Product Review - Two Way Radios

A mini review of the Binatone Action 950 Walkie Talkie PMR Two Way Radios

Our 2003 purchased Private Mobile Radio (PMR) walkie talkies were getting a bit tatty so we replaced them with the Binatone Action 950 two way radios.  Here's our review...
Also: PMR website links
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This review assumes a basic understanding of the appropriate technology.
Reviewed October 2010.

We did some research and these licence free PMR two way radios looked promising.  Essentially a parallel replacement with a more professional appearance and a (reported) better communication range, we were convinced when we found we could get them for 'free' by using up some loyalty card points.

Like our previous talkie walkie radios, the Binatone Action 950 batteries (NiMh cells this time) are recharged by conveniently slotting into a charging 'pod'.  Unlike their predecessors no plug-in earphone / mic is supplied (although the MR600 ones work fine).  Some new features are present, such as a vibrate call alert, new call ring tones and a (thankfully switch-able) roger beep.

On the right. The professionally styled Binatone Action 950 two way radio handset.

Testing the range
The first thing we did was to see how far we could communicate using the Binatone Action 950's.  We also compared the new two way radios with the old talkies.  To do this Belinda sat at home supping wine in the lounge with one old and one new radio set to different channels, while Mike went walkabout (without wine) also armed with one of each.  He called up from seven pre-determined points on each talkie in turn and back home Belinda logged the results (and supped some more wine).  The terrain was semi-rural, and obstacles included: housing, a railway line, a pub, some shops, a car park, and some green open space.  Oh yes, let's not forget the trees and gradually rising then dropping elevation.  Oh, and the lounge wall and window!

It soon became apparent that the new two way radios were more capable than the old walkie talkies, which started to break-up at around the railway, 1/3rd mile away.  The 950's became patchy soon after, but in general communication was still possible right up to point 7 at almost one mile distant, long past point 3 when the old PMR's were last heard.

While a mile may not sound too good, especially considering the advertised range of 'up to 6 miles in ideal conditions' we were operating these two way radios in far from ideal conditions.  As both walkie talkies are constrained by the regulated PMR licence-free transmit power of ½ watt ERP, we put the improved range down to better aerial efficiency and receiver sensitivity.

Now of course this was a far from reliable scientific range test (especially as wine was involved!) but it proved the Binatone Action 950 two way radios did indeed have an improved coms range.  As we've found previously, the biggest obstacle to two way radio range is land mass; here we had that getting in the way so not a bad result overall.

And did Mike make it back to base?  Yes, much later - after he diverted to the pub for a 'swift' half!

Other good points then?
Apart from the coms range then, what else is better on the Action 950's?  Well, for one these talkies can stand upright without falling over (the old ones had a rounded base) and your hand fits snugly round the molded casing.  Watch out when standing the radios vertically on metal objects though as the battery charge contacts are flush on the base - could cause some arky-sparky!  Remember the CTCSS codes in the original talkie walkie review?  The Binatone 950's have CTCSS but also add DCS (Digital Code System) - 85 DCS codes in fact - for extra coms security.  And settings allow the radio to scan received transmissions for CTCSS / DCS codes being used.  Another useful setting allows two channels only to be scanned (dual watch) in addition to scanning all eight (auto channel scan).  We often need to scan channels 2 & 8 when out geocaching.

Any not so good points?
Yes, a few!  Firstly, the Binatone two way radio's rotatory volume/on-off control doesn't have click stops or markings and, with its light touch, it's very easy to inadvertently knock it down with the result no calls are heard.  We added a white stripe (there's life after typewriters for correction fluid!) to the knob to determine position.  Another gripe with the radio's volume is the lack of it, even turned up full; OK indoors, but not when outside.  It would be inaudible in a noisy workshop, building site or even the pub, for instance (so that's why Mike didn't hear Belinda calling when returning from our range test!)  Then there's the pointlessly prominent large frequency readout digits on the LCD display; with only eight channels users just don't need to know this - TMI - and it's bound to cause confusion, a large channel number would be far more useful.  One last point: although there's a lock to prevent accidental channel/code changes, the lock doesn't work when scanning and it's all too easy for a button to get pressed unknowingly and stopping the scan.

These issues are a real shame, particularly when they'd probably been an easy fix at the design stage at negligible cost.

We'll let you know how the Binatone Action 950 two way radios are fairing in about a year's time...

Update Oct 2011, looking good
Not a lot to report really, the Binatone Action 950 two way radios work just fine still.  We've dropped them a few times and they've survived and like our previous talkie walkies there's a bit of dust build-up under the perspex display but it's no bother.  We've noticed the transmit audio is lower on one talkie and keep meaning to pop the cover off to see if the mic has dislodged (maybe one of the drops?) but haven't yet.  And we find the squelch (the circuit that cuts the background hiss under no signal conditions) seems to be set a little too high, causing the received signal to chop out when, although marginal, is still intelligible.  If it wasn't for this the usable range of these two way radios would be extended a little.  The squelch can be overridden with a press of a couple of buttons, but then the noise roars until cancelled which is a bit of a faff.  So maybe another reason to pop the cover off the Binatone Action 950's and get to the guts to see if there's a squelch pre-set on the circuit to tweak.  We should add that Mike's background was in electronics and radio communication; don't try this if you're not familiar with micro-electronics.  And it'll invalidate any warranty still current.

See PMR talkie walkie related website resources and the Binatone website on our earlier review page.

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