What is the best radio and headset?

[Stray]

Me and my team need new headsets and radios. We had cheap evike frog headsets and some Motorola Talkabout MJ270R radios. But people would be able to ping us if there channels were close enough. And they didn't have great reception. Is there anything we can do to have more a secure radio system? And some working headsets that would work for the
With out the hissing? We are also trying to build a radio pack like the Codan 2110M HF, ASIP, AN/PRC-150 HF. but working if possible. Any help would be great

[Jester316]

FRS/GMRS radios (Motorola Talkabout, Midland,...) usually are sufficient for airsoft. With the sub-channels and codes, you can usually find a channel no one else is on.

If your team is more serious, there are higher end "business class" UHF radios that you can program to work with the FRS/GMRS channels. These radios are higher power, and usually can be programed via frequency, instead of generic channel numbers. ICOM has become a very popular brand for airsoft radios (started by my team). Midland, Motorola, Icom, Kenwood, and many other radio manufacturers have radios that operate like described above.

[pseudoanimosity]

With radios you basically get what you pay for, don't get impressed by radios that advertise a 36 mile range because you will be lucky to get 4 in the woods. Some radios like midlands feature security channels, which basically make it impossible for others to get on your same channel without knowing it's exact digits. Also, Amazon has some good deals on radios that come with the super secret security headsets that I've found to be pretty decent in the field, just don't expect them to be waterproof.

[Jester316]

Advertised range = advertising hype to get people to buy.

Factors that affect actual range:
-Line of Site distance
-Output wattage

[dom186]

As for headsets, you can buy replica sordins and peltors that are decent quality for a decent price. I've read that they do have some white noise in the background though. The good thing about this choice is you wont have an impedence issue with the mics.

You can also buy the real frogman headsets for about the same price. Or you can buy real sordins or peltors off of eBay, which will basically cause you to buy Icoms or a replica MBITR, which is expensive, and a PTT that is compatable with your headset, which is another 100 atleast, unless you use eBay and snag a really good deal, like most people who have them here do. Check out surplus stores, eBay, and other airsoft websites, and you can find some good deals.

I was reading a forum where a guy bought some real peltors and a replica peltor high impedence mic, but he never posted if it actually solved the impedence issue. It was a good idea though.

[Jewish Ninja]

I've heard nothing but problems with the clone Peltor and Sordin headsets. I'd avoid them like the herpes death.

[Stray]

how much are we talking for ICOM gear? and if i did ICOM could i get a RT-1523 or clone or something for my CCT loadout?

[DJ]

Take a look at the Tri Square brand ( Bi mart has em) you can get superior comms without breaking the bank. They are much harder to monitor / jam than the Motorola FRS. The biggest issue with all of the radios has been battery life. A quick trip to Radio shack will cure this. The batteries that come with the radios are 600 Mah, and last 2-4 hrs depending. The rechargeable RS or whatever brand are 2400 Mah and are good for the whole day. You can spend a butt ton of cash for radios and gear. I guess it depends on how much you want to spend. I am used to a Motorolla HT 1000 with a range of 100 miles give or take ( repeater system) so I get frustrated with most general use radios. These radios and the system are not easily afforded by the average Joe. Determine what you want to spend and go from there. For airsoft, I have been reasonably happy the the Tri squares. I had one of the frogman headsets and it killed my ears ( painful to wear. I bought one of the Bowman sets with the open type ear cups and was pretty happy with it. It allowed more ambient noise to be heard. I am currently using a rocket science collar mike with a plug in earphone (plugs into the mike head). I like it. In my opinion the headsets get in the way too much.

[Cyph34r]

I would advise avoiding the TriSquare radios, since the only people who use them are CAG, and you would have to get a GMRS/FRS anyway to communicate with anyone else. They only get very slightly better range than the Midlands or Motorolas. I've used all of the above: Midlands, Motorlas, ICOMs and the TriSquare radios, and would go for the midland for inexpensive, or the ICOM for a ncie radio. I dont have much to say on headsets though.

[Cap n pickles]

Also, the tri square crap out if you are not perfectly gentle.

I have killed 3 simply by running around, crawling, etc.

[DJ]

Also, the tri square crap out if you are not perfectly gentle.

I have killed 3 simply by running around, crawling, etc.

Pickles, knowing you, the etc part would beat the crap out of most anything!

[Cap n pickles]

Also, the tri square crap out if you are not perfectly gentle.

I have killed 3 simply by running around, crawling, etc.

Pickles, knowing you, the etc part would beat the crap out of most anything!

[Jester316]

Things to look for in a radio:

-Wattage: The more the Watts transmitted the stronger the signal and more distance it will cover. Legally, you are restricedt to transmitting .5W on the FRS band channels. However, the FCC has no way of enforcing this.

-Number of channels: With the majority of airsofters running on the FRS/GMRS channels, than this isn't as big of an issue. Keep in mind though that FRS/GMRS is in the UHF band (450-470MHZ), so VHF (100's MHZ) and Tri-Square (900MHZ) won't work with others.

-Ease of Programming: Motorola Talkabout, Midland GXT (or GTX?), and all the other plastic packaging radios use funny numbers to differentiate the channels (1-22 usually). These numbers mean absolutely nothing as far as what channel you are really using. Channels are like this: XXX.XXXXXX (X=a number 0-9). If you go with higher end radios (ICOM type) you'll need to know the XXX.XXXXXXX channel that coresponds to the 1-22 channel that most everyone else will be talking on. Some radios allow the uiser to program th channels in using the radio itself, but others require you to use a computer program to set the channels.

-Accessories: Cheaper radios will use cheaper accessories. This isn't to say they don't work well, but usually with radios, you shouldn't skimp.

[WorldO]

Ease of Programming: Motorola Talkabout, Midland GXT (or GTX?), and all the other plastic packaging radios use funny numbers to differentiate the channels (1-22 usually). These numbers mean absolutely nothing as far as what channel you are really using. Channels are like this: XXX.XXXXXX (X=a number 0-9). If you go with higher end radios (ICOM type) you'll need to know the XXX.XXXXXXX channel that coresponds to the 1-22 channel that most everyone else will be talking on. Some radios allow the uiser to program th channels in using the radio itself, but others require you to use a computer program to set the channels....! ( Can you explain it please )