radio communication in tree care

stihlrockin200t

what does everybody think about radio communication for tree work. i have a set of radio's and use them on larger jobs and they seem to work fine except i cant find a good place to run the wire to the headset besides inside of shirt at my back. they also work good for hearing protection. yay or nai on them

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Git-R-Done
Stihl:
MS200T-14'' muffler modded slightly
MS192TC-14'' just a backup
MS361-20'' and 28''
MS441-32''
MS660
MS880

access to many others and much more

kieren

I think there great, save having to get the attention of dumb arse ground crew by trying to yell over the noise of a chipper, and easy to get your point across. But i often have other people using the same frequency and a lot seem to think that the frequency belongs to them

Apocalypsse

Yea unless you have access to a private freq you are stuck on the public channels. Some job it would be good for, a lot of the time people simply cant scream loud enough or machines are drowning out their voice.

Cole

we have portale UHF radios all our machinery vehicles and on person, mobile phones are always there but just not quite effective takes to long. i own a voice actived system that i use at seminars or when working at a decent height, guys screaming left right and centre diffrent instructions is totally unprofessional i think. i never ever have the chipper going when climbing nothing worse than that bloody thing screaming away while im enjoying myself climbing around, guys who chip three or four branches than five minutes later chiper a few more shite me to tears also takes a toll on machinery stoping and starting etc etc. you can even mount a ear peice inside your ear muffs and your dont even need to stop to talk

NeTree

I use the Kenwood TK-3200's; they're UHF business band sets.

Running the mic cord inside at my back is about the best I've done, too; but I use the earpiece plugged into the speaker-mic.

I think they're definitely better than yelling and pointing, and save tons of grief while increasing communication ability and therefore... safety.

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Yours,
Erik

www.netree.org

stirmantrees

whats the cost erik?

i just throw stubs or pine cones at them

seriously good idea though........radios that is

NeTree

About $180, US.

Or... 1,354 pine cones each.

__________________
Yours,
Erik

www.netree.org

stirmantrees

good comeback

kel

Think its a great idea if you could get a hands free system that can take a knock.The fire brigade may be a simular industry that have done the r+d on whats avaliable.(hands free/dirty enviroment) and the Swiss at the top of that ladder. Their budget may be a bit fatter than ours but, hey, gotta dream big. Thanks for starting the thread, will keep an eye on it. My "groundie"/wife can read my mind, but we don't start the chipper while I'm up the tree as its one less distraction I don't need. (think it was after I watched my rope and steel buckle get fed in that I decided we could be a little less efficent and wait till I was on the ground.)

Brodie

Hi all I think radio communication for tree work is great saves me trying to yell to get a ground workers attention and allows good communication over the whole worksite.
I have a hands free system or voice activated at the tech guys call it which mean i can have the ear piece always in my ear shot and the mic is always in position so i can potentially talk to my ground crew during cut and let them know if i need slack or tension on my rigging lines in an instant.
The only problem i have with my hands free set-up is the above example does not always work because the mic picks up the noise of the chain saw blocking the channel and my voice also deafening my ground crew.

What are you guys using if you are using hands free systems or do you know of any other options. I have found a through operated system that may work but im not sure how well they work or how comfortable it is having something wrapped around your neck all day.

NeTree

I don't care for rhe throat mics, but there are mics that pick up the voice in the ear canal. Can't think of a manufacturer offhand, though.

__________________
Yours,
Erik

www.netree.org

Brodie

it seem like an interesting concept having a mic setup like that id be interested to find out more about how it works.

Garry Brockley

When you use the throat mics give a small cough first otherwise the person your trying to contact misses the first word, as they are sound/ vibration activated " ***t send me up the pulley and rope" is what they will hear not "Pete send me up the pulley and rope" and as stated earlier they do get activated by the sound of an ms200 blarein away, also rapid succession weapons fire, but generally that doesnt count in tree care unless the groundies are really messing up

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Jeffrey Lovstrom

So far, I only use them for crane work.
Jeff

southsoundtree

I just use them occasionally. Simple Motorola rechargeable built in batteries $30 a pair. Not as nice as voice activated, but on a budget, they work well.

AWF

In the past I have only used them when speed lining or line of sight is an issue...

This may seem like a bit off topic but I feel it goes hand in hand with communication...

I have worked with some gun ground crew and you hardly have to say a word as they know what to do and when to do it, and I find this is more the case when they have had some exposure to climbing themselves...Having a good crew also increases your safety in the tree to..

Also I find spending 5 minutes at the start of the job to discuss a plan of attack with the crew reduces confusion and more often than not increases productivity because everyone knows what their job is...

On the other hand I have also worked with some shockers and theres nothing worse than getting back to the yard and hardly being able to speak cause you've been yelling all day...

Brodie

AWF, I do agree with you a good ground team is often the best way to have things, but as you also said a bad or just training ground crew which is my case is hard on the old voice box most days which is the main reason I implemented the use of radio communication into daily work practices it gives me the advantage of being able to use my training and knowledge to talk them through the steps needed to complete some of the more technical rigging or ground work that they need to do. When the system works, I must say that the system has its faults at the moment but with practice we are working them out.

Im always open to trying new things as most of you are im sure but its all trial and error and if the radios dont work then we can always try something new.