Found this on eBay http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5337639227&icep_item=130539537650 Is it a waste of money or worth getting for communication with family within 15-30 miles? Not sure what all the listed specs actually mean. Still new in the communication department. edit: Also found this. http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5337639227&icep_item=310409697594 Midland Titan 70-1344B Mobile 12v VHF Ham Radio 50 Watt 320 Channel 150-174 MHz
you're not gonna get anywhere near 30 miles without a repeater, with any portable radio. That is a fairly decent, very compact, dual band 2m (VHF)/70cm (UHF) handheld for little money. Line of sight, or with repeaters, it should work as well as any as long as it works. I've got one I won at a hamfest, it works okay. All UHF and VHF works line-of-sight, you want distance you're gonna need height. The Midland is 2m (VHF) only.
Thanks for the info. One location is a cabin in the mountains so it is higher but there is also a lot of trees and stuff around of course. What do you think the range would realistically be?
I have 4 , The repeater stuff , nada . Around the farm ranch , looking for stuff, 4 of us can speak internal. I used this dude : Link : Bought lots from this gent.
There is a thread for posting forum bugs. Perhaps you should post your exact issues there instead of intermingled in every post you make.
I was discussing these radios a month ago with a ham I know from our search and rescue group. There are two versions of the UV-3R, the original and the "plus" version. The big difference is the battery. The original uses a cell phone battery which is easy to pop out and change and is readily available and cheap on eBay. The plus version battery is integrated with the back cover and more expensive. I vaguely recall that the jack for an external mic/ear phone is different and he preferred th original but I don't recall the specifics. One I believe is a single pin 4 or 3 conductor plug and the other is two jacks one for mic and one for speaker spaced 10 mm apart but double check this if important to you. Have Fun AT
Momma and I have a pair of these, and we find they work well, as a backup for our 5 watt VHF handhelds. We are both Ham Radio Operantors, so we use either the Ham Frequencies, or on occasion Marine Frequencies if we are near Navivateable Waters, or specific Business Frequencies, licensed to Bruce's Trading Post. We have FRS/GMRS Frequencies programmed, but with all the other Lisenced Frequencies, that we have available, these would be our last choice, for use, between ourselves. We have them in the radios, in case we need to communicate, with outsiders, or in an SHTF, of Emergency situation.
I've got 2 of these units coming from an Ebay auction. Great deal for something that can use multiple Frequencies in TX/RX
I picked up some of these as gifts for some of my Ham friends. Are they easy to program or are we going to want the cable and software?
You can program them without a computer, but it is a pain in the A$$, if you are doing it for more than a couple of channels... Much easier to get the Cable, and download the software, which is free.....
I have been using The Puxing 777 and Wouxun 689 both with the inversion scrambler for a few years and just ordered the 2/1.25 meter dual band. Both work very well and they have free PC programming software. So the Baofeng is probably cut from the same cloth. It is astounding the number of chinese HTs out there now.
Been playing with the Baofeng UV-5R for a couple weeks now...decent audio, excellent battery life, and the programming cable is highly advisable. Hard to beat for a daily carry piece @ $50 delivered... FWIW, it includes 65-108 mz FM and an led light
News from the Ham Radio world..... HAM HACKING: BAEFONG UV-3R BECOMES HACKERS PARADISE The tiny and very inexpensive Baefong (PRON BAY FONG) dual band H-T has developed a big following among the makers and hackers in ham radio. So much so that the DIY site Hack A Day reports on how you can write new firmware for the UV-3R to make it do things that its developers likely never thought of. You can see for yourself what's going on with this tiny set as the hackers and makers have a literal field day with it at tinyurl.com/uv3r-hack. (Hack A Day)