Gadget Reviews
Binatone Terrain 550 Travel Pack
They cost nothing to use and have a range that's second to none - it's the Binatone Terrain 550 Travel Pack.
Two way radio's are great - they operate on the PMR 446 set of frequenices which mean, once you've bought the handsets it costs nothing to use them. That means that they're ideal for the summer ahead, and the Binatone Terrain 550 Travel Pack means that once you've used them you'll never put them down.
In the nicely sized carry case that they come in you'll find two handsets, two rechargeable batteries, a two-way drop in charger unit (with mains adaptor), two handsfree earpieces and two 12V cigarette lighter chargers for the car.
Essentially the 550 is a fairly basic walkie talkie and, despite its initially "cheap and plastic-y" feel you soon realise that there is a little bit more to the unit.
As with most UHF radios like these you'll find you have 8 channels, each with 38 sub channels to use meaning there's plenty of spectrum for everybody. The killer feature on these two-way radio's however is the range. Binatone claim that you can use the radios up to 5 miles apart and despite not seeing that ourselves we were very impressed with the 3.5 miles that we did get.
Of course, the 5 mile range means that in ideal conditions with direct line of sight, you should be be able to use them this far apart, however in built up areas or thick forests the range of any radio is reduced as obsticals in the way absorb the signal.
As well as an impressive range the Binatone 550's also feature a bright and clear backlit display, stopwatch, and a range of call tones.
Now, whilst you don't get the sort of coverage you do with a mobile phone and you can't send text or picture messages with two way radios, they're great for days out with the family, camping trips and hundreds of other uses.
For around £30 you get two great walkie talkies with a superb range that are ideal for keeping tabs on the kids at the camp site or for days on the beach and for that reason alone we thoroughly reccommend them!
