Ordered A Pair Of Baofeng UV 5RAs

I've been thinking about getting my feet wet in ham radio for a long LONG time now. I figured an inexpensive one would run a couple of hundred dollars or so, so didn't really do anything about it. Today I was looking around and ran across the Baofeng UV 5A sets on Amazon for cheap! I mean CHEAP! Soooo, I bit the bullet and ordered a pair of them, plus the USB computer programming cable and the speaker mic. I'm going to learn a whole bunch from this, I think, seeing as how I know absolutely nothing about them except I have to have a license or 3 in order to talk on them! LOL
I'll be doing some studying this weekend for license and it's supposed to be here Monday afternoon. Sooooooo, next week, more studying on license as well as programming it.
Wish me luck! LOL BTW, there is a club about 30 miles away that I'm going to check out.
Kajun

 

good thing is, listening doesn't require a license.

 

OutSTANDING! The Technician (first level) will give you access to the bands/frequencies that those radios will support. The exam is a lot of rules and basic radio theory but really isn't difficult. All of the questions for Element 2, 3 and 4 (Technician, General and Amateur Extra) are freely available on the AARL website and there are a number of websites that let you take practice tests that simulate the real thing. I would suggest either QRZ.com or eham.net.

Also, if you get the official ARRL study guided, they come with test software you can install on your computer.

Lastly, if you have an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, there are tests you can get for just a couple bucks (can't remember how much for each) so you can go through practice exams no matter where you are.

I actually picked up a Baofeng BF-F9 yesterday afternoon. It was too low to pass up.

 

I tried a few different phone apps for the ham tests. The ones I liked best were the apps by James Thomas and the first one is called Ham Tech and it is free for the iPhone. I studied a bit with this while watching TV, laying in bed before going to sleep and just waiting (like at the doctors office, for my wife, etc.). 2-3 weeks of study and practice and got a perfect score on the Tech exam. Bought his next two apps for General and Extra class for like 3 or 4 bucks each plus downloaded some free study guide that gives more theory and math. Passed both the General and Extra class tests the next month missing only 2 or 3 questions on each test. Yeah I had some background education and experience that helped a bunch but those two apps indeed helped me a lot. I recommend them.

AT

 

The ones I used were by Patrick J Maloney. Amateur Radio Exam Prep: Tech, General and Extra.

They are $4, $4 and $5 each respectively.

All three helped a lot, if for no other reason than to have access to the questions whenever/wherever in a test type environment. I'm pretty sure they used to be cheaper.

When it came to the Extra, additional material was absolutely required (for me at least) because the manual didn't go into enough of the "why" on some things for me. Then again, I ended up cramming for the Extra (and passed) because the question pool was going to expire and I didn't want to start all over with new questions.

I'm still learning though and hit all three of my study guides on a fairly regular basis.

 

That was my experience too. The Tech is memorize some stuff like rules, frequency bands, some tech stuff but not much in terms of radio theory. The Extra was easier to just learn the theory and compute the answer than to try and memorize the several dozen possible questions and answers for each theory area.

I'm still learning as well. Don't remotely consider myself a ham as yet... I mostly just work VHF/UHF bands and haven't done a lot on HF yet. (Definately an area of my educational preps that need a lot of work.)

AT

 

I downloaded an app, and have been going through the questions. so far, so good.

 

Thanks for the great info! I'm wondering, can I take my Tech and General the same day? And do I have to take the tests "live and in person, guided by a certified ham examiner" or can I do it online?

Kajun

 

Thanks, BTPost! Guess it's time to start studying and find out when/where exams are being given here in my AO.

Kajun

 

I like my Baofengs. Such a good price.

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^^^ OH YEAH, Baofeng's the shat!

 

..... the little guy has to start somewhere

 

True enough, but i think they have a greater range than our secure phones.
against alphabet boys with SigInt truck, will be DF'd and then listened to ultimately.

But, against police or the golden horde, odds are way better.

I just found it to be an interesting video.

 

Thanks for the posts, guys! I am firing up my Baofeng today and will learn how to scan....need to find local frequencies first, right? I've got some from local repeaters that I'll check out, also. Time to start getting up to speed!

Kajun

 

Heya, ghrit. No, haven't contacted a local club yet. I'm doing some studying and googling on my own so I don't come across as a complete moron to them. LOL

I've found the local repeater frequencies and listened for a while, but no traffic on them. I also found the frequencies for local police, fire and sheriff. The one for local police has traffic on it. Woohoo! (and all I'm doing is listening!) Figured out how to scan and how to enter a frequency manually, so making progress. I should start on the Tech manual tomorrow and a bit on Chirp if life doesn't get in the way.

So far, this is way cool. My 17 yo ds just walked by when there was traffic on police freq and was impressed! LOL

Later.

Kajun