Any HAMtards here or anyone interested in HAM radios? - Updated info on page 4 | |
Lowkey Cyberpunk
User ID: 77651099 United States 09/26/2019 06:28 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | [wall of text follows] For many years, I just listened. Scanners, shortwave, CBs, commercial AM and FM. Back in the 90s I'd turn my scanner to a pager frequency and right on the dot at 9:00am the frequency would go nuts. There was a system that would send voice messages to pagers so you'd sit there and listen to doctors get messages about patients. At Christmas time when my nephews got RC controlled toys I tuned the scanner to the proper frequency and they had almost as much fun making the scanner buzz with their controllers. I'd tune into police frequencies and listen to traffic stops where the officer would ask for a warrant check. I was horrified to tune into cordless phone frequencies one night and realized that one of my neighbors must have taken the phone off the hook and were having rabid sex... Things like that have changed but so did what you could listen to. Today, with a $15 tv tuner from Amazon I can pick up ADS-B transmissions from overhead aircraft or read everyone's electric meter around me. And I knew about ham radio. Went to a local club's meetings a couple of times, studied, took the test, passed but never applied for the license. I just couldn't understand what talking would do for me that listening wasn't as good. And so I kept listening. Working a truckstop during the height of "Achy Breaky Heart" meant that I literally heard that song played every other song, sometimes multiple times in a row. To this day I despise that song. After my shift I would go home and tune in the shortwave to escape, at least until one evening I was listening to the BBC and the announcer said "And now for the hit that is sweeping America!" Yup, Billy Ray had gone global. Meanwhile I had discovered BBSes, those magic places that you could dial up with your computer. I liked interacting with people that way, being able to grab all of the new messages in a QWK file, disconnect and read them. Make all of the replies that I wanted, then dial the BBS up and upload what I had to say. Later on the internet took over and we lost a unique culture. But one day I was out doing yard sales and I stopped at a house that had some bins by the road with "Free" on them. I walked up and talked to the elderly woman about the radios and she told me that they had been her husband's and she just wanted to get rid of them. Most of them were CBs but one was a Yaesu FT-270RH, a 2m radio. I picked it up thinking that at least I'd be keeping a hooligan from causing trouble with it but also with an eye towards emergency communications. A few years later and I saw an ad in the paper for amateur radio testing. By now there was no code requirement at all so I looked at that Yaesu and thought that maybe I could start doing something with it. Went and took the test, took the next test at the same time and wound up with a General Class license all for the same $15. Started showing up at the local club meetings and one day they were looking for communication volunteers for a bicycle event. I had built an antenna and was able to use the local repeaters so I shrugged my shoulders and asked for an assignment. Spent the whole day parked along the side of the road in a location that had no cellphone reception. Helped two breakdowns. Felt pretty good. Shortly after that I picked up the gear to run packet radio and was immediately back in my BBS days! Not much traffic but I can reach a repeater that will allow me to hit nodes that are 150 miles away from me. Everyone says that APRS is modern packet and they're not wrong but it isn't right either. Now I've picked up a Yaesu FT-900 and have just been listening with it (at least until I get a decent antenna up). Picked up some of AmRRON's emergency exercise and, most recently, the hurricane network. Plus it's a general coverage receiver so on those nights that I just want to listen I have a quality instrument. I'm looking forward to using digital modes in the future with it. So, long story short, the allure of ham radio is that it's a hobby that grows as your interests do. "Yes, yes. Zathras is used to being beast of burden to other people's needs. Very sad life. Probably have very sad death. But, at least there is symmetry." |
DeplorableDoomsdayGuy
(OP) User ID: 77361703 United States 09/26/2019 11:57 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | [wall of text follows] For many years, I just listened. Scanners, shortwave, CBs, commercial AM and FM. Back in the 90s I'd turn my scanner to a pager frequency and right on the dot at 9:00am the frequency would go nuts. There was a system that would send voice messages to pagers so you'd sit there and listen to doctors get messages about patients. At Christmas time when my nephews got RC controlled toys I tuned the scanner to the proper frequency and they had almost as much fun making the scanner buzz with their controllers. I'd tune into police frequencies and listen to traffic stops where the officer would ask for a warrant check. I was horrified to tune into cordless phone frequencies one night and realized that one of my neighbors must have taken the phone off the hook and were having rabid sex... Things like that have changed but so did what you could listen to. Today, with a $15 tv tuner from Amazon I can pick up ADS-B transmissions from overhead aircraft or read everyone's electric meter around me. And I knew about ham radio. Went to a local club's meetings a couple of times, studied, took the test, passed but never applied for the license. I just couldn't understand what talking would do for me that listening wasn't as good. And so I kept listening. Working a truckstop during the height of "Achy Breaky Heart" meant that I literally heard that song played every other song, sometimes multiple times in a row. To this day I despise that song. After my shift I would go home and tune in the shortwave to escape, at least until one evening I was listening to the BBC and the announcer said "And now for the hit that is sweeping America!" Yup, Billy Ray had gone global. Meanwhile I had discovered BBSes, those magic places that you could dial up with your computer. I liked interacting with people that way, being able to grab all of the new messages in a QWK file, disconnect and read them. Make all of the replies that I wanted, then dial the BBS up and upload what I had to say. Later on the internet took over and we lost a unique culture. But one day I was out doing yard sales and I stopped at a house that had some bins by the road with "Free" on them. I walked up and talked to the elderly woman about the radios and she told me that they had been her husband's and she just wanted to get rid of them. Most of them were CBs but one was a Yaesu FT-270RH, a 2m radio. I picked it up thinking that at least I'd be keeping a hooligan from causing trouble with it but also with an eye towards emergency communications. A few years later and I saw an ad in the paper for amateur radio testing. By now there was no code requirement at all so I looked at that Yaesu and thought that maybe I could start doing something with it. Went and took the test, took the next test at the same time and wound up with a General Class license all for the same $15. Started showing up at the local club meetings and one day they were looking for communication volunteers for a bicycle event. I had built an antenna and was able to use the local repeaters so I shrugged my shoulders and asked for an assignment. Spent the whole day parked along the side of the road in a location that had no cellphone reception. Helped two breakdowns. Felt pretty good. Shortly after that I picked up the gear to run packet radio and was immediately back in my BBS days! Not much traffic but I can reach a repeater that will allow me to hit nodes that are 150 miles away from me. Everyone says that APRS is modern packet and they're not wrong but it isn't right either. Now I've picked up a Yaesu FT-900 and have just been listening with it (at least until I get a decent antenna up). Picked up some of AmRRON's emergency exercise and, most recently, the hurricane network. Plus it's a general coverage receiver so on those nights that I just want to listen I have a quality instrument. I'm looking forward to using digital modes in the future with it. So, long story short, the allure of ham radio is that it's a hobby that grows as your interests do. Yeah, not sure if you have seen it or not, but there are a few people that are sending their ads-b streams out of APRS. That cheap $15 dollar dongle is picking up air traffic in their area and sending it back on 2 meter. I'm thinking about trying it just to do it. You got lucky with the FT-270, that's a nice little handheld, it's pretty rugged and water-resistant too. I've had mine for almost 10 years now, and I think they are still selling. I think the reason why a lot of people say that APRS is modern, is because it's pretty simple with a cheap $25 Baofeng, smartphone, and a cable. Come on and take a free ride. |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 76857890 United States 09/27/2019 12:02 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 74082468 United States 09/27/2019 12:05 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
DeplorableDoomsdayGuy
(OP) User ID: 77361703 United States 09/27/2019 12:11 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | I transmit on FRS family radio signals with a baofeng UV5R+ which is legal unlicensed but not with the boafeng because 5watt transmission on FRS is legal has to be lower power but ive never caught flack from it Quoting: Anonymous Coward 76857890 LOL, you will when someone complains. Just don't do it in the same area, and not for extended periods of time. It's easy to track that shit down. I actually have a 2-meter Icom ID-5100 which does 50 watts, and a CB in my truck. Somehow that CB got hooked up to 100 watt amplifier, I only run the amplifier if someone is being a jack ass and walking all over people. Not something you want to be caught with by the FCC. I'll get funny looks from truckers sometimes when I run it because their not expecting a pick up to have that type of equipment. Come on and take a free ride. |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 22724263 United States 09/27/2019 12:14 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | would love some help programming a baofeng 2meter transceiver re: this unit [link to www.amazon.com (secure)] _________________________ have tried serial port and different usb port interfaces to attempt to program for chirp ? win 7 pro any help or direction will be most appreciated thanks |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 76857890 United States 09/27/2019 12:19 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | I transmit on FRS family radio signals with a baofeng UV5R+ which is legal unlicensed but not with the boafeng because 5watt transmission on FRS is legal has to be lower power but ive never caught flack from it Quoting: Anonymous Coward 76857890 LOL, you will when someone complains. Just don't do it in the same area, and not for extended periods of time. It's easy to track that shit down. I actually have a 2-meter Icom ID-5100 which does 50 watts, and a CB in my truck. Somehow that CB got hooked up to 100 watt amplifier, I only run the amplifier if someone is being a jack ass and walking all over people. Not something you want to be caught with by the FCC. I'll get funny looks from truckers sometimes when I run it because their not expecting a pick up to have that type of equipment. All CB is in my area is illegal mexican radio stations . Mexicans just play their music over the air keeping their mic keyd up all day . You think the FCC would really go after someone for transmitting on legal frequencies just because of an wattage violation ?? I mean FRS is 2 watts max and the UV5R + transmits at 5watts . That just seems silly . I mean hillary clinton destroyed 30k emails of evidence AFTER a federal subpoena and skated like nacy kerrigan on that shit . Even going so far as to order aides to smash harddrives with hammers . But I guess I am one of the serfs . Laws for thee but not for me . |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 7061530 United States 09/27/2019 12:36 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | [wall of text follows] For many years, I just listened. Scanners, shortwave, CBs, commercial AM and FM. Back in the 90s I'd turn my scanner to a pager frequency and right on the dot at 9:00am the frequency would go nuts. There was a system that would send voice messages to pagers so you'd sit there and listen to doctors get messages about patients. At Christmas time when my nephews got RC controlled toys I tuned the scanner to the proper frequency and they had almost as much fun making the scanner buzz with their controllers. I'd tune into police frequencies and listen to traffic stops where the officer would ask for a warrant check. I was horrified to tune into cordless phone frequencies one night and realized that one of my neighbors must have taken the phone off the hook and were having rabid sex... Things like that have changed but so did what you could listen to. Today, with a $15 tv tuner from Amazon I can pick up ADS-B transmissions from overhead aircraft or read everyone's electric meter around me. And I knew about ham radio. Went to a local club's meetings a couple of times, studied, took the test, passed but never applied for the license. I just couldn't understand what talking would do for me that listening wasn't as good. And so I kept listening. Working a truckstop during the height of "Achy Breaky Heart" meant that I literally heard that song played every other song, sometimes multiple times in a row. To this day I despise that song. After my shift I would go home and tune in the shortwave to escape, at least until one evening I was listening to the BBC and the announcer said "And now for the hit that is sweeping America!" Yup, Billy Ray had gone global. Meanwhile I had discovered BBSes, those magic places that you could dial up with your computer. I liked interacting with people that way, being able to grab all of the new messages in a QWK file, disconnect and read them. Make all of the replies that I wanted, then dial the BBS up and upload what I had to say. Later on the internet took over and we lost a unique culture. But one day I was out doing yard sales and I stopped at a house that had some bins by the road with "Free" on them. I walked up and talked to the elderly woman about the radios and she told me that they had been her husband's and she just wanted to get rid of them. Most of them were CBs but one was a Yaesu FT-270RH, a 2m radio. I picked it up thinking that at least I'd be keeping a hooligan from causing trouble with it but also with an eye towards emergency communications. A few years later and I saw an ad in the paper for amateur radio testing. By now there was no code requirement at all so I looked at that Yaesu and thought that maybe I could start doing something with it. Went and took the test, took the next test at the same time and wound up with a General Class license all for the same $15. Started showing up at the local club meetings and one day they were looking for communication volunteers for a bicycle event. I had built an antenna and was able to use the local repeaters so I shrugged my shoulders and asked for an assignment. Spent the whole day parked along the side of the road in a location that had no cellphone reception. Helped two breakdowns. Felt pretty good. Shortly after that I picked up the gear to run packet radio and was immediately back in my BBS days! Not much traffic but I can reach a repeater that will allow me to hit nodes that are 150 miles away from me. Everyone says that APRS is modern packet and they're not wrong but it isn't right either. Now I've picked up a Yaesu FT-900 and have just been listening with it (at least until I get a decent antenna up). Picked up some of AmRRON's emergency exercise and, most recently, the hurricane network. Plus it's a general coverage receiver so on those nights that I just want to listen I have a quality instrument. I'm looking forward to using digital modes in the future with it. So, long story short, the allure of ham radio is that it's a hobby that grows as your interests do. How many remember accessing BBS with Teletype and the stacks of paper feeding off the roller and the holes in paper get misaligned and a mess ensues or u run out of paper . Then came alone the Tandy Trs-80 system with a b/w or monochrome monitor 300 baud modem telenet ect.. communication bbs .. [/youtube] [link to youtu.be (secure)] |
Lost Pottawatomie
User ID: 72793787 United States 09/27/2019 12:39 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Stayed out of it because I'm only interested in AM, tube equipment, longer wavelengths. Got RF engineering degree just before the 1st Class license was eliminated, so really didn't want to go through the ham licensing deal. Did have a working RTTY smash and crash model 15, that was fun. Giwani-Mek Translates as: Wandering Beaver Nothing shall be so certain as to permit confusion |
Lowkey Cyberpunk
User ID: 77651099 United States 09/27/2019 04:57 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | How many remember accessing BBS with Teletype and the stacks of paper feeding off the roller and the holes in paper get misaligned and a mess ensues or u run out of paper . Then came alone the Tandy Trs-80 system with a b/w or monochrome monitor 300 baud modem telenet ect.. communication bbs .. Quoting: Anonymous Coward 7061530 [/youtube] [link to youtu.be (secure)] I once had a TTY that I had picked up from some odd place, used it to call a BBS just for giggles. Line noise made a fine mess of things too. Wrote a terminal emulator in Pascal for my Color Computer, nothing fancy but it got the job done. Had no small sense of pride when I mentioned that in a chat with the sysop of a board. That's the same thing with radio. If you just want to buy things and put them together with the same level of understanding as putting together Ikea furniture then you'll get one level of enjoyment. If you want try something made out of rubber bands and aluminum foil to see if it'll work, there's another level entirely. There's a free book on the internet called "Crystal Sets to Sideband" that invites people to explore homebrew. Even if you don't want a ham license it's still a great tech read. [link to www.qsl.net (secure)] All chapters in one file: [link to ve3ips.wordpress.com (secure)] "Yes, yes. Zathras is used to being beast of burden to other people's needs. Very sad life. Probably have very sad death. But, at least there is symmetry." |
ThirstyMarlin
User ID: 77975695 United States 09/27/2019 05:14 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Hi, I just found this thread. I don't have my HAM license yet, but I bought a study book and the test is offered at our local Fire Training Dept. in Clearwater, Florida once a month. So, I guess if I want a license, I should probably open the book and do so homework. I saw online that Baofeng radios will no longer be sold in the USA as of Sept 30, 2019. I know the "cheap" Chinese radios are frowned upon, but honestly I got one to practice with (once I get my license) just to see if I am even going to enjoy HAM. If so, I'll step up to something Japanese I imagine. Our local HAM clubs all seem to have used equipment sales, Field Days and such. There are a lot of HAM clubs in Florida (maybe because so many old people live here...or hurricanes, or 3rd most populous state). I'll look over this thread more carefully now, but it was fairly high up on the board, so I figure someone following is maybe awake (it's 5am EST) and I thought I'd say hello. I guess GLP is almost like HAM radio. This is ThirstyMarlin checking out. -Peace! Marlin! |
Lowkey Cyberpunk
User ID: 77651099 United States 09/27/2019 05:38 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Hi, I just found this thread. I don't have my HAM license yet, but I bought a study book and the test is offered at our local Fire Training Dept. in Clearwater, Florida once a month. So, I guess if I want a license, I should probably open the book and do so homework. Quoting: ThirstyMarlin I saw online that Baofeng radios will no longer be sold in the USA as of Sept 30, 2019. I know the "cheap" Chinese radios are frowned upon, but honestly I got one to practice with (once I get my license) just to see if I am even going to enjoy HAM. If so, I'll step up to something Japanese I imagine. Our local HAM clubs all seem to have used equipment sales, Field Days and such. There are a lot of HAM clubs in Florida (maybe because so many old people live here...or hurricanes, or 3rd most populous state). I'll look over this thread more carefully now, but it was fairly high up on the board, so I figure someone following is maybe awake (it's 5am EST) and I thought I'd say hello. I guess GLP is almost like HAM radio. This is ThirstyMarlin checking out. -Peace! Welcome to the thread, TM! I'm of the opinion that the rig that you have is better than the one that you don't. When you do your studying, go ahead and study for the General too, for the same $15 you can test until you fail. So if you are prepared you can knock out two tests in the same session. I've been (sadly) finding really good deals at estate sales. My FT-900 was at a sale that was advertising CB radios. What clued me in was the mention of Morse code keys... don't need those for CB, I wondered what else might be there. Spent $300 for the rig (with microphone), the matching power supply, a long wire antenna, an antenna switch, a remote mount kit, a power cable for battery operation and... a Morse code key. $300 is a substantial sum for me but I had been salting it away, one plasma donation at a time, in preparation for such a deal. "Yes, yes. Zathras is used to being beast of burden to other people's needs. Very sad life. Probably have very sad death. But, at least there is symmetry." |
Lowkey Cyberpunk
User ID: 77651099 United States 09/27/2019 05:56 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Yeah, not sure if you have seen it or not, but there are a few people that are sending their ads-b streams out of APRS. That cheap $15 dollar dongle is picking up air traffic in their area and sending it back on 2 meter. I'm thinking about trying it just to do it. You got lucky with the FT-270, that's a nice little handheld, it's pretty rugged and water-resistant too. I've had mine for almost 10 years now, and I think they are still selling. Quoting: DeplorableDoomsdayGuy I think the reason why a lot of people say that APRS is modern, is because it's pretty simple with a cheap $25 Baofeng, smartphone, and a cable. Haven't seen ADS-B being sent via APRS yet. There's a local buoy in a pond that sends environmental information but that's the most interesting use that I've seen. After Fukushima there was an extension adopted to report radiological readings, I thought that was a useful move. But mostly APRS is a way to watch local hams drive around in real time. Maybe one day I get what it's all about. "Yes, yes. Zathras is used to being beast of burden to other people's needs. Very sad life. Probably have very sad death. But, at least there is symmetry." |
ThirstyMarlin
User ID: 77975695 United States 09/27/2019 06:01 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Excellent information. I can sell my plasma and buy HAM equipment. Can I sell plasma twice a week :) Actually, when I was in college, I think guys did. They also did something called drug studies (human guinea pigs). Well, I think my next step would be a Yeashu FT-60 I think that is around $100 hand held. And, our test here is FREE. I guess it comes out of the club budget or fire dept. But I agree, try for both tests. I'm using the study guide with the answers, it's almost like cheating, but not really. I'm still learning. I understand the learning really happens at the club level. Marlin! |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 69288802 United States 09/27/2019 10:51 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Check out QRZ.COM for all your ham needs. Lots of good information, especially after you get your license. Once you have a license, join QRZ and download a little bit about yourself with photos. Whenever you contact someone over the radio you can look them up by using their call sign and see who you are talking to. Almost everyone joins for this purpose. It gives a real personal touch. I have been a Hammer for 13 years. I thank Obama for the encouragement. The tests are easy as took a 4 hour class and studied for less than a day. I have two radios, one in the truck and one in the office. The one in the office is more powerful with an amplifier and is connected to my computer via DDSDP2, a program that lets you observe the band that you are using. So instead of hunting forever for a conversation on the radio, you can see where someone is talking and just click on the screen and that changes your radios frequency automatically. This is reference SDR or Software Defined Radios only. Old radios wont do this. [link to www.youtube.com (secure)] The radio in my office is basically an automotive or mobil radio and is very discrete and does everything the big ones can do. |
DeplorableDoomsdayGuy
(OP) User ID: 77361703 United States 09/27/2019 02:03 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | I transmit on FRS family radio signals with a baofeng UV5R+ which is legal unlicensed but not with the boafeng because 5watt transmission on FRS is legal has to be lower power but ive never caught flack from it Quoting: Anonymous Coward 76857890 LOL, you will when someone complains. Just don't do it in the same area, and not for extended periods of time. It's easy to track that shit down. I actually have a 2-meter Icom ID-5100 which does 50 watts, and a CB in my truck. Somehow that CB got hooked up to 100 watt amplifier, I only run the amplifier if someone is being a jack ass and walking all over people. Not something you want to be caught with by the FCC. I'll get funny looks from truckers sometimes when I run it because their not expecting a pick up to have that type of equipment. All CB is in my area is illegal mexican radio stations . Mexicans just play their music over the air keeping their mic keyd up all day . You think the FCC would really go after someone for transmitting on legal frequencies just because of an wattage violation ?? I mean FRS is 2 watts max and the UV5R + transmits at 5watts . That just seems silly . I mean hillary clinton destroyed 30k emails of evidence AFTER a federal subpoena and skated like nacy kerrigan on that shit . Even going so far as to order aides to smash harddrives with hammers . But I guess I am one of the serfs . Laws for thee but not for me . Actually I think the real reason why the FCC wants to ban the Baofengs is that they can also transmit on local police bands. Cops hate the Baofengs, because they're not only a cheap $25 police scanner, but they can also transmit on police bands as well. That's why I keep a photocopy of my ham license in my vehicle, because if I ever get pulled over and have one laying on the front seat or have it set to scan I can pull that out and can show I have a lawful purpose of having it in my vehicle. Actually the shop that I bought the CB amp from did get busted by the FCC for selling the amps and converted 10 meter rigs to transmit on 11 meter. He still still sells the amps, but will only take cash for them and keeps them off of his inventory. I think they fined him 10 grand for it too. There are all types of stories about people getting busted for selling them. I'm not too worried about getting caught using it, since it is in my vehicle and most of the people that do get popped are the ones using them at home and cause interference to others, who then complain. Come on and take a free ride. |
Lowkey Cyberpunk
User ID: 77651099 United States 09/27/2019 06:44 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Actually I think the real reason why the FCC wants to ban the Baofengs is that they can also transmit on local police bands. Cops hate the Baofengs, because they're not only a cheap $25 police scanner, but they can also transmit on police bands as well. That's why I keep a photocopy of my ham license in my vehicle, because if I ever get pulled over and have one laying on the front seat or have it set to scan I can pull that out and can show I have a lawful purpose of having it in my vehicle. Quoting: DeplorableDoomsdayGuy Actually the shop that I bought the CB amp from did get busted by the FCC for selling the amps and converted 10 meter rigs to transmit on 11 meter. He still still sells the amps, but will only take cash for them and keeps them off of his inventory. I think they fined him 10 grand for it too. There are all types of stories about people getting busted for selling them. I'm not too worried about getting caught using it, since it is in my vehicle and most of the people that do get popped are the ones using them at home and cause interference to others, who then complain. The FCC emails your license to you these days. I printed a copy out, 'laminated' it between two pieces of clear packing tape, folded it and keep it in my wallet. "Yes, yes. Zathras is used to being beast of burden to other people's needs. Very sad life. Probably have very sad death. But, at least there is symmetry." |
Tangy
User ID: 69917668 United States 09/28/2019 11:58 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | I shared this in the baofeng thread, but thought I would share it here as well.. My son wrote a primer for it, and as you all know, I'm sure, only a couple more days to get one before they lock the firmware. If anyone has questions, I can ask him. He hasn't made a GLP account, but wrote it for you all. lol Baofeng Primer Written: 9/28/2019 Due to their unbeatable price, and wide frequency range, these little radios have become widely popoular with hams; preppers; off-roaders; airsoft, and paintball enthusiats; general listeners; and many others. Though not with the fanfare or features of other HT brands, they certainly hold their own. Interest in these VHF/UHF HTs (handy talkies) has increased recently due to the FCC's enforcement advisory which among other things bans out-of-band capable transceivers; *though this won't ban the Baofeng (or similar radios) outright from what I've read, it will require new models to have firmware locked to prevent out-of-band transmissions. I've written this as a non-ham, radio hobbyist (listener), to act as brief primer and starting point. Written from and for a U.S. perspective. With this, add your own research, fact checking, and consideration. For transparency, anything that's rumor, or not direct experience, I'll place an asterisk (*) before. Pros: Inexpensive. Able to <strike through>transmit and</strike through> receive out of ham bands. Durable. Cons: FM only. *Difficult to program. Lead-laden. External speaker mic: Quality not so good on TX, but OK. *There's a switch in the speaker jack that disables the internal speaker, with use some have had this switch break, making RX only possible with an external speaker. Stock antenna: The stock "rubber ducky" antenna is good not great. Nagoya brand antennas are popular for HTs, namely the NA-771 (retractable, or flexible whip). If getting a retractable, only transmit fully extended; then also only for freqs it's made for. (Also, if going 50W+ later on, be aware of exposure limits, and how best to keep the radiation above you). TX behavior: *Baofengs are notorious for having a TX bandwidth too wide, or spurious emissions at harmonics; that said they're used often by hams without issue. Batteries, accessories: There's a variety of power options for the radio; including AA battery packs, high-capacity batteries, and 12VDC battery eliminators. There's also USB adapters for the battery charging base (with which theoretically you could use a dynamo, solar, or other USB device to charge). *Some advise to not use the charging port on the side of the 3800mAh battery, because it allegedly bypasses the safety circuit (that, and Amazon reviews will show burst USB cables--make effort to buy from the company). The 3800mAh charged in the base works fine, however. *Cable is recommended for programming. Things to consider for a radio: Some aspects that come to mind are portability; power; modes; frequency range; and durability. Like anything, it's a trade-off of these values: Portability: Baofengs are smaller than most GMRS walkie-talkies, and competitor HTs. Power: Selectable power (1W, 5W; some newer models have 3W, 8W, and 10W, too (though risk burning themselves up at 10W). A lot can be done with 5W; higher gain antennas, and directional ones if fitting, stretch this further. Modes: Baofengs (as far as I've seen, as of 2019) are FM only; no SSB, CW, AM, or DMR. Pagers, APRS, SSTV, APT, etc... decodable via software. Frequency range (bands): Generally these are dual-band, some newer tri-banders are out there which include 220 (ham). The popular UV-5RE+ for example is 136-176MHz, and 400Mhz-520MHz (plus Broadcast FM 68-108MHz) Now, to dissect that a bit, this includes in part: NOAA WX-sat downlinks; 2m ham; MURS; marine radio; NOAA All Hazards; 440 (70cm) ham; off-roader freqs (freebanding); FRS, and GMRS. There's also some utility; media; public safety; forestry; etc (if analog FM). These will not do air band; most scanner traffic; 220 ham (unless tri-bander); or most milsat freqs. Durability: Components seem well built, haven't had or heard of them breaking (short of firmware, or speaker switch). Look up "Baofeng Extreme Radio Test" on YouTube. Frequencies: Frequency guides are your friend, and vary widely by location. Some radio services to monitor may be MURS, FRS/GMRS, marine radio, and NOAA All Hazards Radio. For preppers, or others interested in emergency communications, keywords like ARES, RACES, SATERN, CERT, or SkyWarn for your area should get you somewhere. For ham radio, Repeater Book is a good resource to find information on local repeaters, networks, as well as their frequencies. Simplex channels are occasionally interesting. A lot can be found just by search engine, too (a lot of local scanner forums, blogs, and radio logs come up). For more, Broadcastify and others have frequency guides by location for a wide variety of services. Also, just scanning around to find new things can be great fun (how I found most of what I listen to). I'd like to point out, too, a bit about FCC regulations surrounding the use of these radios (from my read of them). This, however, should not substitute your own due diligence. Firstly, without a ham license, there's no frequency we're "allowed" to transmit on with these radios (unfortunately). With a ham license, that still doesn't permit other radio services. By-and-large, radio services like MURS, FRS/GMRS, and marine radio require the radio itself (and sometimes the operator, too) to be licensed or type certified by the FCC to be used (the Baofeng is not). Out-of-band use is also not permitted. The penalties can include fines, and license revocation. Interfering with some services (like public safety) may bring criminal penalties, too. That's about it for a running start. I hope this has been informative, and helpful. Happy listening. |