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Radio And Headset


ghostface320

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A Boafeng programmable radio is pretty cheap on Amazon. It comes with a headset you can use that's alright. My preference is Code Red headsets, though the cqb model is your entire budget. I found a Chinese clone of the cqb headset also on Amazon for under $20(at the time). Look through this sub forum, I posted about it awile back, I'm just too lazy to go retrieve the link at the moment.

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  • 3 months later...

Bear do you know of a good tutorial for programming the Boafengs? I purchased two and am able to talk between the two radios but can't seem to get them to get on the same frequency as anyone else even when it appears to match. I was about to throw my hands up and just buy some walkies but saw this post about programming and thought I'd take a shot. Any help would be appreciated. In fact, since we are both in Indy if you would like a free lunch for some of your knowledge I'll buy.

Edited by Papabees
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Since its a Chinese made product the factory settings do not match gmrs/frs frequencies we use here in the states. I used a couple of tutorials to program mine by hand, but I'm having trouble finding them. I'll look more in depth when I'm at home later.

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Since its a Chinese made product the factory settings do not match gmrs/frs frequencies we use here in the states. I used a couple of tutorials to program mine by hand, but I'm having trouble finding them. I'll look more in depth when I'm at home later.

Appreciate it.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Since its a Chinese made product the factory settings do not match gmrs/frs frequencies we use here in the states. I used a couple of tutorials to program mine by hand, but I'm having trouble finding them. I'll look more in depth when I'm at home later.

 

Cringe..... I really hope they have software or something that you can program them with! By hand would be annoying... ICOM has software out there, while older, that makes programming/cloning a breeze!

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There is a programming cable and software that you can get that works for the baofengs.  I honestly didn't find it that hard to program by hand once I read a few tutorials.  You have to go in and delete the old settings before you can program the new ones, which is the most annoying part.  I did it while watching a TV show, so it wasn't as tedious as it could be.  

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My personal experience, so your mileage may vary. A lot of the time my usage of a radio will depend on how big of a game it is, and how big the field is. A milsim with a few hundred people? Yes, it's very handy for at least one person in the squad to have a radio for getting missions. A small open play with 20 people? Probably not necessary. Don't worry about getting one right away. Once you have more experience under your belt with different games, you can better determine whether you need one.

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  • 2 weeks later...

OK. I have a cable and CHIRP and have figured out how to program so now my only question is this... which set of frequencies should I download. There are a few "generic" lists within the software that I can choose but what tends to be most common?

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I've been watching a lot of YouTube videos, trying to convince myself to grab a Baofeng...and I went ahead and pulled the trigger.

 

OK. I have a cable and CHIRP and have figured out how to program so now my only question is this... which set of frequencies should I download. There are a few "generic" lists within the software that I can choose but what tends to be most common?

 

A lot of these videos say to use:

https://www.repeaterbook.com/repeaters/index.php?state_id=none

https://www.radioreference.com

 

to program ALL of your local frequencies in case you need to contact one in case of emergency (can't exactly find the frequency if you're in trouble, so better to be prepared).

After that you'd just wait to program whatever people are using at the airsoft events.

 

Can't wait for mine to come in!

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Higher end Baofeng units, technically require a license to operate since they are duel band and can operate above a certain W (IIRC) but nobody checks on what radio you are using, just what channels, not that I'm advocating these awesome radios.

Airsofters stick to the available, unlicensed channels for the vast majority of radio use. Regular walkies can use those.

IE Baofeng set to 2w, wideband only, operating on MURS. The radio itself can be dodgy in certifications depending on which model, but as far as I'm aware, there's no radio signature that will give it away if it is one of those models. MURS still isn't the standard though.

 

FRS is especially safe as well. Here's some interesting information on duel band & unlicensed changes in 2017;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_Radio_Service#FRS/GMRS_hybrid_radios

 

On a post note, I think there's a basic license that can be obtained as well with minimal cost. (For GMRS?)

Radios are awesome if you can't seem to stay together from redeploy/respawn to respawn.

Edited by Sturm
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I've gotten feedback on Facebook that FRS/GMRS channels are the way to go. That's nice because it's a standard channel set that is already in CHIRP so it makes programming easy. 

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I've gotten feedback on Facebook that FRS/GMRS channels are the way to go. That's nice because it's a standard channel set that is already in CHIRP so it makes programming easy. 

This is definitely the route to take.

 

HRTurner could shed more light on this due to him setting mine and several of our radios in the past.  The were ICOM radios, and not Baofengs, but I know he can lend some input as well.

 

FRS and GMRS are definitely what you should set them to.

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Went to Mutual Combat this last weekend and everyone had an assortment of radios and walkie-talkies. 90% of the people had channel-only walkie-talkies, and the other 10% didn't share their frequencies...but the info-sharing portion of the event was less than 30 seconds...so there's that.

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The Baofengs have a channel mode, and you can program the frequencies to correspond to the right channels.  Those channel only ones are usually FRS frequencies.   Those who weren't sharing were likely still using GMRS and FRS frequencies, but with CTCSS sub frequencies programmed in.  You'd need to know both the send and receive tone to hear and talk with them. 

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