VHF vs FRS Radios?

[airsoftn00b]

Just wondering which would be the better one. if i should get an Icom radio or a Motorola talkabout.

[Buddha]

IMO VHF is better than FRS. The big reason is that you can program to channels that the FRS cant. If you are just wanting to communicate with the guys on your team they will be better since you wont have all the traffic issues as on FRS.

[JayC]

UHF radios (which aren't one of your two options) are what you want to get... They cover FRS/GMRS bands, so you can talk to pickup players... but have the advantage of programming them... VHF radios aren't used much in the airsoft community... except it seems up in the NE part of the country where a bunch of airsoft teams use Marine band VHF radios.

[airsoftn00b]

After doing some research I figured out that the VHF radio wouldn't be practical. Does anybody know of an inexpesnive UHF radio?

[JayC]

What do you considered inexpensive?

[airsoftn00b]

Anything under $100 really.

[Clutch88]

If i was you I would stick with FRS. Both VHF and UHF require licenses and are used for long range communication. They are only practical if you are trying to reach someone from another county or you want to talk to emergency personnel. If you are worried about radio communication clutter then get one that has sub channels. Trust me, I work on UHF/VHF radios for a living and they are not worth it for airsoft use.

[vulrath]

[cowboy117]

Kinda bringing this one back from a slow death

I see a lot of people with Motorola GP68 UHF. The ones you buy at RadioShack in the bubble pack are ok but they don't have much for range unless you are within a half mile of who you want to talk to.

The license is only $15 and valid for 2 years. Well worth the cost.

[vulrath]

Where do you get the $15 fee from? The GMRS license currently costs $85 and lasts for 5 years (per the FCC website). That would legally entitle you and everyone in your family to use all of the GMRS frequencies.

[cowboy117]

It actually equals out to $17/year, must have been where I got that from.

Thought it was 3 years, I stand corrected.