Looking for Comms

[matas17]

So i am looking into getting headset and radio setup but dont know what is good choice, any of you would give me advice on what to buy. I dont mind spending £60-70 for a headset or bit more for a good ones and like £50 for a radio? 

Any of you can help me out here.

 

Thank you.

[Gepard]

Comms can get really expensive. What are you looking for in this setup? Is it just a "I want to talk to a buddy" or "I want to be able to hear a mouse fart from 20 yards away" type of deal? There's a bunch of designs with an array of features to choose from. 

 

Motorola make decent two way radios and you won't need a licence to use them. Something like this would be great for a few guys and if you split the cost it would help. You can set it up with a PTT or headset and they're perfect for woodland environments as they're completely weatherproof. Of course if it's just two of you then you could get a twin pack at half the price. 

 

Here's a good thread you may want to read:

 

 

 

 

[P13]

5 hours ago, Gepard said:

Comms can get really expensive. What are you looking for in this setup? Is it just a "I want to talk to a buddy" or "I want to be able to hear a mouse fart from 20 yards away" type of deal? There's a bunch of designs with an array of features to choose from. 

 

Motorola make decent two way radios and you won't need a licence to use them. Something like this would be great for a few guys and if you split the cost it would help. You can set it up with a PTT or headset and they're perfect for woodland environments as they're completely weatherproof. Of course if it's just two of you then you could get a twin pack at half the price. 

 

Here's a good thread you may want to read:

 

 

 

 

 

We use the Motorola’s linked and there great outdoors. Hoping they perform just as good in the mall Sunday

[Prisce]

I use boafang GT3 Mk2(I think). When they work they are awesome, but I have had trouble setting them up to "talk" to other radios, I think this is more me being thick and not knowing how to set them up.

 

Got a pair with Mains and car chargers, PTT headset, USB port connecter and docking stations on Amazon for £53? If your clued up on how to set up the many many channels you'll be fine, if not it may be easier getting basic "set channel" radios.

[Lozart]

7 hours ago, P13 said:

 

We use the Motorola’s linked and there great outdoors. Hoping they perform just as good in the mall Sunday

 

The Mall isn't great for 446 radios. The structure causes too much interference if you're more than a short distance away.

[matas17]

20 hours ago, Gepard said:

Comms can get really expensive. What are you looking for in this setup? Is it just a "I want to talk to a buddy" or "I want to be able to hear a mouse fart from 20 yards away" type of deal? There's a bunch of designs with an array of features to choose from. 

 

Motorola make decent two way radios and you won't need a licence to use them. Something like this would be great for a few guys and if you split the cost it would help. You can set it up with a PTT or headset and they're perfect for woodland environments as they're completely weatherproof. Of course if it's just two of you then you could get a twin pack at half the price. 

 

Here's a good thread you may want to read:

well its not like i want to hear everything but that would help also. But mostly needs headset to talk to squad mates and rest of the team.

 

 

 

 

[jcheeseright]

Baofeng UV5R with a decent 'bouncer' style earpiece is your best bet with that budget.

 

Trying to get something that looks 'tactical' will be a disappointment unless you're willing to drop some serious dollar.

[Gepard]

8 hours ago, jcheeseright said:

Baofeng UV5R with a decent 'bouncer' style earpiece is your best bet with that budget.

 

Trying to get something that looks 'tactical' will be a disappointment unless you're willing to drop some serious dollar.

 

Wouldn't using this be illegal as they're too powerful for the frequencies he'd be using without a licence? 

[Tommikka]

PMR446 radios are fully legal and are limited to their frequencies and power.  They are perfectly suitable for most use

 

Baofengs etc are popular but are not PMR446. They can use the same frequencies but are overpowered and would be illegal to use on those frequencies

They should be used on licenced frequencies to be legal - which means buying a licence and being allocated frequencies 

[matas17]

Well for me budget is not an issue, was looking on spending around £100-150 for whole setup if possible

[djben9]

On 29/11/2017 at 10:36 PM, jcheeseright said:

Baofeng UV5R with a decent 'bouncer' style earpiece is your best bet with that budget.

 

Trying to get something that looks 'tactical' will be a disappointment unless you're willing to drop some serious dollar.

That’s what I use as swap headgear a lot

looking for a new earpiece for one of them now as I caught cable in the car but with the license for 5 years they are great and easy to use in urban assault games 

 

[djben9]

1 hour ago, matas17 said:

Well for me budget is not an issue, was looking on spending around £100-150 for whole setup if possible

Have a look at what you want and accessories as well 

the license is £75 for 5 years, 15 frequencies of which you’ll only use 10 as the other 5 are useless from memory.... is have to check my paperwork 

 

it takes around 10mins to get the codes online 

 

[matas17]

On 02/12/2017 at 8:21 PM, djben9 said:

Have a look at what you want and accessories as well 

the license is £75 for 5 years, 15 frequencies of which you’ll only use 10 as the other 5 are useless from memory.... is have to check my paperwork 

 

it takes around 10mins to get the codes online 

 

so Baofeng UV5R for radio and what about headset what would you recommend? 

[djben9]

sorry, cant help you there as i still use the ear piece it comes with due to the face pro i wear. TBH, that's fine for me as i can hear all i need

Looking for another low profile one as well but not quite decided, might stick with another in ear so less hassle when changing headwear

 

[P13]

On 29/11/2017 at 2:10 PM, Lozart said:

 

The Mall isn't great for 446 radios. The structure causes too much interference if you're more than a short distance away.

 

Radios worked absolutely fine, quite shocked how good they were

[FlashAsh1]

As pointed Baofeng radios are overpowered 

But strangely enough seem to be the most popular in airsoft

Yes you can tune them in to PMR frequencies but they are overpowered it doesn't seem to stop anyone 

The only people that it winds up are the radio hams and then they bring up power frequencies 

I've been to quite a few sites where the Baofeng 888s is the site radio 

Why I really don't know whyv

Baofeng UV5R is the basic building block of Baofeng most of their models are built around it 

Baofeng have a Kenwood radio connection 

Check out Aliexpress for radios and PTT and headsets 

Most of the stuff is made in China 

 

[djben9]

1 hour ago, FlashAsh1 said:

As pointed Baofeng radios are overpowered 

But strangely enough seem to be the most popular in airsoft

Yes you can tune them in to PMR frequencies but they are overpowered it doesn't seem to stop anyone 

The only people that it winds up are the radio hams and then they bring up power frequencies 

I've been to quite a few sites where the Baofeng 888s is the site radio 

Why I really don't know whyv

Baofeng UV5R is the basic building block of Baofeng most of their models are built around it 

Baofeng have a Kenwood radio connection 

Check out Aliexpress for radios and PTT and headsets 

Most of the stuff is made in China 

 

 

and illegal as i understand it, so i went the license route, £75 for 5 yrs is nothing really and your covered on the off off off off off chance someone finds you!

 

plus some sites, like Gunman, allow you to use site frequencies 

[FlashAsh1]

True illegal to transmit but not illegal to monitor. You can of course apply for the licence like yourself.

Having been around Airsoft a few years now I have not heard of anyone being summons for illegal use of the radio.

i would be interested to know how. 

I would imagine it nearly impossible to enforce.

The police won't enforce it they are too busy elsewhere.

Then there is they are not used very often and the signal keeps changing position so would be hard to track 

and it would be very difficult for someone to walk on the field and ask each player can I look at your radio.

I think their answer what radio or simply the word no get a warrent

Then there is the case of transmitting on PMR frequencies the frequencies are legal but the power output from a Baofeng is about 4 watt and PMR 0.5 watt

That makes the Baofeng overpowered and would be illegal to operate on the PMR frequencies as you would transmitt on the legal frequencies too far 

They would have to impound your equipment and test it. Then you would get a slap on the wrist for using the correct frequencies but a too higher output.

if you are in the middle of nowhere where a lot of sites are you are not interfering with anyone I think they choose to ignor it as try to police would not be cost effective.

 

i will finish by saying again the Baofeng UV-5R is a very popular radio in Airsoft what you do with it and how you use it is up to you.

you do have the option of a licence shared between a team it's not that much 

Use it wrongly you could break the law and you will also upset the radio hams 

 

 

[warlord]

Not to condone the illegal use of PMR, but you are more likely to get the attention of OFCOM by not using PMR channels. In order for OFCOM to act they need to have received a complaint about the illegal use of a frequency. This complaint is more than likely to come from a legitimate licence operator, if you happen to be using their channels, than from someone who probably doesn't understand radio frequencies and has bought their PMR radio pair from Argos. The likelihood of a PMR user making a complaint is slim, and its enforcement even slimmer when the only offence is using a higher output, not the use of the channel.

[FlashAsh1]

I agree using a higher output on a PMR would be very hard to prove, and I really don't think they would make the effort to chase it 

From what I have seen the most used frequencies used on Baofeng are the ones that come pre installed on the Baofeng 888s As this is popular radio its cheap and can be easily used straight out of the box 

But unless you use a computer and a program such as CHIRP you cannot change the frequencies.

Most people won't go down that route, it requires too much effort .( But really not that hard ) 

its a tough one all around. As we all know they are being used and we can say oh no you shouldn't but people will go for the cheapest with good range and a PMR 0.5 watt from Argos, Maplin any PMR is not going to match a Baofeng illegal as it is 

 

I again state it is illegal to transmit on these radios without a licence 

 

[warlord]

Should have seen the look of terror on my brothers face when he unboxed his UV5R and saw all the buttons and settings  I'd pre-programmed (CHIRP cloned) it for him so he only needs to unlock and up and down channels.

[djben9]

Same here, I bought 2, got a license and downloaded chirp, wiped all ‘clean’, loaded the frequencies in and they communicate between each other as does a third now

 

other than what they are set up for as best I can, I’ve no real idea about the other settings that may or may not help 

[ImTriggerHappy]

I have got a UV-82 and a UV-5r and I used the pre-programmed mate option.

Don't know sod all about them and do not really want to that is what friends are for.

[Prisce]

21 minutes ago, ImTriggerHappy said:

I have got a UV-82 and a UV-5r and I used the pre-programmed mate option.

Don't know sod all about them and do not really want to that is what friends are for.

Yep, that explains my situation to a point. I have the GT3 MkII boafengs. I don’t know how they work, I work with mechanicals, not computers. So I got the 4x4 guys I volunteer for to set mine up on a pre purchased licensed channel.

 

Happy days as they say.

[FlashAsh1]

I've a UV-B5  UV-3R  UV-5R  they are really confusing. I learnt via YouTube and CHIRP made a master copy once I managed to program one just used the master copy to program the rest.

I am not computer minded, but with a little perseverance and YouTube.

It really does seem daunting when you see all the buttons and menues CHIRP does make it easier and helps to give you a better understanding.

I've used my master copy to program a few other people's radios and to re program mine when I've lost a channel from pressing the wrong button.

The UV-5R is a good learning point and very popular and they are cheap enough £13.49 on eBay at the moment from a UK Seller bargin.

 

 

What you do with them is up to you I do not condone the illegal use 

They are illegal if you transmit on PMR frequencies as they are over powered 

You need a licence to transmit on them 

You should not use the frequencies that come pre installed on the 888s