Comm question, yet again.

Southern Dandy

Well myself and the brother are interested in getting some comms. I have looked at a few brands and narrowed it down to motorola and midland not that there are hundreds more to pick from.

Anyways the midland G7 looks fairly good, and to be fair there is more motorola comms than you could shake a stick at so I don't know where to begin.

I'm not looking for a cheapo comm that will "do the job", I'm looking for something that will last, good sound quality, decent range 8-12km range (overkill but still), ideally waterproof. I also need a jack connection that will take a headset which I think might be the Z-tactical comtac IV replica. Price range is 100 for a set of two.

So does anyone have any experience with midland or a decent motorola?

Sorry again for another comm question .

sliabh

Southern Dandy wrote: »

decent range 8-12km range (overkill but still),

Regardless of the other specs I can tell you now that you will not get that sort of range from unlicensed radios (which is what PMR ones are). Good equipment in ideal conditions (fine weather, line of sight, no obstacles) will at best give you 6km. In practice you will never have ideal conditions. Rain, trees, numpties using cheap Chinese sets on adjacent frequencies with frequency bleed, means you will be lucky to get 1 km a lot of the time, and sometimes less.

Southern Dandy

Cheers for the info, I literally know eff all about comms. Anything else I should weary of?.

T4RGET

we use Binatone Action 950's in the team. Can't remember the price of them but i think they're now replaced by Action 1000. Anyways the range on the things are amazing, tested at roughly 6-7km range on straight areas with little/no obstructions. Never had a problem hearing someone on the other end at a standard airsoft field. Really clear up to about 4km then you lose quality at about 6km. Still they're pretty decent. Now we haven't gotten around to getting a headset for them and binatones are generally a pain to get a decent headset for but just another option.
They're advertised to be 10km but realistically that's not going to happen with these radios. They're waterproof too, and i mean Irish rain waterproof

Lemming

FYI: the legal power output of PMR446 radios is 0.5w, so you'll be doing well to get 1km on a site from them; 5km at most if you're on top of a hill in ideal conditions with direct line of site to wherever it is you're trying to contact.

T4RGET

Lemming wrote: »

FYI: the legal power output of PMR446 radios is 0.5w, so you'll be doing well to get 1km on a site from them; 5km at most if you're on top of a hill in ideal conditions with direct line of site to wherever it is you're trying to contact.

so explain then why we're getting far more than 1km?

Lemming

T4RGET wrote: »

so explain then why we're getting far more than 1km?

did you even read the quote you made? read it again. I gave two figures...

T4RGET

Lemming wrote: »

did you even read the quote you made? read it again. I gave two figures...

yeah i know I read that but I'm just wondering why we're getting more than that even at flat ground with a good bit of obstructions in the way? Doesn't bother me either way, it's good but just curious. The 5km was from a hill but I have used them in worse conditions reaching 5km.

Mando Commando

Personally went through a number of low end radio sets, Lidl ones, Binatone 950s, random China ones and wasn't happy with any of them. Got a refurb Motorola XTNiD off ebay about two years ago and I'm still happy with it. Great little radio.

Lemming

T4RGET wrote: »

yeah i know I read that but I'm just wondering why we're getting more than that even at flat ground with a good bit of obstructions in the way? Doesn't bother me either way, it's good but just curious. The 5km was from a hill but I have used them in worse conditions reaching 5km.

There are a lot of variables, but the rough rule of thumb with a PMR unit is approximately 5km on a good day/surroundings/conditions/etc. If you're using units that can extend beyond PMR 446 in both frequency & power output, well then ... no further comments necessary.

To make a point, ask anybody who has attended events at Sennybridge how well PMR comms tend to hold up. And that's over a site that isn't particularly large. Copehill? Berget? Pffffft.

Southern Dandy

So what comms would you recommend lemming that is of course if you use them?.

OzCam

Anything above PMR requires a license. Just use it as a Personal Role Radio (i.e. at squad level) and you'll be fine. The main limiting factor is the power output, and that's fixed.

Lots of folks swear by the Motorola XTN series, and there are plenty of radio topics here on the forum already. Just search the Airsoft forum for Motorola, that'll get you started. I have an iCom, which was expensive but it's a great little radio.

For airsoft, don't get a radio that requires you to connect it to a PC to set its options, one that you can't turn VOX off by default (it's a F£$%&* pain in the arse for everyone else on the same channel), or one that requires a million button presses to change the channel.

Don't order radios online from the US. You'll end up with something that's unlicensed in Europe and won't talk to anything else 'cos the frequencies are different.

One word of warning: if ordering headsets or PTT units online, check that it's the exact type you need and will actually work with the radio you have. Many, many people have been caught out with incompatible headsets. Then check again before you click the Order button

Lemming

Southern Dandy wrote: »

So what comms would you recommend lemming that is of course if you use them?.

I may have sounded negative towards comms in my last post Southern Dandy; far from it. I use comms and would recommend everyone use them; one person communicating effectively can do more to change a game than ten players milling around spraying everything but achieving nothing.

But that being said; expect PMR comms to fail. Expect idiots broadcasting on VOX jamming the channel & draining your batteries. Expect atmospherics. Expect crap soggy Welsh weather. Expect buildings that behave like black-holes for your radio signals. And so on so forth.

I use an IASUS-Concepts UHF 5w beastie (configured to PMR446) which I bought from Canada before I became wise(r) to all things radio-related, although I would recommend getting a Motorola XTN as the path of least resistance whilst providing decent bang for buck and not getting tangled by radio license issues.

Southern Dandy

OzCam wrote: »

Anything above PMR requires a license. Just use it as a Personal Role Radio (i.e. at squad level) and you'll be fine. The main limiting factor is the power output, and that's fixed.

Lots of folks swear by the Motorola XTN series, and there are plenty of radio topics here on the forum already. Just search the Airsoft forum for Motorola, that'll get you started. I have an iCom, which was expensive but it's a great little radio.

For airsoft, don't get a radio that requires you to connect it to a PC to set its options, one that you can't turn VOX off by default (it's a F£$%&* pain in the arse for everyone else on the same channel), or one that requires a million button presses to change the channel.

Don't order radios online from the US. You'll end up with something that's unlicensed in Europe and won't talk to anything else 'cos the frequencies are different.

One word of warning: if ordering headsets or PTT units online, check that it's the exact type you need and will actually work with the radio you have. Many, many people have been caught out with incompatible headsets. Then check again before you click the Order button

Lemming wrote: »

I may have sounded negative towards comms in my last post Southern Dandy; far from it. I use comms and would recommend everyone use them; one person communicating effectively can do more to change a game than ten players milling around spraying everything but achieving nothing.

But that being said; expect PMR comms to fail. Expect idiots broadcasting on VOX jamming the channel & draining your batteries. Expect atmospherics. Expect crap soggy Welsh weather. Expect buildings that behave like black-holes for your radio signals. And so on so forth.

I use an IASUS-Concepts UHF 5w beastie (configured to PMR446) which I bought from Canada before I became wise(r) to all things radio-related, although I would recommend getting a Motorola XTN as the path of least resistance whilst providing decent bang for buck and not getting tangled by radio license issues.

Cheers lads, the XTN's seem fairly expensive from what I can see, but I'll have a proper nosey tomorrow after work. Like Ozcam said they are a game changer, I never even considered the idea of comms until a game recently, and jesus did they come in handy as two members of our team had them.

And it is yet another excuse to buy more gear...herself will not be happy .

Southern Dandy

Right, I have narrowed my search to this:

http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/5488188/art/midland/g7-walkie-talkie.html

and this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/8Km-Motorola-XTR446-Walkie-Talkie-Two-Way-PMR-Radio-/260833859393?pt=UK_ConsumerElectronics_SpecialistRadioEquipment_SM&hash=item3cbae8d741


The XTN I'm afraid while it sounds great is just too pricey, especially new.

So has anyone any experience with these?.

*DOBBY*

Here is what you might want, They are refurb motorola XTNiD. Highly reccomend this place, and have done for the last 5 years. I bought one off them and it's still going strong.
http://www.protea-electronics.com/motorola-xtnid-refurbished-license-free-446-walkie-talkie-183-p.asp

Southern Dandy

Out of stock and again expensive. £70 for a single unit refurbed, Thanks though might be an option some day.