Acer-m14
20×102mm Vulcan
or should i be looking for something else ?
it has to be unlocked .. dual or tri band ..
it has to be unlocked .. dual or tri band ..
what BaoFeng should i be looking for now ??
- Thread starter Acer-m14
- Start date
Marine Cpl
.577 Tyrannosaur.
What do you mean by unlocked?
I have had great results with the Baofeng UV-82HP. Dual band. 7 watts. Dual watch. 2 push to talk buttons. One for each selected frequency. This comes in handy. I can listen to the job and transmit to the job with the top button and also at the same time listen to my partner and transmit on the bottom button.
baofengtech.com
I have had great results with the Baofeng UV-82HP. Dual band. 7 watts. Dual watch. 2 push to talk buttons. One for each selected frequency. This comes in handy. I can listen to the job and transmit to the job with the top button and also at the same time listen to my partner and transmit on the bottom button.
UV-82HP - BaoFeng
Discover the BaoFeng UV-82HP, High-Power, dual band (VHF/UHF), two-way radio. Visit the BaoFeng site to learn, buy, and get support.
baofengtech.com
I thought baofengs were now blocked from import?
HIghlander
.223 Rem
From what I've read they are good to go as long as the label has the FCC number printed on it.
Acer-m14
20×102mm Vulcan
you can transmit on any frequency .. police band , ems .. ect ( if needed )
Marine Cpl
.577 Tyrannosaur.
Yes. All Baofengs can. All it is is inputting the correct frequencies in the chirp program with the proper pl codes assuming the PD department is still on an analog frequency. Many have moved to encrypted, digital frequencies that aren’t accessible to analog radios. You’d need a digital scanner for that.
But what I like about the UV82hp is that you can set the top frequency for example to monitor any frequency and the bottom frequency to any other frequency and listen to both and be able to transmit to either depending on which push to talk button you press.
Marine Cpl
.577 Tyrannosaur.
Do you know how to program them? If not, reach out to me. I can guide you through it. You’ll need a cpu or Mac, an official Baofeng cable, and a smart phone so that I can talk you threw it or text and send you screenshots.
Acer-m14
20×102mm Vulcan
nope .. still looking into what to get ... the leo and ems are still on analog here for the most part .,. TG .. lol ..
i have a old kenwood ham radio thats for in the auto and a few old ham hand helds that are unlocked .. just had to clip a wire lol
looking for something new and cheep
i'm on a windoz 10 pc ..
Marine Cpl
.577 Tyrannosaur.
Well most Baofengs are pretty much the same. Same build and audio quality. Only differences may be minor. One may be 8 watts compared to 5 or another may have 2 push to talk buttons compared to 1 but they are all the same quality wise. The UV5R’s can be had for 20 somewhat bucks.
I’ve had the UV5R, the BFF8HP, and the UV82HP. My preference goes to the UV82HP.
I’ve had the UV5R, the BFF8HP, and the UV82HP. My preference goes to the UV82HP.
Acer-m14
20×102mm Vulcan
is what got my attention .. and seams the issue was on the Family radio band . lol .. but 20 bucks .. yeah ,, if it does 144 to 440 too ..
one off brand 2meter hand held i have does 123 am band .. air craft .. just receive ..
fnfalguy
.308 Win
@Acer-m14 i have a few of the baofengs, a few of the UV-5R+ and F8HP. If I was to start all over again, I would have went with the Yaesu handy talkies. Im current waiting for Black Friday to see what HRO has on sale. The selectivity of the baofengs isn’t great, my on air sound reports aren’t great with the baofengs either. I’m currently using one to try as a QRP base station and switched to a different antenna (not a rubber duckie) and it did make a world of difference, even when compared to a Nagoya 707 or 771.
I personal think the best use for it would be as a scanner (but it’s slow) with an external antenna, and not as an important part of a comms plan.
I personal think the best use for it would be as a scanner (but it’s slow) with an external antenna, and not as an important part of a comms plan.
Marine Cpl
.577 Tyrannosaur.
I’ve always wondered what some hams mean when they say that Baofengs sound subpar. In my job, we have used Vertex Standards, plain Motorola’s, Icoms, and a few others that I cannot remember the names of but they are the same that the local police and fire use. Every few years we change them out depending on who wins the contract. We talk through repeaters outdoors and underground. In train yards we use simplex. My Baofengs that I am not really supposed to use hit those repeaters and do simplex well. I don’t hear any difference in receiving audio quality and nobody complains about my transmissions either over the repeaters. All my radio checks come back as a loud and clear from others. In fact, in the yards on simplex, I have been told that I sound a little louder and clearer than everyone else. I suspect that’s because I’m using 8 watts compared to my coworkers who are on 5 watts on their issues radios.
Maybe I’m wrong but perhaps it’s a disdain for not wanting to be caught dead with a Chinese radio? Or maybe the difference is when hitting repeaters at longer distances at distances when it’s at the fringes? I don’t know but hitting city repeaters a couple of miles away works just as good as any radio for me and they hear me just fine even surrounded by the train’s metal and glass while transmitting inside.
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BDinPutnam
.475 A&M Magnum
Thanks for this thread, I have been meaning to pick up one of these to play with / test for a long time...
This^^. I've been putting off buying something like this as I know nothing about these radios. I'd like to learn and have a couple available in event of emergency but don't want to throw money away on something that will sit in a box. I've followed a couple of these threads and still haven't caught on...
fnfalguy
.308 Win
@Calculon and @BDinPutnam if you do go the route of the baofengs, you should absolutely get a programming cable and use CHIRP to program them, otherwise, the learning curve is even steeper if you try to manually program it.
I didn't have much luck with my Baofeng hitting repeater at local ham club. I was able to listen to weekly nets but pretty much unable to participate. Even changed antenna to upgraded Nagoya. Pretty sure its combination of low wattage and mountains in area where I live. You get a lot of radio for $25 though no doubt about it just keep in mind its low wattage portable.
HIghlander
.223 Rem
I made my own 2 meter antenna. Gets out to multiple repeaters ok. Remember Baofeng antennas are reversed for antenna connection. The radio had the male center pin not the female center connection. Buy the BNC adapter so you can use any manufacturers antenna. Also the locking nut for the radio antenna comes loose when removing the antenna. Keep it snug but don't over tighten the mounting nut. It can twist and break the lead wire.
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Jsmegs77
.308 Win
The issue with the Baofengs is they're a $25 radio. Sure, they transmit, some of them like the UV82's are relatively "clean", but at the end of the day it's a $25 radio. Get it wet or drop it in a puddle, it's likely dead. They're not particularly resistant to interference from nearby near-frequency strong signals, aka intermod. Case in point, I am listening to 462.550 on my UV82, and also listening to chatter on my DMR hotspot on 445.445. Every time the hotspot keys up I get a burst of hash from the Baofeng, like someone keyed up and released it, despite being ~17 MHz away frequency wise.
They're a good entry point to a radio hobby, and they're handy to have around the toolbox, but I'd hesitate to build a meaningful comms apparatus on them, even (or should I say especially) for my family's use in an emergency event. They're quite literally a .22LR derringer to an AR when compared with even several years old public safety or commercial grade radio equipment.
They're a good entry point to a radio hobby, and they're handy to have around the toolbox, but I'd hesitate to build a meaningful comms apparatus on them, even (or should I say especially) for my family's use in an emergency event. They're quite literally a .22LR derringer to an AR when compared with even several years old public safety or commercial grade radio equipment.
Marine Cpl
.577 Tyrannosaur.
Not arguing build quality. Of course a $250 dollar radio has better components and more durability.
With that said, I have been using the UV82HP outdoors 5 days a week at a train yard for over a year. It hasn’t suffered a total submerge but it has been rained on and snowed on and banged around. The most my coworkers have faced have been broken belt clips and knobs. And that’s with serious abuse.
You do get some interference at times bleeding in when an outside high powered signal kicks on near it. The radio only picks it up when monitoring a frequency that doesn’t have a PL or DCS code enabled to receive. When one of those squelch codes are enabled, that doesn’t happen. If using it for family use, those codes should be enabled anyway.
I wouldn’t issue one for a fire fighter or a military operator that would really put it through the grinder on duty but for the average person, it works for the money. Baofengs are good radios for for someone who wants to buy 4 or 5 of them for the price of one high quality radio that will put them in a box for later use and forget about them. They are good for the average guy who wants to listen to their local PD at home. They are good for the guy who will use them at a job in a warehouse or hunting or 4 wheeling. If one breaks, they are easily replaceable. Disposable even. I threw one away because I broke the knob after dropping it on ballast but it still worked perfectly.
There are high end Android phones like the Samsung Galaxies that are submersible safe, have more memory, faster, better battery life, etc. Baofengs are like those cheaper Android LG phones that you can buy that still work well from Boost Mobile.
Someone who is a beginner who programs it for their local PD and for simplex use with PL codes wouldn’t know the difference just like someone who gets a low tiered LG phone that isn’t a power user that will only use it to talk, text, and surf wouldn’t know the difference compared to a Samsung Galaxy that runs 5 apps in the background that are power and memory hungry .
With that said, I have been using the UV82HP outdoors 5 days a week at a train yard for over a year. It hasn’t suffered a total submerge but it has been rained on and snowed on and banged around. The most my coworkers have faced have been broken belt clips and knobs. And that’s with serious abuse.
You do get some interference at times bleeding in when an outside high powered signal kicks on near it. The radio only picks it up when monitoring a frequency that doesn’t have a PL or DCS code enabled to receive. When one of those squelch codes are enabled, that doesn’t happen. If using it for family use, those codes should be enabled anyway.
I wouldn’t issue one for a fire fighter or a military operator that would really put it through the grinder on duty but for the average person, it works for the money. Baofengs are good radios for for someone who wants to buy 4 or 5 of them for the price of one high quality radio that will put them in a box for later use and forget about them. They are good for the average guy who wants to listen to their local PD at home. They are good for the guy who will use them at a job in a warehouse or hunting or 4 wheeling. If one breaks, they are easily replaceable. Disposable even. I threw one away because I broke the knob after dropping it on ballast but it still worked perfectly.
There are high end Android phones like the Samsung Galaxies that are submersible safe, have more memory, faster, better battery life, etc. Baofengs are like those cheaper Android LG phones that you can buy that still work well from Boost Mobile.
Someone who is a beginner who programs it for their local PD and for simplex use with PL codes wouldn’t know the difference just like someone who gets a low tiered LG phone that isn’t a power user that will only use it to talk, text, and surf wouldn’t know the difference compared to a Samsung Galaxy that runs 5 apps in the background that are power and memory hungry .
whauburger
6.5 Creedmoor
Bringing this back because of all that's going on. I ordered a gt3 tp and programming cable. @fnfalguy I may be reaching out in a couple days when I try and set this thing up
fnfalguy
.308 Win
@whauburger I'll be happy to help and if we are ever off this social distance thing, we could do it in person. Below is a good short, recent video to watch. I like his channel as he is relatively painless to watch.
When you are ready, give me a ping and we can do it over the phone.
When you are ready, give me a ping and we can do it over the phone.
BDinPutnam
.475 A&M Magnum
Glad this thread came back planning to order a couple, might be the one item I dont have that I wish I did. Any current recommendations?
C3D
.308 Win
In lieu of a programming in person party, does anyone want to share their tips on programming and set up?
In the old old days, I had a Motorola Saber I used to keep track of things in NYC. Bought it from Panik Electronics (are they still around?). Even had bought a used 386 computer to program it (since it needed a super slow computer or the tech software would crash).
I bought a Baofeng intending to reproduce that but haven't had the time to program it.
I do have CHIRP and the cable, if that's the way to go.
In the old old days, I had a Motorola Saber I used to keep track of things in NYC. Bought it from Panik Electronics (are they still around?). Even had bought a used 386 computer to program it (since it needed a super slow computer or the tech software would crash).
I bought a Baofeng intending to reproduce that but haven't had the time to program it.
I do have CHIRP and the cable, if that's the way to go.
E the massive
.308 Win
www.radioreference.com has all the public works/emergency service freqs searchable by county. If you get a subscription you can program your radio directly from the website. One can also download into chirp and save. Can CHIRP files be emailed? I have a subscription.
Bob
6.5 Creedmoor
I have two bitches with the Baofengs:
(1) Navigating the menus sucks at best
(2) They spew shit all over the bands on harmonics.
For just a couple extra bucks, Yaesu has a solid offering now. The FT4 (and variants thereof) is being offered for sub-$75 at most dealers. The engineering on Yaesu radios is far superior, and it doesn't have stupid features that you'll never use to complicate menus.
Marine Cpl
.577 Tyrannosaur.
Here's a recommendation that is totally legal and no license is needed. You can use it to legally talk to your family and the bands aren’t crowded at all unlike FRS radios where you have kids playing around on it.
It’s a MURS radio. You get 5 channels. It has a removable antenna and you can put a whip antenna on it high up if you want to extend the range. You cannot transmit on HAM licensed bands but you can program a few HAM channels for monitoring. Maybe your local police if they are still using analog.
It’s a MURS radio. You get 5 channels. It has a removable antenna and you can put a whip antenna on it high up if you want to extend the range. You cannot transmit on HAM licensed bands but you can program a few HAM channels for monitoring. Maybe your local police if they are still using analog.
Amazon.com: BTECH MURS-V1 MURS Two-Way Radio, License Free Two-Way Radio for Manufacturing, Retail, Personal, and Business: Car Electronics
Amazon.com: BTECH MURS-V1 MURS Two-Way Radio, License Free Two-Way Radio for Manufacturing, Retail, Personal, and Business: Car Electronics
www.amazon.com
whauburger
6.5 Creedmoor
@Marine Cpl say I buy 1 of those and have my baofeng can I use the 2 together as walkie talkies?