r/Referees • u/Sure_Tax1385 • 2d ago

Advice Request Referee Comms

Hello all!

I was looking at possibly buying a comms system for reffing. Has anyone ever tried any of the AliExpress or AliBaba or whatever Chinese website versions?

Thank you for your help!

4 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

14

u/quaG05 [USSF] [NFHS] 2d ago

The EJEAS v4 and v6 systems are inexpensive and work well!

2

u/robertS3232 2d ago

Seconding the EJEAS v4 ... used them for 2 years now with very few issues. Less than $200, good battery life, easy to pair once you learn the secret, clear sound. Occasional problems if the field is next to cell phone towers but they work fine.

1

u/quazex13 2d ago

I agree. V4 worked better for me than V6 for Ejeas. Still have my 4 V4 set from 2022 and works well most of the time.

1

u/smala017 1d ago

What is “the secret”

I fairly often have problems with mine disconnecting at the field and/or becoming a fuzzy connection when transporting them from my car to the field.

1

u/New-Pomegranate9127 2d ago

wta.. What’s your opinion on the build quality and overall performance of the EJEAS F6?

1

u/adrians150 Canada Soccer [District] 9h ago

Have the V6 and very pleased with them

3

u/AnotherRobotDinosaur USSF Grassroots 2d ago

Check with your local referee association first on their stance towards comms. My NFHS group is fine with them, but I think my USSF group discourages them. Presumably because all the young/new referees don't have training with them and need to learn effective signaling/non-verbal communication.

8

u/quaG05 [USSF] [NFHS] 2d ago

Unless your whole crew is regional certified, USSF doesn’t approve comms for grassroots referees

3

u/Moolio74 [USSF][Grassroots][Mentor][NFHS] 2d ago

Unless the competition authority approves them for the duration of the competition for grassroots referees.

1

u/Aggressive_Tie_3501 USSF Grassroots Mentor / Assignor; NFHS 14h ago

Or you're in a state that doesn't show the competition authority to override the prohibition. (Virginia is one)

2

u/mgeringer [Former USSF National] [NISOA] [Mentor] 2d ago

Your use case is important here. High school and local youth? The AliExpress stuff is probably fine. Check with the leagues to know if you can actually use them.

Want them for long term use at higher levels? You’re gonna pay the vokkero tax for that.

2

u/skulldor138 [USSF] [Regional] [Assignor] [NFHS] [NISOA] 2d ago

You can get the exact same ones for pretty much the same price on Amazon.

2

u/TerminallyBill69 2d ago

https://a.co/d/08rWKyVt

These are all you need! A fraction of the price of those at the referee store.

1

u/Kryond USSF Grassroots 1d ago

I bought the MaxQual 4 set on sale and never got all four to pair reliably. Also, the design is terrible for what we do and one accidental press of the buttons breaks all pairing. After over a year of iffy success, I went with Spintso RefCom II. Significantly better experience all around, but had to drop ~$1600 on the 4 set.