Was texting SoldierCitizen and he asked if there was a better BaoFeng radio than the cheap $30ish UV-5r or variations thereof.

My response was "yes" and that I'd make a thread here because typing is hella easier than texting and might be interesting to others.

This, or some variation on the basic hardware and firmware is what a lot of folks have. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007H4 ... HJ4UIDN4KY It's cheap, functional, and for the casual user it's fine. However, it has a small battery and limited advanced features that make it annoying for anyone who wants more than a entry level knock about radio. It should be noted that all handhelds suffer from limited range and suck on battery at high power. The solutions are better aftermarket antennas, bigger battery packs and transmitting on lower power. There are all sorts of trade offs, and the lower end BaoFengs just don't cut it for heavier use.

But, there is the much more functional BF-F8HP http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MAU ... WYY5HJGYCO It offers better software, three power levels (1w, 4w, and 8w) a larger battery, and is generally well received on eHam http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/11882 add some after market accessories and modify the software with Chirp http://chirp.danplanet.com/projects/chirp/wiki/Home and you've got yourself a much better radio for not much more investment.

Buy the UV-5r if you want a cheap carry around town or loaner HT. Get the BF-F8HP if you want something more robust, with more power and more features. Neither will fill the roll of a high end Yaesu or similar HT, but the F8HP has the better featureset, and is the one I'm going to be ordering when I stop buying ammo and insulators long enough to start playing with radios again.

Thanks! Need to order me one soon!

you have a ham license? I'd be curious to see if i can raise south america on a repeater from canada.

I used to call the Gold Mountain Repeater http://www.ww7ra.org/ from my boat in Olympia and get into Seattle loud and clear.

I can hit the capital forest repeater reliably. I have an Anytone set up in my office with an antenna on my roof which makes it easy, but nothing too intense.

Ugh. I should get off my ass and at least get a 2m setup again

Yes. I use a repeater in portland that is part of a series of them that talk to eachother(I can't remeber the tech jargon) and I've talked as far as southern Oregon( Ashland and there was a guy hitting the Ashland repeater off of his antenna in northern Cali.

My ht won't be able to pick it up though. My mobile might but it's such a giant pain in the ass to use(Chinese clone)

Interlinked. IIRC there is a repeater net that pretty much goes down the entire coast.

Serious question. What is the point of ham radio? Use it out in the woods so if something serious happened you would be able to contact someone or if a natural disaster happened you could listen and see what's going on if say the power went out on a massive scale? I guess if I saw the fun in it I'd get my ham license for something to do.

I got mine for an emergency preparedness thing. Myself and a group of guys that i know all got them and we can communicate in an emergency/SHTF situation.

Couple reasons, I can hit all the repeaters in the greater portland area from out in the woods. My cb is limited as hell out there, cell phone is useless.

If you have a tool such as a radio, do you leave it in the closet till it's needed(aka shtf) or do you take it out and train with it, just like any other tool you use? And learn what works, doesn't work.... When you need it to work as possibly a matter of life and death?

A lot of reasons. Anymore for most people it's just a hobby. You can play with a lot of electronics and build things, and then get on the air with it. It has preparedness aspects, as well as casual communications aspects, as well as the challenge of being able to call long distances on your own radio station. https://www.rac.ca/en/amateur-radio/faq/

Think of it as a gun. Why do people own guns?

Some hunt. Some compete. Others use it for personal protection. Still others have jobs that require carrying it and using it. Some just do it to have fun and screw around.

It's the exact same with amateur radio..

I first got into it as a kid hacking cellphones, which turned into a deeper understanding of linked RF networks, from there it was a requirement to 'know' WTF was going on, and how it was happening, not just 'it works'...

There are some, what people call 'appliance operators', which get their license and know that it works without really knowing why, and there's nothing wrong with that per se, but the hobby exists to further your knowledge, IMO, and not using it to do so is a shame.

A good place to start out is 2m, because it's simple an equipment is cheap. It's easy to make antennas for VHF. and you don't have to worry too much about propagation, as it's mostly line of sight.

HF is a real treat, and you can challenge yourself..

There are people that go out onto a mountain, and talk to ITALY from the Appalachians, using a transmitter the size of a box of altoids...

It's really whatever you want to do, it opens up a whole new world.

Imagine being able to talk to Japan, or Korea.. Or any country really.... from your house..or your car. no cellphone bills...nothing but your radio, an antenna, and power (car battery, house power, whatever).

With Echolink, and other linking technologies, you can 'dial up' just about any repeater that's in the system. Most repeaters are tied together through the internet, meaning you can talk on your local 2m repeater, and the audio is piped to whatever repeater you link to. I remember having a conversation with a Japanese ham from Hokkaido, using a 5W portable...

Most people say 'That's nice, I can just pick up my phone and do that'........and that's true.. but that's not what ham radio is about..

It's a club, a group of people with like minded interests... that push each other to find new ways to communicate..


You can do digital modes, vehicle tracking, text messaging, internet, EME (Earth - Moon - Earth) where you literally bounce a signal off the moon and have it return to earth.. There are satellites in orbit you can use to communicate.. There are SO MANY things you can do...

I wish the title of this thread was something more like "hand-held ham radios". Glad I opened it up wondering what a BaoFeng was.

How long does it take to get a Ham radio license?