Dual Band Ham Radio $46

[jedi]

The inexpensive, Chinese radios being discussed in this thread are generally approved for amateur radio. Many of them, though, don't have built-in limits as to what frequencies you can transmit on. Therefore, it's possible to use one of these radios to transmit outside the amateur radio bands. That's illegal. If you cause interference to another radio service, you could be fined by the FCC. Is the the FCC likely to catch up with you if you transmit out of band? Probably not, but the risk is there.

On the version 3 this may only be possible if you hack the programming software and put in those "illegal" frequencies since there is no way to punch in feq and when you spin the dial it does stop within the feq. band.

 

[Indiana Camper]

I need to quit putting it off and get my license also. A while back I was playing around on my Android phone and found a few apps to study for the test. I don't remember which one I downloaded but it was pretty neat.

 

[daddymikey1975]

I need to quit putting it off and get my license also. A while back I was playing around on my Android phone and found a few apps to study for the test. I don't remember which one I downloaded but it was pretty neat.

Just start taking practice tests online and reading as much as you can.

That's what I've been doing. I'm going to check into getting my license soon. Well, as soon as I can pass the practice tests repeatedly

 

[bb37]

You guys who are studying for your amateur radio license, let me know where and when you plan to take the exam. I'm an ARRL Volunteer Examiner and, if I'm available, I'll try to make it to the exam session.

When you pass an amateur radio license exam, you will be given a piece of paper that serves as your "receipt". This paper is known as the Certificate of Successful Completion of an Exam or CSCE and three Volunteer Examiners have to sign off on it. I still have my CSCEs from the two exam sessions I attended. One of the VEs who signed off on my first one over 20 years ago became a very good friend and mentor.

 

[PistolBob]

You can take the test for FREE in Terre Haute every third Thursday I believe. They are with the Laurel VEC teams and they do not charge for the exam. Even if you pass.

Good luck guys! Once you get your ticket, LEARN CW.

 

[daddymikey1975]

You guys who are studying for your amateur radio license, let me know where and when you plan to take the exam. I'm an ARRL Volunteer Examiner and, if I'm available, I'll try to make it to the exam session.

When you pass an amateur radio license exam, you will be given a piece of paper that serves as your "receipt". This paper is known as the Certificate of Successful Completion of an Exam or CSCE and three Volunteer Examiners have to sign off on it. I still have my CSCEs from the two exam sessions I attended. One of the VEs who signed off on my first one over 20 years ago became a very good friend and mentor.

Good to know. Thanks

Mine will most likely be in Marshall County.. Might be a month or so until I'm ready but I'll let you know for sure

 

[dlbrown75]

Im getting a ham. Ive narrowed it to one of these Yaesu FT-60R vs Yaesu VX-7R | aubreyturner.org. Any thoughts or experiences?

 

[bb37]

I owned a Yaesu FT-60 for a while. It's a good radio. Fairly rugged and simple to operate. Lots of accessories and battery packs are available from Yaesu and the aftermarket. About the only thing that was hard to figure out on my FT-60 was the memory bank feature, but that shouldn't deter you. The comments in that link about the differences in the user interface between the FT-60 and the VX-7 are worth noting. I never had an issue with the multiple functions per button on the FT-60, but I do not care for the way you have to navigate and select items in the menus on my Yaesu VX-8GR (which is similar to the VX-7). When it comes to using menus on a handheld, my Kenwood TH-F6A and TH-D72A are much easier to operate than my VX-8GR.

The one thing that bugs me about Yaesu handhelds is the single-pin speaker/mic connector. You have to be careful to make sure it stays plugged into the radio. Yaesu started using this connector on the FT-50 amateur handhelds and VX-10 commercial handhelds. I always used a leather case with my FT-50 or VX-10 and it was fairly easy to run the speaker/mic cable under the case strap so the plug would stay secured. I see that some later Yaesu handhelds are using the same single-pin connector, but they've added screw threads to the body of the connector that screw into the radio. That should be much more secure.

Even with all that, I still think the Yaesu FT-60 is about the best dual-band handheld on the market today. I don't care for the new Chinese handhelds because they are basically throw-away radios. If they break, there's really nobody in this country that can service them and they probably aren't worth getting them serviced anyway. That said, a lot of guys are buying them and getting good use out of them.

 

[NomadS]

Waste of money or worth it?

I have thousands in good ham radio equipment. Is there a place for this?

I picked up one of these.

A Boafeng UV-3 from Ebay, direct from Hong Kong. It took eight days to get here.

I found a UV-3r plus version and a UV-5r plus version. Price isn't that much different. Would one be easier for newby to program?

 

[jedi]

I found a UV-3r plus version and a UV-5r plus version. Price isn't that much different. Would one be easier for newby to program?

Both are easy to program as you use the software and connect to a PC.
If both are priced the same or close enough go with the UV-5r since that is newer and you get a keypad on the radio to plug in new feq (not programmed) which makes it easier to go to said frequency. With the 3r it's a bit harder since you have to scroll like an old fashion radio.

 

[dlbrown75]

Just ordered a yaesu 60.

 

[CathyInBlue]

There seem to be two different forms of the Baofeng UV-5RA+ on eBay. One only goes to 480MHz, the other, to 520 MHz. Obviously, you can't legally broadcast on those freqs, but in a SHTF/WROL scenario, in an area where there is no TV channel 14-22 to interfere with, that white space could prove useful, if an aggressive opfor isn't looking there for the comms traffic of potential prey. Initially, I was thinking that it would just be useful for pulling in the FM audio from WFYI, channel 20 out of Indy, but then I remembered that the TV format changed radicly. There is no FM audio subcarrier in the TV bands, which an FM analogue receiver could demodulate, anymore.

 

[daddymikey1975]

There seem to be two different forms of the Baofeng UV-5RA+ on eBay. One only goes to 480MHz, the other, to 520 MHz. Obviously, you can't legally broadcast on those freqs, but in a SHTF/WROL scenario, in an area where there is no TV channel 14-22 to interfere with, that white space could prove useful, if an aggressive opfor isn't looking there for the comms traffic of potential prey. Initially, I was thinking that it would just be useful for pulling in the FM audio from WFYI, channel 20 out of Indy, but then I remembered that the TV format changed radicly. There is no FM audio subcarrier in the TV bands, which an FM analogue receiver could demodulate, anymore.

The ones being sold on Amazon are capable of being 'changed' to allow up to 520 with the Baofeng software. It's easy to just click a button, and you're good.

Also, the one I just received has the newest firmware.

Very good deal for the money

 

[Sailor]

Just ordered a yaesu 60.

 

[Sailor]

New Baofeng out there. I have not tested one yet but I like the layout and specs.

Brick O'Lore: Baofeng UV-B5: Best Kept Secret

 

[dlbrown75]

New Baofeng out there. I have not tested one yet but I like the layout and specs.

Brick O'Lore: Baofeng UV-B5: Best Kept Secret

Im ordering this for my son. Thanks

 

[daddymikey1975]

New Baofeng out there. I have not tested one yet but I like the layout and specs.

Brick O'Lore: Baofeng UV-B5: Best Kept Secret

I saw this though (not sure if it's an issue or not for some)

Of note is the lack of the customary flashlight (for the UV-B5) and, perhaps more importantly, 2.5Khz steps

 

[Sailor]

The light I could care less about.

I thought you could program 2.5Khz steps and it would be recognized but you can not scroll in those steps. I will get one here in a while to test and report back.

 

[dlbrown75]

The light I could care less about.

I thought you could program 2.5Khz steps and it would be recognized but you can not scroll in those steps. I will get one here in a while to test and report back.

Can you briefly explain the 2.5khz and its use?

 

[daddymikey1975]

The light I could care less about.

I thought you could program 2.5Khz steps and it would be recognized but you can not scroll in those steps. I will get one here in a while to test and report back.

The quote was about the 2.5 steps not really the light.

On my UV5R, I can turn on the 2.5 steps in the menu, then program them, and ALSO scroll as well.

I don't know about this new radio but I wanted to point that out to everyone in case it's a deal breaker.

Also, is it possible to 'turn on' higher frequencies like the UV5R ? With the software, I can scan up to 520 (I believe). Is this possible with this new radio as well ? (sorry, on my phone so proper grammar isn't happening as it should )