Rogerborg

I would note that CB sets remain available, and are completely licence free now. They operate around the 27Mhz band, notionally at 4W (but are, or were, regularly boosted way over that) and run expensive compared to the 400Mhz+ handsets. I haven't seen handheld units for sale, although there's no reason why one couldn't be produced, the only technical issue being that the antennae need to be longer than for 400Mhz+. I have no idea if anyone is still using them. I haven't used one since 1990 or so, when it went toxic and folk just started playing music or shit-talking all over the CB channels. https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0022/84406/citizens-band.pdf

Thanks, chap, ordered up now. I was having trouble finding side-blowers like that on eBay. As God is my witness, I will find a low profile glasses solution that works.

Oh, very nice. Do you have details for those fans? Diameter, nominal voltage? 3.3V used to be a thing, but everything seems to want 5V or 12V now.

I really enjoyed a filmsim with limited ammo, although as with everything in airsoft, you got the impression that some players treated it as more of a guideline than a rule.

I wouldn't get either, unless you're planning to play at some huge milsim site. 2W (BF-888S PMR / 88E, or basic UV-5R) is fine for most sites. For hiking, well, maybe, but are you planning on talking to your buddy who's just down the trail (in which case, see above), or to make an emergency call for help? In which case I wouldn't give advice, but would point you towards a hiking forum. 8W and arbitrary frequencies might mess up someone's day inadvertently, and you're getting into the actual HAM arena there. Sorry, beyond my ken.

Fair enough, there are loads of SureFire clones out there. Vastfire, Windfire, Starfire... wait, that one might be a superhero.

Thanks for turning this up, that about concludes the case for the prosecution. I worked for a company run like that, with a policy of only paying when court bailiffs turned up to collect the furniture. When they eventually went under, they renamed the company by reversing the name, folded it, then started a new company with the old name the next morning. They got away with this twice more before eventually running out of fresh suppliers and banks that they could scam into extending them more credit. The boss was the nicest guy you could imagine, pillar of the community, nothing was too much trouble for him... except for paying the creditors that he was ruthlessly ripping off. They slither among us.

Yup, cheap and effective, a few of us have gone with that. One of these, in either 5V or 12V depending what you want to run it off, and how fast you want it to spin: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/283565508178 Any bit of tubing. A blob of hot-melt glue to seal the tubing in the outlet, a switch if you're fancy, battery, find some way of getting the tube into your eyepro, and away you go.

That looks great. What (re)brand did you go for?

Those look like the non-"PMR" BF-888S models, so you were right to set them up for PMR channels. I reckon the only actual difference between those and the BF-888S "PMR" / BF-88E is the fixed antenna, and that the PMR/88E come with the PMR channels pre-programmed in. Now that I read closer, it looks like they're set to "low" power, as you've done on yours. At 0.5W that's still more than the notional PMR 0.25W limit, but not so much that it will ever be an issue. I've just set up my UV-5R for a bunch of frequencies using the programming cable, but to be honest, the only thing I'll ever use are those PMR channels. I programmed in a bunch of other stuff just for giggles, but really I don't want to risk transmitting on them, so I'll just remove them now. If I buy or recommend any more sets, I reckon they'll be those BF-888S PMR / BF-88Es, which look to be ideal for what most airsofters need.

Hmm, I hadn't looked into the 888, but they're really quite interesting. There's an original BF-888S which runs at 2W and 400-470MHz, but they also do a BF-888S "PMR" version, aka BF-88E, with a fixed antenna but still running at 2W. From what I can see, they've basically pre-programmed it to the 16 analogue PMR channels in the 446.0 / 446.2MHz PMR range, and called it PMR. It's still re-programmable though, if you want. https://www.baofengradio.co.uk/2x-bf-888s-pmr446-walkie-talkies-long-range-two-way-radio-license-free-with-earpieces/ So they're not strictly speaking PMR, and should only be used for licensed frequencies. But I do agree that they're a smart practical choice as you won't accidentally stray off of PMR frequencies and bother anyone (unless you go out of your way to reprogram them), you'll get the extra range, and the fixed antenna makes them look indistinguishable from a PMR. USB charging, nice. Cheap too, and even cheaper in bulk. I see why you went for them, they make a lot of sense. All the functionality of a UV-5R that anyone would want for airsoft, without any of the messing around.

Yes, that, especially another M4. Is that the DE with the fire control system? Bursts, binary trigger for speedy-boi shenanigans? That's about all you can really ask from an AEG other than pre-cock, and that's down to the mosfet, not the brand. Time to drop this truth-frag again. I'd be looking at getting something different, even if it's another AEG. A recoil system, a different platform, even raw degeneracy like a P90.

And yet when you propose some common sense eugenics, suddenly you're the "bad guy".

I really like the facilities at Area-66: good access road, hard standing, a generously sized safe zone, well stocked shop, hot and cold food on site, and even a functional permanent toilet block. But whether I actually enjoy the day is down to the dickishness-to-decency ratio among the players who actually show up, and whether the marshals are on the ball that day. And I'd generalise that to any site. It's the people, not the place.

Nobody said that they were. Why bring it up? I'm fine for QC rejects being sold at full whack, thanks all the same. Useful information for potential purchasers. I can prove I have fresh apples (how do you like them?), but that doesn't prove that my oranges aren't rotten. Nobody said there was. What a bizarre thing to refute. Well, I know whose reputation and integrity I'll be trusting based on the quality of this contribution.

It could be exemplary play, or it could be screaming "I did so hit you, you're deaaaaad!" all day long, I'd reckon about 50/50 chance of either.

Seconded, no problem at all. I'd stress the "responsibly" part, you don't want anyone seeing it until you're in the safe zone. The actual consideration isn't use at the site, it's transporting it there, since public possession of an imitation firearm (realistic or otherwise) is an offence under Firearms Act 1968 Section 19. We all need a "reasonable excuse (the proof whereof lies on [us])", i.e. booking details or at least the site info when you're on your way to or from the site with it. Don't be tempted to take it out and show off for your mates, it's just not worth the risk of getting a real one pointed at you by an irate firearms unit copper.

It's an honest, realistic ask, better than a lot of the fantasy stuff we see floated around. I think anyone getting involved would be aware of the limited market, that they'll mostly be covering the parts cost, and the labour would be done for love. Sadly I'm rammed with personal projects, but the actual programming for any of those proposed applications would be fairly straightforward, so I'd be hopeful that someone will jump in - you just need to find them.

Sad times. Have you sent a PM to nudge it along?

Agreed, I have no interest in shooting 10 year olds, and I'd be concerned about their ability to stick to the spirit and letter of the game once the adrenaline starts pumping. I really don't like seeing anyone younger than 14 at sites.

I'm a fresh convert. I mean, literally now, I've been sitting on a Baofeng programming cable for ages, but have just plugged it into my UV-5R, downloaded CHIRP, watched a how-to, and wow, that's much easier than button mashing. File -> Open stock config -> EU LPD and PMR channels, scroll down, copy the PMR channels, paste them into the start of the memory slots, and Radio -> Upload to Radio. Mine now welcomes me with a cheery "AHOY!" message as well. The volume wants to be turned right up for programming, is the only gotchya.

Hmm, no, not really. This covers the basics: https://www.radiotrader.co.uk/news/facts-about-licence-free-radios.htm The tl;dr version is that you need to decide whether to go analogue PMR (cheap) or digital (still expensive with no real benefit that I can see for airsoft use) as they aren't compatible. Older analogue sets will only use 8 channels. Newer ones will be able to use 16, and will talk to older sets on the first 8. Then you can do whatever you like without any worries. Just flip through whatever channels are available until you find a quiet one, get your team on the same channel, and you're done. You don't need to bother with CTCSS / DCS unless you're at a busy site where all channels are in use. If you buy anything else, you should buy a loicence for it. However, if you're using it at a fairly remote airsoft site, between 446.0 and 446.2 Mhz, then the only people you're likely to interact or interfere with are other airsoft players.

The squeaky wheel does get the grease, but the second mouse gets the cheese. That's not strictly relevant, until companies learn to put demanding callers to the back of the queue. A borg can dream though.

The first I knew about his occupation was when he said "... I should stop you there and tell you that I'm a police constable..."

Ace, glad to hear that you made it work. I do intend to do a weekender while I'm still physically capable of it, it's always useful to hear experiences. Did you do the mandatory in-spin-and-out dump from the hammock on first getting in, or manage to fall out of it later on?