Just checked my Yaesu 8900, Made in China...like everything else.
I got my UV-5R last week, I'm quite happy with it.
Craig.
HAM Cheap Little ONe
- Thread starter retrofive
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
Just checked my Yaesu 8900, Made in China...like everything else.
I got my UV-5R last week, I'm quite happy with it.
Craig.
I watched some un-boxing videos last night, it comes with an adapter for N American outlets. Most AC - DC converters will work with almost any input frequency or voltage now days.
I've been in electronics for 25+ years, don't get me started on off shore manufacturing.
Definitely hit and miss.
Scary thing is, I shudder at the thought of what a $599 ipad would be if it was made in N. America for normal "working man" wages. Even at a moderate $35,000 a year, that's $2916 a month compared to $290 a month in China (iPad maker Foxconn lifts China workers pay again | Reuters). 10x the difference.
Don't know what the solution is, because people like to provide for their families and such by having a decent wage, but people also like to save money by buying things that cost less.
END TANGENT NOW.
Scary thing is, I shudder at the thought of what a $599 ipad would be if it was made in N. America for normal "working man" wages. Even at a moderate $35,000 a year, that's $2916 a month compared to $290 a month in China (iPad maker Foxconn lifts China workers pay again | Reuters). 10x the difference.
Don't know what the solution is, because people like to provide for their families and such by having a decent wage, but people also like to save money by buying things that cost less.
END TANGENT NOW.
True that there are places where you can be out of range. I would still rather have some kind of ham radio with me even if 5w. With my 50W mobile 2m install, I have hit repeaters more than 50mi away easily. When I am wheeling in remote areas out of cell range, it always seems I can hit some kind of repeater.
If you really want to get advanced - you could get a unit for the truck that has "cross band repeat". That way with your 5w unit on a hike, you can hit the truck radio and get a big boost in power. You can get extended range that way as well.
Proliferation of 2m radio repeaters is pretty good. You could always go for an HF install (more $$ and big antennas) to get real coverage. I carry HF in my rig as well and am pretty much guaranteed I can always reach someone in the event of an emergency. My longest HF contact with my truck was from the Barker Ranch in Death Valley all the way to Japan!
I agree with 50W you can hit a repeater in many remote areas, with 5W? Not so much.
There is some question about the legality of using a cross band repeat radio since most do not auto ID every 10 minutes as required. Also as control operator you cannot remotely shut the "repeater" off. I have a FT-8900 and have used the X-band on occasion, mostly so I could monitor the club simplex freq with an HT while I was puttering around camp. It's a neat feature but I probably wouldn't use it if I was going to be very far from the truck.
yes you need a liscence.
I got mine as part of a group buy ($56 shipped). Looks good and seems to work. Now I gotta go take the course so I can figure out how to use it! I see its got FM radio and a working light as well!
In the meanwhile I may have to build a mount for it in the cruiza.
I got mine as part of a group buy ($56 shipped). Looks good and seems to work. Now I gotta go take the course so I can figure out how to use it! I see its got FM radio and a working light as well!
In the meanwhile I may have to build a mount for it in the cruiza.
Yes you need a license, it's an easy multiple guess test and most people can pass with a minimum of preparation.
Range for any radio is dependent of the antenna, terrain, and many other conditions.
A good antenna can make a mediocre radio perform much better. Even the big brand name HT radios ship with crappy antennas.
In general you can depend on a 5W radio with a decent antenna to reach at least 20+ miles line of sight. In mountains it will be a crap shoot what kind of range you can get. Over water the range may be much greater.
I'm looking at getting this radio as I was given a few Amazon gift cards, however I'm looking for and can't seem to find a battery pack that lets you use AA batteries. I may not always have 120/12 volt power, but I have hundreds of AA batteries at my disposal. Just like with my fire radio, I have the standard re-chargeable battery and I always carry a AA battery pack backup.
Thanks,
Brittain
Thanks,
Brittain
The battery life on these little guys is pretty terrific. When we lost power due to Sandy, I was using one to communicate to local repeaters to get updates from around the county and it was our primary FM radio entertainment. I used it on and off for 6 days without charging and it was still reading a full charge when I got power back.
I've used them on weekend trail rides as primary comms for those that don't have a mobile setup in their vehicle. On for about 8 hours a day over 2 days and still strong.
The charger can charge an extra battery as well, so you might just want to pocket a second battery pack.
Or you can do what I did, which was buy 2 of them. The UV-5R is going for $42 today on Amazon. The newer UV-5RA is down to $46. They're almost giving them away.
I've used them on weekend trail rides as primary comms for those that don't have a mobile setup in their vehicle. On for about 8 hours a day over 2 days and still strong.
The charger can charge an extra battery as well, so you might just want to pocket a second battery pack.
Or you can do what I did, which was buy 2 of them. The UV-5R is going for $42 today on Amazon. The newer UV-5RA is down to $46. They're almost giving them away.
That software is not worth seeking out. Go download CHIRP and have fun programming your new radio. I didn't even bother installing the Baofeng software, I've heard it sucks.
While CHIRP is much easier to use for programming the channels on your HT, you will need to download the BF VIP software to program any of the set up page features that are unique to the BF.
VIP undeniably sucks. You need to get the version that matches your firmware. The other odd feature of VIP is that you cannot clone or upload the settings while monitoring an active channel as this interrupts the communication with the HT. Either remove the antenna or set the squelch to 9 to prevent this. It took me a while to figure this out.
I recently passed my Tech license test and am looking for a handheld to put in my SAR gear bag. I need the ability to access commercial channels. Does anyone know if the uv-5r can do this? I have been reading and it looks like it can, but I keep getting mixed reviews. I have an FT-7900r in the cruiser for simplex and access to the local repeaters, but I need something that can use commercial channels in SAR.
Any recommendations on an affordable handheld dual band with this ability?
Any recommendations on an affordable handheld dual band with this ability?
Last edited:
thinking about getting one of those but I'd like to make sure I get the latest firmware since it is apparently not upgradeable.
Any info on sources that are shipping the radios with the latest 297 (I think) firmware?
(and current good sources for the programming cable? )
Any info on sources that are shipping the radios with the latest 297 (I think) firmware?
(and current good sources for the programming cable? )
I got one last week...from amazon...got the USB programming cable from the same seller...
My radio does have the 297 firmware...
Nice little unit....really need to use chirp to program repeaters and other frequencies so you don't go crazy trying to do it through the keypad.
I got my UV-5R last week and started playing with the CHIRP software. I found this link very helpful in getting the UV-5R "talking" with CHIRP software (on Windows):
http://miklor-uv5r.99k.org/UV5R-Drivers.html
Last night I spent a couple hours trying to get the UV-5R working with CHIRP on a MAC but I'm not having any luck so far...
Having fun with the radio. went over 14km simplex... clear both ways...ideal conditions, from a valley to a mountain top. Impressed so far.
http://miklor-uv5r.99k.org/UV5R-Drivers.html
Last night I spent a couple hours trying to get the UV-5R working with CHIRP on a MAC but I'm not having any luck so far...
Having fun with the radio. went over 14km simplex... clear both ways...ideal conditions, from a valley to a mountain top. Impressed so far.
I just took and passed my Technical License exam yesterday and ordered this handheld radio. Looking forward to seeing how well this works!