Plate Carrier Radio Setups: Safariland Liberator & Silynx Clarus

Napoleon famously mentioned, “The key of conflict lies within the communications.” This concise assertion reinforces the significance of communication in any respect ranges of a preventing power — people, squads, platoons, firms, battalions, and so forth. If communications are severed, the flexibility to coordinate typically follows go well with. Outdoors of a army context, the identical rules apply to civilian emergency preparedness. In case your group of household and associates is your squad, you need to set up a stable plan for communications for any emergency. In yesterday’s article about encrypted radios, we supplied an introduction to how encryption can assist you guarantee communication safety (COMSEC). As we speak, we’ll check out two plate provider radio setups from Safariland and Silynx that combine our encrypted Off Grid Comms handhelds into our load-bearing gear.

Radio Setups & Functions

Above: Integrating a dual-comm setup into this TYR Tactical plate carrier was straightforward, with one radio positioned on all sides of the cummerbund.

You are able to do rather a lot higher than clipping your radio to your belt or shoving it right into a pocket. There’s an almost countless ecosystem of equipment and upgrades for radios, particularly well-liked fashions such because the Motorola XTS sequence. To take advantage of your radio, we advocate integrating it into the remainder of your gear. A couple of choices to think about:

• Add a speaker mic so you need to use the radio whereas it’s stowed in your climbing pack or in your obligation belt
• Join a low-profile earpiece so you possibly can discuss extra discreetly in public
• Pair your radio with an active ear protection system to be used on the taking pictures vary, or different loud environments
• Construct an entire dual-comm system that features two radios on separate frequencies with a push-to-talk (PTT) button to activate every radio

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Above: The Motorola XTS 3000 radios supplied by Off Grid Comms can be utilized as stand-alone handsets, or might be linked to quite a lot of headsets and PTT programs.

Learn on as we share two plate provider radio setups configured by our employees. Every of those is linked to one of many Motorola XTS 3000 radios featured in our encrypted radio article. Nonetheless, via using modular connectors, every of those programs will also be linked to quite a lot of different radios and comms gadgets.

Patrick McCarthy: Safariland Liberator V

I spend lots of time taking pictures, whether or not it’s out within the desert with associates, at native competitions, or taking courses to find out about particular abilities and weapon platforms. These actions don’t at all times require the identical quantity of drugs — typically it’s simply ear professional and eye professional, and different instances it’s a full plate provider, battle belt, and helmet with night time imaginative and prescient system hooked up. With this in thoughts, I wished a scalable, modular comms system.

The Safariland Liberator V is a professional-grade headset that integrates energetic ear professional and a dual-comm radio setup. Ordering the Liberator V reveals choices for colour (black, FDE, or OD inexperienced), left or right-side microphone placement, three forms of suspension programs, two forms of PTT controls, and even a gasoline masks enter. Every system is made to order, and might be configured for all kinds of army, legislation enforcement, and business radios. Sure configurations additionally provide a connector to combine a cellular phone into the system.

Above: Safariland’s Adaptive Suspension Equipment allowed me to mount the Liberator V headset to the again of the rails on my Team Wendy helmet, protecting the highest rails open for lights and different equipment.

Because the Liberator V is a dual-comm system, I requested connectors for 2 Motorola XTS radios. This permits me to make use of one in digital encrypted mode for safe communication with Off Grid Comms radios, and one in analog GMRS mode for normal use, or use each in encrypted mode to speak on two separate encrypted channels. Audio from each radios is piped into the headset, and I can management every from the two-button PTT. This configuration didn’t provide a cellular phone connector, however I’m OK with that. My cellphone is clipped right into a Juggernaut Case PALS mount for navigation and video-recording duties.

Above: This PALS Plate Service Mount from Juggernaut Case gives fast entry to a cellular phone for communication and navigation.

Each XTS radios are mounted on opposing sides of my TYR Tactical plate provider’s cummerbund in Blue Force Gear elastic pouches. The PTT’s inline disconnects permit me to unplug or exchange a radio with none trouble. In conditions the place I don’t want one of many radios, I can shove a rifle magazine into the vacant pouch.

Safariland’s Adaptive Suspension system makes it attainable to swap the headset from a headscarf to a helmet mount in seconds. After I’m coaching with night time imaginative and prescient, I connect it to the Safariland rail mount put in on my Team Wendy Exfil LTP bump helmet. The remainder of the time, I exploit the headset in the usual Consolation Match headband. And in conditions the place I simply want ear professional with out comms — like informal vary classes with associates — I can disconnect the headset from the PTT and use it as energetic ear safety. Clear sound and cozy gel cups make the Liberator system straightforward to put on all day, it doesn’t matter what I’m utilizing it for.

Above: The Safariland Liberator V headset can be utilized as standalone ear safety, or it may be linked to the included push-to-talk button that gives management over two separate radios.

Tom Marshall: Silynx Clarus

Organising my comms system, I used to be on the lookout for two issues. First, I wished my communications system to be impartial of my helmet. Whereas over-the-ear muffs hooked up to helmet rails look cool and are superior for fight operations the place a helmet is necessary, these days I not often put on one outdoors of a photograph shoot. Even working as a safety contractor abroad, helmets weren’t extensively used, regardless that comms functionality was necessary when rolling away from bed within the morning. The opposite issue essential to me was a system that would combine with a number of forms of communication gadgets. Whereas having an encrypted setup is a boon for household or neighborhood groups working collectively, ready civilians can’t guarantee everybody round them will probably be working on the identical frequency and even utilizing the identical radio platforms. Enter Silynx. Although their bread-and-butter is outfitting army and authorities organizations, nearly all of their gear is on the market to civilians, they usually provide scaled {hardware} suites for quite a lot of functions.

I began with their Clarus dual-lead push-to-talk (PTT) field, the cornerstone of this whole setup. I wished to verify I had the flexibility to speak inside my household/crew on the Off Grid Comms encrypted radios in addition to outdoors parts or responders who could also be speaking to me on different gadgets. The Clarus has a modular split-cable adapter system permitting you to configure the PTT field to interface with a number of forms of gadgets. Silynx gives adapters for quite a lot of gadget varieties. I centered on three: the Motorola XTS sample, a two-pin adapter for Baofeng radios, and a 3.5mm headphone jack that’s suitable with good telephones.

After enjoying with a few totally different permutations, I settled on establishing my Arbor Arms Communicator Armor System (CAS) plate provider to run the Silynx Clarus with one Motorola and my smartphone. The Motorola is stowed in an Esstac radio pouch on the left cummerbund arm of the CAS. The smartphone is on a Juggernaut Case cellphone case and PALS Adapter tray, which lets me connect my cellphone on to my plate provider for hands-free operation. It needs to be famous that the majority current-gen smartphones don’t have legacy-style headphone ports inbuilt anymore. However there are small adapters out there that can interface this jack with both USB-C or Apple Lightning Cable ports. Since I run a Galaxy cellphone, I bought a $20 USB-C adapter from Amazon and was in enterprise. This explicit functionality — integrating your cellular phone into your radio communication setup — is probably probably the most distinctive and helpful characteristic of the Silynx system for ready residents.

With this setup, I’m in a position to make a cellphone name and maintain the road open arms free. However the individual on the opposite finish of the cellphone can solely hear me once I press the corresponding transmit button on my Clarus PTT field. That is an excellent functionality to have if, for instance, it’s important to name 911 and converse with first responders whereas additionally coordinating with a member of the family, neighbor, or buddy who has an Off Grid Comms Motorola. Now you not should be on the scene of the incident to direct responders to another person who wants assist — you possibly can relay data remotely by having two strains of communication open. Whereas a daily cellphone name is not going to be safe, you need to use apps like Sign or Threema (each mentioned in Issue 53), to make voice or video calls with end-to-end encryption, whereas nonetheless being able to transmit/obtain via your Off Grid Comms Motorola, additionally encrypted.

Above: We used an Esstac pouch to safe the radio to the cummerbund, routing the wires via it and into the rear plate bag.

Since I particularly wished my communications to be impartial of a helmet, Silynx despatched me their Clarus in-ear buds, that are outfitted with an in-line microphone in addition to their hear-thru and sound localization know-how. This characteristic directionally amplifies low-level ambient sound to boost situational consciousness however cuts out when receiving or transmitting communication so you possibly can have clear conversations over radio or cellphone. This know-how features very similar to current-generation energetic listening to safety programs, however with the additional benefit of receiving radio and cellphone transmissions as nicely. It needs to be famous that the Clarus we used additionally has a modular prime lead, that means you possibly can unhook the in-ear buds and swap to helmet-mounted muffs or increase mic-style headsets if that higher matches your utility.

Above: The Arbor Arms CAS 2.0 gives loads of routing pass-throughs, which allow us to bury a lot of the Silynx wiring beneath the provider.

I used to be in a position to route all my cables via sleeves built-in into the Arbor Arms CAS, to attenuate the quantity of cable uncovered to snagging or surroundings injury. Whereas the Silynx system does embody clips which might be sized to cross via MOLLE/PALS-style webbing, I used a few small zip-ties to completely safe the {hardware} to my provider. Routing the antenna and PTT cables via one arm of the wraparound cummerbund lets me don and doff the provider with out having to swim via a sea of cables to get the provider off.

My expertise with Silynx’s communication {hardware} suite was glorious. Transmission and receiving high quality had been each clear and clear. The modularity of the Clarus system gives a excessive diploma of flexibility for each consumer interface and communication/radio platform interface. There are additionally single-channel and fixed-lead variations of the Clarus out there that’ll prevent some cash if you happen to don’t want dual-comms functionality or don’t plan on switching radio varieties.

Plate Service Radio Gear Sources

Written by Patrick McCarthy and Tom Marshall