team radios...where to start?

[kerby91]

Hey all

Ive been invited to join a local team, which whilst is a bit of an honour, I know they aren't exactly up to scratch when it comes to teamwork, comms and just plain old working together haha.

So basically ive been brought in as new blood to help kick their arses into gear.

So, first port of call for me is working together, we will be meeting up on Wednesday to discuss roles, and mainly so o can get a feel for who's good at listening and understanding etc.

Next comes comms, now they are all old buddies, so I may be stepping on peoples toes but hey ho, I want to get radios going...but I know nothing about where to start.

So any help is appreciated. We don't wanna break the bank and there are 5 of us regulars

Thanks alot

 

[jcheeseright]

baofeng UV-5R, you can buy them on ebay in big packs quite cheaply.

get some fist/speaker mics to plug into them and then if you want to be 'covert' some 2.5mm listen only earpieces to plug into the speaker mics.

all the parts will be guaranteed to work together (unlike airsoft repro shit normally is) and no one will be able to whinge that they don't want to wear a headset/etc etc.

 

[cavninja]

There's a really good intro to comms guide somewhere on here with suggestions and recommendations of various types of radios, the

baofengs are pretty good, cheap and lots of choice for variances.

 

[Undieing_Lust]

I had the exact same dilemma as yourself. jcheeseright is correct get the Baofengs UV-5R's

 

[kerby91]

Yeah I read the guide literally a minute after posting the original comment. Bloody good advice in there. Ta lads

 

[Jambo88]

Check on eBay you can get Radios for £20

 

[SoapAirsoft]

I had a cheapy ebay special radio for a bit, but found it's quality lacking. Bought these Wouxun ones, nice bits of kit. Not too expensive, and the instruction manual is good and written in hilarious engrish.

 

[kerby91]

I thought the boufengs were illegal to use without a license?

 

[Undieing_Lust]

I thought the boufengs were illegal to use without a license?

If am correct you can programme it to use the Legal [SIZE=10pt]PMR446 license-free frequencies.[/SIZE]

 

[UIVenger]

Thought it was more the 5W power that was illegal rather than the frequencies (without a licence)

 

[Undieing_Lust]

Thought it was more the 5W power that was illegal rather than the frequencies (without a licence)

I don't think that it would be a problem as long as it's on the Legal frequencies. Yes you would be over the legal power limit (0.5mw) Honestly thought I think you would be ok. as long as you stick to the legal frequencies.

• use only on a certain frequency;
• use only with a certain power and certain level of emission;
• use must not cause undue interference;
• use only within a certain geographical area;
• use only of apparatus which meets specified requirements; and
• access for inspection by Ofcom staff and close down in the event of interference being caused.

(Taken from Ofcom)

 

[jcheeseright]

"

• use only with a certain power and certain level of emission;
  
  "

That bit is kinda pivotal here! PMR446 is technically limited to 0.5W of output power, I can't think of any way you could be caught using a 5W radio though unless someone from OFCOM actually took the radio off you and tested it.