Subject: Radio communication on field trips
Date: Jun 7 01:05:20 1999
From: osprey at nwinfo.net - osprey at nwinfo.net


On May 1 I joined Andy Stepniewski and six other WOSers for a field trip
around Yakima County. There were two cars of birders. The driver of the
second car, whose name I unfortunately have forgotten, had two Motorola
hand-held radios or walkie-talkies. They made the trip quite a bit more
enjoyable for the people in the second car as they were able to hear Andy's
many comments about the areas through which we traveled. He was also able
to point out birds we spotted as we drove around. They also were able to
ask questions and tell us of the birds they were seeing in route.

Yesterday I led a group of friends on a trip around the Toppenish NWR and
Ft. Simcoe. I rented three of the Motorola Radius SP10 radios from a local
company for $10 each for the weekend. They have a range of between one and
two miles. They proved again to be quite an asset and added to the
enjoyment of the people in all of our cars. They are also good for
communicating with a car that is lagging behind.

I highly recommend these radios. They are convenient to use and
communication is very clear. The volume is loud enough for all of the
people in the car to hear. They sell for less than $150 each and the rent,
in Yakima at least, is cheap.

Denny Granstrand
Yakima, WA

Denny Granstrand