Emergency radios

[tom mac]

Just remember, the extra watts may not make much diff in range but will def make the battery drain faster...
distance is not linear with power

[JDH]

Btw, Baofeng now makes a 8 watt handheld called the uv8r. That would my choice for my next radio.

One of the guys on the net one day made a comment that he would be back in a few minutes after he went and got a glove so He could hold on to his new 8r. It was getting that hot.

[Mac66]

Btw, Baofeng now makes a 8 watt handheld called the uv8r. That would my choice for my next radio.

One of the guys on the net one day made a comment that he would be back in a few minutes after he went and got a glove so He could hold on to his new 8r. It was getting that hot.

I wonder if that was an isolated thing (bad battery) or whether that radio has that as a common issue?

[tom mac]

I saw in a thread or two that they just are over driving the final in the 8w radio.... ( unknown if true ) and the same final was used in the 5w model
Also noted was another thread that it was putting out in the range of 6+ watts... who really knows unless you have one and a qrp wattmeter ( which i do have but no radio )
Third thread had to do with it not programing as easy as the 5.


I'd stick with the 5w unit for now over an 8w unit ... in real world not much increase of power/distance and cheaper

Edit ; current is $25 for the UV5R and 79 for the 8w unit... buy 3 5's

[Mac66]

I saw in a thread or two that they just are over driving the final in the 8w radio.... ( unknown if true ) and the same final was used in the 5w model
Also noted was another thread that it was putting out in the range of 6+ watts... who really knows unless you have one and a qrp wattmeter ( which i do have but no radio )
Third thread had to do with it not programing as easy as the 5.


I'd stick with the 5w unit for now over an 8w unit ... in real world not much increase of power/distance and cheaper

Edit ; current is $25 for the UV5R and 79 for the 8w unit... buy 3 5's

Good point, bigger isn't always better.

[bdcochran]

BaoFend range. Found this article and will make some comments: https://xroadgps.com/baofeng-uv-5r-range/

Range.
1. when I was into ham gear, I made sure that I upgraded the removable antenna. This was in addition to buying rechargeable battery packs and empty battery packs that would take alkaline batteries. 20 years later, the original rechargeable battery packs and hollow battery packs are no longer available. The rechargeable packs would be dead, dead dead.
2. I found my surprise that my less than ham gear in the FRS range will not accept a replacement antenna. Fortunately, what I have will do 35 miles on paper. The actual FRS stuff is good for about .5 mile - and is in the giveaway box to relatives.
3. there is nothing wrong with BaoFeng gear. Just remember to buy each and every accessory when you buy the original unit. The communications consumer business does not keep parts for you.

[David]

Ordered one of these, BAOFENG UV-5R.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074X ... UTF8&psc=1

Actually I just put it in the cart for later and my wife accidentally ordered it along with some other stuff in the cart. That's okay, I was going to order it or something similar anyway. Once I get it I'll have to figure out all the stuff I can do with it. New toy

[Mac66]

Ordered one of these, BAOFENG UV-5R.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074X ... UTF8&psc=1

Actually I just put it in the cart for later and my wife accidentally ordered it along with some other stuff in the cart. That's okay, I was going to order it or something similar anyway. Once I get it I'll have to figure out all the stuff I can do with it. New toy

Consider getting a ham technician license. Your local ham club will likely sponsor the exam. You can study and take sample questions online. May take a couple hours of studying online to pass the test. Once you pass the test/get your Tech license you can talk to other hams and have access to repeaters. There is a learning curve.

Also consider using CHIRP to program your radio. It's a free download available on the radiofreq website I posted and also available from other sites. Just google it. Might also want to set up your radio according to the freq list on that website as well. You can always change it but it's a good place to start.

[tom mac]

when I was into ham gear, I made sure that I upgraded the removable antenna.

The rechargeable packs would be dead, dead dead.

there is nothing wrong with BaoFeng gear. Just remember to buy each and every accessory when you buy the original unit.

Hold an Extra lic here..I do mostly QRP these days ( low power with cw radios I build during winter )
and yes, the best thing you can prob do for range is a better antenna

Most stock small rubber duck antennas have absolutely no gain.... Antennas for these freqs ( 144/440) are fairly small and and a 1/2wave doesn't need a ground plane, but can be to long for 2m ( about 3ft ) where 440 is only a bit over 1ft )
I have found a clip on ground counterpoise can help with 1/4w for 2m.

If in doubt, just buy a good antenna made for freqs they sell with radio. ( Nagoya NA-771 is good, I have one with bnc connector for other radios and the diff is noticeable )

As to the battery packs, I have rebuilt a few obtaining batteries of same size when they are no longer available. So don't throw away if they are doa.

PS... the tech lic is very simple to pass...as mentioned... online tests use the same question pool as the real tests.

[JDH]

BaoFend range. Found this article and will make some comments: https://xroadgps.com/baofeng-uv-5r-range/

Range.
I made sure that I upgraded the removable antenna.

One of the biggest surprises I had when torturing, I mean testing a UV-5R is that it works better with the stock antenna than it does with the longer aftermarket. It will get better signal reports on distant repeaters with the stock antenna and will make it into other repeaters the longer doesn't.