 20/03/10 - 11:47

The problem with walkie talkies is that the transmissions are not private anyone with a similar gadget could listen in on conversations, this may be a problem for some and not others. As for the intercom feature of a digital home phone I don't think you would have an issue of calls being cut off by your husband though it may result that he inadvertantly found himself joining an existing conversation should he attempt to contact you while taking an external call, though again I think that unlikely too as on the phones in my home you receive a tone that indicates an internal call but it can be ignored until the external call has been completed. Also digital phone intercom calls are pretty much private without the use of specialist equipment.

scorpio man · 20/03/10 - 12:01

The downside with a baby alarm is that Its limited to the vicinity of the property it's installed in, whereas a walkie talkie has a much bigger range, in as you could take it with you to the shops and still be able to communicate with each other........but there is a possibility that others with a set on the same frequency can communicate with yours as well.

I have a walkie talkie set and can communicate with another person that is over 3 miles away.

[Deleted User] · 20/03/10 - 12:25

How about one of those mobile packages where you can make free calls to a buddy number? I am sure that I've seen them advertised. You both have a phone and you just programme your number into his so that he finds it easier?

hugsie · 20/03/10 - 12:29

Linkie

What about something like this. A baby monitor with 2 way talkback.

Anne-Sophie · 20/03/10 - 13:33

Thanks everyone, that gives me plenty to mull over.

[Deleted User] · 20/03/10 - 13:48

You can get VOX on a walkie-talkie, which means that you don't have to press anything to talk, it transmits when spoken directly into.
Walkie talkies would probably be the best option for you!

Coen · 20/03/10 - 13:59

Joey_M wrote: »

You can get VOX on a walkie-talkie, which means that you don't have to press anything to talk, it transmits when spoken directly into.
Walkie talkies would probably be the best option for you!

Indeed, also although in theory it is possible that someone else could listen in on conversations on walkie talkies, in practice they effectively have hundreds of different channels so the chances of someone else having a walkie talkie in range actually set on the same channel is so remote that I wouldn't see it as an issue.

GaseousClay · 20/03/10 - 14:31

Coen wrote: »

Indeed, also although in theory it is possible that someone else could listen in on conversations on walkie talkies, in practice they effectively have hundreds of different channels so the chances of someone else having a walkie talkie in range actually set on the same channel is so remote that I wouldn't see it as an issue.

If memory serves me right modern over the counter consumer walkie talkies only have 8 channels, ok they possibly have something like 38 'privacy codes' (CTCSS) per channel but these don't ensure privacy if the code is unset or if an evesdropper turns the function off their end.

Another problem could be the amount of other equipement competing for the same wave band.

Walkie talkies do have some form of squelch control but with interference from the local enviroment you may find you cannot eliminate it entirely. They work fine outdoors but there is no guarantee they will be much use indoors.

Coen · 20/03/10 - 15:03

GaseousClay wrote: »

If memory serves me right modern over the counter consumer walkie talkies only have 8 channels, ok they possibly have something like 38 'privacy codes' (CTCSS) per channel but these don't ensure privacy if the code is unset or if an evesdropper turns the function off their end.

Another problem could be the amount of other equipement competing for the same wave band.

Walkie talkies do have some form of squelch control but with interference from the local enviroment you may find you cannot eliminate it entirely. They work fine outdoors but there is no guarantee they will be much use indoors.

Mine have 8 channels and 121 CTCSS codes per channel, in theory someone could listen in by disabling CTCSS codes on their equipment but personally I think this is so unlikely to happen that I wouldn't be concerned about it. But I suppose there is always the risk.

As for how well they might work indoors - it will vary but again, personally I've never had a problem using walkie talkies indoors.

[Deleted User] · 20/03/10 - 18:32

or try an intercom system... designed for this purpose?

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=775

or

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=23041

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