We have all heard it, that squelch from some unknown source, that blaring Bleep Bleep from across the field or one of my personal favorite the snipers that’s crouched on the ground laying on his P.T.T. (Push To Talk) button and let us not forget to mention the ones in need of reinforcements who’s only location is known by “the big tree with dead limbs in it”. If you haven’t heard it then you’ve not played airsoft and if you have heard it chances are you have done it yourself once or twice! What I want to do here is just go over some basic advice for Radio communications in airsoft that will help out everyone on the field and may save you from your teammates tactically removing you from the game before the Baddies get a chance to!

First let’s look in to what Radio Communications in Airsoft are designed for and what gear is best.

The Radio – The radio is a simple device it allows you to communicate directly with either your commanding officer your squad leader or the entire team at one time. Radios come in all different brands and distances. For instance mine is a simple Cobra radio that has an adapter for a headset with the P.T.T. feature on it. Not expensive an any way.

The Headset – While the radio doesn’t actually need the headset to function it does help to eliminate the noise that you make when someone opens up the channel. Many a time I have been able to locate an enemy position because they were not using any type of headset..
Headsets too can be unique, from a simple iPod type ear bud to eliminate the external sound, to a Frog Man Throat mic, or anything in between. There are some pretty good knock offs of the more expensive types and they can be found on many different web sites. I use a very inexpensive throat mic with a small ear bud. I prefer the throat mic because when I’m close to enemy territory I can whisper and can still be heard ok on the other end. Other types of headsets are the Bowman style, this style goes over your head and a speaker is secured to your ear, it also uses a boom mic set up, and seems to be fairly effective as well. Most of these can be had for under $40 some even less. I think the point here is get some kind of headset so that you don’t give away your position to the Baddies!

Next let’s look at some of the common issues that are seen on the field on any given weekend…

The Squelcher – This is the guy who for whatever reason can’t seem to get his radio to work, instead of hitting the P.T.T. button he is hitting the alert button. These buttons are great if you and a friend are hiking and one of you gets hurt and can’t talk, but on the field it could get you hurt. When these little sirens go off, they alert everyone’s radios, and they really alert eardrums that have ear buds stuck in them, so please refrain from using this feature.
Now with that said, there is a function for this in Airsoft and its jamming the communications channel of the enemy. It’s not a very nice thing to do, but there have been games that I’ve been to that have allowed the “spying” and “jamming” of enemy radios. You could even Incorporate a mission in to jamming, such as “Find the enemy jamming base and take it out” and once the objective is complete they can no longer listen in or jam.

The Sticker – This is the poor guy who’s P.T.T. is stuck on for half of the match. This is an easy one, if someone asks if your P.T.T. is stuck on, take a moment to look at your radio and double check that it is not you.
If you are using a proper headset, chances are you have a remote P.T.T. these are even easier to get stuck on. If the button is located on your chest rig, there is a very good chance that when you are forced to go prone, you will also be transmitting. Try and keep the button away from obstructions but somewhere easily accessed. I have seen some interesting placements of the button before, but my favorite was a player that tapped it to the thumb of his left hand. It was always available and the wire went neatly up his sleeve, very cool setup!

The Beeper – This is the person who borrowed a buddy’s radio for the day and doesn’t have a headset. He’s the one on the field that you hear “Bleep, Bleep, Ok Alpha what is…” (The bleeps being the electronic noise that is made each time you receive a transmission). The bleep isn’t so bad IF you have a headset on, but it will, without a doubt, reveal your location to the enemy, and you will find yourself alone very fast….
There is a fix for this issue, firstly get a headset. If that’s not an option some radios do have the ability to turn off the transmission receive notification, you will have to check with the owner’s manual as each radio is different.

The Unintelligible – This poor soul cannot be heard by anyone who is more than 5 feet away from him, and when he is talking is all garbled. I have been the unhappy recipient of this award at least once. This issue can also be accompanied by various beeps and other “digital” type noises. The great thing is that it’s a really easy fix, replace the batteries.

The Vague - I don’t want to go in to this poor chap to much right now, I just want to touch base on it. There is always one person on the team that just doesn’t understand that Radios are not web cams or mind readers. What I mean to say is, if you find yourself out numbered and you need some back up DO NOT do this – “Help there’s allot of Baddies here, I need reinforcements”
#1 The commander does not have a clue who you are.
#2 The commander does not have a clue where you are.
This information is crucial for the commander to make the proper decision. Without it he is dead in the water.

In ending of this segment I hope that you have a slightly better view of radios and headsets in airsoft and how they can be used effectively while playing.

Stay Tuned for  Part 2 on Radio and Hand Signals Coming Soon…