Just bought a couple BaoFengs. Now what?

[mtnbkr]

Nevermind. Realized that was a post from Sept that I had already replied to.

Chris

[Clusterfrack]

Discontinued

I know. That PISSES ME OFF.

[HeavyDuty]

Ever put a BaoFeng on a monitor? Dirty, dirty, dirty. And they are fragile as hell. Yes, I have several that are throwaways.

If you want a proper HT just break down and buy a Motorola. A XPR6550 or similar won’t cost much at all and you’ll have a much better piece of hardware. Or go a little newer and upscale, the XPR7550 series is a damn good radio.

What do I keep in my go bag? A pair of Astro Saber 2s.

[mtnbkr]

This is a useful chart if you're trying to decide between HTs. Not all are listed, but you can get the same figures from the manufacturers and use that for comparison if an HT is not on the list. Also, in the case of Baofeng, they supposedly use the same radio-on-a-chip as the Yaesu FT-25 and FT-65, so the performance numbers for those radios will be similar (QC and other factors aside).

The first column is how sensitive the radio is to 2m/144mhz signals (lower is better). The 2nd column is how good the radio is at rejecting non-2m/144mhz VHF interference (such as operating near FM radio towers...higher is better). The 3rd column indicates the radio's ability to reject interference from nearby transmitters on the 2m/144mhz band (ie other hams...higher is better).

There are similar columns for the 70cm band.

I have two radios on that list, the Icom IC-V8 and Yaesu VX-7r. The Icom has a more sensitive receiver and is much better at rejecting interference from other VHF sources. I've seen this firsthand where my Yaesu is deaf (people can hear me, I can't hear them) due to nearby terrestrial radio transmitters, but the Icom hears just fine.

Also, important to note while using external antennas (roll up antennas up in a tree, handheld beams, etc), if your radio doesn't have good filtering capabilities, you'll just overload the front end with the increased reception of that antenna, meaning you'll actually hear less in practice. That's more of an issue if you're in a noisy RF environment (near towns, etc). Out in the boonies it's less of a concern.

Chris

[rkittine]

I have at least a dozen HTs. I have ICOMs, Kenwoods and Yasue's from 30 or 40 years ago. I do own a few of the Chinese knock offs, but they are not in the same league. Programing software and cable are a must if you really want to use them for what they were intended.

73 - Bob - WA2YDV

[mtnbkr]

@LittleLebowski
One of the regional repeaters in Arlington was shutdown during the Capital Hill riot. The ARRL and FCC are aware of the growing use of cheap ham HTs like the Baofengs and are putting out statements that amateur radio use while committing crimes is illegal and will not be tolerated. Needless to say, legal hams in the area are a bit lathered up about the potential for illegal use of our airwaves and repeaters and are talking about reporting suspicious use and even recording questionable conversations.

Just putting that out there in case any of you are unaware of the official attention this is getting...

On a lighter note, a buddy and I did a SOTA activation today near Edinburg, VA. I used my IC-V8 on 2m and my VX-7r on 6m with a loooong roll-up j-pole antenna way up in a tree. We both got enough contacts for points, but I was disappointed in how little activity I could drum up on 6m even in the middle of a nationwide VHF contest. The contacts I managed to get all gave me great signal reports, so I know the gear is working.

Chris