At IntercomsOnline.com we quite frequently get requests for a long-range wireless baby monitor type of intercom system that people want to use to monitor their elderly parents who live nearby. They want to be able to listen for cries for help.
If the parents live right next door the WireFree Portable 900MHz Wireless Intercom System (set of 2) will work since it has a Monitor mode. The problem is that this system really only has a range of a few hundred feet. If your parents live around a mile or so, that system won’t help.
We have not yet found any system that works like a baby monitor over a long-range. This is likely because a system that did this would be tying up a channel so no one else could use it. There are only a limited number of frequencies available for public use. If several people had them tied up with a monitoring application, then the frequencies would be useless to everyone else, or everyone would be monitoring everyone else.
Until such time as someone solves this problem, we do have one wireless intercom that will work for remote communication as long as the elderly parent can push a button. Our MURS 4 Mile Range Intercom works over a long distance. If the elderly person needs to carry something with them, then there the MURS two-way handheld radio works with this system as well.
By placing a MURS unit in both sides, two-way communication can occur over a long distance by simply pressing the talk (PTT) button.
There is a motion detector available (MURS Base and MURS Alert Kit) for this system so if you want to know if your elderly parent enters the kitchen, bathroom, or some other area of the home, the motion detector will send a verbal “Alert Zone 1” message. That way you’ll know your parent is still able to move around. If you don’t hear an Alert message then you can call and check to see if everything is OK.
The MURS 4 mile Range Intercom also has a relay switch that is also turned on you can use to activate an external bell or have turn on lights as an additional alert signal.