Reddit reviews Pofung UV-82 VHF UHF FM Transceiver Dual Band Two Way Radio

Sounds like an HT would be a good first addition.

• Baofeng UB-82 - Dual band HT, great for local communication, repeater access, etc etc. You can also monitor other public service frequencies/weather band. $37.50
  
• Handheld mic for the Baofeng - Nice if you keep it on your desk in a charger, or if the radio is clipped to a bag or something, you can still access the mic (it's also a speaker). $6.37
  
• USB Programming Cable - Easily program memory channels with your computer. $20.46
  
• Upgraded antenna for the HT - This one is pretty big, plenty on Amazon of various size which will vary in performance, but anything should be better than the stock antenna. $16.99
  
  Well that's $81.32. Remaining could be spent on an extra battery, a power cable for the car etc etc.

You can get into this without having to spend a lot of money, just look through here. http://hamexam.org/ this is a free easy way to test for your license. But I would start out with http://www.kb6nu.com/tech-manual/ this will help you to understand what is going on and how things work. Then there is another manual there for general class. This is a copy/past that I typed for someone else, some of the stuff may not be useful as you may already know it from your own research. Intro video; for people that what to get into it, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHd3dZW1SBc This is what I tell them. It can seem a bit overwhelming depending on how far you want to go with this. First I would recommend watch some videos. I will post some that I think are helpful but could be boring. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Qgg_upU_5s This is an old video but, its simple and the military explains things well. Part2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JS8xlwyc6G4 I hope that this gives you an understanding of whats going on with radios. This guy kind of gives an overview about ham radio http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFLxeASa05k If you buy one of these Baofeng radios, this guy has some videos on programming with your pc using the chirp program as well as videos on hand programming. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LXkkaJkVUM I really recommend using chirp over the factory software if you have trouble using it. I bought the UV-82 with all the accessories from amazon, http://www.amazon.com/BaoFeng-UV-82-Two-Way-Radio/dp/B00E4KLY34/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389311738&sr=8-1&keywords=UV-82 and added the programming cable and mic, most up to date radio that I know of.

Repeaters: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJFeY0jZymA basic explanation, there are plenty of videos that show how to get connected to a repeater. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NB4R1pgLG84 website that show you where repeaters are located, you have to do a search from the menu, find the magnifying glass .

Now as far as licenses go. There are three classes of operators, Technician class, General class, and Extra class. Technician class is what most people starting out get, and puts you in the operating range of what these hand held radios can do. http://www.kb6nu.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/2010_Tech_Study_Guide.pdf

General class gets you more frequencies to operate on but, you would have to buy or build more radio equipment that is more capable than these smaller radios. http://kb6nu.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/2011-No-Nonsense-General-Class-License-Study-Guide.pdf

Extra class, well this is for the ham radio junkies, lol. People with this class get a few more frequencies to operate on and have a very in-depth knowledge of diverse technical fields from electronics, radio theories and most likely computers and electrical engineering.

Testing: You have to take a test for each license approved by the FCC, that you would like to get, like I said though a lot just get the Technician Class license. http://www.arrl.org/licensing-education-training search through here to find out where, when, to take test(s) or take classes. There are also websites to practice taking a test. http://www.eham.net/exams/

There are so many things that you can get into, I think this is some of the basics of it, lol. If you just read or watch a little bit at a time the more you will absorb what's going on and it may start to become fun but if it's not something that you would enjoy as a hobby, at least get the tech license and understand how to use a repeater and learn it like putting on pants.

Other notes: http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Regulatory/Band%20Chart/Hambands_color.pdf

http://www.sm0vpo.com/antennas/anten.htm

Those radios only have 16 channels and I believe only operate on the 70cm band. You will need to download CHIRP from here. You will then need to find what frequencies HAM operators are talking on in 70cm in your area and program those in using CHIRP.

[edit] If you want a decent dual band radio that's more flexible and powerfull, get a Baofeng UV-82. The sell for under $30 on Amazon - Link.

Cheapest radio: https://www.amazon.com/BaoFeng-UV-5R-Dual-Radio-Black/dp/B007H4VT7A/

Slightly better cheap radio: https://www.amazon.com/Baofeng-UV-82-Two-Way-Radio-Black/dp/B00E4KLY34/

Information about cheap Baofengs: https://www.reddit.com/r/baofeng

Getting started with amateur radio: https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/wiki/index

It's a Baofeng UV-82. Which is only $50.

However, it's really just a UV-B6 is a different case. Which is only $38.

So in the end you're paying $26 for a case and the fake Kenwood stickers and box.

The Kenwood is going to be a higher quality radio but it won't like gain you much as far as distance on the TX. Gotta start with a better antenna.

the Baofeng is a fine enough radio and at such a cheap price it's hard to go wrong. A buddy has the UV 82 and the earlier one, the UV5. The difference is really minimal as far as output and general performance.

If it were me, for my type of use, I'd go with the cheaper UV 5 and a decent Nagoya antenna. Even better, this UV82 is cheaper yet.

If you're going hand held the Nagoya will be best. If you're inside build a copper J-Pole and put it on your home somewhere high for even better performance. If the J-pole is too much a simple ground plane can be soldered together super easily and will get you great performance as well.

Summary, the HT performance for distance is more about ANTENNA!

Welcome to the sub! Congrats on passing your Tech.

First up pick up an RTLSDR, these are great little receivers that will cover 30MHz-1700MHz which covers a tremendous swathe of spectrum. Definitely check out the different types of antennas you can make over on Antenna-Theory, the RTL-SDR blog and /r/rtlsdr

Then if you want to transmit on the post popular amateur bands for techs (which are local to your area) pick up a VHF/UHF Baofeng radio like a UV-B5, UV-82 or UV-5R. Not a whole lot of difference between any of them; I think the UV-B5 is the better one, since it has a better antenna and a rotary encoder. But it's very much up to you as to what you get (style > substance after all :) ).

Now from there its a question of what where you are. City? Rural? Nearby airport? Ports or ocean?

Edit: I should start linking to the wiki more often: Baofeng radios and Your First Radio are good places to start.

This is also much easier and cheaper to do than most people realize.

• Amateur Radio License. Fee is about $5-$15, depending on club administering the test, I got mine after about 5 hours of studying. There's a ton of free online resources, or fairly cheap online tools.
  
• Transmitter. Big Red Bee is $60
  
• Transceiver. Baofang sells one on Amazon for $28
  
• Build a yagi antenna for around $20
  
  All in, you're looking at well under $150 for something that will work really well, last a long time, and will give you a license into another potential hobby.

At under $50, the BaoFeng UV-82 is practically disposable and for the money and it does a fine job. Are there better handhelds on the market? Yes but BaoFeng's quality continues to improve and for the money, they're excellent entry points. They're also insanely common at this point so getting assistance on setup and use is easy to find.

There are plenty of YouTube vids available to walk you through setup and use. Just understand that the FCC doesn't take kindly to your broadcasting without a license. Take some time to get your technician license before you broadcast -- until then, you're more than welcome to listen.

UV-82 is a good one - and get the USB cable, you'll need it to program in the frequencies, etc.

https://www.amazon.com/Baofeng-UV-82-Two-Way-Radio-Black/dp/B00E4KLY34

you guys can buy MURS radios they use VHF instead of FRS UHF most people use.

http://www.buytwowayradios.com/blog/2008/09/murs_unlicensed_vhf.aspx

You can also set CTCSS or DCS know as tone guard you can set a tone that no can hear you or less they find it.


you can buy these cheap ham radios and program MURS yourself.

https://www.amazon.com/Baofeng-UV-82-Two-Way-Radio-Black/dp/B00E4KLY34/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1493743154&sr=8-9&keywords=murs+radio

It looks like this http://www.amazon.com/Baofeng-UV-82-Black-Two-Way-Radio/dp/B00E4KLY34 doesn't need a liscense. Do you think that's accurate?

BTW, you can use the nearly worldwide APRS network to track position and other data wirelessly, for free. You will need an Amateur Radio license to use it, though, a VHF radio like this, and some sort of modem to encode and/or decode the data like this, or an Arduino set up to do so. Also, being Amateur Radio, you are limited to non-commercial use and everything is in the clear.