Radios and You

[Danke]

Originally Posted by DrDoUm

Does any of you guys use "private" channels for your team? If so, how do you achieve it?

I was thinking of using MURS frequencies then saw barberouge's post, so I figured it was a bad idea.

Then I thought of using "in between" frequencies in the GMRS range. But I'm afraid of "bleeding" on other frequencies.

Any other thoughts?

EDIT: the purpose would be to have a team dedicated channel when we attend 200+ players events.

You would do better to ask the organizer to assign a channel.

Otherwise there's no real way to guarantee another team won't hop on the same one.

And just like "call your hits" the game will have rules about jamming the other freqs or spying on the chatter.

[DrDoUm]

Originally Posted by Danke

You would do better to ask the organizer to assign a channel.

Otherwise there's no real way to guarantee another team won't hop on the same one.

And just like "call your hits" the game will have rules about jamming the other freqs or spying on the chatter.

This is indeed the current way of doing things. However, we're starting to see 400+ players games with up to 26 squads on each sides. Once you start dividing the GMRS channels in between squads you can end up with 30-40 people on the same channel. That's why I'm looking for a solution for our team in those specific situations, based on the fact that in our team we're all using HAM radios. At some point the game organizor can't do much more than what's available on the GMRS frequencies.

[Danke]

Wow the signups have doubled in a few short minutes.

How about using a phone?

[DrDoUm]

Originally Posted by Danke

Wow the signups have doubled in a few short minutes.

How about using a phone?

I like your sense of humor.

All right, I admit 200+ players events happens a few times a year and 400+ events only once a year (currently). While in one case the radio logistics is still manageable, in the worst case its starting to get messy. In any case, lets assume that I just want to get fancy, is there technicaly a way of doing it or not?

[Danke]

I'd just say come up with a SOP inside the team to hop freqs up or down if needed and a solid voice protocol so even if there's chatter or interference you still understand each other.

If you already have that down then maybe you can hop so some other disused bandwidth but I hear that can get you in hot water.

[Cobrajr122]

Private channels will be REALLY expensive, and likely shared between you and other businesses, unless you want to pay EVEN MORE. They are also likely restricted by regions so you would probably need some for every field, again solved by LOADS of money. This is why that option was removed from the OP.

To inquire more, contact your local Industry Canada Office, they will have all the answers.

To save money, only allow squad leaders on the comms. At massive squad based games like this, why do you need everybody on comms, when you are RIGHT BESIDE THEM.

Either that, or train everybody to use radios properly, with proper voice procedure and all. Train them to only speak when they REALLY need to and not just jam up comms with chatter.

[daishi]

For the puxing 888k.... I have a battery question.

Is the battery life different from the 1200MAH and the 1600MAH? 'Im trying to figure out how many extra batteries I need to buy to last a decent millsim. The 1200MAH is the standard battery it comes with.

[daishi]

Originally Posted by kaiu

Obviously it will last longer on a 1600 MAH.

Normally you'll need two batteries for something over 12 hours.

Also what is the difference between high and low power states? Since it will last 12 hours on low and 8 hours on high. Distance and/or quality effects?

I think having a standard 1200MAH and a spare 1600MAH would be good enough for a typical milsim yes?

[Cobrajr122]

Battery life is usually calculated by the manufactures using the 80/10/10 or 90/5/5 rule.

This means that 80% of the time a radio is sitting idle, 10% of the time it is receiving, and 10% of the time it is transmitting - or 90%-5%-5%.

Obviously in a milsim, you will be transmitting and receiving far more often, thus reducing the battery life a fair amount.

Batteries are cheap, I have 3 1525mAh batteries for my radio and would suggest that anybody have 2 spare batteries for long milsims, especially if they are in a position where they need comms, such as command, platoon or squad leaders.

Most radios, low power means you will be transmitting at 1W, and high is 4W. This does not mean your battery will last 4 times longer on low, but it will extend the battery life a lot.

Of course, lower power means less distance, but any outdoor field you should be ok on low, when buildings or other large obstructions get involved, high is the way to go.

[ThunderCactus]

There's also a noticeable difference between NiMH/NiCd and lithium batteries
Our old GP68's had 1200mah batts upgradeable to 1800mah NiMH. The 1800s tended to last almost exactly 24 hrs with a normal amount of traffic.
Charging and maintaining battery health was a huge pain though. After a year none of our NiCds held more than 300mah.

With the new wouxuns, they use more energy, have 1700mah lithium batts, but last 24hrs of heavy traffic, and under decent traffic they'll likely last into the 30hr range.
No memory effect and naturally longer battery life due to the discharge curve

[daishi]

Okay im new to radios as most of you can put together, ive programmed in the 22 frequencies.... now which frequencies should I be aware of to not use? I read the guide about the emergency service channels but I am not near the border. What are the most typical channel for a team to use to communicate with each other, with decent quality and minimal bleed?

P.S yes I am a noob with this...as the guide says I think channels 1-14 would be sufficient?

[siggypoo]

I purchased a throat mic from eBay for my Baofeng BF-777S. The "Kenwood" styled plugs on the mic are more like 12, maybe 12.5mm apart. Are there any adaptors that would fix this?


Location: YYZ VOR 062 radial, 17.5 DME FL5280

[ThunderCactus]

are you sure it's not a motorola dual pin? they're close enough in dimension to look exactly the same but be incompatible

[siggypoo]

Good question, and one I don't know the answer to.
The headset is either a genuine or clone TYT TH-2R PMR446. I was under the impression Motorola had the same pins, but in opposing order.


Location: YYZ VOR 062 radial, 17.5 DME FL5280

[Cobrajr122]

It seems you may have ended up with some wonky connector either specifically for the TYT radio, or just out of spec.

I would just find a new mic and toss that one unless you are up for cutting off the plugs and soldering in a known good kenwood plug.

I would suggest 409 shop, I have never head a bad thing form them, and its a shop specializing in comms related gear so they know what their innovatory actually is.