Leather Radio Holsters

[STAT213 332]

Saw a picture in Seth's collection which made me think of something...Thanks Seth!!

For those of you that use the leather radio holsters with the over the shoulder strap (so the radio hangs at your waist), how do you wear them with your turnouts? Inside, outside? We just got issued the things, and I am curious how the rest of the word uses 'em.

Thanks!!

Edited December 29, 2006 by STAT213

[x635 4,066]

LOL!

I typically use them when I'm not in turnout gear, like out on inspections or during an EMS call, etc.

I find them to be a PIA when in turnout gear, so I use the radio pocket on the left breast of my turnout coat instead....the only problem I have is securely clippling the microphone somewhere it can be easily reached.

I find with everything else, the radio strap/case is always catching up on something or twisting around. Plus, when I go to sit or slide or whatever, it always makes my profile different.

[STAT213 332]

I have been wearing it inside my gear with the mike hanging out at my neck. Seems to work pretty good so far.

[exmrvfc 0]

Stat,

I wear mine inside my gear as I feel the radio is more protected. What would it take to melt the mike cord?? Almost every dept that I know wears them insde, including FDNY. They make an anti-sway strap that you can clip to a belt loop to keep the radio from swinging around.

See the attached link.

http://www.thefirestore.com/store/product....nti_sway_strap/

[wcr20 17]

I have what may be a dumb question - What are the advantages of the shoulder strap holster, as opposed to a belt holster, particularly one with the swivel that makes it very easy to remove from the belt? I guess I can see the advantage for use with bunkers (since there is no belt) but for day duty / uniform wear?

[IzzyEng4 427]

I bought my own from RadioTech.com with the thick strap and also the short stabilizer strap (it keeps the radio holder from flopping around and shifting all over the place, great little thing!)

I wear mine under my turnouts and I have the mic come out through the neck of my coat. It's just the way I like it, though I know that transmitting wise it is not good, but the radio is protected.

[HFD750 6]

I also have one from RadioTech. I wear mine outside my jacket on some calls I guess it depends on the situation for me anyway. Also wearing the radio with the strap and having it by my side free's up the radio pocket for the fireground radio,since I have to monitor both channels at the same time.So in the holster is the county radio and in the pocket is the fireground radio.

[AS702 0]

I wear mine under my coat.. I drape the mic over the collar and dont have to worry about it hanging where I cant reach it.. Its also harder to get it caught up on something when it is underneath the coat..

[22 Truck 6]

I typically use them when I'm not in turnout gear, like out on inspections or during an EMS call, etc.

I find them to be a PIA when in turnout gear, so I use the radio pocket on the left breast of my turnout coat instead....the only problem I have is securely clippling the microphone somewhere it can be easily reached.

←

Agreed! I'll wear mine if in command or at a scene not requiring the use of a SCBA. Wearing it with your SCBA proved to be more of a pain...if you wear it outside, it would either be caught under your SCBA belt and which is uncomfortable or it would hang out there and act as one more thing for you to get caught up on something inside a building...if you wear it inside your coat, then the mic would have to come out through the top of your coat (which is just annoying)and clipped somewhere to not leave your coat undone. I too bought the short stabilizer strap and I wouldn't wear it w/o it, it would move too much and became more of a hassle. All in personal preference.

[BFD1054 1,552]

STAT & Seth...

I have had one of these radio straps for quite some time now and i love it. I wear mine inside of my turnout gear, never on the outside.

The only thing that i do not like is when you are in a crawling type situation and where the radio has the tendancy to slide down toward the front of your body and can become a pain.

[AS702 0]

I never really have a problem with the radio shifting while crawling with SCBA on and properly buckled..

[JohnnyOV 2]

STAT & Seth...

I have had one of these radio straps for quite some time now and i love it.  I wear mine inside of my turnout gear, never on the outside.

The only thing that i do not like is when you are in a crawling type situation and where the radio has the tendancy to slide down toward the front of your body and can become a pain.

←

Iisn't there a clip that clips onto your belt loop above your back pocket to keep this from happening?

[Guest car2267]

I have a leather radio holder and leather strap, i wear it inside my turnout gear, so it is protected from heat, water... I weave the mic between the snapping inner liner and the outer clip layer of the morning pride coat, I also use one of those anti sway straps to keep it in place, i have never felt uncomfortable with it like that .

[IzzyEng4 427]

Iisn't there a clip that clips onto your belt loop above your back pocket to keep this from happening?

←

Yep, a small six inch strap with two clips at either end, I have it. This is a picture from RadioTech's website.

http://radiotech.com/images_sc/stabilizer.jpg

Edited December 30, 2006 by IzzyEng4

[Guest]

I only use my radio strap for PR events and things that do not require turnout gear. I never got into wearing them on a call. Both of my turnout coats have a radio pocket and mic tab and that works fine for me.

Earlier this year, I attended a class at CT Fire Academy. Durring the class, the discussion came up about using all of your gear properly. ie Coat buttoned all the way up, closing the flap on the collar etc. One of the instructors made some good points about not wearing the radio strap. 1 By putting thr radio under your gear at your waste,you are weakening the transmitting and recieving abilities of your radio. 2 With the radio burried under your coat, how do you adjust the volume and change the channel.(Remember that durring rit operations, all other operations should be on a differant channnel) 3 If the mic is comming up through the coat, it makes it hard to button your collar flap. On that note he went on to say this, Your gear is designed to protect you when used completly. If you are not buttoning your collar, you are not completely using your gear. Your nomax hood is only part of your protection. It is not a substitute for your collar. If you get burned while you are not using your gear to its fullest (all closed up), not only you will have to deal with the pain and suffering of a burn, but if the insurance company finds out that you did not use your ppe properly, you could be S.O.L. when it comes time for paying out on a claim. And last but not least, he reminded all of us that when our gear was purchased, the departments spent extra money to put a radio pocket on the gear- SO USE IT!!!

Makes sence to me.

[HFD750 6]

2 With the radio burried under your coat, how do you adjust the volume and change the channel.

←

Just a little FYI for your question #2 they do make extension mic's with a volume control and a channel button,also it has a distress button. But then again you do make some good points. I guess it's preference.

[x134 46]

I used to use a Radio strap (BUFF BELT ) but I always found them to be a pain. Like some guys said, they sway, they move when you bend over if not warn under the gear. So after some thought I started using the pocket on the front left side of my turnout. For me it just works better, you have easier access to the radio to change channels or to change banks. I just run the cord around the back of the coat and the microphone is on the right shoulder/chest clipped to a small beaner.

I always thought it was a pain to get to the radio under the turnouts to change the channel or to adjust the volume. It would also get in the way of your mask and if you wear a box light plus a radio on the outside. Some like it, just not my preference.

[Remember585 815]

We don't have the straps - every turnout coat issued has a radio pocket.

I like to put the radio in the pocket and run the mic around the back of my neck and clip the mic to the strap above my Survivor light. Seems to stay put.

[IzzyEng4 427]

Truckeee, to reply some of your ideas from my perspective.

"1 By putting thr radio under your gear at your waste,you are weakening the transmitting and recieving abilities of your radio."

Yes you are weakening the signal but not by much compared to the radio pocket. For the best signal obviously, you need to hold the radio over your head so the antenna is at the highest level and talk through the extension mic. However if you don't have a mic the you have to hold the radio with antenna pointing straight up and in this position obviously the strap holder is useless. Even with the radio in the front pocket, what is blocking your radio waves? your body, you still need to turn so that the waves being transmitted are being pointed toward the receiver (other radio).

2 With the radio burried under your coat, how do you adjust the volume and change the channel.(Remember that durring rit operations, all other operations should be on a differant channnel)

Your portable radio should be set, if it does not have volume and control knobs on the extension mic. You should always have the portable radio set to the operating channel on the fireground or RIT channel and the volume adjusted to a high level before you make your final suit up preparations. There is no need for anyone on another channel other than the one you will be operating on. Think of this as preparing your radio like preparing your SCBA, your not going to put on your mask without turning th bottle on right??

3 If the mic is coming up through the coat, it makes it hard to button your collar flap. On that note he went on to say this, Your gear is designed to protect you when used completly. If you are not buttoning your collar, you are not completely using your gear..........

Now this is where a lot of misnomers happen. Why yes, having all of you protective gear on correctly does protect you from burns and such, that has to be followed. But to have the cord come out of the jacket, it depends on how your set up is on the jacket, IE what combination of zippers, D-hooks, snaps, Velcro are being used. My jacket is zippered on the inside with Velcro on the flaps and collar flap. With the wire from the mic hanging out, I am still fully encapsulated and properly geared up. But regardless of that, to believe that there are no openings or your gear will not open up at anytime is false, it should not but it will if you area not careful and don't properly maintain and wear it.

Now you mentioned that you have done some RIT work and not for nothing, the best place for a small hand tool,, like a knife or a Leatherman, is easier to have it in the front pocket than you pant and coat pockets, that is wear the bulkier stuff should be like your tag lines and webbing, other misc. tools. Reason being the front pocket aka "radio pocket" is easier to grab tools from here than fighting than wrestling with your SCBA straps that are right up against your coat pockets.

The CT Fire Instructors have to teach what is in the book but there are also tricks to the trade that will keep you safe and being able to manage your tools on your person. Please don't think I disagree with you but a radio pocket is more useful for other applications other than holding a radio. You are correct in what you are taught about suiting up properly but also remember, they are teaching you this for several reason the main one being the "I LOOK COOL" aspect and you can throw that into the dumpster. As a radio guy (I work on a lot of them) I can tell you that on a fireground, radio pocket or under the coat really doesn't matter that much when your transmitting on 5-watts. If your trying to reach a base repeater on the main channel, then that is a different story.

If everyone hear really wants to get a good idea on radio propagation, go to the ARRL's website (Amateur Radio Relay League) or APCO's and there is a lot of information on radio's there.

This is just my views.

[Guest]

We have to wear our radios this way in the city, I have also had the pleasure of having a radio pocket on my coat as well in my past job. I don't really have a preference, although I have found that sometimes the hardware that holds the strap to the case has a tendency to fail. If you keep some small split rings (the kind you use for keys) on hand they easily fix the problem.

[eckyphats 0]

I bought my own from RadioTech.com with the thick strap and also the short stabilizer strap (it keeps the radio holder from flopping around and shifting all over the place, great little thing!)

I wear mine under my turnouts and I have the mic come out through the neck of my coat.  It's just the way I like it, though I know that transmitting wise it is not good, but the radio is protected.

←

i wear mine the same, the bottom of the radio is just above the end of my coat and if i had to change a channel or adjust the volume i can slide my hand up the side of my coat and change it.. also i drive the engine alot and its nice to have becuz i dont have my coat on and there is no where else to to keep the radio

[Guest]

On a some what related topic, Does anyone know the reason for putting the radio pocket on the sholder area of the coat? I have seen a couple dept's with that set up and always wondered why.

[HFD750 6]

On a some what related topic, Does anyone know the reason for putting the radio pocket on the sholder area of the coat?  I have seen a couple dept's with that set up and always wondered why.

←

I think that idea is stupid... A couple of my guy's tried it and hated it so we removed it and put it back on the chest. It really is a poor design in my eyes.

[CHIEFPHIL 90]

On a some what related topic, Does anyone know the reason for putting the radio pocket on the sholder area of the coat?  I have seen a couple dept's with that set up and always wondered why.

←

One reason it was done dealt with low band radio waves. When the radio is in a chest pocket [low band] the body tends to absorb the radio waves and reduce the power of the transmission.

Having it on the arm,reduced the amount the body absorbed, providing better transmission nad reception.

Today, most depts are going high band and UHF , plus with better technology, you should not have those same issues.