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set trusses today,used some Motorola 2-way radios ,that my wife bought,1 in my tool belt 1 in the cab of the crane and the third in one of the catchers tool belt.Beat the heck out of trying to yell over the diesel roar and hollerin’ 100′ away at times.Giving voice commands when operater can’t see you and being able to tell hijm exactly what and where we are going next.
jim
p.s. big bonus for the wife she got to hear “You were RIGHT honey and I love you!
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I've been watching the prices of them waiting for them to drop. I work with my Semi-Retired Dad, and usually hear my name called when I'm in the basement and he's on the second floor. After stopping what I'm doing, and running up 2 flights of stairs, the message is usually...."Bring me the tool you were standing right next to while you were in the basement"! The radio's would cut out a trip. Radio Shack this week has a cheap set on sale for $25. Definitely not top of the line , but should do well inside a house. Picking them up on Mon. Jeff
*Interesting idea JIm. I've thought about using them too, but the amount of blind hoisting and setting is usually very minimal. The operator that I use is very good at dropping the stuff in and knowing when to unhook etc. It does take a little co-ordiantion however. And it helps if the person in his view can recognize when the operator is blind and then actually takes the iniatiative to signal properly.Maybe I better head over to radio shack...Blue
*"signal properly" that is truly funnyI always like the guys who just wiggle thier fingers no matter what they want the operater to do.I was lucky enough to start framing on a townhouse job that had prefab walls sent in on trailers. We swung stuff with a crane everyday sometimes twice. The bottoom line to this is I had to learn to "signal properly" really fast.jim
*It's not just signalling though. It takes a while to figure out when to drop the boom, and when to swing it more and let out line. The ability to talk with the operator make things a whole lot safer for everybody on the job. You'd think the crane operators would carry a set, maybe even multiple headsets so everyone involved could be listening (not talking).Jeff - you might go to radio shack and get a set of intercoms. When our kids were little, we had a set that you simply plug into any outlet and as soon as baby wakes up, Mom could hear that sweet sound, even if she was working in the garden. I think they were real cheap, even back then. Worked great.
*AM walky-talkies can be a little flakey, you really want to make sure you get a decent FM set around all that concrete and RFI from the machinery. But I've noticed around here that they rarely use dedicated radios (which have a bad habbit of growing feet and running away from home) anymore, they just use their cell phones. We have one company here that supplies phones that have a short-range unit-to-unit feature that's really handy and can cut down on your air-time.
*b TVMDCWe use Nextel cell phones which have a radio feature. Unlike normal radios with a 2-4 mile range, Nextel radios work anywhere on the Nextel network, i.e., LA to Vegas, Phoenix to Chicago, etc. Having the all-in-one feature sure beats two devices (and chargers) and the air-time is free depending on your sign-up plan.
*Folks,Considering a new nailer. Due diligence time.Anyone have hands-on experience with the: Hitachi NR90AC Makita AN922 Max SN890CH34Want to praise or "dis" any of these? Your input would be appreciated.ToolBear
*I got to use a set when we were building a log home once.. This particular radio had an extra earpiece that cliped onto your ear and then the radio could be kept in your pocket or clipped onto your belt. made a big difference in being able to keep your hands free to do other stuff. This would be a feature that I would look for if I was in the market to buy a set.
*got a few headsets for my radios at christmas time. I've used them a couple of times and they are a great help. Was able to stop an accident from happening when the signaller wasn't quite communicating with the catcher. Got upstairs just before the load was about to come out of the straps when it got hung up on some walls on the way down.jim
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set trusses today,used some Motorola 2-way radios ,that my wife bought,1 in my tool belt 1 in the cab of the crane and the third in one of the catchers tool belt.Beat the heck out of trying to yell over the diesel roar and hollerin' 100' away at times.Giving voice commands when operater can't see you and being able to tell hijm exactly what and where we are going next.
jim
p.s. big bonus for the wife she got to hear "You were RIGHT honey and I love you!