Southern California Club Xterra

Southern California Club Xterra => SCCX General Discussion => Topic started by: fiercextreme on November 23, 2015, 08:27:30 PM

Title: Ok just ordered a Baofeng hand held ham radio
Post by: fiercextreme on November 23, 2015, 08:27:30 PM: Ok just ordered a Baofeng hand held ham radio.
http://www.amazon.com/BestFace%C2%AE-UV5R-Handheld-400-480Mhz-Transceiver/dp/B00YU3QMEG/ref=sr_1_39?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1448338971&sr=1-39&keywords=ham+hand+held

do I need to do anything to program it or what not? I see theres a cd and cable, u can buy separate, to run to ur laptop for some type of programming.
Title: Re: Ok just ordered a Baofeng hand held ham radio
Post by: steve c on November 23, 2015, 09:26:24 PM: Buy this (http://www.amazon.com/Baofeng-Programming-Cable-BF-888S-Driver/dp/B008RZJHJU)

Download Chirp (http://chirp.danplanet.com/projects/chirp/wiki/Home)

Do not transmit until you have your license.

Enjoy.
Title: Re: Ok just ordered a Baofeng hand held ham radio
Post by: Celt on November 24, 2015, 12:44:38 AM: You can program the radio without the programming CD. I would recommend that you at least learn how to program it yourself. The programming CD's make life a lot easier for you if you are trying to download multiple frequency banks but the downside is you won't learn your radio as well as you probably should. If you don't want to order the programming CD as SteveC recommended downloading CHIRP onto your computer, it's free programming software that's compatible with those Baofeng radios. Another thing to think about is investing in a solid antenna. Without an antenna you will be at the mercy of your rubber duck that comes with the radio. They are decent if you are up high and out of a vehicle. A good antenna will get you out there by leaps and bounds drastically increasing your transmit/receive range and clarity. They make plenty of them that are compatible right out of the box for a radio like you bought there. Check and see if they are supplying you with an additional 2AA or similar battery box. Since it's a handheld you will need a way of keeping the battery charged, which means having an inverter or an extra battery pack. The last I would suggest is downloading RepeaterBook onto your phone and computer. You can use that to find all the repeaters in a given area you plan to travel in. In my opinion it's an invaluable item to have along with your radio system.
Title: Re: Ok just ordered a Baofeng hand held ham radio
Post by: SoCalXTerry on November 24, 2015, 11:50:49 AM: Just to let everyone know Baofeng has just come out with an 8watt transceiver = 60% more power for I believe ~$50. Very good buy.

And to all of you. You can listen to a Ham and in emergency situations can transmit on a Ham without a license. But hey for a few hours of free study and $15 you can be a "Ham too".
Title: Re: Ok just ordered a Baofeng hand held ham radio
Post by: RikRong on November 24, 2015, 07:57:08 PM: I also just got one of those. I also ordered everything I needed to make it a basic mobile transceiver. Then, I started reading and reading and realized I wanted something with far more capability, and I ordered a Yaesu FT-7900R. Ha-ha I'll be programming the BaoFeng to mirror my Yaesu for trail runs though. Now, here's to hoping I pass my test next weekend.

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk
Title: Re: Ok just ordered a Baofeng hand held ham radio
Post by: SoCalXTerry on November 24, 2015, 08:12:14 PM: Easy Peasy. No problem with the test.
Title: Re: Ok just ordered a Baofeng hand held ham radio
Post by: fiercextreme on November 25, 2015, 08:27:54 AM: After I'm pro hammer I'll up my game. This is to just get by w/out being totally in dark. I think price is great and with a 3800 mah lithium battery I prolly won't need charge that much. I see an aftermarket 15" antenna if I decide. I also ordered the $3 cd. Thx 4 info on repeaters. I'll load the app.
Title: Re: Ok just ordered a Baofeng hand held ham radio
Post by: Celt on November 25, 2015, 11:32:31 AM: Quote from: SoCalXTerry on November 24, 2015, 11:50:49 AM
Just to let everyone know Baofeng has just come out with an 8watt transceiver = 60% more power for I believe ~$50. Very good buy.

And to all of you. You can listen to a Ham and in emergency situations can transmit on a Ham without a license. But hey for a few hours of free study and $15 you can be a "Ham too".

Terry we all know you are a "Ham"!!... :) :)......:) :)
Title: Re: Ok just ordered a Baofeng hand held ham radio
Post by: SoCalXTerry on November 25, 2015, 08:00:03 PM: This is true. :o

But more options available:
http://www.hamradio.com/?utm_source=streamsend&utm_medium=email&utm_content=25423105&utm_campaign=Pre-Sale112515 (http://www.hamradio.com/?utm_source=streamsend&utm_medium=email&utm_content=25423105&utm_campaign=Pre-Sale112515)

Especially the FT2900. Great little radio.
Title: Re: Ok just ordered a Baofeng hand held ham radio
Post by: ShockBlue_Scott on March 04, 2016, 06:17:49 AM: How do you like your Baofeng? I ordered one as well. One of the groups I am part of uses them as a form of communications at a ranch that we patrol on the border and its nice having another form of communication if something happens to the car or during wheeling...
Title: Re: Ok just ordered a Baofeng hand held ham radio
Post by: fiercextreme on April 07, 2016, 01:43:12 PM: Ok I just took it out of the box and I am charging it now. I'll be installing my cb radio in a few days also. What channel does the Xterra club run on?
Title: Re: Ok just ordered a Baofeng hand held ham radio
Post by: RikRong on April 07, 2016, 03:08:02 PM: SCCX uses 146.535 on simplex, for the life of me I can't find the FRS or CB channels. I know they're in a thread somewhere, but I can't dig it up.

SCCX backups (thanks to Sage Bromax for throwing this together):
2 Convoy Backup Trail Frequency A 146.4750 none 146.4750 none Fallback channel in case above channel is too busy
3 Convoy Backup Trail Frequency B 146.4900 none 146.4900 none Fallback channel in case above channels are too busy
4 Convoy Backup Trail Frequency C 147.4800 none 147.4800 none Fallback channel in case above channels are too busy
5 Convoy Backup Trail Frequency D 146.5500 none 146.5500 none Fallback channel in case above channels are too busy
Title: Re: Ok just ordered a Baofeng hand held ham radio
Post by: knightrider on April 07, 2016, 07:13:34 PM: CB channel depends on the month of the run, the phase of the moon and the disposition of the trail leaders significant other. In other words, it changes.

Sent from my RTT while stargazing
Title: Re: Ok just ordered a Baofeng hand held ham radio
Post by: JFanaselle on April 08, 2016, 09:29:16 AM: CB channel also varies depending on whether or not you know how to use a shovel. Basically, stay away from channel 8. O0
Title: Re: Ok just ordered a Baofeng hand held ham radio
Post by: Celt on April 08, 2016, 09:45:48 AM: Quote from: JFanaselle on April 08, 2016, 09:29:16 AM
CB channel also varies depending on whether or not you know how to use a shovel. Basically, stay away from channel 8. O0

HAHAHHAHAHAHHAHHAHA............. Man, I just knew that day was going to get lots of mileage!
Title: Re: Ok just ordered a Baofeng hand held ham radio
Post by: Ghost65 on April 08, 2016, 06:40:20 PM: Quote from: JFanaselle on April 08, 2016, 09:29:16 AM
CB channel also varies depending on whether or not you know how to use a shovel. Basically, stay away from channel 8. O0

Lulz...Ch. 8 is only for "spurious emissions." :) :) :)