Baofung Radios

Our club did some testing with a spectrum analyzer and found most of the Baofeng's tested were out of spec. 


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Chas,
 I have about the same years in as you. Dropped ARRL because of their politics, and the fact the QST mag became mostly ads, and no interesting projects.

 I really liked the old ones with tube stuff and some easy and hard projects. 

Now it's all digital crap, and I am not computer savvy enuf to even think of trying to program up EEPROMS, PICs, Pi's, & the like.

(I even missed the Puyallup Hamfair this year, for only the 3rd time in 45+ years, because of the covid 19 virus.)

My radio club got "involved" with Beofungs... Seems they are the"go-to" handheld for all the members that use the repeaters.  The repeater is about 2 miles as the crow flies...

Two meters never caught on with me nor the walkie-talkie lifestyle.

I have not heard any bad reports. Several of the club members are quite savy computer/radio technicians so if something did come up it was remedied before it was an issue.

I did buy this tiny little "Alinco" thing. very limited range, used it on/off for two years, then my cat chewed up the micro cable to the mike/speaker. It has set in a box ever since. Has a sealed in lithium battery which I suppose is dirt by now...

I am a Ham, just been offered a 50 year pin from ARRL, but I can say if I have 50 hours on the air, that is about it...

Chas

WA1JFD

Well, with the type acceptance mess and the horrible problem I have trying to make it work, it's now my dedicated NOAA Wx radio. Trying to figure it out is a nightmare for me to change channels.
 Flushed more money down the toilet with that nightmare.
 I would never buy another one, for sure.

Back in October-November 2018 I was thinking of getting a new hand held to use with a club event scheduled for that December. I had heard that some fellows ran into trouble programming those Baufeng radios so when I went to buy I ordered a Yaesu FT-25R instead. It was fairly easy to get set up-no computer needed and that was what I wanted. However, I have since found out that no one makes a speaker-mike for this radio as it was designed instead for a plug-in VOX mike with earpiece combination. Not what I want to use. The push to talk switch on the radio itself has such a strong spring on it that I find my hand/thumb soon cramping up when using it.

It did a good enough job for our "Parade of Lights" parade that December 2018-better than some in my particular location as I could hear everyone-some stations could not do that. The radio wasn't being heard that well into our Sunday night 2 meter net so I have not used it much since then. I can't say what kind of receiver it has in it certainly it is not a Superheterodyne. Might be Super-Regenerative for all I know hi, hi. It will respond to various signals coming out of my Jackson 640 signal generator here.

73, Rod  WB6FBF

Resurrecting this older thread with my experience..

I got a pair of Baofeng BF-FH8P's for Christmas for an even CAN$100 delivered. Bought speaker mikes and the programming cable as well.

I got 2 because of the price, because I'm thinking of doing a bit of satellite work. Use one for transmitting and the other for receiving.

Unlike Frank, I had no issues programming it. I didn't even have to use the disk that came with the cable. My Windows 10 system picked it up automatically. The program, called 'Chirp" is free to download. There was a bit of a learning curve till I found a YouTube video that walked me right through it. Both radios done in a half hour.

Again, it's not a top of the line rig, but, for the cost, I'm gonna have fun playing with it.

I have two radios model UV-5R and UV-5RA. Also have program cable. Range on mine is about 6 miles on flat ground. I can log in on three of the repeaters around here and have ease i programming. They are good for small low power hand held radios.

Hard to tell with sets like these. I had a buddy that ordered what he thought was an Icom V-82 handheld. It was a decent price, but turned out to be a knock off radio with no place to add the digital card that he bought just before he got the radio.

He did manage to sell the radio to a chap that wasn't interested in the digital aspect though. He made sure his next purchase was not a knock off one too.

Oh, & the included antenna is marginal for communication, you really need an outside antenna in rural areas to get out, depending on your location. (I am in the middle of 2 tall hills). PLUS you need an SMA adaptor to either UHF or N to match "real world" antennas.
 Not going to waste any more money on this one.

Oh? Hmm. One of the experts YouTube on Electronic repair and testing didn't mention that.

OK I guess. Big PITA to get programmed. Had to have 2 other more computer savvy hams help me set it up. I don't talk on it. Mostly use it to monitor freq.
Had to download another program to be able to use the special disk that came with it for "programming" . MUST use disk that comes with radio also. Newer or older version of software won't work on radio. I'd give it 2 thumbs down. Way too complex for me to understand and use without assistance. Likely to become 100% monitor radio or hanger queen. Waste of money, IMHO, after dealing with it.

I understand that depending on the model, it might not have been certified by the F.C.C. I think it can be used in the business bands and exceed maximum band with and power.

But now you have it how is it working?

Well, I finally ordered a Baofung Ham handheld dual bander off Amazon.
I also ordered the speaker mike, programming cable, and programming disk.
 Looks to be a fairly good deal.
 
You need to use a computer to program it up. I will post when it arrives and I get it figured out.
Are any of you other folks out there using this radio?