DavidHart Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 Can anyone recommend a decent, reliable pair of radios with headsets so I can stay in touch with my No 2?Many thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 PMR446, business radio, or toys? You can buy cheap and cheerful, and they're generally fine, but every Tom Dick and Harry may well join in your conversations. These can be picked up in offers for fifty or sixty quid a pair. Or, you can opt for kit you can license, and share channels with a much more select and less troublesome bunch of people who use the common business radio channels, which with tone squelch and less users in most locations means it's reliable. Motorolas, Icoms and Yaesus are expensive, Chinese kit from ebay is cheap, works well, and as long as you don't drop them or need spares they're good value. All can take headsets - although they're a bit of a pain because vox is not a great system, and PTT means one hand is needed. A couple of cheap chinese transceivers will set you back around £100. Expect to pay £200 a piece for a second hand Motorola or other top brands. There are pitfalls and bargains, but you need to be up to speed on systems to work out what is a bargain and what is rubbish. As in buying something really cheap, but not having software to programme them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete10uk Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 This Kit from mitex CPC Link is really well made and I've used it for about 2 -3 years for many events both indoors and outdoors. I got the version which you need a licence for but I think it was about £100 for 3 years. Really well made and stands up to been dropped hard, the range of 7k is not event close, I recon a couple of K outdoors in open fields is all I get, and down to a few hundred meters indoors however having said that the only time I have had distance issues is when Ive been testing the distance not actually using them in a normal situation. you have quite a few channels and if you pick up some interference from other users you can just move to another one. I've never had to move more than 2 times in any one location. Overall excellent build quality like a Motorola but on a budget. I would recommend 100% Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 I can recommend the Motorola XTNi or XTNiD - built to the usual Motorola quality level, can be found at a really good price if you search online, and the range is excellent considering they're operating within the PMR446 contraints. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedd Posted November 30, 2013 Share Posted November 30, 2013 If you're budget conscious then the kit from HYT / Hytera is fantastic. We own maybe a hundred HYT sets now (out of a fleet of nearly 500 Kenwood/Motorola/Tait) and they're the least regular ones returned for repairs. Even the airport firemen can't break them, and trust me, if anybody can, it's a fireman! They also have licensed and PMR 446 versions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J Pearce Posted November 30, 2013 Share Posted November 30, 2013 We're using Vitai 8800s from Crystal Radio Systems. They do the job, not as good audio or build quality as a proper motorola setup, but a significant step up from the consumer argos type kit, and interface with the standard twin jack mic/earpieces. Across the site we have nearly 20 on 4 different channels, and they just get on with it with decent coverage across a steel framed building. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryNattrass Posted November 30, 2013 Share Posted November 30, 2013 I use the Baofeng UV-5R radios from e-bay and have found them to be very good and reliable for general use, a private business radio licence will give you UHF and VHF channels as well as the licence free PMR 446 ones, they also have an FM radio receiver for those long jobs where not much happens so you can listen to radio 2. Headsets are std kenwood type but chinese ones work out a lot cheaper for light use but I find these more flexible as they can be used stand alone as speaker mic's or you can plug in your fave set of cans with a 3.5mm jack for headphone use: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pro-Speaker-Mic-For-Kenwood-Wouxun-KG-UVD1-KG-UVD1P-/111065957144?pt=UK_Mobile_Phones_Communication_Ham_Radio_Receivers_Transceivers&hash=item19dc0c0318 Dual radio's here: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-BAOFENG-UV5R-UHF-VHF-5W-128CH-FM-Walkie-Talkie-Two-Way-Radio-USB-Cable-UK-/271299117805?pt=UK_Mobile_Phones_Communication_Ham_Radio_Receivers_Transceivers&hash=item3f2ab002e Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjb304 Posted November 30, 2013 Share Posted November 30, 2013 and interface with the standard twin jack mic/earpieces. There are actually 3/4 'standards' for twin jack mic/earpieces. To the naked eye they look the same in isolation, but if you put the different connectors next to each other the different pin spacing becomes noticeable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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