Dave Plowman

One of the standard tests when evaluating new gear for location work was  to see how easily it got zapped by the then standard Motorola walkie-talkie.

I assume in these days of digits they might put out less lethal RF?

Doug Puddifoot

In the early days of the “Breakfast” Satellite Van, walkie-talkie transmit affected the camera zoom control, so had to be avoided on live broadcasts.

We did a breakfast item about the last warship to be launched on the Clyde, and we then stayed to cover the launch live for the one o’clock news.

Just before they came to us, a photographer walked into the back of shot, hiding the ship. So I locked off the shot, and rushed around to move him out of the way. My walkie-talkie came off my belt and bounced on floor when the cable caught on something. I grabbed it, moved the photographer, and got back to the camera just as we went on air.

Little did I know that hitting the floor had put the walkie-talkie into VOX mode, and the noise of the launch had put it into constant transmit. I arrived at the camera to discover that we had just gone on air with a BCU of the reporters nose.