Any HAM operators?

huntingfish

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Howdy!
Just wondering if there are any fellow HAM radio operators here? My son has unfortunately dropped one of my 2 radios and the retainer clip for the battery pack broke. No biggy, super-glued it (the battery) in place. But this might be the excuse I need to finally upgrade my handheld UV-5R to something else. Just haven't looked into any of the radios in the "cheap, but better than UV-5R" class in a while.

Anyone use the UV-82 by any chance?

Cheers!

David
 
Got my amateur radio license a few years ago because of hunting and the affordable baofeng radios on eBay at the time. I think when the time comes that they need to be replaced I'll probably start looking at the Yaesu or equivalent line-up but till then the uv5r's have been going strong.
 
Got my amateur radio license a few years ago because of hunting and the affordable baofeng radios on eBay at the time. I think when the time comes that they need to be replaced I'll probably start looking at the Yaesu or equivalent line-up but till then the uv5r's have been going strong.

Same scenario on my end. I got into HAM solely for hunting purposes. We have no cell reception at our moose hunting grounds, but a repeater (with phone patch) about 12km away. With upgraded antennas and higher grounds, we easily hit the repeater.

Althought, I'm probably never going to get into radios worth more than 50-60$. Hunting stuff gets carried around in all kinds of weather and stuff happens! Wouldn't want to trash a 400$ radio.

David
 
We use UV5R for hunting moose in Ontario. Thick Bush and slightly hilly topography (Canadian shield).

They work well… better than your standard blister pack GMRS radio.

Licensing is an issue, but we’re so remote we’d need a 100ft tower and 200w booster to bother anybody.

We have a mixed bag of hunters. Some are “gear guys” and some are just there for the hunt and rougher in their stuff. The camp has a supply of 16 radios for all to use. I’d like to replace my own personal radio with a nicer unit (Yaesu etc) but for the average user, using it 8 days a year for hunting, they work great.

Looking to build a mini mobile duplex repeater to increase our effective area of coverage while hunting.
 
Seven Lakes: Someone has told me (still waiting on proof of that) that Industry Canada has a per radio licence permit (42$ a year) that would allow you to us a Baofeng without completing a course...The person was at their cabin and will get back to me on Monday. I'll pass the info along.

Line of sight (LOS) is usually the main important thing. Remember that with clear LOS and 0.5W, you can talk to the space station ;-)

I toyed with having a mobile unit on a battery for base camp during hunting season, but the interest in the group wasn't there. It's not at a permanent location either (we use a wall tent that gets taken down after hunting season and setup when we get there).

David
 
Seven Lakes: Someone has told me (still waiting on proof of that) that Industry Canada has a per radio licence permit (42$ a year) that would allow you to us a Baofeng without completing a course...The person was at their cabin and will get back to me on Monday. I'll pass the info along.

Since the UV5R's are not even legal/certified in Canada I will call BS on that info.

Industry Canada does license commercial radios (of which you need to specify the brand/model when applying) for $41 per year for a mobile unit. You do not need an Amateur Radio license to operate on those commercial frequencies.

https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gst.nsf/eng/sf06052.html

Mobile License is per radio.
 
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Picked up a couple off a buddy of mine for work and hunting/rolling around the bush, no complaints so far. Need to upgrade the antenna and get some bigger battery packs which seem cheap enough online, range with the stock antenna seems quite good.

If you ever want a great antenna, I've been using the SignalStuff antennas (they made these as a financing venture for hamstudy.org, which I used to pass my license, so I figured I'd encourage them with a purchase, turns out it was a great antenna). Made of a titanium alloy (nitriol or something?) that's super bendy but returns to it's original straight shape easily. I coil it up when I carry my radio in my bag and it takes little room for a 19" antenna.

It's this one specifically: h ttps://signalstuff.com/product/super-elastic-signal-stick-sma-female/

David
 
If you ever want a great antenna, I've been using the SignalStuff antennas (they made these as a financing venture for hamstudy.org, which I used to pass my license, so I figured I'd encourage them with a purchase, turns out it was a great antenna). Made of a titanium alloy (nitriol or something?) that's super bendy but returns to it's original straight shape easily. I coil it up when I carry my radio in my bag and it takes little room for a 19" antenna.

It's this one specifically: h ttps://signalstuff.com/product/super-elastic-signal-stick-sma-female/

David

For sure you need the glow in the dark version!!!
 
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