Binatone Latitude 100 8-channel PMR

I'm a gadget freak, it's taken me a while to realise but yep that would definitely be the category to place me in, and as such I just like to try the odd little gadget that really isn't that much use to me but does cause me to have a little bit of fun.

Such an item is the Binatone Latitude which I purchased for £12.99, batteries not included, but acquired quite cheaply from my favourite Poundland. Three AAA batteries are required for each unit and they are easily installed after the removal of the rather large securing screw which holds the backing plate to the main unit. Thereupon the orientation and placement is as per the neat diagram on the inner face of the unit. The replacing of the back cover makes the units once again waterproof, not that I even remotely intend to be submerged for long enough to verify the manufacturer's statement.

Batteries in and the rest is pretty simple really. On the front of the units there is the power on button, which when pressed for a few seconds powers up the unit. The small LCD screen will light and display the current battery power by means of a small 4 bar graph at the bottom of the screen. To the right of this and looking extremely similar is the volume setting which can be adjusted by the up down buttons on the side of the unit. On the opposite side to this there is a solitary button which is the transmit button. Press this and keep it pressed to transmit you voice message. The channel on which you are transmitting will be displayed as a number on the LCD screen.

Should you have pre arranged a call and are expecting to receive on a certain channel you can select it by pressing the only button yet not mentioned that being the one beside the power button on the front of the unit. A quick press will allow you to select your channel by using the volume buttons. By simply r a few seconds the unit will go into scan mode and scan al eight channels until a signal is received.

In good conditions you will be able to transmit and receive up to a distance of about 2 miles this will reduce dramatically in built up areas. The battery usage is pretty good and they will last you a fair while if you avoid the scan mode which does tend to use them up quicker.

The sound reception is quite clear if the users do not keep the unit to close to the mouth whilst speaking, this tends to distort the sound since the microphone is quite sensitive and does not require you to have it so close to your mouth. The bright yellow colour does make them easy to spot wherever you leave them and as I briefly mentioned they are at minimum water resistant. I have never found the need not the desire to test the waterproof claim, suffice to say they have been used if very adverse conditions and proved themselves to be very useful. They are very tough little units and can withstand a fair bit of rough handling or even dropping. They feel as though they are solid and have an overall feel of being a strong and reliable product, which I have indeed found them to be.

Nowadays though it is the nephews who have more use for them and they do keep them occupied and amused for a while, all in all not a bad buy at all for my £12.99