MultiCom Pro - PMR446 Radio

MultiCom Pro - PMR446 Radio
review by madaboutairsoft (with customers feedback)

	Stock Specifications
RRP	£139.00
Options	Many, including throat mics, headsets, etc
Features	Channel Scan: The radio scans through the 8 channels until a signal is found. Memories: Each channel can be programmed with up to 5 different memory settings for CTCSS/DCS. Time Out Timer: The battery saving feature. Cloning: This allows you to setup multiple radios quickly and easily (great for team play!) Voice Scrambling: By using voice inversion, this stops people listening in on your conversations. Key Lock: Disables function buttons, etc. Useful when the radio is in a pouch or pocket. VOX: Voice activated handsfree system CTCSS/DCS: DCS (Digital Coded Squelch) and CTCSS allows for over 900 channel combinations. Splash Proof/Shock Resistant.

First Impressions After removing the MultiCom Pro radio from it's box and packaging our first thoughts were that this was a serious piece of kit. The radio itself is very well built, feels really solid and should take the knocks from many airsoft skirmishes without any damage.

The MultiCom Pro is a professional radio and as such comes with all the bits of kit you would expect. carry strap, belt clip, drop in charger, and rechargeable battery pack and manual.

Getting Started The rechargable battery pack supplied with the radio requries 12 hours to be fully charged and lasts just over 20 hours in "normal" operation, however you can also use 4xAA Alkaline batteries, we opted for the batteries as we couldn't wait to try this piece of kit out.

With the batteries in, time to turn this thing on... the on/off function and volume control are controlled via a simple rotary nob on the top of the radio. On switching the radio on, the first thing you notice is the large LCD screen which has a bright backlight, this shows a variety of information but primarly the channel number.

After adjusting the volume to the desired level and familarising ourselves with the push to talk button on the side and other buttons on the face of the radio we were ready to test the radio out!

Come in over... We setup two radios to use the same channel, adjusted several other settings and we were away. The quality of sound from these units was crystal clear and very impressive, even just using the standard radio. However we also stock the throat microphone's so we had to try them, attaching these articles around your neck and placing the earpeice is a simple enough affair and afterwards it allowed us to have both hands free as these throat mics use the VOX MP technology (voice activated microphones) and via the function settings in the radio the sensitivty of the vox system can be finely adjusted to provide a very good setup.

Do we have the range? We knew the radios worked, but what about the range? No problem we thought, one member stays in the office and the other gets the lunch in. 2 miles away in a local car park we had full crisp sound, at approximately 5 miles we had contact however the the signal was weaker (as you would expect) however was still usable. During mobile operation in a car there was a minor amount of break-up however there was virtually none whilst on foot.

Specification and Features The specification of the MultiCom Pro radio from the manual reads as follows:

8 Channel (38 CTCSS + 83 DCS), VOX Enabled, Channel Scan, Time Out Timer, Key Lock, Voice Scrambler, Cloning Facility, Splash Proof and Shock Resistant, Battery Indicator, Uses 4 X AA batteries or Battery Pack and Drop In Charger (Supplied), Backlit LCD Display.

Dimensions (W*H*D): 60*110*30 mm
Weight: 147 grams
Frequency range: All PMR-446 channels

Features:

Channel Scan: The radio scans through the 8 channels until a signal is found.
Memories: Each channel can be programmed with up to 5 different memory settings for CTCSS/DCS.
Time Out Timer: The battery saving feature.
Cloning: This allows you to setup multiple radios quickly and easily (great for team play!) Voice Scrambling: By using voice inversion, this stops people listening in on your conversations.
Key Lock: Disables function buttons, etc. Useful when the radio is in a pouch or pocket.
VOX: Voice activated handsfree system
CTCSS/DCS: DCS (Digital Coded Squelch) and CTCSS allows for over 900 channel combinations.
Splash Proof/Shock Resistant.

Summary The Multicom Pro is a great radio offering excellent performance, rock-solid construction and a wide range of useful features. It's easy to use and with a range of accessories available, the MultiCom Pro can be customised to meet your needs.

We don't think you will fine a better radio for the money!

Build Quality	5/5
Value for money	5/5
Overall potential	5/5

by madaboutairsoft.com

Internal Links:
a PMR466 page - a website dedicated to PMR446, with explanations of what it is, and how it works. very useful!

External Links:
madaboutairsoft.com - stock the MultiCom Pro radio @ £139.50 (inc. next-day delivery!)