Ok, let's talk radios! I need some community input.

[Nox]

Ok, rather than stretching my previous thread out to confusing levels, I've decided to ask questions in this thread.

Now, I was thinking on getting a UHF band radio, but with FCC limitations etc, I dont think everyone on my team wants to buy a liscense to operate strictly for airsoft.
SO!

What sort of radio do you reccomend for airsoft?
Let me put this out right now - I dont want to stick with the standard radios that you see in the stores, I want something with 'a little bit more'.

- I want a setup where I wont come across the hotmiking retards that are often seen in big OP's; which is why I was previously asking about UHF. If I can block them out or squelch them, that's what I want to do.

- I would like to have the versatility of a broad range of channels, with programming capabilities for my team; privacy channels or encoded channels are fine with me.

- I would love to have the ability to communicate between my team and the standard radios like midlands and motorolas on the field, even if it involves switching bands.

- I dont mind paying up to 75+ dollars for a radio - I want quality, not quantity.

I've been looking at ebay, the line of HK radios they have there in the VHF band is quite nice and while I would prefer something like a motorola or midland( these are tried and true for quality and stability) I wouldnt mind buying something like a yaesu or other HK brand if it gets the job done.

Do any of you use a radio setup like this?
If so, what brand/model do you use?
Is it 'secure' in that you dont have traffic overflow from other people?
Do you have any suggestions for an alternate radio than those below?

Some radio's I've been looking at are:

TYT

Wouxun

or a dual band:
Quansheng

Thanks for any input everyone.

[Paladin101]

If I were you I would try to pick up some old Motorola Saber R's or "Ruggedized". These were the mid 90s to 2004-ish intrasquad radios that the military used. They have been filtering out to the public through DRMO. Only problem is you need the software with connection cable to program them. Also if you want to use a headset or something you have to have a specialized hookup. However these are capable of frequency hopping encryption.

Oh, one thing. Make sure you get the Military versions. If it has colorful buttons on the front this is bad. You might consider the XTS3000R as well, which is the upgraded model of the Saber. There is one on ebay for $150.

[Pacman]

If your trying to get a dual bander it will work but be aware you do need a license to operate. The bands us hams can use are becoming crowded with legitimately licensed operators and anyone who is trying to use without a call sign will incur the wrath of local hams and the FCC as we put some work into getting our radio licenses. A good chunk of frequency have repeaters and a lot of the others are used for packet data and the like so the use would throw up flags immediately.
I would try to find a set of Motorola radius or the like and have them programmed to channels in the business band that way you would be able to get a license that doesn't require testing only licensing fees. Plus those of us in the community who are amateur radio operators won't get po'd someone's trampling on our frequency allocations.
Otherwise carry a trisquare and a FRS and call it a day as comm issues happen in the real world and even though a particular team might have good discipline odds are no one else will.

[Nox]

So if I were to get the VHF version, would this cure the problem?
I found a Wouxun rig that runs in the 136~174 mhz range - would I need anything special for that?
Sorry, I am woefully ignorant on radio specs and special requirements, my previous experience has been all motorola in-store bought stuff so this is kinda new.

[Nox]

So are the regular everyday radios that you can buy in stores FRS?
What constitutes FRS compared to GRMS?
Should I call the IRS?
This thread is giving me PMS....

All I need answered I suppose it this - do I need anything special for VHF radio freq's?
If not, I'm going to move forward and get a VHF.

[Sleepy]

FRS is a open radio service called the Family Radio Service. Depending on the cost of your radios, you can use different subsets (Say, Channel 1 Sub 5) which can help with the hotmicing little fucks.

GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service) is a sort of expansion to the FRS system, slightly higher power and broadcast range, that *technically* requires a license to operate on, but I have no idea where you would get one, if anyone has every asked anyone to produce their license, or if anyone has ever been punished for using it without a license.

Many FRS radios have integrated GMRS capabilities, and they usually are a bit more expensive, but not overly so. You can find them in pretty much any store that sells FRS radios, and it'll say right on the label if its got GMRS.

I'm pretty sure to operate in many VHF freqs, you have to have a license, since pretty much the only radios on those bands are amateur radio users.

You could, if you wanted to deal with it, do a 2-radio setup. Have a FRS/GMRS radio with a handset to communicate with other units, and something like an Icom commercial radio for inter-team communication, on a headset.

You might also consider handheld CB units, since they have such a relatively short range (but longer than the commercial sets), operate on different frequencies, and simpler ones are pretty cheap. You don't need a license, and they're cheap enough that your team can chip in for them, and have someone relegated to a "radioman" job.

[Paladin101]

Has anyone ever heard of the FCC prosecuting an airsofter for using a frequency over a hand held radio without a license?

[EricK]

So if I were to get the VHF version, would this cure the problem?
I found a Wouxun rig that runs in the 136~174 mhz range - would I need anything special for that?

From what I understand (and I could be wrong) the FRS/GMRS frequency range is 462MHz ~ 467MHz which means if you're running at VHF unit in the 126 ~ 174 MHz range, you won't pick up a thing in the FRS/GMRS/UHF frequency range.


I currently run with UHF Motorola GP350's (love them). I'm hoping to switch to 16 channel CP200's and get a private (business range) UHF channel and have the other 15 channels programmed to the GMRS set (or the first 15 of the GMRS channels).


Hope this helps,

EricK

[Jester316]

VHF=2m=30-300mhz
UHF=70cm=300mhz-3Ghz


FRS Radio Channels
1 462.5625 Shared with GMRS.
2 462.5875 Shared with GMRS.
3 462.6125 Shared with GMRS.
4 462.6375 Shared with GMRS.
5 462.6625 Shared with GMRS.
6 462.6875 Shared with GMRS.
7 462.7125 Shared with GMRS.
8 467.5625 FRS use only
9 467.5875 FRS use only
10 467.6125 FRS use only
11 467.6375 FRS use only
12 467.6625 FRS use only
13 467.6875 FRS use only
14 467.7125 FRS use only


What PSC has done, is taken our Icom F21's and programed channels 1-14 on the above frequencies, than set aside 2 more channels that are only accessable to those who know what frequency it is, and can access it. This means that our non-field programable radios can talk with every one on the field if they have an FRS radio, and we can switch to our own if we decide to not let everyone else know what's going on. This work's great for us, but it is pretty expensive to switch a whole team over to these types of radios.

[Nox]

What PSC has done, is taken our Icom F21's and programed channels 1-14 on the above frequencies, than set aside 2 more channels that are only accessable to those who know what frequency it is, and can access it. This means that our non-field programable radios can talk with every one on the field if they have an FRS radio, and we can switch to our own if we decide to not let everyone else know what's going on. This work's great for us, but it is pretty expensive to switch a whole team over to these types of radios.

This is EXACTLY what I am looking to do!
I just need to know of a no hassle band to do it on. I dont want somebody jumping my a$$ for being 'on their frequency' etc, and I want to communicate with others with motorolas as well as our own 'private' channel.
I've pretty much decided on getting a Wouxun KG-699 in UHF to test out and see how it works. It's programmable via manual AND computer, has some nifty goodies to it like real time clock and stopwatch features and a bunch of other bells n whistles. And for 80 bucks a pop ya cant go wrong.
So far most of my other team members are waiting for the go ahead on these and they will drop the cash for them as soon as I have this one tested out. And an added bonus is there are dual pickup throat mics for these with the large PTT buttons and extra ear pickup jacks for 31 bucks a piece on ebay

[Ash]

PSC is running ICOMs operating in the FRS frequency ranges, so we can cover the general FRS channels, and also have some private channels so we avoid hot-micking.

I'd take a look at ICOMs running in the 440-470 mHz range, you can find them on Ebay for ok prices.

SOTA followed PSC and run the same radios. ICOM F21's are great, kind of hard to find since they are out of production.

[Jester316]

Nox, there are a plethroa of channels out there. Get your radio, travel to the fields find a channel that isn't in use (on multiple occasions), and use that for squad comms. I'm not sure how we got the 2 channels, but I've never heard a person on them except us.

[DJ]

My squad used the Motorola's for quite some time with mixed results. We switched to the tri square radios , and I was not expecting much improvement. I was actually pleasantly surprised with the improved performance of this brand. ( Bi mart, on line etc....). Tons of channels and other cool features. Check em out. Not a lot of money and improved performance .........I was impressed, I am used to 5 watt HT1000's with a 50 mile range ( repeater) so I demand good coms. These Tri's are good for what they are used for.

[X]

You want the TriSquare 300 then . UHF, no license needed . 10 Billion channel's , Text Messaging , Call waiting . Your not going to Ever have that Hot miking fool on your channel . You can pick them up for 70 bucks from Wal-Mart . com have them sent to the loal store for free shipping . When you sneak up on you opponent with these , they never know you were coming . Un like with the other radios where they just scan for your channel and listen .

[Nec]

If you want to spend a good amount on radios, go with Icom. I use a Icom radio from the early 2000s at work and the damn thing looks like it's been through hell and back, but it works fine!