FiveM Radio Script Guide: Team Comms & Car Radio Systems (2026)

Two Types of Radio Scripts in FiveM

When people search for "fivem radio script," they are typically looking for one of two very different things:

1. Team communication radio — A voice chat system for coordinating with teammates over long distances (like walkie-talkies)
2. Car radio / music radio — An in-vehicle entertainment system that plays music or radio stations

Both are important for immersive roleplay, but they work completely differently. This guide covers both.

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Part 1: Team Communication Radio Scripts

What They Do

A team communication radio allows players to talk to each other regardless of distance. In a standard pma-voice setup, voice only works within proximity (10-30 meters). A radio script creates voice channels that bypass this limitation.

Common implementations:

• Frequency-based — Players tune to a numerical frequency (e.g., 100.1) and can hear everyone on the same frequency
• Channel-based — Organized channels (Channel 1, Channel 2, etc.)
• Department-based — Preset channels for police, EMS, fire, etc.

How It Works with pma-voice

Most modern FiveM servers use pma-voice for proximity chat. Radio scripts hook into pma-voice's radio channel system:

1. Player opens the radio UI (NUI interface or item-triggered)
2. Player enters a frequency number
3. The script calls the pma-voice setRadioChannel export
4. Player holds a keybind (typically Caps Lock) to transmit on the radio
5. All players on the same frequency hear the transmission with a radio audio filter applied

The radio filter (crackling, low-pass EQ) makes radio transmissions sound distinct from proximity voice.

Essential Features

Feature	Description
Multiple channels	Join more than one frequency simultaneously
Volume control	Adjust radio volume independently from game audio
Radio animation	Player touches their ear or shoulder mic while transmitting
Radio item	Require a physical radio item in inventory to use
Click sounds	Audible click when starting and stopping transmission
Range limits	Optional: limit radio range to simulate realistic conditions

Popular Radio Scripts

• pma-voice built-in radio — pma-voice has native radio channel support. Many servers use just this without additional scripts
• Custom radio UI scripts — Add a visual radio interface (frequency display, volume slider, channel list) on top of pma-voice
• Standalone radios — Scripts that implement their own voice routing without pma-voice dependency

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Part 2: Car Radio / Music Radio Scripts

What They Do

A car radio script adds an in-vehicle music system where players can:

• Browse radio stations playing real music streams
• Adjust volume
• Switch between stations
• Optionally, create custom playlists or connect to streaming services

How They Work

Car radio scripts typically use FiveM's NUI (New UI) system to play audio:

1. Player enters a vehicle and turns on the radio
2. The script opens a hidden NUI browser window
3. The browser plays an audio stream (internet radio URL or local files)
4. Audio volume is controlled via JavaScript in the NUI
5. Other nearby players can optionally hear the music via proximity

Proximity Sharing

The most immersive car radio scripts share audio with nearby players:

• Driver turns on the radio in their car
• Players within a configurable radius hear the music
• Volume decreases with distance (spatial audio falloff)
• Sound is louder if car windows are "open" (some scripts simulate this)

This is typically implemented by having the driver's client send the radio station URL to nearby players, who then play the same stream synchronized to the same position.

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Installation Guide

Communication Radio Setup

1. Ensure pma-voice is installed and functioning
2. Download the radio UI resource
3. Add to your resources folder
4. Ensure the script in server.cfg — after pma-voice
5. Configure default frequency ranges, keybinds, radio item requirements, animations, and click sounds
6. If using radio items, add the radio item to your framework's item list (qb-core/shared/items.lua for QBCore, or the items database table for ESX)

Car Radio Setup

1. Download the car radio resource
2. Add to resources folder
3. Ensure in server.cfg
4. Configure radio stations in config.lua with stream names and URLs
5. Test in a vehicle — open the radio UI and verify streams play correctly

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Performance and Compatibility

Communication Radios

Communication radio scripts are extremely lightweight:

• 0.00ms resmon when not transmitting
• 0.01ms during active transmission (voice routing)
• Main overhead comes from pma-voice itself, not the radio UI

Car Radios

Car radio scripts can be heavier due to audio streaming:

• NUI overhead — A hidden browser window consumes some GPU memory
• Network usage — Streaming audio uses bandwidth (typically 64-192 kbps per stream)
• Client-side only — No server-side performance impact

Tip: Close the radio NUI when exiting a vehicle to free the browser resources.

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Radio Script vs Speaker Script

These are often confused but serve different purposes:

Feature	Radio Script	Speaker Script
Range	Unlimited (channel-based)	Area-based (zone)
Privacy	Only channel members hear	Everyone in zone hears
UI	Frequency/channel interface	On/off activation
Use case	Team comms (police, EMS)	Public announcements
Audio type	Voice only	Voice + optional music

Many servers use both together for a complete audio experience.

→ Browse All Scripts | → Speaker Script Guide