Unrustle_Thine_Jimmies Posted October 13, 2013 Share Posted October 13, 2013 BINATONE TERRAIN 750 REVIEWGot this little thing off Fleabay for 25€ incl. P&P. Read some reviews,asked about locally and I heard they are okay for the price. You can also buy them in Maplin,fleabay,amazon and whatever electronics shop for about 50€,but you get a pair,docking station and such. Mine just came with a charger,battery and manual. Bought it for 'temporary' usage for a MILSIM OP before getting a Baofeng UVR but I want to get a TM hicapa so I guess I'll bear with it while it works.Rundown:LCD screen with actually decent LED lightingAccepts 2.5mm jack(Sort of frustrating as some jacks connect well while others just slip in and out.Decent ABS construction,good qualityLong range receiver,up to 8km(advertise) NOTE: This is true for an open field however in more dense areas expect around 500m. This is just marketing,comes from ALL PMR446 radios.968 channels. NOTE: There are only 8 real channels - the rest are codes to activate and lift the squelch. This is true of all such radios not just Binatone.Easy to use,simple functions,but this goes for any cheaper 446 really.Also accepts AA batteries,handy in emergenciesMultiple call tones(DON'T USE THESE IN GAMES OR YOU WILL BE THE REINCARNATION OF HITLER)Long battery life,tested and it's held for 3 days now on standby. Still has some life in it and isn't doing the PLEASE KILL/CHARGE ME beep.First impressions are good. Handset is made of a nice ABS plastic,Not as good as the stuff on my Phone or VSR stock but It's damn strong. No wobbles,everything clicks nicely. The LCD screen is clear,good quality and the LED lighting is actually pretty decent. Manual has no Chinglish and it's pretty clear. All the buttons press and click nicely. It's got 968 channels,but as said in the previous note:There are only 8 real channels - the rest are codes to activate and lift the squelch. This is true of all such radios not just Binatone. Screen's pretty tough,won't get shot out though I'd still recommend a radio pouch. Button volume adjusters may hinder this though.Accepts a 2.5mm jack,pretty picky,honestly. Some click in nicely and securely while some wobble about. I'd say it's better off using an earpiece with a 2.5 jack. Quality on this is meh. Transmission is actually pretty good. Sound quality is choppy,especially at higher volumes. Channels can be changed by cycling the menu button and selecting the number with the UP and DOWN keys. 8 real channels, 38 CTCSS codes and 83 Digital codes to change squelch. When not in this function,UP and DOWN are used to adjust volume. Wuld have been better with a knob is using a pouch.It has 10 different call tones,which can be selected by pressing the MENU button 8 times. Pretty annoying and useless IMO. Will probably only reveal someone's position in a game,since you can't isolate who is calling it's more like a 'Be a penis' button. You can turn the 'roger' bleep on and off by pressing MENU 9 times and selecting the function. Highly recommend doing this cos' it's friggin loud.PTT button is nice and responsive. Has a 2 second delay between pressing and transmission(Pretty long) so wait a bit before speaking,though this is common on most cheap radios. Speakers are meh but the transmission and mic are actually pretty good quality. On range testing:Tested with this radio with my friend's Motorola XTR(Which is a radio of a similar class,maybe acutally better because it has far better sound quality when receiving) Tested this across the outskirts of town so mainly open fields and little housing.More or less a clear/open area, Ideal for long range PMR connection.HOWEVER Expect around 500m MAX in forests and more tighter packed skirmish sites.Got on my bike and cycled until certain point,roughly 2km apart each if his phone is to be believed. 2KM: Crystal clear,no interference,flawless sound quality4KM: Had to wait for transmission for about a second or two before I was heard clearly. Sound quality was getting shit6KM: starting to get interference, had to pronounce everything very clearly,where my little ukrirish accent came into play as a downfall sound quality was pants at times. 8KM: Noticeable interference,especially during wind. Had to speak slowly to be understood and to control my breathing. Pretty much unusable past 7 KM I'd say. Best open range performance was 5km. Standard fare performance,conditions were 'ideal' for a 446,thus the longer range.Like stated before,it should get around 300-500m in forests or sites,will confirm fully after the MILSIM. Standard fare,like all others,it transmits 500mhz,usable on open land to around 6KM before it performs like a frozen turd,actually does 500m in airsoft situations. Apologies for lack of pictures. Samsung Kies is being a penis. EDITS: Much less shit now Post MILSIM update! After use at a MILSIM,performance was as expected fro ma cheapy 446. approx 300-400m of comms in woods and about 1-3km in open fields. Just about got the gist of orders and general chatter. It was raining rather heavily and it didn't break,though I'd still not risk it as there are some easy places for it to leak. Audio quality was mixed. Those who spoke to me with throat mics had poor sound quality,other Headsets worked fine. When the volume was selected to max sound quality was poor. At minimum or level 2 it was fine. Odd thing. Final Conclusion: It's sh*t but it works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilfree Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 Nice review, makes me want to go out and buy one now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baz JJ Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 Id written a long response to this and then managed to lose it, so cant be bothered to retype it. A lot of the technical information comes straight from the Binatone website which is fine, but like a lot of PMR Makers websites, it is severe Binatone specmanship for the uninitiated. There are only 8 real channels - the rest are codes to activate and lift the squelch. This is true of all such radios not just Binatone. The volume is set by up and down buttons which is a PITA in Airsoft when you cant see the radio because its in a pouch. I find a rotary volume knob a godsend. I just find it and twiddle without looking down. The manual says it shouldn't be used in the rain. If you got 8Km range, then I suspect you had a clear line of sight to your friend. Typically I get 300-500m across the woods and thats using different makes of which I have a few. If people routinely expect ranges measured in Km they will be disappointed. This is no criticism of the review, I just don't want people to be mislead by the hype from marketing types. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unrustle_Thine_Jimmies Posted October 15, 2013 Author Share Posted October 15, 2013 I'll actually edit that in,if you don't mind. I was planning on a more 'in depth' review after use in a MILSIM,hence the Note at the beginning. I just copied the basic info from the website 'cos I'm lazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baz JJ Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 Help yourself mate - no probs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clumpyedge Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 well after using my binatones yesterday in heavy woods and even heavier weather im actually amazed at how good these were! mine are the 1000 model Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.