If that screen it is up against is metallic it could interfere with the antenna. The same with the door(?) frame if it's metal.
Amateur Radio FAQ
- Thread starter K31
- Start date
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If that screen it is up against is metallic it could interfere with the antenna. The same with the door(?) frame if it's metal.
Now on Amazon Lightning Deals, BaoFeng UV-82HP (CAMO) High Power Dual Band Radio: 136-174mhz (VHF) 400-520mhz (UHF) Amateur (Ham) Portable Two-Way .
7 Watts, looks like more colors than the Camo model are available at the same price.
Ends ~4 hours.
7 Watts, looks like more colors than the Camo model are available at the same price.
Ends ~4 hours.
10% sold already.
Here is the link.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015D9LD08/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_tai_2QpRAb...
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Now on Amazon Lightning Deals:
2 Pack Baofeng UV-5RTP Tri-Power 8/4/1W Two-Way Radio Transceiver (UV-5R Upgraded Version with Tri-Power), Dual Band 136-174/400-520MHz True 8W High Power Two-Way Radio + 1 Programming Cable + 2 Remote Speakers
$62.49
Although the title says "2 Remote Speakers" they look like speaker mics and the later product description also says speaker mic.
Almost 6hours remaining.
2 Pack Baofeng UV-5RTP Tri-Power 8/4/1W Two-Way Radio Transceiver (UV-5R Upgraded Version with Tri-Power), Dual Band 136-174/400-520MHz True 8W High Power Two-Way Radio + 1 Programming Cable + 2 Remote Speakers
$62.49
Although the title says "2 Remote Speakers" they look like speaker mics and the later product description also says speaker mic.
Almost 6hours remaining.
gamer_jim
Podcaster
Thanks K31. I snagged a pair. I carry my $170 Yaesu FT-60r with me to work. It would be nice to have a more inexpensive daily carry radio. I'll leave the other in my wife's vehicle.
Do you recommend the extended battery for this model?
https://www.amazon.com/Baofeng-3800mAh-Li-ion-Battery-UV-5RTP/dp/B013WPA6YO/
For the high power model with a speaker mic and a programming cable, $31 is cheaper I think than anything I've previously paid for a ChiCom radio.
I've conditioned the battery on each radio (5W) by running on receive overnight and do 3 cycles, charge, discharge, charge, discharge, charge and they've all run more than a day on just receive. I've never run out of power while transmitting either and that includes some ~45-60 min 3-4 people QSOs. So, unless you want to use it for an extended time without charging it or want to use it an extended time on high power, I'd recommend just sticking with the original battery. Besides, unless you are going to use both simultaneously, you've got a spare battery so to speak. It would be a good idea to rotate that into the charging/use, even if you don't use both radios all the time.
Winged Pig
Active Member
A few weeks ago I purchased the UV-5X3 after seeing it mentioned on this thread and I thought I would pass along my thoughts.
Upon arrival it seemed a lot less substantial than my Yaesu FT-60. It looked like a nice radio, its just that the weight, or lack of it, didn't promote a lot of confidence. The light weight and small size did grow on me pretty quickly though. The controls are simple, positive and easy to manipulate and the buttons are also positive to the touch. I am not a fan of the lack of a squelch knob, but I'm getting used to it. The LED light seems a bit gimmicky to me and I doubt I will ever use it.
After charging the battery I hit the local repeater and was rewarded with strong signal and good audio reports.
It was very easy to set a frequency, even when using a repeater, as long as I was in frequency mode. I spent two or three evenings trying to program the memory by hand and got nothing but frustration for my efforts. You also can't name anything manually so the cable is, at least to me, a necessity.
I ordered a cable from Baofeng, and along with that I ordered the Nagoya 320 antenna and a spare battery. Once they arrived I programed the radio using CHIRP. it was very easy and everything worked exactly as advertised. Maybe it's just me and I'm not grasping exactly what I need to do to program it, but I will say that I was warned not to try to do it manually. As a comparison, I did program my FT-60 by hand and while it took some time it was no where near as frustrating as this one was and that radio had more options.
The battery is impressive. I purchased an additional battery for a cost of about 16 dollars compared to 80 for a Yaesu battery for the FT-60. After conditioning both batteries all I can say is so far they last. Also, the battery seems to seat very well onto the radio, much better than I expected.
The Nagoya antenna seems to extend the range a bit, but not enough to keep it on the radio. I purchased it with the intent of leaving it on for better coverage and also so I wouldn't have to change antenna's if I want to use 1.25.
Given that;
1: I will rarely use that band (but at least I now have the capability)
2: Its limited (subjective test results) range over the rubber duck
3: it's just too long - the main reason
I doubt that I'll use it much. It might work better than the rubber duck when talking HT to HT, but my less than scientific tests did not include that particular item.
I have no idea about the longevity of the radio, or how long the batteries will last before needing replacement, but as of now I'm quite pleased with it. Even with the extra items I purchased, I have still spent less than half of what I have in the FT-60 (but that does include an additional antenna for it). As small and as light as it is, I find myself taking it with me more often than the FT-60.
Overall, especially considering that I paid less than $45 for this radio it is very impressive and I would recommend it. It's not a high end HT, but it does the basics very well and the price is right.
One thing I did with the radio was remove the belt clip. I also did that with my FT-60 when I first got it as I don't like the feel when its mounted on the radio. It seems to get in my way and I don't use it for its intended purpose. With the clip removed the radio fits my hand better and is more comfortable. That is totally subjective, and to each his own, but it works for me.
73
Upon arrival it seemed a lot less substantial than my Yaesu FT-60. It looked like a nice radio, its just that the weight, or lack of it, didn't promote a lot of confidence. The light weight and small size did grow on me pretty quickly though. The controls are simple, positive and easy to manipulate and the buttons are also positive to the touch. I am not a fan of the lack of a squelch knob, but I'm getting used to it. The LED light seems a bit gimmicky to me and I doubt I will ever use it.
After charging the battery I hit the local repeater and was rewarded with strong signal and good audio reports.
It was very easy to set a frequency, even when using a repeater, as long as I was in frequency mode. I spent two or three evenings trying to program the memory by hand and got nothing but frustration for my efforts. You also can't name anything manually so the cable is, at least to me, a necessity.
I ordered a cable from Baofeng, and along with that I ordered the Nagoya 320 antenna and a spare battery. Once they arrived I programed the radio using CHIRP. it was very easy and everything worked exactly as advertised. Maybe it's just me and I'm not grasping exactly what I need to do to program it, but I will say that I was warned not to try to do it manually. As a comparison, I did program my FT-60 by hand and while it took some time it was no where near as frustrating as this one was and that radio had more options.
The battery is impressive. I purchased an additional battery for a cost of about 16 dollars compared to 80 for a Yaesu battery for the FT-60. After conditioning both batteries all I can say is so far they last. Also, the battery seems to seat very well onto the radio, much better than I expected.
The Nagoya antenna seems to extend the range a bit, but not enough to keep it on the radio. I purchased it with the intent of leaving it on for better coverage and also so I wouldn't have to change antenna's if I want to use 1.25.
Given that;
1: I will rarely use that band (but at least I now have the capability)
2: Its limited (subjective test results) range over the rubber duck
3: it's just too long - the main reason
I doubt that I'll use it much. It might work better than the rubber duck when talking HT to HT, but my less than scientific tests did not include that particular item.
I have no idea about the longevity of the radio, or how long the batteries will last before needing replacement, but as of now I'm quite pleased with it. Even with the extra items I purchased, I have still spent less than half of what I have in the FT-60 (but that does include an additional antenna for it). As small and as light as it is, I find myself taking it with me more often than the FT-60.
Overall, especially considering that I paid less than $45 for this radio it is very impressive and I would recommend it. It's not a high end HT, but it does the basics very well and the price is right.
One thing I did with the radio was remove the belt clip. I also did that with my FT-60 when I first got it as I don't like the feel when its mounted on the radio. It seems to get in my way and I don't use it for its intended purpose. With the clip removed the radio fits my hand better and is more comfortable. That is totally subjective, and to each his own, but it works for me.
73
Last edited:
gamer_jim
Podcaster
Thanks for the report Winged Pig.
I ordered the UV-5RTP from the lightning deal on Amazon. I also have the Yeasu FT-60r to compare them to.
I can't seem to get my Windows 10 PC to recognize my new Baofeng radio when plugged in via USB cable. It's not even being recognized in the device manager. I installed the driver (p-something?) that they recommend if you have a knock-off cable but that didn't help. I'm going to try this on my Linux netbook here soon. I'm going to return these if I can't get them programmed via software.
Anyone have any other advice for me to get these to recognize on Windows 10?
I ordered the UV-5RTP from the lightning deal on Amazon. I also have the Yeasu FT-60r to compare them to.
I can't seem to get my Windows 10 PC to recognize my new Baofeng radio when plugged in via USB cable. It's not even being recognized in the device manager. I installed the driver (p-something?) that they recommend if you have a knock-off cable but that didn't help. I'm going to try this on my Linux netbook here soon. I'm going to return these if I can't get them programmed via software.
Anyone have any other advice for me to get these to recognize on Windows 10?
Always buy the genuine FTDI chip cables. Too many bad knockoffs of the Prolific chips.
Winged Pig
Active Member
I tried to use the cable with a Windows XP computer and for some reason could not get it to work either. I tried it with a Mac Book Pro and it worked right away. I probably should have put that in my write up but didn't. Still not sure what I was doing wrong. It might be my computer, then again, it might be me.
I'll work on not leaving out important information if I ever do another review.
Keystone70
MSI Executive Member
Well the antenna is up in the tree and the radio is here and running. I have 35' of wire vertical up the tree with four 6' counterpoise wires on the lower branches along with the 9:1 unun. I don't have an HF SWR meter; but the radio has a built in Tuner which is good up to 3:1. It's coming up with good matches on 40, 30, 20, 12 and some 10 and 6 M. Not too bad for my first attempt.
vette97
Ultimate Member
Well the antenna is up in the tree and the radio is here and running. I have 35' of wire vertical up the tree with four 6' counterpoise wires on the lower branches along with the 9:1 unun. I don't have an HF SWR meter; but the radio has a built in Tuner which is good up to 3:1. It's coming up with good matches on 40, 30, 20, 12 and some 10 and 6 M. Not too bad for my first attempt.
Great work!
- Dec 30, 2012
- 6,998
Can you post a picture or two?
Keystone70
MSI Executive Member
Here is the radio and Antenna Tree. The radio is a Yaesu 450D. The antenna is invisible unless you are up against the tree and know where to look!
I made my first contact today with a guy in Georgia. The radio works pretty good. I'm pretty happy with the purchase so far.
Attachments
- Dec 30, 2012
- 6,998
Thanks, I was wondering how big the tree was. How'd you get the wire up?
Keystone70
MSI Executive Member
100lb fishing line taped to Lacrosse ball (Gorilla tape) plus one 21 yr old son throwing up tree top. Took two tries. It is most of the may up. Tie wire to fishing line and pull up through tree with Lacrosse ball end. Tie off fishing line onto tree from ball for now.
Cheaper than buying a slingshot for one use.
If you go to see his set up, refrain from standing directly under the tree and looking up. Or, if you do, at least keep your mouth shut.
- Dec 30, 2012
- 6,998
Newbee question here, is a 9:1 unun used to balance the wire antenna to the radio?
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