Dual Band Ham Radio $46

[Ted]

Can't go wrong with Yaesu or Kenwood

Agreed.

There are a lot of good and inexpensive, new and used dual band HTs, that won't break if dropped.

I have a Yaesu VX8DR. While a bit more expensive ($435 from Gigaparts), it is a milspec (shock/moisture) engineered, quad band HT.

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Frequency Range Receive:[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]0.5 - 1.8 MHz (BC Band)
1.8 - 30 MHz (Shortwave Band)
30 - 78 MHz (6 Meter Amateur)
76 - 108 MHz (FM)
108 - 137 MHz (Air Band)
137 - 174 MHz (144 MHz HAM)
174 - 222 MHz (VHF-TV)
222 - 225 MHz (222 MHz Ham)
225 - 420 MHz (General Band 1)
420 - 470 MHz (430 MHz HAM)
470 - 800 MHz (UHF-TV)
800 - 999 MHz (General Band 2 Cellular Blocked)[/FONT]​

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Frequency Range Transmit: [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]50 - 54 MHz
144 - 148 MHz
222 - 225 MHz
430 - 440 MHz[/FONT]​

 

[Sailor]

Of course there are better radios. I have them. This is not the intent of this thread. Read the first post.

 

[Ted]

Of course there are better radios. I have them. This is not the intent of this thread. Read the first post.

Merely offering context to the idea of a cheap HT.

Just because something is inexpensive, doesn't mean that its worth the price.

 

[Sailor]

I have had equal, and sometimes better performance from my UV-5r than my Yaesu FT-270R. Is it as robust? No, but the 270 is $139. For a guy with limited funds, he is much better off with this verses nothing.

So, as the the first post states re the UV-3R

I programmed a handful of VHF and UHF freqs and have run it for a few days.

I made contact using a local repeater to a friend 15 to 18 miles away mobile.
I listened in on the local emergency response net, and all the major repeaters in the area.
I listened to the security team talk at the hospital my wife works at.
I have listened to two local life flight helicopters in route.
Local EMS
Local school bus traffic
NOAA weather
Local fire station near my house
And two boys playing commando on GMRS.

So is there a place for it? Hell yes. If you can afford good radios buy them, but for $46 you have the ability to monitor emergency traffic. Most emergency traffic will be on VHF using local repeaters. Where does this radio fit in with me? I have no problems giving it to my girls to throw into the basket of there bike when they are at the park a half mile away. I will use it as a back up to my phone when in a tree stand. I chose yellow on purpose, cheap and easy to find for my kids or in the woods. They come in many colors.

If you have no radio now, this puts you in a better position.

 

[Ted]

.......For a guy with limited funds, he is much better off with this verses nothing.

Buy a quality radio, cry once. Buy a cheap radio and drop it once, cry twice.

For a guy with limited funds, why pay twice for a radio?

 

[Sailor]

Because a guy with a highpoint is better of than a guy with no gun.

And, just having the ability to monitor the bands is a huge asset regardless of how well it functions.

Do you realize how many people have started with this cheap radio, realized how important comms are and have since upgraded to better radios?

I think you are being short sighted and kind of snobish.

I have 20 for a class, maybe I will do some drop tests.

 

[shibumiseeker]

Buy a quality radio, cry once. Buy a cheap radio and drop it once, cry twice.

For a guy with limited funds, why pay twice for a radio?

I bought four of the UV-3R, and I have HTs ranging from that price up to about $500.

I bought them because they are cheap and essentially disposable. But what surprised me was how capable and durable they turned out to be. I have now beat the crap out of a couple for the last 8-10 months and I have been consistently impressed with them. They are light weight enough that I have one in each of my go-packs as a backup to my primary radio, and given that they charge off a 5v USB source which my solar/battery charger I keep in those packs provides, they are excellent value for the money. I can hand one to someone else during a mission and if it doesn't come back I'm not nearly as put out.

 

[Ted]

Because a guy with a highpoint is better of than a guy with no gun.

Unless it doesn't function when most needed.

And, just having the ability to monitor the bands is a huge asset regardless of how well it functions.

Purchasing a used Radio Shack scanner for $5 will do the same thing.

Do you realize how many people have started with this cheap radio, realized how important comms are and have since upgraded to better radios?

I'm sure that there are a few. Though why waste the money to do such?

I think you are being short sighted and kind of snobish.

Short sighted and snobbish because I disapprove of wasting money? Really?

I have 20 for a class, maybe I will do some drop tests.

Please keep us advised.

 

[Ted]

I bought four of the UV-3R, and I have HTs ranging from that price up to about $500.

I bought them because they are cheap and essentially disposable. But what surprised me was how capable and durable they turned out to be. I have now beat the crap out of a couple for the last 8-10 months and I have been consistently impressed with them. They are light weight enough that I have one in each of my go-packs as a backup to my primary radio, and given that they charge off a 5v USB source which my solar/battery charger I keep in those packs provides, they are excellent value for the money. I can hand one to someone else during a mission and if it doesn't come back I'm not nearly as put out.

I'm not debating the fact that they are essentially disposable, and that losing or breaking one, doesn't hurt as much as doing such to a radio that is significantly more expensive.

I've seen these cheap radio fail, and am unwilling to potentially place my well-being in a radio with such a history.

 

[shibumiseeker]

I'm not debating the fact that they are essentially disposable, and that losing or breaking one, doesn't hurt as much as doing such to a radio that is significantly more expensive.

I've seen these cheap radio fail, and am unwilling to potentially place my well-being in a radio with such a history.

I've had expensive radios fail. I had a Yaesu FT-530 take a crap during the middle of a rescue, and at the time it was one of the top of the line radios.

Like I said, I've beat the crap out of two of them enough for the last few months that I have confidence that it will do what I expect of them.

 

[Sailor]

Someone has done this already.

http://youtu.be/-NJbp4Y-j2E


http://youtu.be/TLzyvQoauIo

 

[T.Lex]

Is there a place to buy these locally?

 

[Sailor]

I just programmed and sold my last five today. Where are you?

 

[Exodus]

How hard is hard to program these or any ht. I guess it also helps if you know what frequencies you want to listen in on?

 

[Sailor]

Can be tricky, getting the software and drivers working right. Importing from repeaterbook and radioreference is a snap when you are up and running. Cumbersome to do all 128 memories by hand.

 

[NavyVet]

For those interested in getting these programmed in the North Central Indiana area (St Joseph, Marshall, Starke, Kosciusko, Fulton, LaPorte counties), let me know. Have the software working and have programmed several with all the repeaters in our area. Only takes a minute.

No cost if you bring it to me (or we can meet in my travels)...

 

[daddymikey1975]

Found these on ebay, any idea if it's worth the money for the extras?

USA Stock BAOFENG UV 5R E UHF VHF Dual Band Watch Two Way Radio FM Speaker Mic 628586667976 | eBay

Was going to pull the trigger on one and get my Tech license in the near future.

 

[BK1962]

Great thread. I was looking at these this week on ebay but could not commit. Thanks for the info on the radios and all of the other ham magic that I have no real understanding of.

 

[jedi]

Found these on ebay, any idea if it's worth the money for the extras?

USA Stock BAOFENG UV 5R E UHF VHF Dual Band Watch Two Way Radio FM Speaker Mic 628586667976 | eBay

Was going to pull the trigger on one and get my Tech license in the near future.

You may or may not want all the extra stuff depends on how you plan on using the radio. NWI INGO did a group buy for the UV-3s a while back and we like them. Make sure you get the USB cable for the radio when you buy it. Cause it's a PITA to get afterwards that will work correctly with your radio.

I would of love to have done the group buy for the version 5 ones but they were not avaliable yet when we did our order. BTW the vendor you posted in your link is not the vendor we went with for our group buy. That is NOT to say this vendor is not legit. I would have to dig the name up but the vendor we went with was very helpful, good english behin he was in Honk Kong and fast with his replies.

Here is the size comparision BTW between the 2 versions.

@Ted
There is no negative rep anymore so this is for you

 

[daddymikey1975]

You may or may not want all the extra stuff depends on how you plan on using the radio. NWI INGO did a group buy for the UV-3s a while back and we like them. Make sure you get the USB cable for the radio when you buy it. Cause it's a PITA to get afterwards that will work correctly with your radio.

Thanks for the tidbits.

I managed to snag these from Amazon:

Amazon.com: New Baofeng UV 5RA Ham Two Way Radio 136-174/400-480 MHz Dual-Band DTMF CTCSS DCS FM 5W Amateur Radio UV-5R Transceiver - 2013 Latest Version with Enhanced Features: Car Electronics

Amazon.com: USB Programming Cable for BAOFENG UV-5R UV-3R+ Two way Radio With Driver CD: Car Electronics

Amazon.com: Original BAOFENG UV-5R 7.4V 1800 mah Li-ion Battery for dual band radio: Everything Else

Amazon.com: ExpertPower® 14.4" Dual Band Two-way Radio Antenna SMA-Female: Electronics

All for just under $90 shipped.

I'm currently looking for a HAM class and to get my tech license. I know I can't 'use' the radio (to transmit) until I'm licensed, but I wanted to have it 'just in case' while I study to get my license.

Now, if only I could find a class