First off we are an hour in without any “OMG THESE CHINESE RADIOS SUCK!” “Get an iCOM, Kenwood…”
Now that I have that off my chest… These are GREAT beginner radios. The antennas kinda stink. But hey it’s $35 and might get you or your kid interested in HAM radio. They feel good in your hand and much more durable than a cell phone
Part 90
Yea can’t do part 90 because you can’t lockout the controls enough. Beofeng was kind enough to make a radio that does but of course it costs twice as much. I know I just bought 30 of them. Although they seem to have everything you need for Part 90 only certain ones have the label and it’s ones made before that rule. Just because it has features like a Part 90 radio it’s not unless it has the sticker.
Other Non-Ham Modes (Family Radio)
Yea these don’t qualify as the antennas are removable… will they work? Sure! Is it even kinda legal? Nope.
The Deal: I own a ton of these disposable radios. I have a couple in my end of the world box. Lost one in my daughters car somewhere and I keep one in my truck. They are nice to have and I have still not paid what I would have paid for a single Kenwood. Yes this is the normal Amazon price for these but if seeing this peaks your interest in HAM radio then jump on it. Take the online quizzes over and over and become a HAM.
Really the only problem I have with these radios is people try to make them into something more than they are, justifying a feature they have but would not be legal to use.
Sure, and as salockwood posted above, the correct resource for getting licensed is: Getting Licensed
But one last plea before I head to bed: PLEASE don’t hit the transmit button without getting licensed in some fashion, or at least learning what functions you actually can legally make use of on this radio. There are a lot of people on the airwaves, and we all share those airwaves. There’s a reason why the spectrum is licensed the way that it is, and that reason is actually meaningful: you don’t want to accidentally transmit on the same channel as an ambulance and accidentally prevent someone from getting necessary care. You don’t want to interrupt an airplane getting instructions from a control tower.
This specific radio is largely relegated to frequencies which are not likely to cause too much of an issue. As someone else pointed out, they cannot transmit on aircraft frequencies, but they can interfere with people learning how to paraglide: USHPA Radio Frequencies - Sport Paragliding - San Francisco Bay Area Paragliding Instruction., and you probably don’t want someone to crash-land because they couldn’t hear their instructor while you were mucking about with your radio.
Anyway, I’ll stop banging on about this now. Just please be aware that this is a thing which can cause harm to people far away from you if used inappropriately. Know how to use your equipment, and know the regulations which govern its use! Unlike a lot of things, the regulation on the use of radios is actually pretty comprehensible!
I’m saying this as a licensed and semi-active ham, but while it’s technically true these radios aren’t type accepted for use on MURS or GMRS or FMRS, the odds of the FCC knocking on your door are exceedingly low. If you have a business band license or a GMRS license, I doubt anyone would be able to tell your transmissions with the BaoFeng from a much more expensive type-accepted radio. The FCC simply does not have the manpower to go around measuring every bit of spectrum they have domain over.
That said, if you don’t know what you’re doing, stay away. Not only can you get yourself in trouble with these radios if you are clumsy, they are a bear to program without CHIRP, have no TX lockout for using as a listening-only radio and lack the aircraft band for monitoring airports and the like as you’d find in even the most basic police scanner.
They are, however, a great inexpensive first radio for newly licensed amateurs, as they cover the 2m and 70cm bands. The battery life is pretty good and it’s surprisingly rugged for something direct from China. Reception doesn’t hold a candle to my ancient Kenwood portable, but it cost more used than several of these would when new.
My husband is interested in getting involved in HAM radio. We are the neighborhood contact for our church and local emergency system. Is this something you’d recommend? He WILL get licensed!!! Also, just one or several of these are recommended?
I don’t follow the Baofeng products, but I have noticed the roar on the net about these radios.
(Eg http://n4njj.com/baofeng-policy/ )
Anyhow they seem like a mixed bag … but I’m in for one!
If anything this will be an interesting acquisition.
(I’ve got an older icom w2a which works but has lost its keypad button labels and eats batteries even when turned off.)
Alright, so I haven’t gone to bed yet, you get one more grumpy comment internet!
I wish you had limited yourself to everything from this point in your post onward, but alas, I have to go back and address the first part…
This is true, but it doesn’t mean you should make yourself a nuisance! I can hardly presume to say whether or not any person on woot is in a section of the US where the FCC is more or less likely to notice them, but as others have pointed out, the FCC fines if you turn out to be in a section of spectrum in a place where the FCC (or another person who cares) notices you? The fines are in the $10,000+ range.
Don’t gamble on buying one of these if you don’t know what you’re doing! You might not get caught, but that shouldn’t be your primary concern!
VERY BAD ADVICE That is the equivalent of saying that it is ok to drive 120 mph on the way to work, because the police don’t have the ability to patrol every mile of highway. As has been previously stated, fines for violation can run into the tens of thousands of dollars, and while you may think no-one is listening, be aware that most responsible Amateur Radio Operators will drop the dime on you in a New York minute. We have taken the time to get licensed and have a low tolerance for those who circumvent the law.
I’m not certain if it can be used license-free on the MURS channels. IF it happens to be, this radio would have an FCC MURS certification sticker for Part 95. Even if certified for MURS, bear in mind the power limit for MURS is 2W, thus 1W is all you could legally use with this radio, everything else considered.
Since the low power setting is 1W, it can’t be legally used in license-free FRS operation, so getting a GMRS license (as I have) is a must in using it in the ZA service, also due to the radio’s external antenna connector, definitely not legal for the non-license FRS which GMRS shares to an extent. The legal unlicensed FRS power is 500mW or less. This receiver with the supplied antenna is just as good as my Midland GMRS/FRS, so if you use a higher quality external antenna, your results will likely be better on both sides of the transmission.
This leaves the Amateur or Ham radio service as the power users, and this radio does a superb job in this hobby I’ve been part of for 37 years (as of June 2016.)
I hope this version is easier to program than the earlier generation. Once done, it’s plenty of fun to use as a scanner, especially where I live as VHF still rules the roost here. Look at getting your license on the bright side…No CW (morse code) requirement since 4/2000
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This is a fine entry radio, but I would not buy it if I were you!
It won’t do very well with long distances, and if he’s hoping to have a nice conversation in his car as he drives around doing emergency work, he would be better off getting a mobile station like this: http://www.amazon.com/Yaesu-FT-2900R-Mobile-Transceiver-Amateur/dp/B004WKH00M It will be transmit for relatively long distances (20+ miles) and mounts into your car. You’ll also need some other equipment like an antenna though.
I would recommend that your husband talk to the local HAM radio enthusiasts when he gets his license to ask about equipment! There are tons of options and they change based on your needs.
Also, if your primary concern is money, these are normally only about $15 more expensive on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PTJ43FU, so if you wait for now and it turns out to be the right choice for your husband, you will only lose out on $15. If it turns out to be the wrong style of radio for your husband, you’ll have lost out on $40 bucks!
GREAT advise! $$ isn’t as much of an option, but I’d like to get a “starter” and then build from there. He’s been in contact with the local HAMs for a few years, but they are big time into their radios and probably would have him invest in something more than I’d like right now. Thanks so much!
In that case I would ask them for advice and tell them your budget is about $200 for the whole thing (including antennas, handset, and radio). There are a fair number of options around $200, especially if you’re willing to buy used equipment. There’s something called a Hamfest which will likely happen sometime soon and in a location not too far from you where you can get a reasonably-priced mobile station for around $200, antenna included.
A lot of what will set what your husband wants is the local repeaters and the frequencies they’re on. If you want the most flexibility, you normally want a “dual-band” radio which has a 70cm band and a 2 meter band. Unfortunately, that will set you back around $280 new: Ham Radio Outlet Product Details - Item Not found
Anyway, like all hobbies HAM radio can easily become a money sink, so I’ll leave my advice at: something like this BaoFeng radio is fine if he only needs to transmit a few miles. He might have trouble sending and receiving from inside your house, but the radio will get the job done for cheap.
The upside is that the radio cost is often a one-time expense, as quality radios tend to last years and years, even under regular use. I wouldn’t expect these BaoFeng radios to last too long, but at their price they’re hard to beat!
Here’s my input FWIW; It may or may not be a good choice. If he’s primarily on-foot and using it for ham radio, it’s about the best beginner radio for the $$ he’ll buy. If OTOH he’s using it in the car, a properly-tuned mobile antenna will make a huge difference on the repeaters he uses. If he’s using more than one band, the antenna he uses should be rated for use on both, or damage to the radio’s final transmitter amplifier may result. Programming it may be the biggest challenge if he’s not very tech-savvy, but local hams can fill this void.
I’m totally agreeing he needs to meet local hams who can lend their suggestions, hopefully saving him much aggravation and lessening the learning curve in this. Many have helped me get my start when I was a teenager, and I’ve returned the favor over time.
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Tell CHIRP to set duplex to “off” in any channel memory, and the radio won’t transmit when on that channel. Works well. Most law enforcement agencies are on P25 or other digital modes now, and this radio can’t hear those - but some agencies, like the Arizona Highway Patrol, for example, are still on FM in the 460MHz range.
(Amateur Extra, here. Primary radio in the car has been a UV-5R for a while now, and I’ve even worked the ISS via packet using the UV-5R, a PVC-and-metal-tape-measure yagi, and PocketPacket on my phone. Fun stuff.)
I’ve been looking to get into Ham. Is this a good radio to start with? I don’t want to spend an arm and a leg before I learn the basics and get licensed. Thanks.
Check some of the earlier replies given in this forum, also - to answer this depends largely on where you live… If you’re in an area of at least one or more 2-meter or 70-cm repeaters, you’re probably going to do fine with it. The radio will also work simplex, or same frequency operation. If the provided antenna doesn’t do the trick, be prepared to install an external antenna. Using that makes the biggest difference to any small radio. A local ham or group can help in such a setup. Note too, sometimes a repeater may be off-air for repairs or equipment replacement (as mine has been for a while) but when it’s back on, mine has an effective receiving range of over 40 miles in almost all directions, almost 70 miles in several spots. It’s also networked (directly linked) with several other repeaters where I used to live. With either or both EchoLink / IRLP, you can effectively talk with other hams in much of the internet-connected world. This radio will not transmit or receive D-Star or other related digital transmission modes, but not many repeaters are yet set up with this newer technology. Most “systems” including mine require a subaudible tone, which this radio can utilize for transmit and receive. Good Luck and enjoy!
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These radios are garbarge and most do not meet specs for legal transmission in the US - and this is not a bargain - they sell all over the place for the same monwy. If you are a ham save another $50 and get a radio that will not put you at risk of a fine. If you are not a ham, then be very careful of what you buy and how you use it.
