( HAM RADIO ) BaoFeng UV-5R 136-174/400-480 MHz Dual-Band DTMF CTCSS FM Ham 2 Way Radio + $40 To $48 Shipped @ Amazon

nice find op

73's

What's the range on these? Will these go farther than the FRS or GMRS radios?

Butcherboy said:   miqie said:   What's the range on these? Will these go farther than the FRS or GMRS radios?

My understanding ( Pro's please help )

FRS or GMRS radios have a range of about a mile in town ( YMMV )

Yes I know radios the FRS or GMRS say 25 to 35 miles, Good luck.

Now the BaoFeng FM Ham Two Way Radio, Range may be 3 - 5 miles, But if you can find a repeater you can talk all over the USA

You will need a FCC Technician license

in simplex, you may see 5-15 miles depending on line of site, on a repeater range will vary more and also depending on the repeater location, you may hit a lot farther than that.

Butcherboy said:   Do you think this is good for backpacking ?

In case of a emergency if you climb to the top of a ridge you may be able to find a repeater.
The better question is will anyone be listening I think. I got into 2m 15 or more years ago and back then it was pretty active. I eventually drifted away and a while back picked up a couple of these just to see what was out there and have around for emergencies. 2m is crickets around here these days, even during the last fairly major storm we had the repeater was nothing but silence followed by repeater ID and weather advisory information. No storm tracking or anything going on. I'd try to find out if you have an active local community before expecting much.

Can this be used as a scanner for the frequencies it covers? Our LE uses a 154.*** frequency.. I know it would be illegal and just plain wrong to transmit on this frequency, but I am looking for a cheap scanner... Would this work?

i have a yaesu, and the police frequencies are blocked from transmission. I presume that as it is outside the legal bandwith that it will not allow you to transmit on LE frequencies.

wads

I knew I should not have visited this website tonight!!!

Price up a buck to $49.

jeffc said:   I knew I should not have visited this website tonight!!!

Price up a buck to $49.

Be strong and the force be with you!

Lvscott said:   The "Plus" version is $58.99 here.

More Stubborn Case, More Rich and Enhanced Features (2013 the Latest Version)

# Upgrade the frame material. Metallic, more durable and more fashionable.
# With full high two colors LED definition display, the screen exquisite clarity.
# The new English,German,French instruction, more convenient and more humanized.

Thanks for sharing.

Now that is a good deal for the "Plus"

I use a w32 and TH-F6A.

wtfu said:   I have very limited knowledge with radio technology. Can these be used as air traffic scanner? Thanks

Civil Aviation Band 108.000 to about 135.000

So no, BaoFeng UV-5R 136-174/400-480 MHz Dual-Band

While this might be a good product BB, I'm a little confused by the hot deal price....since it seems the same from multiple sellers.

Butcherboy said:   

You tell me if this is a good deal ?

You tell me why at least 4 sellers have it for the same price ?

Butcherboy said:   


I see that all the time, Amazon drop price other sellers drop there price at the same time.

Not quite. You see that some of the time...with one or two sellers...but not almost every seller having the same general price.

Like I said...it seems to be a good product....just not anything significant on the savings.

What does the UV-5R +/Plus have over the regular UV-5R? I see some metal around the speaker on the Plus, but honestly, I think the regular UV-5R looks better. What are some real features that the plus has over the regular UV-5R for 20% more dollars?

Yeah, I saw that video. It doesn't go into the differences much. It seems like it might be easier to change frequencies. Maybe the Plus is better shielded since there is more metal? I couldn't seem to find a definitive comparison chart on the net. BTW, thanks for the quick response!

I didn't buy one but thanks for the reminder, my license expired last month...

My two cents. BaoFeng radios are fine if you don't expect much. A lot of DOA radios. My UV-3R lasted about 3 months of very very light use and now it won't turn on. If you get a good one that doesn't have battery issues, you'll feel like you hit the jackpot. $50 for a radio that can do as much as this one does is a steal. Quality control leaves a lot to be desired however. A huge upside is dealing with Amazon. They're awesome for returns/exchanges. Thanks BB.

Follow to questions in this thread.

1. Difference between plus version and older model is case material has more metal, LED can flash as well as light, and newer firmware.
2. more metal in case may be implemented to form a better heat sync. Hence the life of the components will be longer, and the case may be more durable as well.
3.these radios do not have upgradable firmware. Later firmware has features that earlier ones lack. I think that direct entry of either a UHF or VHF frequency without changing bands is one such new feature.
4. Transmitting on the Ham bands requires a licence that while it is free or a small fee charged by some to give the test, requires study and passing a test. There are also limits on use of ham bands such as you cannot use them for commercial activities.
5. It appears that some of these are FCC part 90 approved so they can be used on Land Mobile Service Frequencies. These require a special license that is not easily obtained and not cheep. Your employer, or govt org or NGO may have one, but your variant of this radio must properly programmed and one of the Part 90 approved versions to operate under an LMS license.
6. FRS, GMRS, and MURS use is not legal in the US for these radios, they are not type accepted by the FCC for this. They will work, but use is not legal. Realize that the vast majority of GMRS use is illegal because GMARS requires a license that very few of the people why buy bubble pack type radios purchase this.. MURS anf FRS are license free but the radio is not type accepted and I think that the high power output may exceede MURS limits as well, high and low power exceede FRS limits as well as the Antenna type and connection.
7. Thr range radio to radio will be on the order of a mile in urban settings, and much further over water, hilltop to hilltop, flat prairie etc. ham operation with repeaters is entirely dependant on the repeater system. Linked repeaters can offer across the city, state or country if designed to do so. If you have access to a repeater network system like this you are probably aware of this already.
8. These are not good scanners, too slow, too hard to program, cant be set to skip channels directly from the keypad etc.
9. A large number of metro area police and fire depts are 800 MHz and can't be heard with these.
10, aircraft are AM and can't be heard with this also too low in frequency.