My very first own product, a Dual PTT designed for dual PTT radios and I’m very excited to show it to you.
The struggle of being in command, having to manage multiple channels at the same time and finding a good PTT has intrigued me for years. Not being able to find the thing that worked for me, I started to create my own version. The setup that I have not has served me on big and small games for years. Which is the Baofeng UV82, custom PTT and Ztac bowman style headset with custom microphone mod, Yes, I have a video about the microphone mod.
So let us begin with a bit of history from where this PTT originated
History
Back in the days, at around 2010m there wasn’t a good solution for multiple radios or dual channels. The Dual PTT radios were not a thing yet and finding a good PTT that was able to run 2 radios, that wasn’t easy either, so I created the very first custom made PTT from a strobe light speedloader. Connected 2 wires and 2 buttons and I could use my Ztac headset that plugged right into it.
Also the standard cheaper PTTs, they always got stuck because of dirt and sand. I really wanted something that worked. The old bottle cap trick worked a bit, but not like I wanted.
Next alteration, I started using the Baofeng UV82 that has dual PTTs but only the crappy cheap headset worked to send on both channels. I started testing and managed to make it work with the same buttons as the first one I made. But why 3 buttons? Well, I had the idea to also connect my phone so I could pick up my phone or use Zello. That didn’t work as planned but I still made a second version with 2 buttons, one for the phone and one for 1 radio. You might also think, but Rob, most phones these days don’t have jacks anymore and you’re correct. So I ditched the whole idea of connecting a phone like that.
The 3 button case I used for years on bigger games by using the 2 top buttons for Channel 1 and 2. Until at a certain point it wasn’t reliable anymore and I went searching for another solution.
This brought me to a broken Ztac PTT that I thought had an interesting case and a switch instead of buttons, but could only send on 1 channel. I removed the inside and built the dual system in it and when I started using that, I never wanted to go back to buttons. Finding the right button to send on the right channel wasn’t intuitive under stress. The switch on the other hand is. The different movements you have to make to send to a channel makes it a lot easier.
I removed the extra cable and placed the plug directly in the housing. This makes it a lot more compact and less cable stuff. The problem was the cable. It was the very thin cable from a cheap headset that comes with the radio, but I needed it to make it work.
After years of using it and loving it I decided that this is the final form that I want my PTT to be. During the years I did get a lot of questions from people to make one for them or how I made mine. I had written a script to make a video about how to make it, but instead of that, I decided to make it as my first own product and I started to work.
This was an very interesting new project. I needed to talk to manufacturers, talk prices, taxes, shipping and start testing the design. I printed various designs and perfected it bit by bit. Once the design was ready, I needed to find the best material and test that. Big thanks to the Creeper Concepts to help me out with that.
Parts ordered and while I’m waiting, I created a new part on the website to start stelling them, talked to my accountant on how to do all that and after hours of fiddling, the shop was ready. The parts arrived, I put on some music and started assembling the first 10 PTTs. It was a joy to do it. Seeing this coming to life after all those years is really something.
I had a nice deadline to work to, Frysen AirsoftCon. Where I will put up a booth to show what I’m doing in airsoft. Showing off this first product would be a perfect opportunity and as you can see, I’m on time for that.
If you couldn’t tell, I’m very excited!
Dual PTT
The PTT is built to be used with a dual PTT radio like the UV82. It does work on a single PTT radio but then you can only send on one channel.
It has a kenwood plug or U94 plug that fits most radios. The cable is a spiral cable so it is short but it can be long if you want it to be.
The headset plug is a U174 plug that you can find and headsets from ztac or similar. Earmor, Sordin, … don’t work because they need something active and I need to dive a bit deeper into electronics for that. Maybe in the future I will have a model for those headsets too.
The case, for now, is made out of ABS and for future cases I’m looking into MJF, multi jet fusion. It’s sturdy enough for what we do. I kept close to the Ztac form factor because it fitted in my hand perfectly and it felt very intuitive to grab and use it.
Now, imo, the most interesting part, the switch. When switching it towards the plug, you send on one channel and pushing it to the other side, makes you send on the other channel. I never have to search for the correct button, I grab my PTT and start sending. Because the Switch is in line with my straps, I didn’t accidentally press it, something that I had multiple times with the other button cases. In stress situations I don’t want to fiddle around. The pushing of the switch on both sides is different and that works better to remember where to push. The easier way of pushing is the channel that I use the most, which is usually to my Platoon leaders when I’m Company command or Squad leaders when I’m Platoon leader. The other side is up in the hierarchy, to my commander.
It’s a little thing but it makes a lot of difference when using the radio a lot. I’m super happy with it and now you can have it too.
There is a very limited amount of PTTs available on my website at the moment. When they are sold out, I will open a pre-order for the next batch. I will keep you up to date on my channels about that. If you want one go get one. I know it states that it’s only pickup at the moment, that’s because I need to figure out all the shipping options, which isn’t that simple to do. If you order one, we can work out the shipping and that gives me the opportunity to learn about all the different options.
This project has been very interesting and I look forward to hearing your feedback. There are a few products that I feel are missing or things that can easily be improved for airsoft, so there might be some more products coming in the near future.
It was fun to send the behind the scenes to all my Patreon supporters. They have been supporting me so I can keep giving my best to Airsoft. With those updates I was able to give back to them. If you want to see the full behind the scenes, become a member and you gain access to a VIP part on the Discord.
When you’re here on my website, be sure to check out the weapon section where I structured everything so you can find info about what I use and why.