What are the pros and cons of Baofeng, What are better alternitives?

What are the pros and cons of Baofeng, What are better alternitives?

Attached: BAOFENG.jpg (1000x1000, 72K)

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amazon.com/dp/B00MAULSOK/?coliid=I3998AP4DDU4IG&colid=36Q09E5LCPXNQ&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
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They are cheap as fuck while being the same quality as much more expensive radios.

In fact, there's no single reason to spend let's say 100 bucks on a different brand radio because it won't take you further. A real difference can only be seen when you're stepping upwards the price range into 150 - 200 bucks country

Only downside: the original antenna is utter Bullshit. Even a wet finger tips into the antenna socket is better.

I got two UV5Rs, one with a Comet SMA24J and the other one with a diamond SRJ F40 A

Here for better measurement. Hope it ain't tilted

Attached: 20180628_201007.jpg (2576x1932, 1.4M)

bump for interest.

Should I buy a radio? I kind of want one, but I don't think I'll have any use for it.

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Baofengs are what? 25 bucks? That ain't even a question. Buy one and drop another 15 on a quality diamond or nagoya or comet antenna (don't buy these off of Amazon there's tons of fakes) and store it somewhere.

They are also pretty handy fm radios for music

Anyone know how to find a Baofeng antenna like the ones the military Harris radios use? Not gonna lie, I just want one because they look cool

Does it also do am/mw and shortwave?

You mean as a regular radip? Nah only fm. For communications it's 2m and 70cm waves so 130-180 MHz and ~400-500

Fakes may exist on amazon but if you buy from a reputable seller, the odds of running into a fake are low.

yaesu is better. but not by a whole lot.

Yeah I guess. But then I heard so much shit about fake antennas from amazon sellers that I'm kinda scared off already. Got a radio store a couple of towns over so that's where I buy the bells and whistles

Pros:
>cheap
>good for LARPers because it looks more tactical than a normal FRS/GMRS HT

Cons:
>the reliability/durability that you'd expect from a cheap Chinese product
>accessories will also generally have the reliability/durability that you'd expect from a cheap Chinese product
>poor selectivity/filtering, receiver can easily be overloaded by high power transmitters on nearby frequencies, don't even bother using an external magnet mount antenna on your vehicle with one if you life in a city
>really slow scanning, around 3 channels per second so with a 15 channel scan list it's possible to miss up to 5 seconds of a transmission, this is a serious issue if you're scanning frequencies that don't have that much activity as it's actually possible to miss all activity
>doesn't have a dial for quickly/easily switching channels like other amateur radio offerings do, which is kind of nice to have if you're actually using a decent amount of the 128 channels that it offers
>attracts retards who then ruin more complex discussion about radios with their tech support questions because they're too fucking stupid to figure out how to operate it themselves and can't use a search engine

So it should be fine for people wanting to talk to one another in a small area in case phone serive stops working for an extended period?

Ya. More than that went a little too far. Fact: Baofengs are quality wise same level as 100-dollar-radios. Also fact: most of the equipment is not baofeng specific. So you get what you pay for.

do they make antennas that aren't so fucking long that still do a good job?

Is it ok to bend the antenna back over my shoulder?

Antennas should be as vertical as possible

Read something a out wavelength. In short: the shorter the worse range wise.

>in a small area
Depends on how large the "small area" is and the terrain in that area. If all parties are on level ground with no hills/valleys/obstructions, you're only going to get ~6 miles range at most due to the curvature of the earth. Start adding buildings in the way and you may end up with even less.

>Fact: Baofengs are quality wise same level as 100-dollar-radios
Wrong. Any offering from the big 3 in the low 100s range will take a massive shit all over a Baofeng, and radios from the big 3 are actually durable enough for there to be a used market. Not to mention there are still Chinese offerings in the $100 or less range that do offer more features (or different features) than the normal cheap ass Baofeng offering.

>most of the equipment is not baofeng specific
What equipment would that be? Only cheap Chinese radios use an SMA male antenna connector on the radio due to the relatively short number of connect/disconnect cycles they can handle. Using an antenna for higher quality HTs will require an adapter. Battery packs are also proprietary. Only thing that isn't Baofeng specific are headsets.

Spotted the licensed HAM operator that's so incredibly buttmad a cheap chink radio shits all over his expensive Equipment. I've seen lots if guys like you. It's always the same but it never ceases to make me smile.

A lot of people saying they're shit without recommending alternitives

>Any offering from the big 3 in the low 100s
what dual band HT's do the big 3 offer in this price range?

That's usually the ones who bought radios that cost thrice the amount or more

They are not shit. They won't be as good as a 200 bucks radio. But with a good antenna you get as much from it as from any other 1w/5w handheld.

Yeah the scan is kinda slow and you better program then with chirp via USB cable than with the complicated menu. But they are awesome starter radios. And unlike what others wrote here they can take a beating. And if not, buy a new one

american-milspec.com/p-4837-antenna-as-3683prc-vhf-blade-for-modern-sincgars-or-harris-falcon-ii-radios.aspx

pros: it works and you can get them for 10 bucks

cons: its chinkshit

not one shitting on them (bawfag is fine for the price)
but i like my tyt dmr radio(bout$100)
does all the old school modes and has custom firmware to take full advangate of the DMR mode.
like being able to store a db of all the dmr id's so when you hear someone on the radio it tells me there call sign and name.

Attached: dmr.jpg (677x541, 175K)

>So it should be fine for people wanting to talk to one another
As long as you have a HAM license, otherwise, old, crusty farts will track you down and turn you in to the FCC.

Aaah yeah, the mysterious FCC with the black vans and blacker helos.

In reality they are so underfunded that they don't even respond most of them crusty old farts outside of a 100 mile circle around the biggest cities. Stay away from aviation and marine frequencies and literally nothing will happen

>program then with chirp via USB cable than with the complicated menu
The menu is not complicated once you learn it. Lots of jewtube how to vidyas.

dunno why. My dad is getting into Ham. He enjoyed the Baofeng we got him for fathers day. He said it's great for what it does.

Recently, I have found another company similar to Baofeng called Yaesu. Are there any differences between Baofeng and Yaesu? If they make a better radio please advise.
I know next to nothing about this stuff. Would like to get dad another radio if it's a better brand.

yaesu is great brand.
but quite a bit more.
one of the "big 3" mfgs.
yaesu, kenwood, icom
ask your dad what he wants if you want to get him something better?
does he want one for his car or home? or another handheld?
better is subjective.

Complete newfag to the radio world. Will these things do frequency hops or any kind of secure modes, or is that stuff only really expensive equipment does?

no.
pretty sure you cant even do that on a ham licence.

Spotted the retard who's never actually used their shit, nor looked at what more expensive equipment (even from Chinese manufacturers) offers. Baofengs "shit all over" higher priced radios in the same way that Armscor revolvers shit all over higher priced handguns.

Do you actually need a dual band radio? You aren't going to be using repeaters so comparability with existing infrastructure wouldn't be an issue, and even then there may not be active repeaters in your area that necessitate a dual band radio (only repeater near where I live is a single VHF repeater). I'd personally rather compromise on the radio being dual band if I didn't actually need that capability than durability.

>and you better program then with chirp via USB cable than with the complicated menu
The only issue with programming from the menus with those radios is that you can't have a channel name and can't adjust what the squelch levels correspond to.

>But they are awesome starter radios
It depends on what your intent is. Unless you're just getting them to use with friends, an RTL-SDR is a much better cheap starter option. No, it can't transmit, but it beats the absolute shit out of anything else on the market if you want to see what's active in your area and worth investing in for cheap. Where I live for example, you'd get significantly more use out of a handheld CB radio if you didn't have friends who were also buying/already owned compatible radios and wanted something portable.

>And if not, buy a new one
Some of us would rather pay a bit more for equipment that we won't end up being able to use when we actually want to use it because it broke. Would you buy a gun or gun parts that weren't durable because they could be replaced cheaply? Do you put airshit quality optics on your guns?

I'll ask him if he wants another handheld. I know he'll be taking his license test soon. Maybe I should start looking into base stations.
Was ignorant to there being 3 big mfgs.. Thanks for the knowledge and the reply.

>dunno why
No one gets mad about Baofeng radios, they get mad at the idiots who don't actually use them much but preach them as being comparable to radios that cost a few times more. It's similar to the gun owners who will preach a shitty gun as being comparable to higher end offerings because it worked for the couple hundred rounds they've put through it.

>Will these things do frequency hops or any kind of secure modes
No.

Amateur radio operators are allowed to play around with spread spectrum on higher frequencies where there's space for it, the information for how you're doing it does have to be publicy accessible though.

Are these "Slim Jim" style antenna's any good? I like the look of them but dont know if they are worth having.

Attached: 2m-slim-jim.jpg (575x332, 59K)

Also i kinda want to get into HAM radio stuff and was wondering should i save up a little extra for the BF-F8HP? or should I just go for the UV5R.
heres the F8HP on Amazon for reference
>amazon.com/dp/B00MAULSOK/?coliid=I3998AP4DDU4IG&colid=36Q09E5LCPXNQ&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

Get a fuckin PRC-117G

i have one and it works well.
high gain near the horizon and fairly portable.
just throw a rope over a branch and string it up for field work.

no i would just go with the 5r.
not sure about these but i have heard of them just being the same radios.
5w is all you need in a HT.
if you want more power go with a mobile(car) or base station radio.

You only get fakes if you buy the 2 dollar ones from China from the new seller named "ajfgw3oij4foi ajfoipj3029jf"

You should buy a RTL-SDR or LimeSDR mini and get into scanning. Both have frequency ranges of 25-1700MHZ and can pick up pretty much every significant HF to UHF signal there is, with online software to help you with digital stuff.

yes.
sdr's are fun.
able to pick up everything from trunked radio to ads-b signals mapping out location info from planes.

Not FCC. Elmers. You can buy very cheaply, a mobile transmitter tracker. In fact a radio club in my area will place a transmitter somewhere and erryone tries to find it.

If you transmit on frequencies reserved for licensees they will ask your call sign and if you don't have one, and keep transmitting they will track you down and turn you in.

Pretty easy to determine if anyone is operating on your frequencies in your area. If you're hearing cross chatter, use a new frequency. If you're mobile, it matters even less.

Or you just pony up the ~$30 for a license.

Oh and it's also much harder to find a source that doesn't transmit frequently. Triangulation is a bitch if you only have a source for 15 minutes every 5 days.

So if I buy a license, do I get a frequency reserved? Like what the fuck is the point?

You get permission to operate on a frequency that is in theory only going to serve you within a given area. In practice? There is no point and you'll hear cross chatter anyway.

you get a call sign and are allowed to transmit on the already set ham freqs.
you do not get your own freq.
you will more than likely be transmitting though a repeater to cover a much larger area.

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You don't get v& because some boomer reported you for no callsign.

>do I get a frequency reserved
No, why do you even think it would work that way? Have you ever used any kind of radio before? You get permission to operate on ranges of frequencies reserved for amateur radio use. For each frequency range or band, there's a generally agreed upon band plan (not legally enforced outside of the morse code only sections, but you should follow it and not be an asshole since the purpose of the band plan is to ensure there's enough room for everyone) for what modes/uses you can use each part of that band for. You just pick a frequency in the appropriate range that no one else is using at the time. If you want to set up a repeater, best practice is to go through your local repeater authority to ensure you don't end up potentially causing interference to other repeaters and so no one potentially causes interference on your repeater.

Nope, I have never used one outside of the military. I thought that's why people would get pissy about you taking their frequency space, because they paid for it.

Thanks bros

Is Radioddity a good place to get radios/equipment from? are they reputable?
>radioddity.com/

whats a good antenna recommendation?

Not the guy you were asking but i found this vid that compares some basic antenna's
>youtube.com/watch?v=YUG_LgQFF6w

i know nothing about radios but i hope you guys can help me out.

My bros and i like to ride our motorbikes over long distances and are looking into comms. Would you recommend baofeng for this? why?/why not?

probably would be easyer to use Bluetooth helmet coms that are made to do just that.
they will be made to help cancel out the wind/road noise.

you could do bowfags but it would be a much more ghetto setup and would require everyone to have a licence

a cheap ass at work bought a bunch of these. sadly I work in the military, so it was unavoidable that all radios were dropped on the floor repeatedly.
this are bitch-built and the plastic tabs on the batteries break off easily with impacts. should have bought motorola, given the way they are used.
other than that, I saw no problem with them.

I need a push to talk to hook up my BF-F8HP to my headset, any non tacky ones out there?

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>we need to communicate between each other while on the road
>choosing anything other than CB radio
CB radio has long been the standard for travelers, there's even unofficial but generally recognized frequencies for talking about road conditions and what not. It would be stupid to go with anything other than a CB radio.

cb on a bike tho?

well, theoretically, you could do it. But I dont know if this would be better.
definitely should compare the two
the bluetooth helmet munted radio option sounds better because its literally made for bikes, but i dont know what the range is like on those

They make CB HTs and I'm pretty sure some companies have offered them as options on cruisers in the past. Though one does help, you don't actually need a massive whip antenna for a CB radio.

I think bluetooth tops at at about 100 meters average at the highest power.

I have two UV-5Rs. They're cheap, tiny, and they really work great. I put some whip antennas on them too for extra range.

wind noise reduction is a plus, ill give you that. But bluetooth comms, have limitations such as distance, amount of people that can be linked, most of the models don't have cross compatibility, have only one function (bike to bike comms[well they double as a headset for your cellphone too]) and are way more expensive than a baofeng. There are models that somewhat (big somewhat) eliminate the problems i explained before but they drive the price tag way up.

>only one function, bike to bike comm.
I know i know, that's what i'm looking for, but i figured that for way less money i would even be able to pick up a new hobby or at least learn about it.

cb radio is way to big for our motorbikes, i dont know about prices but it would be a hard sell to my buddys that are pushing for bluetooth headsets.

Same, I keep 1 in my house and 1 in my car in 72 hour bag with car lighter charger.

some top of the line ones are advertised to reach 800mts but i seriously doubt that they can pull it off without distortion or missing chunks of communication, prolly work fine up too 600mts but to be fair im talking out of my ass right now.

some of the mc comm systems have a mesh network function where each riders headset acts like a repeater in a little network and the signals will leapfrog from one headset to another, effectively increasing your range to the combined ranges of all the units in the groups.
some systems can link up to 10 or 15 rider headsets in a group mesh network

check this out -

youtube.com/watch?v=P1kQAPUnCEY

You get an extra 8W power, instead of 5W, its quite a bit of a range difference

Midland 75-785 40-Channel CB Radio amazon.com/dp/B00005Q4ZV/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_GeznBbDX4V6TE
No idea how well it works, but it's an option.

>cb radio is way to big for our motorbikes
Wut? They make CB HTs. Sure they're a bit larger than a Baofeng, but they aren't exactly unmanageable.

Do you know what the inverse square law is? Increasing your power output by 60% would only increase your range by ~25%.

>got into radios only two months ago
>spent a couple of hours reading about the technical background to get on a starter knowledge level
>see this thread
>fuck, Jow Forums, at least read a fucking Wikipedia article

>cb radio is way to big for our motorbikes
Albrecht AE6110. About the size of two packs of cigarettes

You asked this anons post in which he already stated not one but two good antennas. Can't you read?

For all of you who want a new antenna for their Baofengs. You need a SMA-J / SMA FEMALE antenna. Most shops allow you to filter for this. If you want something different, there's also adapters out there.

I have one of these configured for NOAA radio and GMRS/FRS frequencies. Not bad, but isn't joking about the factory antennas being ass. CHIRP gives you a shit ton of control over these things, and you can get away with using FRS frequencies on low power since the FCC raised the power limits to two watts. Also, this is illegal to do unlicensed, but you can build a repeater out of two UV5Rs and a $20 repeater box.

If I wasnt such a lazy ass I'd make a video/webm to show you guys just HOW bad the antennas are.

Theres an FM station far away from me:
>absolutely nothing with the factory rubber duckie
>something with the finger tip inside the connector on the radio
>crystal clear reception with my Comet SMA-209J Antenna (even shorter than the original one)

Alright so please don't tear into my asshole, but what's the point of a radio in the first place? SHTF?

Communication during SHTF sure. But actually its kinda fun toy. You get to listen to other dudes, you can LARP with cheesy Callsigns, you can talk with no need for a phone. You have another piece of equipment to put on your plate carrier and lets face it: When something bad happens, you always could grab your radio and all the stuff and head to the next fire / police departmend and ask if they need any commo help.

quick question, has anyone tried the DM-5R digital radio yet, if so whats your opinion on it?

Attached: download.jpg (1000x1000, 181K)

>the original antenna is utter Bullshit.
kek. when we tested the stock one on mine, it came back as a short. we cut it open and there was no wires inside. it was all plastic. a fake antenna.

Is there anything on the open market that has the ability to use decent encryption (e.g. AES) that can also interoperate with regular radios?

apparently the Baofeng DM-5R mentioned in can use encryption though I have no experience with that unit and I cant find much info on that particular model.

This is the downside of a sub-40$ transceiver

But then, nothing an order from your preferred radio dealer couldnt fix.

What this user here has, looks pretty decent. A good long Diamond or Comet can make a fuckhuge difference.

I love this shit but honestly, what else can you do with these other than LARP? It's not like we could set up a secret Jow Forumsomms frequency for us to use and share Jow Forums related info. What do my fellow radiomen use their radio for?

get a throat mic

they're cellphones outside the coverage area
also introductory to ham radio

- Get a HAM license and talk to other HAM dudes about anything and everything
- Have a non-bullshit means to talk to local people - my wife even uses it to call me when I'm round the farm or hunting and dinner's ready
- Make awesome shit like listening to ISS HAM-transmissions (yes, it works and its pretty awesome)
- Get into the (pretty cool) world of radio waves, antennas, signals and shiiieet
- Start with a Baofeng, be an owner of a pretty cool radio shack / man cave / gun room mix after a while
- get into a hobby thats seriously cheaper than guns
- Listen to the PoPo and shiiieet
- Keep the option of simple emergency communication that will even work during a complete blackout
- Fuck with other people's baby phones in your area

I mean at the end of the day we are talking about 50 Dollars maximum to get into this shit - the UV-5R plus a quality antenna and perhaps a pouch. Actually theres no real reason NOT to get one.
Lets face it: lots of you guys have no problem to drop several hundred bucks on gun related accessoires. So grab another 50 and get a Bao. They're cool and fun

Ok guys, you sold me these. Nagoya NA-771 is a good antenna for Baofeng, right?

Yeah. Its long thin and flexible. Exactly what you want for long range.

BF-F8HP or UV82HP?

>Hurr poorfag
>durr Rock Island a-shit, Wilson or bust

Thats exactly how you sound to me broham. Like your typical range-ass who always has the most expensive gun, the most expensive accessoires - and cant shoot worth shit.

Baofengs are the Glocks of the handheld tranceiver world. Cheap, absolute ok quality, no bullshit features nobody truly needs outside a niche of professionals.
And of course that makes you mad. because you spent 500 bucks on radio equipment while getting no further than some John Doe who bought himself an UV5R

>can't adjust what the squelch levels correspond to.

WRONG
miklor.com/COM/UV_Squelch.php

Any good cheap radio options like Baofeng with good power output, accessories, but water and dust proof and more durable than the UV5R?

5r

UV5R with a rubber cover from Wish.com

What would be the best all around antenna for a basic bitch uv5r?

Can't imagine someone too stupid to handle passing the Tech test for amateur radio with a little preparation. Get the license. It's fun and opens up your possibilities.

Not so much that they paid for it, but that they did some basic stuff to learn things like radio propagation and frequency use, and agreed to be part of a regulated community so that it doesn't get shit up for everyone.

Look at CB radio. Used to require a license, and there was a basic code of conduct. A lot of people started to ignore all that and because they didn't understand fuck-all about radios, a lot of those just started buying bigger amplifiers and using illegal wattage to force their signal farther instead of doing a better job by using just a little know-how. Then cutesy stupid things like voice modifying microphones and astronaut roger beeps and echo reverb mods with overpowered mics became all the rage. FCC said fuck it and abandoned regulation. Today CB is so fucked that you won't hear much other than retards using literally over 100 times the legal power slamming their signal to others doing the same across an entire state, and any interesting local communication is gone because almost no one in the general public uses it anymore even for fun or /out/.

Getting a ham license is easy, and with those little Baofengs you can get on the local repeaters and easily chat with a group of regulars within 50+ miles of your location, and even use cool things like phone autopatch.

If you want to just use it site-to-site (simplex), a basic Walmart FRS radio is just as good. If you try to get on a repeater without a callsign, everyone will properly identify you as a problem child and kick you off. If you decide to amp it up to harassment or repeat violation, they'll do a "fox hunt" and triangulate you, and yes, you will end up with an FCC fine and possibly a court date. But if you get licensed, hams are a great group of folks who will happily accept you into their community.