Good lightweight Comms - 100-200$ range?

[SawBone]

Awesome! Thanks a lot for taking the time to write it up, it's really helpful.

I have a simple question:
How is comfort when worn over extended periods of time (a few hours)?

[DipTwit]

I wore them for 4 hours, not sure if that's extended enough, but I had no issues, nor did I have that "ahhh" feeling taking them off. From this (admittedly single) experience, I'm guessing they'll be fine for longer periods, but I don't have any all-day games coming up anytime soon.

[Foxer2373]

I love my ear bone ear piece and PTT I can't remember the Canadian website I got it from but it was 180 for the set and it has the kenwood 2 plug option. Never had better comms in 10 years. Won't go back might someday go to the 1500$ brand name setup but there is no need at this time.

When I find the website I'll post it up.

[MultipleParadox]

Received mine as well
Haven't got the chance to test them for real yet though.
Been listening to police radio only so far as I don't have a second radio to test (wouxun kg-689; no fm either)

I can confirm pretty much everything DipTwit mentioned

Except maybe for the loudness and all; I find it a bit low on volume and find that I need to use it at max volume to understand everything

And I found that at that level (even a bit lower), if you put them 3-5 feet away, you can hear and sometimes even understand what's being said from that distance. So I think it's a few points less for discretion and "stealth" factor

But maybe it's just my hearing isn't that great anymore and I shouldn't have to rise the volume that much; so your mile may vary

[SawBone]

Originally Posted by DipTwit

I wore them for 4 hours, not sure if that's extended enough, but I had no issues, nor did I have that "ahhh" feeling taking them off. From this (admittedly single) experience, I'm guessing they'll be fine for longer periods, but I don't have any all-day games coming up anytime soon.

Originally Posted by MultipleParadox

Received mine as well
Haven't got the chance to test them for real yet though.
Been listening to police radio only so far as I don't have a second radio to test (wouxun kg-689; no fm either)

I can confirm pretty much everything DipTwit mentioned

Except maybe for the loudness and all; I find it a bit low on volume and find that I need to use it at max volume to understand everything

And I found that at that level (even a bit lower), if you put them 3-5 feet away, you can hear and sometimes even understand what's being said from that distance. So I think it's a few points less for discretion and "stealth" factor

But maybe it's just my hearing isn't that great anymore and I shouldn't have to rise the volume that much; so your mile may vary

Most excellent. I guess I'll be getting a pair soon! From what I can gather, they really seem to have that nice balance of features and quality for the money.

[MultipleParadox]

It seems promising for the price indeed

Another note regarding the PTT; it's well constructed and seems rugged enough to endure some abuse

The fact that you can change both sides (connector to radio and the headset) is a good plus in my book

[Orpheus]

Originally Posted by Enthusiast

I understand that you want clear com. It's just that a mike has no complex electronic parts in it, not patent involved (contrary to a the radio transceiver)

Incorrect. In the recording industry, the most expensive *single* pieces of equipment are microphones. It takes serious materials and tooling/technique to make a quality mic to have the correct impedences and frequency responses...now lets miniaturise it and package it to make it withstand "tactical" abuse. By definition, it is an electro-*mechanical* component, its way harder to do it right than it is to make a preamp or tuner.

[daishi]

Ive actually got my Cancom earpiece setup up for sale. Its an excellent comms unit, as other people on the forums like MultipleParadox can attest to.

[Enthusiast]

@Orpheus

Microphones used in radiocom have nothing to do with those used in music/recording industry.

For example carbon button mics are often used in Hand mic.

[brock0]

So, something in my combo of blister pack Motorola, cheapie Ztac ptt and cheapie Ztac headset died on me.

Having scaled way back on airsoft purchases (I bought everything last year haha) I thought I'd upgrade a bit, and go for the Baofeng UV5R and code red battle zero combo.

A day after I placed the orders online, I get this email from code red:

"We have recently encountered comments from a few clients that have experienced difficulties using or Assault or Battle Zero headsets with some models of Baofeng radios.

After exhaustive testing the problem only seems to exist with limited models of Baofeng radios that were typically purchased through large online stores that offer super low prices. We ordered some of these radios and did confirm a compatibility issue that was very intermittent with the connector on the radio. Our determination is that anyone using a Baofeng UV5R radio may very likely experience this problem.

These headsets pass with flying colors on other models and brands of radios."

Just a word of caution I guess and back to the drawing board for me. If anyone knows where I can find a Baofeng UVB5 or 6 shoot me a pm.

[Orpheus]

Originally Posted by Enthusiast

@Orpheus

Microphones used in radiocom have nothing to do with those used in music/recording industry.

For example carbon button mics are often used in Hand mic.

I'm aware of that. That was just an illustration to point out that the mic being input, cheap mics or cheaply enclosed mics result in a garbage signal reaching the radio's electronics. A cheap mic thru a $1000 radio will sound like a cheap radio.

[ThunderCactus]

Chinese $50 sordins vs MSA $300 sordins
what could they possibly have spent all that extra money on? Right? Lol

[brock0]

So because it was too late to cancel my UV5R order, I've received both it and the Battle Zero headset. I think this combo definitely qualifies at lightweight comms and it is sub $200 all told.

Very impressed with the UV5R radio. Feels reasonably good quality, not too hard to program via keypad alone with nothing more than youtube and the radios thread here for the frequencies. Had it talking to a blister pack radio and all frequencies programmed in about 20 minutes. Computer programming cable definitely not required for basic use.

In my limited mucking around, I didn't notice any of the problems the Code Red people warned me about with the UV5R, time will tell there I guess.

As for the headset (and this is just 20-30 minutes of fooling around) my feelings are mixed. I don't believe the claims that it's transmitting sound to the wearer via bone conduction because when receiving you can easily hear it from some distance away even if it's just sitting on the ground. It feels a lot to me like a set of speakers that are simply mounted near your ears transmitting sound conventionally at least on the receiving end. As was mentioned above, definitely not a "stealthy" option.

The upshot is that the transmit works as advertised. The headset picks up your voice and transmits it clearly through the radio, even getting down to whisper levels. Better than any mic I've ever used and light years better than the repro throat mikes I've heard others use through my radio.

The comfort seems OK and it does indeed play nice with a FAST helmet, full seal goggles, and a mesh lower mask. I wonder how well it will sit in place when I'm sweating my bag off next game... the size adjustment seems a little weak to me.

All the components seem sturdy and well built. Nice cables and PTT unit. It's great that they're modular as well.

I'm about 50/50 on the headset. Game testing will tell the tale.

[MultipleParadox]

Originally Posted by brock0

As for the headset (and this is just 20-30 minutes of fooling around) my feelings are mixed. I don't believe the claims that it's transmitting sound to the wearer via bone conduction because when receiving you can easily hear it from some distance away even if it's just sitting on the ground. It feels a lot to me like a set of speakers that are simply mounted near your ears transmitting sound conventionally at least on the receiving end. As was mentioned above, definitely not a "stealthy" option.







I'm about 50/50 on the headset. Game testing will tell the tale.

I have the exact same feelings

Although I had other devices based on the same tech, you could also hear it without contacts from a distance.

I'm thinking its not that it doesn't do what they're advertising, but more that the tech itself isn't as great as what the marketing around it leads us to believe

Haven't had the occasion to game mine yet either. I will on the 25th though

[brock0]

I suppose it IS working as it's supposed to. If you plug your ears with it on your head, the sound is pretty distinctly coming from "inside", but it broadcasts more sound outside than I thought.