Sledging radios

Sledging radios for skiing this year, despite Covid?

Depending on where you are going will make a difference.

For example, if you are planning a commercial event in Aviemore, in the Scottish Highlands for example, then a licenced VHF handheld might be the best option.

These licenced hand-held radios typically produce 5 Watts of RF power output, and allow reliable communication over a wide countryside area.

These radios can be hired or bought from Yesway.

The licenced radio solution however does have some drawbacks for sledging or skiing events.

The main disadvantage is that licenced radios are only licenced for your particular country, in most readers circumstances, the United Kingdom.

Therefore if you are an event company that organises events in more than one country, you might want to consider PMR446.

PMR446 is a licence free handheld radio standard, that allows usage in the European Union & EEA countries.

Therefore a sledger or skier could move between european countries without the licencing headaches of having to apply in each country for a licence.

The downside is range. PMR446 handheld radios operate at UHF (Ultra High Frequency) frequencies. These generally perform less well than VHF (Very High Frequency), in terms of maximum communication range.

Another important downside of PMR446, is that the RF (Radio Frequency) transmit power output is only 1/2 Watt (0.5 Watt). This compares with typically 5 Watts (0.5 Watts) for a licenced handheld radio.

Whilst having 10 times the power, does not mean the signal traveling 10 times further, it does give it more ‘punch’. This ‘punch’  helps get the signal through obstacles, such as trees, which ‘attenuate’ the signal.

For help with sledging radios, contact us.