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gear of the week

Gear of the Week | Team TeCom X-5 PMR radios

Communication aids for freeriders

by Knut Pohl 01/05/2012
Radios are a real help for communication on the mountain in serious freeride use. Anyone who has ever missed their companions because they didn't see them skiing down the neighboring gully will be able to confirm this. When it comes to photography, these hand sparks become indispensable. After all, the key to good pictures lies in consultation and understanding between the rider and the photographer. And nothing is more motivating or funnier than hearing a "Yeeeeehaaaaah!" or "Dude, fucked up!!!" booming out of the loudspeaker on the way out. One of the most useful radios is certainly the Team TeCom X-5.

Radio devices are a real help for communication on the mountain in serious freeride use. Anyone who has ever missed their companions because they didn't see them skiing down the neighboring gully will be able to confirm this. When it comes to photography, these hand sparks become indispensable. After all, the key to good pictures lies in consultation and understanding between the rider and the photographer. And nothing is more motivating or funnier than hearing a "Yeeeeehaaaaah!" or "Dude, fucked up!!!" booming out of the loudspeaker on the way out. One of the most useful radios is certainly the Team TeCom X-5.

Radios are used by countless winter sports enthusiasts on the mountain. Anyone who has ever been out and about in an area where a ski race was taking place and was looking for free channels can certainly tell you a thing or two about it. These communication devices are also a welcome help in freeriding. Be it to recommend line choices, coordinate photo spots or just to send your buddy ahead to report what it looks like back there.

The easiest devices to use for this are those that operate in the PMR range. This range comprises 8 channels in the 446 MHz band (hence PMR-446) and is permitted throughout the Alpine region. In contrast to the FreeNET band. Thanks to 500mW transmission power, the range in the terrain is usually 3-5km, whereby clear air naturally favors the range, but obstacles - including mountains - can severely limit the range.

The TeCom X-5 PMR is made precisely for this use. In addition, many things can be set, such as voice or code activation of transmission or reception or voice coding, and the devices have search functions for busy channels. But that's not all. Additional frequencies, e.g. for use in the free bands of the USA or Japan, can be programmed with the help of additional software - or from the radio store when purchasing. The transmission power can also be regulated. Of course, the license for PMR use expires with this programming. It can also be used to listen to FM radio. A useful feature if you want a weather or snow report, or if the driver needs hours to get to his line. You can also use the time to pore over and puzzle over the operating instructions again. Because they are a disaster! But Google has everything you need.

The TeCom X-5s are robust, splash-proof, battery-operated and come with a charging station. At €99.90 per device, you are covered.

A commercially available loudspeaker microphone is a highly recommended accessory. This allows the radio to be stowed in the backpack and only the spiral cable leads to the speaker microphone on the shoulder strap. Just one grip on the shoulder and you can talk to each other. After all, even the best radio doesn't help communication if you've buried it somewhere deep in your stuff and are too lazy to get it out. And the beacon in your backpack is probably less of a problem for the avalanche transceiver on your chest.

To the manufacturer TeCom

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This article has been automatically translated by DeepL with subsequent editing. If you notice any spelling or grammatical errors or if the translation has lost its meaning, please write an e-mail to the editors.

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