[pbamike]

We have a problem with our radio communication for our field staff.

We went with the regular bubblewrapped yellow FRS that you can buy at any big store. Those things while they may be good for a walk in the park are just not fitted for usage in a paintball field.

We have to change the built-in batteries (NiCd battery pack I think) quite too often. They don't play well with water (we have problem when it rains) and they don't survive a paintball shot in the microphone/speaker (our refs tends to get shot A LOT)

We have quite a large area to cover but it's mostly wooded area. There are no hills/building and you'd have line of sight if there were no trees.

The radios have to be portable, SOLID and we'd like the battery pack to last more than a month (I don't mean going a month between recharges, but I want the pack to be able to hold more than 5 minutes of charge after a few months). We also need a way to attach a microphone/earpiece on them.

We would also like some privacy (back when using FRS, our players would snoop on our frequencies, but that's not a dealbreaker.

So what are you guys using for your communication needs ? Anyone using CBs ? While we pretty much ruled that FRS is no good for us, GMRS is still interesting but all of the GMRS radios I've seen are of too poor quality.

Thanks !

[Splatterpark]

We use http://klutchradio.com/

Our season is 39 straight weeks......no problems with these.

PM me your phone number and I can have someone call you that is more educated on these radios.

[fredericpaintball]

Kenwoods tk-2207 work great and you control who is on the band. Run about 70 a piece, that's the bad part

[lefty007]

I've heard good things about Uniden's radios. Anybody familiar with these?

[dorsai]

I'd strongly suggest that you consider looking into
commercial radios, as opposed to the shorter range,
lower powered models noted so far. We've learned
from years of experience that radios such as those
made by ICOM are best suited to secure, long range
communications. Prices vary as do the features, but
when you need to reach someone, they deliver.

If you'd like to learn more, drop me a note and I'll put
you in touch with our communications specialist. He
can give you lots more information, as well as point
you to where to find these at a good price.

Sincerely,

[tsp8ntball]

Seems like cell phones are the way to go these days.

[Misha"mole"yelich]

Originally Posted by tsp8ntball

Seems like cell phones are the way to go these days.

The day i let ref's carry cell phones on the field i will have completely lost my mind. Can you say liability nightmare? I can.

[CrusaderPB]

It seems that Walkie's are either really cheap, or super expensive. Where is the middle option?!?

[thomsonsean]

Just spend the money and get commercial units. I have Motorola and they work great, good battery life and tough as nails.

[dorsai]

I'm afraid I have to agree with Sean, there really
isn't any middle ground, especailly if you're going
to some of the bigger evens, where the size of the
field, terrain, or numbers of participants rules out
the use of cheaper gear. I speak as somone who
first used a 3 channel, 100 MW CB, a 5W CB with
all the channels and sideband, a FRMS type and
now Icoms.


Sincerely,

[Smakman]

The newer MURS radios are pretty decent. The problem is that soon those frequencies will become cluttered as well. We use marine bands. Technically I don't think we are supposed to, but we are in a location that we aren't going to interfere with others and they work very well at a good distance through the woods.

[dorsai]

I'm no radio geek, but I have heard that the FCC
is tightening the width of channels, in order to
squeeze more in. That's already having a huge
impact on local and state emergency users, as
their older gear will soon be classified as illegal.

Use of the Marine bands is also illegal, but as
you've noted, who is going to complain when
you're miles from the closed navigable lake.

Sincerely,