Two-say radio etiquette?

[Ityldu]

After hearing so many people rave about the two-way radios for Disney I finally got a pair of the Motorola Talkabouts We're like little kids playing around with them and trying to figure it out. In the meantime, questions keep arising about things like etiquette, because we both hate how insensitive cellphone users can be.

1. I realize how useful they will be if you're on a line that's a lot longer then you expected and your family is waiting for you. Do you keep the radio's on while you're on the rides? They seem very loud and intrusive.

2. Have you had any problems with too many people being on the same channel? What do you do about that problem? That's not a problem in my little town, but I wonder what it's like if 1/2 of Disney has one?

3. How quickly did the batteries run out? I realize this is different for everyone, depending on the use, but I'm just looking for an average timeframe so I know how many batteries to take.

I know there's a lot I'm not thinking about, so any other tips would be wonderful. Thanks!!!

[Kermit]

I've never used them, but I can answer ettiquette questions since I've been around them. :)

Personally, I don't mind them in line, as long as you don't use them to describe your whole vacation or yell in them. I do mind people using their cell phones in restaurants and such, but lines aren't a very quiet environment anyway. I mean, you're going to be talking to the person next to you, why not somone on a radio?

There are a lot of preshows, and you should turn them off for that. Many times the preshows are necessary to watch to get much out of the following ride, so you really need to be able to hear.

[cinlee3]

We bought a pair for DS for Christmas. They were great in the parks. They seemed to work best at MGM. There was a lot of traffic at MK but they still worked great. We were able to let DSs go on some rides across the park while we stayed with DD (3) in FantasyLand. My oldest did say he heard someone breaking into someone elses conversation and giving them false info as to where to meet. He is 16 and couldn't believe someone would do that. If you have a radio that has sub-codes they should work fine.

I would say don't use them when you are in a show or preshow or quiet restaurant. We did use them at counter service when the boys waited for a table while we got food just so we could find them.

P.S. - they work great in the resorts as well - when you go to the pool and someone else stays back at the room or goes to eat.

They worked great for us - can't wait to try them at Six Flags.

[Ityldu]

Great idea about using them while at the pool, especially since we have a little one that will probably have to nap. I also can't believe someone was giving false info., how sad and horrible.

I would never use them in a rest. or during the ride, but I do wonder how it all works when group A is on a ride and group B is trying to get them. Then when group A gets off the ride and group B is now on a ride. I guess it's just hit or miss and it's still better then not having any form of communication.

[cinlee3]

My boys did use it on the Blue Line RR which was neat. But I guess it just worked out that when one group was getting off a ride the other was either in line or getting off a ride. I think they were one of our best purchases. They work good in the mall too. I almost forgot we used them while outlet shopping.

[slp87]

When we used ours last year, we definitely made sure to turn them off during rides/shows. Only once did we ever have someone on our channel and we made sure to have a backup to switch to. We were using ones with subchannels as well. We also used them when outlet shopping and loved them. Just a tip, use the call button first, wait for your party to respond, then start talking. I'm not sure how long the batteries last, but I know a lot of people have been getting rechargable ones.

[Antonia]

This was the first trip that I have noticed so many radios. Most of them did not bother me, but we were in the preshow of the Extraterrestrial ride where Skippy gets fried and some just stood there with it on and it was scanning or something - it just kept talking while strapped to their belt. Very annoying while trying to enjoy the pre-show. This also happened in the Muppet Vision 3D pre-show - people just kept talking on radios.

[Mark P.]

I bought a pair of the Motorola Talkabout's, Model T6220, and the manual says that if using AA batteries, it should last for 35 hours, and that averages out to be 90% standby time and 5% actual talk time. I'm pretty sure that a set of good batteries should do the trick for us, but we're taking extras just in case.

Also, if your model has the vibrating feature, that will surely use up more battery power than just the ring alone.

Haven't got to really put them to use (can't wait til March!), but so far I like them alot, and so does my 7yr. old son, lol!

[fklhou]

General rule of thimb is to treat two way radios like cell ohones and beepers, i.e. turn them off during rides and shows. There is so much traffic, that you have to be careful about getting wrong info over these radios. I was in line with a guy talking to several different groups. Even with security codes, you can get cross talk.

[RANdisNEY]

My biggest suggestion is to work out some code for establishing identity with your family...even if it is just your name! You wouldn't believe how many people just say "hello" over and over again. And we had subchannels!

Try something like the person calling says "Klondike?" "Are you there Klondike?" and the answer would be "Astro here." Then people can't pretend to be your group. The temptation to answer is almost irresistible when you keep hearing someone, on "your" channel, saying "hello?" "hello?"

Our family was so concerned with not having them on at inopportune times that we almost never reached one another!

[w8ting4pooh]

We used ours at Busch Gardens, Kings Dominion, and Hersheypark last summer. For the most part, they are ok but we are going to use our cell phones this year.

Here's what happened to us the first time we used our radios. My dh thought he was talking to me but he was talking to someone pretending to be me. I couldn't hear him at all on my radio so I didn't know that this was going on.

He arranged to meet me at a restaurant and ordered our food and waited and waited for me while I wandered around the park looking for him and 'calling' him on the radio.

We have since wised up and only use 'code' names.

[Ityldu]

WOW! Thanks for the tip on code names. It's such a shame that people can be so rotten.

[Safari Steve]

I see people all the time talking on their radios to people they've never met without even realizing it. To make sure that you are talking to the people you want to, decide on "call signs" or nicknames you can call each other by on the radio. I know it sounds a little goofy, like CB lingo, but it's alot better than trying to find one of the thousands of "mom"s, "brian"s, or "grandpa"s.

[Thumper1]

I was using a radio with subchannels and a person kept breaking in while I was trying to talk and making strange obscene sounds. I took it for a while and then told the person "excuse me, we can both use this subchannel if we respect each other. This is Walt Disney World. Let's be kind like Walt would." It stopped for the rest of the day.

[tonilea]

DH and I use numeric call signs. We are both in law enforcement and just used our regular radio call signs, but we did notice that no one else seemed to be using numbers. We also used law-enforcement codes to indicate our actions. ex: most everyone knows that 10-4 means okay, but the use of 10-20 is pretty much universal for location or "what is your location", ect. It would take a bit of practice, but it almost totally eleminates someone fouling up your communications. It also helps keep everything short, simple and semi-private, plus all of "radio land" doesn't have to know you are in the restroom!

We did hear alot of kids playing on them and people saying "hello.....hello.....John????......Hello??????

[Mark P.]

We've got the Motorola with 14 channels and 38 subs, and we're going to have pre-set channels to switch to if our frequency should become infiltated, lol! Right now, they are both set at channel 6-sub channel 11, which is my birthday. Should we have any "visitors", I'll just tell my wife to switch to her day, which would be channel 8 sub channel 23, and using our son's if need be.

Our radios have the eavesdrop reducer function, so hopefully it does what it's supposed to do...

[AKASnowWhite]

We found our radios to be essential! From restroom trips, line and parade waiting, fast-food orders,....... we sent someone ahead quite often to check wait times, or grab fast-passes...just SO useful!

Ours are from Radio Shack, and have 14 (I think) channels with 30-something subs..so we really didn't have too much trouble finding a clear channel while we were there. They use AA batteries, and we change them once during our stay (this time a 10 day trip) just to make sure they don't die on us mid-day...bring extras with you, the cost at WDW is outrageous! ;)

We also used "code" names. It started out as a joke, because my DH got sick on Astro Orbitor and was literally green until breakfast at CP! So we nick-named him Queasy, the 8th dwarf (that's where MY name, AKASnowWhite comes from)...anyway, even though it started out as fun, we quickly discovered that it was very helpful to know who was paging us, thereby avoiding conversations with the "wrong spouse!"

[2minnies]

I know this has been posted before but is worth repeating...please don't even think about using these radios as a babysitter. Once again (this happens every trip) we were at the hotel pool and the people next to us left their young children in the room while they took a dip in the hottub. AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! My DH walked to the front desk and asked the mgmt to check out the room.

[RANdisNEY]

2minnies - WOW! The Big-Brother of parenting. You folks must be exhausted!

[DisTwix]

I have Motorola TalkAbouts and have used them on all my current Disney trips. I think they are essential.

However - we talk on ours a lot (going in groups) and find that we need to change the batteries about every 3 days to keep our reception good.

We also do the same birthdate trick for alternate channels, and use call names. I haven't ever experienced anyone breaking into my line and pretending to be someone else - believe me, I wouldn't have stood for it.

Of course - we have cell phones for back up! (Tech geeks)

[Super Mom]

we found it to be well worth the expense to buy rechargeable batteries for all of our "gadgets". we have them for our radios, digital camera, gameboys, etc. We also have the quick charger that only takes an hour or two to charge, so we could charge them overnight. My DS's have had the same batteries in their gameboys for 2 1/2 years!

[Bennet]

I get my rechargables online at Thomas Distributing and have been very please with them. http://www.nimhbattery.com/

One thong there aren't a lot of extra plugs in a Disney Hotel and they aren't where you may want them - take extension cords with multi plug ends.

Basic radio manners are to state who you are calling and your name.

Zurgwife, Zurg the boys and I are out of the restroom where are you?

[Bennet]

2minnies ahh? How did you know the ages of the kids? And how do you know if they are responsible enough to be on their own? Is the older sibling up there too just not playing with the radio?

Seems to me that these are the job of parents to figure out not hotel clerks or other folks at the pool.

[w8ting4pooh]

I totally agree. Can't believe people can be so nosy. It would be one thing if they KNEW it was a baby and a toddler left alone. The thing is those nosy vacationers didn't know. They took it upon themselves to be the parenting police.

Geez! Where is common sense when you need it?!

[Wheelsie]

DH and I only attemted to use them once as there was MASSIVE interference and we couldn't get each other....but we DID decide that we would use our DIS names as call signs prior to attempting to use them! :) Even though it didn't work out for use (we may just not be buying the right brand LOL) I'm still a firm believer in using our DIS names when talking to each other w them....we use them in the mall....and all over the place here at home :)

[Debi]

Hi everybody! Just a reminder about what this topic is about: the effectiveness of two-way radios. Please stick to this topic. As we've seen, the moral issues two-way radios raise is a completely seperate topic of discussion, one that only will be allowed if personal attacks are left out of the discussion. Please refrain from personal attacks within this post.

Thank you! :)