We're going to be upgrading our two way radios...

[zombietoxin]

from crappy Talkabouts to something solid and reliable. Anyone recommend or know of "Hidden Gems" in the commercial radio department? Earpiece compatible of course.

And while we're at it- maybe it might be best to look at it from the earpiece quality first?

Anyone?

[Brandon_K]

How many users do you have on radio? Do you need separate channels for say, actor staff, maintenance, security, parking? Breaking users up into groups has it's pro's and con's. If you have a lot of people on radio, the chatter can be non-stop. Users tend to stop listening for their names due to the chatter, the maintenance staff is hearing about actor issues that they don't care about or more importantly, in the situation of an incident or emergency, that user may actually have to wait for the channel to become clear to broadcast what is going on. To many hands in the pot type of situation. But breaking them up into groups can have it's own set of problems as well. Do you ever want any of those groups to be able to talk to each other? IE, an actor zone manager has spotted a problem group, they would need to be able to tell security. Budget per radio?

As far as headsets go, generally every solid commercial brand will have solid headsets to go with them. Even if they don't, there are numerous 3rd party companies out there that manufacture headsets, many better than what you'll get from the radio manufacture (and some cost nearly as much, if not more than the radio itself). You also might want to take into consideration that not everyone will need the same headset. If you have a zone manager, security or maintenance staff that is around a chainsaw pit all night, they will need a significantly different headset than say, an operations manager or ticket manager that is in a far quieter area or office.

I'm quite knowledgeable on 2-way's, everything from consumer to light commercial through heavy industrial radio's. I'll be glad to help.

[Brandon_K]

Also, how large is your location? Indoor, outdoor, both? Concrete / block buildings or stick frame? Is the outdoor heavily wooded or a corn field? These are all important to know as well. Though, you didn't mention range to be any kind of an issue with your current FRS's.

[zombietoxin]

Thanks for the offer to help. I PM'd you.

[BigT]

Let me know what you guys figure out. I need three channels, no more than two mile range without repeater. Preferably UHF and compact. No problem with headsets .... I know where to get those. I dont want to pay $1500 per radio by the way. $350 - $500 is okay. When we start getting into the $1k to $2k range, my need starts decreasing.

[Scar3Crow]

Has anyone had experience with this company or their packages?

www.2wayradiodirect.com/shop/Haunted-Houses

[sean]

Let me know what you guys figure out. I need three channels, no more than two mile range without repeater. Preferably UHF and compact. No problem with headsets .... I know where to get those. I dont want to pay $1500 per radio by the way. $350 - $500 is okay. When we start getting into the $1k to $2k range, my need starts decreasing.

Where do you get the headsets?