UV-5R as a mobile rig

[TheBronze]

Well, I'm just glad that more and more off-roaders are making the switch to GMRS and Ham. They are worlds better for off-road communications and much easier to deal with than the big antennas and the squelchy mess of CB. But, as we make the transition, those with experience in radio need to help the others along. Since GMRS and Ham are a touch more complicated it's easy for them to get lost. I try and help when I can.

As far as a new HT. Icoms are great. They have kinda weird menu's but once you get used to them they're fine. I also like Kenwood but they are getting pricey for their dual band models. Right now, I think Yaesu has the best basic HT's going with the FT-65R and the FT-4X. They are inexpensive and work well. The only thing I don't like is they are harder to program than the older HT's. I invested in a cable and the RTSystems software and made my life a LOT easier. I've also used the Chirp software and it works fine as well. It just doesn't look as polished.

As for using an HT for a mobile it works fine. The LAPD used 2 watt hand held radios with a Convert-a-Comm in the car for twenty years and it served them well. Right now, in my Jeep I have a Motorola XTS5000 UHF five watt HT in a Convert-a-Comm and I talk all over the Los Angeles area through repeaters with no problem. I also have used it on simplex for about five miles and it was fine. I really like the Convert-a-Comm for the Jeep because when it's parked I can quickly take the radio out. No worries about it being stolen!

 

[Downs]

I take ARRL's testing with a grain of salt. I also hold no illusions about the build quality of a Baofeng. But I have a hard time taking the word of an organization who's big sponsorship bucks from from the "Big Three".

ARRL Baofeng testing revisited

A while back I wrote a post called “Why FCC tested transceivers should matter to Ham Radio operators.” As part of this post, I drew attention to testing performed by the ARRL on used ha…

mikebeach.org

Baofeng UV-5R Spectrum Analysis Revisited

A few days ago I noticed some incoming traffic from a Dutch scanner forum. I could read there without registering, which made life easy. The link provided there was about the Baofeng UV-B5 review, …

hamgear.wordpress.com

 

[TheBronze]

When Baofeng first showed up on our shores I was like everyone else. I got one...hell I still have it. I took it to my buddy with the analyzer and we checked it. It's barely within spec. Others I know have bought them and had them be way out of spec and still others got good ones. They are all over the map whereas the Big Three are consistently good. We have four repeaters here in Los Angeles that are all linked. Two of them overlook the San Fernando Valley from high peaks. It's unbelievable the amount of transient crap signals that get up there and try to open the machines. We use DPL but the receivers are being pounded daily. Sometimes when we use the machines we open the repeater and these spurious transmitted signals get into the receiver and cause it to stay open. I know I won't convince everybody but believe me, these things are NOT good radios and for a few dollars more you get twice the radio without the problems. When you buy a radio with a cheap receiver the only person it hurts is you. When you buy a radio with a sloppy transmitter you can potentially cause problems for a lot of other people. I really recommend staying away from Baofeng.

 

[M Rose]

@TheBronze have you dealt with the AnyTone radios, I have been looking at one of the HTs that has built in GPS and APRS capabilities, also like that it uses DMR so it’s compatible with my Icom radios.

 

[Downs]

I'm not disagreeing about Baofeng quality. I do think there are a lot of people today who hold HAM licenses who never would have without that cheap 25 dollar throw away radio.

 

[TheBronze]

I haven't personally used or tested an Anytone. But my buddy in Colorado has one. He was the communications director for the CAP out there and he's a repeater owner. Total radio geek like me and he knows his stuff. He has an Anytone D878 and was impressed by it . He said it was clean on his equipment so I have no reason to think they aren't solid little radios.

 

[M Rose]

I haven't personally used or tested an Anytone. But my buddy in Colorado has one. He was the communications director for the CAP out there and he's a repeater owner. Total radio geek like me and he knows his stuff. He has an Anytone D878 and was impressed by it . He said it was clean on his equipment so I have no reason to think they aren't solid little radios.

Thats what I was hoping to hear...

 

[TundraChad]

When Baofeng first showed up on our shores I was like everyone else. I got one...hell I still have it. I took it to my buddy with the analyzer and we checked it. It's barely within spec. Others I know have bought them and had them be way out of spec and still others got good ones. They are all over the map whereas the Big Three are consistently good. We have four repeaters here in Los Angeles that are all linked. Two of them overlook the San Fernando Valley from high peaks. It's unbelievable the amount of transient crap signals that get up there and try to open the machines. We use DPL but the receivers are being pounded daily. Sometimes when we use the machines we open the repeater and these spurious transmitted signals get into the receiver and cause it to stay open. I know I won't convince everybody but believe me, these things are NOT good radios and for a few dollars more you get twice the radio without the problems. When you buy a radio with a cheap receiver the only person it hurts is you. When you buy a radio with a sloppy transmitter you can potentially cause problems for a lot of other people. I really recommend staying away from Baofeng.

I don't disagree with what you're saying. I got the Beofeng because my son likes listening to the radio and it will be useful for a handheld radio for around camp or for recovery operations. I have a Yaesu FTM-400XDR in the truck and will be getting a couple Yaesu HTs. That being said, if my son is taking off fishing across the lake (once he passes his Technician exam) I'd rather he took the UV5R to knock around rather than a more expensive unit.

 

[Sean's #1 Pop]

I'm not disagreeing about Baofeng quality. I do think there are a lot of people today who hold HAM licenses who never would have without that cheap 25 dollar throw away radio.

Baofeng BF8 was my first radio - and I still have it. When I'm deployed with our EmCom unit I have my FT60 and FTM400 for 2M HAM duties, and my Motorola for trunked duties. When I'm just out hiking or using the radio for campsite duties I would much rather drop/lose/break a $25 chinese radio than a $300 front line unit.