Baofeng GMRS

[bamakojon]

I have a Baofeng UV5R that I got with a larger kit that included two batteries, a car charger, an 11 inch (if memory serves) whip antenna. You can also get a larger battery that will easily last all day and into the next. A buddy of mine used one of his UV5Rs and a homemade yagi antenna to make contact with a guy over 50 miles away (on a clear day from the top of a mountain in the desert, so take that for what you will). I have been able to put a temporary antenna on the outside of my car and greatly increase range as well (probably about 8-10 miles for car-to-car communication) As has been mentioned above, using Chirp to program them is very easy, and in a pinch you can program basic stuff from the radio itself, it's just not enjoyable. A quick google search just now shows me that there's some kind of bluetooth connector so you can use an app to program the from your phone. Not sure if it works well at all, but that's interesting.

If you don't already have any kind of radio setup and you're not totally sure about how much you want to spend/how much you're going to use it, then the low cost is very low risk. Worst case, you hate it and you're only out $25. Same for if you're already well set up and just want to add radios--just get one and see, they're only $25.

 

[trail_runn4r]

I recently got a UV-9G, the which is FCC approved for GMRS. It came preprogrammed and good to go. It has been working well so far.
The UV-5R I believe that technically you are not allowed to use it to transmit on GMRS.

 

[scotticus]

Baofengs are great little radios to not care about if they get broken :D Get the programming cable, DO NOT INSTALL THE SOFTWARE IT COMES WITH, use Chirp to program. Amateur radio (Ham radio, not HAM) technician class license is pretty easy to get and cheaper than GMRS. Great mobile rigs that can provide some repeater functionality.

I would be careful swapping out antennas on the baofengs, they use the antenna to "tune" the output which would normally be cleaned up by the radio itself. you risk having lots of spurrious emissions when you change out their antennas. Lots of places are just re-badging the baofengs and woxouns and charging like 2-3x more.

 

[trail_runn4r]

Baofengs are great little radios to not care about if they get broken :D Get the programming cable, DO NOT INSTALL THE SOFTWARE IT COMES WITH, use Chirp to program. Amateur radio (Ham radio, not HAM) technician class license is pretty easy to get and cheaper than GMRS. Great mobile rigs that can provide some repeater functionality.

Mine came with the programming cable. I heard about Chirp but honestly I didn't feel the need to use it (I'm a radio beginner lol). For all the setting I wanted to change I was able to do that on the radio itself.

 

[scotticus]

Mine came with the programming cable. I heard about Chirp but honestly I didn't feel the need to use it (I'm a radio beginner lol). For all the setting I wanted to change I was able to do that on the radio itself.

if it comes already setup for gmrs then yeah you should be good to go. chirp does some nice stuff on the amateur side where you can download a bunch of repeaters in your area and program quickly. also nice if you want to create multiple lists.

 

[trail_runn4r]

if it comes already setup for gmrs then yeah you should be good to go. chirp does some nice stuff on the amateur side where you can download a bunch of repeaters in your area and program quickly. also nice if you want to create multiple lists.

Yeah, I read about repeaters but I'm not really sure what can I used the for. Lots of learning to do lol

 

[scotticus]

Yeah, I read about repeaters but I'm not really sure what can I used the for. Lots of learning to do lol

Mostly to help boost your range. If you have a bunch of handhelds that are pushing their range, you can have a rig with a repeater function parked that they all call into and the repeater "repeats" the signal to the rest. Fun rabbit hole, especially when you get into ham radio, things like APRS and digital voice.

 

[M Rose]

I recently got a UV-9G, the which is FCC approved for GMRS. It came preprogrammed and good to go. It has been working well so far.
The UV-5R I believe that technically you are not allowed to use it to transmit on GMRS.

Baofengs are great little radios to not care about if they get broken :D Get the programming cable, DO NOT INSTALL THE SOFTWARE IT COMES WITH, use Chirp to program. Amateur radio (Ham radio, not HAM) technician class license is pretty easy to get and cheaper than GMRS. Great mobile rigs that can provide some repeater functionality.

I would be careful swapping out antennas on the baofengs, they use the antenna to "tune" the output which would normally be cleaned up by the radio itself. you risk having lots of spurrious emissions when you change out their antennas. Lots of places are just re-badging the baofengs and woxouns and charging like 2-3x more.

The UV9G is not in the same family as the UV5R. The UV5R is a 3 watt radio (advertised at 5 but actual power output is closer to 3 on high power) the UV9R is 7 watts advertised as 8 watts.
once you mess with the programming it is no longer certified for GMRS use. That is if you program to TX on anything other than the preset GMRS frequencies.

 

[scotticus]

The UV9G is not in the same family as the UV5R. The UV5R is a 3 watt radio (advertised at 5 but actual power output is closer to 3 on high power) the UV9R is 7 watts advertised as 8 watts.
once you mess with the programming it is no longer certified for GMRS use. That is if you program to TX on anything other than the preset GMRS frequencies.

Right, the UV5R is Part 90 (and probably not even really that since it can transmit out of band) certified, not supposed to use for GMRS regardless.

 

[trail_runn4r]

The UV9G is not in the same family as the UV5R. The UV5R is a 3 watt radio (advertised at 5 but actual power output is closer to 3 on high power) the UV9R is 7 watts advertised as 8 watts.
once you mess with the programming it is no longer certified for GMRS use. That is if you program to TX on anything other than the preset GMRS frequencies.

Sure, I don't think I said they are in the same family. I mentioned the UV-5R only because some else was talking about it and it seems really popular.

 

[M Rose]

The UV9G is not in the same family as the UV5R. The UV5R is a 3 watt radio (advertised at 5 but actual power output is closer to 3 on high power) the UV9R is 7 watts advertised as 8 watts.
once you mess with the programming it is no longer certified for GMRS use. That is if you program to TX on anything other than the preset GMRS frequencies.

Sure, I don't think I said they are in the same family. I mentioned the UV-5R only because some else was talking about it and it seems really popular.

My mention of Family was general and not specifically aimed at you… While the UV5R is popular, a lot of people don’t realize Baofeng makes several radios… the worst of such is the ever popular UV5R series.

I have. UV9G on order to test… I’m pretty sure it’s going to go with the rest of my Baofeng collection.

 

[Coreymol]

ive been using them for several years in different applications they work great.

 

[M Rose]

ive been using them for several years in different applications they work great.

The UV9G just came out at the end of November 2022, how could you be using it for several years?

 

[trail_runn4r]

The UV9G just came out at the end of November 2022, how could you be using it for several years?

2021... but maybe he meant Baofengs in general.

 

[M Rose]

The UV9G just came out at the end of November 2022, how could you be using it for several years?

2021... but maybe he meant Baofengs in general.

He probably is… I’m just trying to keep this thread on track to the OP’s questions regarding the new GMRS UV9G radio.

 

[Coreymol]

The UV9G just came out at the end of November 2022, how could you be using it for several years?

This post wasnt JUST about the UV9 unless i miss read it OP asked about UV5R ive used these and the uv f8hp as well as the UV82HP

 

[M Rose]

The UV9G just came out at the end of November 2022, how could you be using it for several years?

This post wasnt JUST about the UV9 unless i miss read it OP asked about UV5R ive used these and the uv f8hp as well as the UV82HP

The thread title is “Baofeng GMRS Radio” Baofeng only makes one FCC compliment GMRS radio, the UV9G. Even though the rest are able to transmit and receive GMRS, they aren’t actually type certified for GMRS use, and their RF emissions are outside the allotted emissions for GMRS use. So yes this is supposed to be about the UV9G radio only

 

[Coreymol]

The thread title is “Baofeng GMRS Radio” Baofeng only makes one FCC compliment GMRS radio, the UV9G. Even though the rest are able to transmit and receive GMRS, they aren’t actually type certified for GMRS use, and their RF emissions are outside the allotted emissions for GMRS use. So yes this is supposed to be about the UV9G radio only

ok my bad.

 

[SpookyII]

Update I just hardwired the Btech (bafoeng subsidiary) UV25X4 in the cab of my taco and its been working fantastic. I get about a 15-20 mile range between units without the use of a repeater. Its a 25 watt (advertised) quad band I use with a short tuned composite antenna monuted next to my ditch light. I hard wired it to my Genesis Dual Battery kit and SPod Bantam 8 circuit. Low power draw, excellent range, and programs via a cable and chirp just like my UV5R's and BH8P''s. If you already have a few handheld Baofengs and want to hard wire a stronger unit, I def recommend - believe it was only a couple hundred bucks.

 

[Elzevir]

The thread title is “Baofeng GMRS Radio” Baofeng only makes one FCC compliment GMRS radio, the UV9G. Even though the rest are able to transmit and receive GMRS, they aren’t actually type certified for GMRS use, and their RF emissions are outside the allotted emissions for GMRS use. So yes this is supposed to be about the UV9G radio only

I don't want to cause an argument, but I believe the UV-5x (UV-5g) is also type accepted for GMRS use. FCC ID: 2AN62-UV5G