WOOT Deal Today on Baofeng UV-5R Dual Band HT - Stupid Cheap!

I still want to do it. That old Ham and tactitard thread hasn’t been lost on me. But it’s hard to justify the expense of I’m the only one in my group interested.

That is the problem. It's a ton of work, and if you take on the burden of learning it all your self, you still end up with an hour of wasted time as dudes look at the $30 radio they have had for 1-2 years and never turned on asking you how to do everything with it.

My suggestion, buy 2 of these, learn how to use them (more so where in the freqs not to play), program them so it is literally turn it on, lock the key pad, and hand it off to whomever you larp with.

These are a good way to get on the air with your local 2m repeater, an extra ~$30 in a stand alone antnenna and it should be real easy. Then you can decide if you want to invest more money or not.
 
I was always under the impression that the BaofengPuxingWoxunShitcrap radios pretty much did everything out of the box....
Damn those ChiComs have balls.
(Because I thought that out-of-band transmit was supposed to be unpossible
on type-accepted commercial ham radios out of the box.
(Not talking about MARS/CAPpability [rolleyes]).
I don't know man, I don't know; maybe I'm just electrofudding.).
 
Out of the box?
Or after making modifications not part of the FCC-inspected manufacturer's documentation?

Yes...out of the box. It lists the transmit/receive freqs from 137-170 and 430-520. Never understood why FCC didn't crack down hard on these imports. Most likely due to the fact that Congress has been gutting the FCC's budget for years now. Far less enforcement going on now than in the past.
 
Better question:

If this deal comes up again, what 3 or 4 guys from Worcester area want to go in on a 5 pack with me? I'd be in for 1 or 2 for me and the father in law.
 
Eh, I spent a ton of money on radios when I first got into it because I had a bunch of friends that were all like "chyea bruh, we'll totally get into it with you! Comms checks, communication schedules, everything!"

Well I'm still the only one that has my license, everyone else lost interest, and only turn my radios on if their is a local drill, bad weather/power outage, or I'm stuck in traffic.

I have my license, and have for a long time.

What I dont have is a good way to set up a base station at home.
 
What I need to do is get up in the attic. I’m pretty sure it’s huge, and empty.

I have an 80 watt Yaesu and 2 yagis, one is a portable 4 element and the other is full retard and 14 feet long. I am pretty sure if I pointed that at you, you could hear me.
 
I have an 80 watt Yaesu and 2 yagis, one is a portable 4 element and the other is full retard and 14 feet long. I am pretty sure if I pointed that at you, you could hear me.

Probably.

I’m pretty sure the condo assoc would run us out of town if I put up an antenna outside...hence the attic. A 3 or 4 element yagi should fit up there.

Or I can climb the local fire tower with my HT and portable j-pole.
 
There are so many different models and sub-models of these. How does one know one isn't getting 5 year old technology, when they can get much better for not much more money? Is there a matrix or cheat sheet telling these apart, feature by feature?
 
There are so many different models and sub-models of these. How does one know one isn't getting 5 year old technology, when they can get much better for not much more money? Is there a matrix or cheat sheet telling these apart, feature by feature?

The difference between most of the models is minimal.
 
There are so many different models and sub-models of these. How does one know one isn't getting 5 year old technology, when they can get much better for not much more money? Is there a matrix or cheat sheet telling these apart, feature by feature?
I know nothing about this:

I know nothing about this:
CaseDifference1.jpg
 
Does one need the USB programming cord to be able to use one of these properly?

I actually don't use computer software to program my rigs.
Among other things, it keeps me in practice with their UI in case I need to
add or change a memory during a public service event or emergency.

My late cousin's husband got one of these modren Chinese H/T's
and was frustrated that he couldn't figure out how to program it.
I said, "no sweat - let me read the manual".

The docs were so unintelligible that I told him to hunt up that friend of his with the cable.
No other electronics of any kind has stumped me like that.

If they've rewritten the manuals, fine.
If there's a web shrine (or readable commercial cheat sheet; gag), fine.

Otherwise, budget for that cable.


I have no respect for commercial cheat sheets,
because all the ones I've seen do nothing but parrot
the docs, with marginal improvements in readability.
No insights, and especially no hidden features.

(Did you know there's an undocumented way to
lock the controls on a Yaesu VX-5R into a turnkey mode?
You can only turn it on or off,
adjust the volume, select the memory, and push to talk.
Maybe light the display. Not sure about squelch even.
No VFO, no programming memories, no altering settings.
You can find that on a web shrine, but IIRC, not the cheat sheets).

Actually, the sheets aren't even improvements in readability, per se -
just rote procedures to follow that don't have explanations or rationale.

With anything but the Baofengs, just taking the time to RTFM works fine.
 
I've got a bunch of these for my kid to use with his buddies. I have one with my FD on it, 800 simulcasted over UHF. Always a little worried hes gonna grab the wrong one! But it's cool to be able to grab one cheap radio and listen to work, marine vhf, FM radio, my son, personal vhf frequency repeater, etc
 
I've got a bunch of these for my kid to use with his buddies. I have one with my FD on it, 800 simulcasted over UHF. Always a little worried hes gonna grab the wrong one!
Detachable antenna, right?
Add a Tiger Tail to yours.
Better performance,
and suddenly it's obvious it's Dad's.

Or spray yours some color your kid wouldn't be caught dead with.

Suddenly the Tiger Tail doesn't sound so bad, eh?
 
Well, I bought them anyway. I really only need 2-3, but for $100 how wrong can I go? The only downside is that I have go get a HAM license to be legit. I didn't really want to get another hobby, but.....

You don't need a ham license to use it on the FRS frequencies, although technically they transmit with too strong a signal for that. But that's a little like driving 9 mph over the speed limit. It only matters if you get busted for something else.


Better question:

If this deal comes up again, what 3 or 4 guys from Worcester area want to go in on a 5 pack with me? I'd be in for 1 or 2 for me and the father in law.

You'll spend more in time and gas coordinating the buy than paying the extra $3 and buying at full retail.
 
Ha, yeah. I'm now looking at Amazon, trying to figure out which one again. There are like a billion different radios, with 3 billion options. I probably want a radio, a programming cable, a car charger, a base charger. Are these batteries proprietary, or should I just skip that? If I like this, I'll get a second one for the father in law and maybe a third for a kid or neighbor.
 
You don't need a ham license to use it on the FRS frequencies, although technically they transmit with too strong a signal for that. But that's a little like driving 9 mph over the speed limit. It only matters if you get busted for something else.
I figured that out. For my application it will be remote enough not to worry. And I'll probably just use the GMRS frequencies anyway.

I was really put off by the HAM learning process. It's clearly designed by engineers and not very friendly for folks starting from zero. The guide I had didn't start with any conceptional explanations of radios, it started with circuit calculations. WTF!
 
I figured that out. For my application it will be remote enough not to worry. And I'll probably just use the GMRS frequencies anyway.

I was really put off by the HAM learning process. It's clearly designed by engineers and not very friendly for folks starting from zero. The guide I had didn't start with any conceptional explanations of radios, it started with circuit calculations. WTF!

Honestly, the best way to learn (at the beginning, at least) is to just grind through practice license exams. They’re readily available online.
 
I figured that out. For my application it will be remote enough not to worry. And I'll probably just use the GMRS frequencies anyway.

I was really put off by the HAM learning process. It's clearly designed by engineers and not very friendly for folks starting from zero. The guide I had didn't start with any conceptional explanations of radios, it started with circuit calculations. WTF!

At least they don't require Morse anymore [laugh]

If I recall correctly your occupation you should have good memorization skills.

Get one of the numerous apps for that (I have "Extra - Ham-Radio Exam" installed) and simply review the questions when you have a couple of free minutes (I read them in the bathroom). You will very quickly remember enough to pass the exam without even knowing how to turn on the radio.

The days of NEEDING to know the arcane details are long gone. Today it's a matter of knowing what freqs you're allowed to use and learning the jargon.

Be aware when you get your ham license you're essentially publishing your name and address to the world. It's possible to avoid that but it takes some attention to detail.
 
I was really put off by the HAM learning process. It's clearly designed by engineers and not very friendly for folks starting from zero. The guide I had didn't start with any conceptional explanations of radios, it started with circuit calculations. WTF!

Which "guide" did you buy?

The "ARRL Tech Q&A" is a glorified crib sheet
with a small paragraph of rationale about each question.
No theory whatsoever.

The "ARRL License Manual" teaches the theory about each topic on the test,
and has all the questions (and answers) in a giant appendix.
Far superior.

Competing books someone other than ARRL, I wouldn't know.


Honestly, the best way to learn (at the beginning, at least) is to just grind through practice license exams. They’re readily available online.
No, that's the way to pass.
You learn virtually nothing that sticks.
 
Which "guide" did you buy?

The "ARRL Tech Q&A" is a glorified crib sheet
with a small paragraph of rationale about each question.
No theory whatsoever.

The "ARRL License Manual" teaches the theory about each topic on the test,
and has all the questions (and answers) in a giant appendix.
Far superior.

Competing books someone other than ARRL, I wouldn't know.



No, that's the way to pass.
You learn virtually nothing that sticks.

Hence my qualification of “at the beginning at least”, because the actual best way to learn involves hands-on experience, which is a lot harder to do without a license in hand.
 
No, that's the way to pass.
You learn virtually nothing that sticks.

Honestly though using the test regimen to learn stuff beyond basics (like band allocations, basic rules, etc) is a waste of time, I tell people to pass and then invest time in learning what suits their needs. It reminds ne of reloading, if I had to learn from a manual I would have never "done the thing" . I learned more from my reloading mentor in a far shorter period of time, radio is no different. (well except you won't blow a gun up if you f*** up..... [laugh] )
 
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