GunmanAirsoft

One standard licence covers your whole team's use of the frequencies as long as you are there being responsible for the use.
 
The simple business licence has standard frequencies which can be used anywhere in the UK and they all use the same frequencies so you have to coordinate with anyone else using them.
 
It's like the Pmr446 but you pay for it and you can use higher powers and more frequencies.

One standard licence covers your whole team's use of the frequencies as long as you are there being responsible for the use.
 
The simple business licence has standard frequencies which can be used anywhere in the UK and they all use the same frequencies so you have to coordinate with anyone else using them.
 
It's like the Pmr446 but you pay for it and you can use higher powers and more frequencies.

You have two choices when it comes to radios for Airsoft purposes and they each have their pros and cons. You can either use a PMR 446 or a licensed radio such as a Baofeng.
 
PMR 446
 
Comes in two types, analogue which has 8 channels and digital which is 16 channel.
 
Most people use analogue as digital is still expensive.
 
Is unlicensed so you can just buy a radio and it will work with all other PMR 446 radios.
 
It is limited to 0.5W.
 
It is lower range and penetration than a licensed radio. In thick woodland expect below 100m sometimes you can shout further. In open ground in the best conditions it could go 1KM.
 
They have a fixed antenna so you can't change it.
 
Licensed Radio
 
Baofeng is the make that most people buy due to the costs. The UV-5R is a cheap and decent radio with a tonne of possible accessories. The UV-82 and other radios in that series from Baofeng can do two push to talk buttons for two different frequencies which is a really awesome for radio men as they can talk on either of the frequencies they have setup. The UV-5R can tune into 2 channels at once but it can't transmit on both only one of them. The UV-5R can be used at 2 power outputs, 1W and 4W. There is also a High power model which has an additional 8W mode which isn't usable with a UK simple business license.
 
You can do just about anything with a license and could get a personal frequency just for your group but it could cost thousands of pounds. However the easiest and cheapest thing to do is to buy a Simple UK business license (https://secure.ofcom.org.uk/busrad/). It is £75 for 5 years and takes about 2 weeks to come through, it requires little more than name + address. It will give you some FM, VHF and UHF frequencies for a total of 11 usable on a Baofeng UV-5R and you can hand out these to a group you play with or just some people on the same site for the day. Businesses all over the UK share the frequencies so you may have to move channel to avoid interfering but you have plenty of options.
 
The license grants up to 5W of power and the Baofeng on high uses 4W.
 
The license is for narrow band which is the same as the PMR 446 uses.
 
These penetrate through a lot more woodland and go a lot further as they are 10x more powerful.
 
They have a replaceable antenna so you can get a smaller one to fit your gear or a much bigger one to allow better reception and a bit more power.
 
The Baofeng can be tuned to receive the PMR 446 frequencies. However because it is too powerful (1W) and has a removable antenna (which can change the power output) and it can use other frequencies its not legal to use it on PMR 446 frequencies. Thus if you are using a Baofeng for this purpose you are committing a crime. It is OK to listen but you can't transmit.
 
The Baofeng radio's as far as I know all come with push to talk buttons and an ear piece in the box, the UV-5R certainly does. You can also get accessory ones from other companies like Code red headsets, Z Tactical and Baofeng themselves. The plug it uses is called a Kenwood so when looking for addons this is what you need, its widely supported. There are a vast array of options even to the point where you can get a bone conduction set for $100 or so.

Oh my God, between now and my previous post which quoted the exact law there have been several posts with massively incorrect information in them.
 
If you are under 18 you cannot buy an IF or a RIF. That is the only thing restricted by age.
 
Anyone of any age can own an IF or a RIF regardless of what they intend on doing with it.
 
To sell, import, manufacture a RIF, or to convert an IF to a RIF you need a valid defence.
 
A valid defence is using it at an organised, insured Airsoft event. The minimum attendance is one event.
 
If you want to spray your two tone gun in a realistic colour and you will be playing with it at an organised and insured event then you can do it. There is no age restriction on doing this apart from the fact that under 18s cannot buy cans of spray paint.
 
Sources are:
 
Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 (Sections 36 & 37)
 
Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 (Realistic Imitation Firearms) Regulations 2007
 
Firearms Act 1968 (Section 24a)

Converting an IF to a RIF has no age restriction. The sole requirement is that the gun is to be used at a correctly insured airsoft site.

Converting an IF to a RIF has no age restriction. The sole requirement is that the gun is to be used at a correctly insured airsoft site.

Converting an IF to a RIF has no age restriction. The sole requirement is that the gun is to be used at a correctly insured airsoft site.

If you're playing at a properly insured skirmish site with it, then you are not breaking the law if you spray it.

Actual wording of the airsoft defence in UK law :
 
"3.(1) It shall be a defence in proceedings for an offence under section 36 of the 2006 Act or under paragraph 4 of Schedule 2 to that Act for the person charged with the offence to show that his conduct was for the purpose only of making the imitation firearm in question available for one or more of the purposes specified in paragraph (2).
(2) Those purposes are
(a)the organisation and holding of permitted activities for which public liability insurance is held in relation to liabilities to third parties arising from or in connection with the organisation and holding of those activities;
 
(b)the purposes of display at a permitted event."
 
If the RIF is sold to be used at one game no offense has been committed, the law says nothing about how many times or how often you have to play.

Actual wording of the airsoft defence in UK law :
 
"3.(1) It shall be a defence in proceedings for an offence under section 36 of the 2006 Act or under paragraph 4 of Schedule 2 to that Act for the person charged with the offence to show that his conduct was for the purpose only of making the imitation firearm in question available for one or more of the purposes specified in paragraph (2).
(2) Those purposes are
(a)the organisation and holding of permitted activities for which public liability insurance is held in relation to liabilities to third parties arising from or in connection with the organisation and holding of those activities;
 
(b)the purposes of display at a permitted event."
 
If the RIF is sold to be used at one game no offense has been committed, the law says nothing about how many times or how often you have to play.

don't run around - less rattle
 
or if you like to sprint around a lot then your next loadout should be this:
 

 
Olé

I thought flash mags were just hi caps with a string attached to the winder? How does that stop the rattle?

Here's how they work...
 
The top bit of the magazine is a hopper which you fill with BBs. The bottom bit has a clockwork mechanism that feeds the BBs up a short tube to the top of the mag and into the gun. The winder just winds it up, as you fire the spring unwinds, turning a wheel which picks up the BBS.
 
The rattle comes from the BBs in the hopper part as they are loose and free to move about inside the mag
 
If you fill up the mag, wind it, then top it up it will rattle less, but as you fire there are less BBs in the mag and more empty space so more rattle.
 
Mid and low caps have a really long tube that goes round and round the inside of the mag with a compression spring inside. You feed the BBs in from the same hole as they feed out of the mag and into the gun. The spring expands to fill the space in the tube behind the BBs therefore no rattle.
 
The downsides to mid and low caps are the lower capacity and you need to use a speed loader or push the BBs in one at a time, kind of like loading a real magazine.
 
Carrying a partially full speed loader will create the same rattle as a partially full hi cap however...

Thought I was going bonkers for a minute. If anything flash mags are noisier because of the zip-zip noise they make lol

Close enough to me, I've heard good things about the site I didn't realise they did midweek nights. Thank you

I busted my 228 loading nozzle (my pistols blowback mechanism is identical) by loading a full mag with the slide forward, since then, I've always inserted full mags with the slide locked back so the top BB never has to be pushed down the mag by the nozzle nub.
 
How do you load/reload yours? I've not had an issue with mine since adjusting my technique, despite playing many times in temperatures approaching freezing when the plastic becomes brittle

If you're playing skirmish games on a casual basis then you'll probably want to stick to hi caps.
 
Our Filmsim/milsim lite games have an ammo limit of 600 rounds loaded in mags so if you came to one of them you would be able to use two hi caps.
 
I switched over to mid caps mainly because I hated the rattle of hi caps and when I do play skirmish I'm usually long dead before I run out of mags due to my habit of charging in headfirst when I have unlimited lives