Baofeng UV-5R

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Nowara said:
Bought a UV-82, 2 battery packs, upgraded antenna , and and mic off Amazon.ca for $109. Very happy with the UV-82.
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The UV-82 line is much improved over the UV-5R line. The only reason 5R's still sell well is because they came out first and so they are what people have heard of. If you want one for the bush that can get wet look at the GT-3WP (an IP67 rated UV-82).

A good site for info, programming software, drivers etc is here: http://miklor.com/

And for anyone who does not have a commercial or ham license please stick to the FRS/GMRS frequencies. It is illegal to use this radio for FRS/GMRS too but at least you won't potentially be interfering with someone other than another license-free user.

Oh, and the "hi power" models offering 8 watts are essentially a gimmick. There's a reason why the big three (Yaesu, Kenwood, ICOM) don't make them. RF needs a trippling in output to be "noticed" by the receiving unit. So a 12 or 15 watt handheld would make a difference. But then you'd be pumping dangerous levels of RF into your face.
 
Doug_M said:
And for anyone who does not have a commercial or ham license please stick to the FRS/GMRS frequencies. It is illegal to use this radio for FRS/GMRS too but at least you won't potentially be interfering with someone other than another license-free user.
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It is simple enough to program these radios to be RX-only on specific channels/frequencies. This eliminates the possibility of interfering, even by keying the mic by mistake. This is what I have done on the NOAA frequencies, and a few others that I may want to listen to without the chance of interfering (such as Forest Service Road frequencies).

It is entirely possible to break the law and get into some trouble with these radios if you don't do your research, or don't learn to program the radio properly, or don't exercise some common sense and restraint. If someone cannot or will not take the time to figure this stuff out, then they shouldn't even buy one of these radios. For someone willing to take the time, they do not need to limit themselves to FRS/GMRS. A very good idea to limit TX to FRS/GMRS though :)

Someone with enough maturity and restraint could also program in all the repeaters in the areas that they frequent, and then simply NEVER use those frequencies except in the case of a dire emergency, and learn how to report such emergencies over the air (write the instructions in a survival kit). In a case of life or death, a possible slap on the wrist for using HAM frequencies without a licence becomes irrelevant. Many of those frequencies' primary function is emergency use.
 
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ironsighter said:
For someone willing to take the time, they do not need to limit themselves to FRS/GMRS. A very good idea to limit TX to FRS/GMRS though :)
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For sure. It is not illegal to receive.

Someone with enough maturity and restraint could also program in all the repeaters in the areas that they frequent, and then simply NEVER use those frequencies except in the case of a dire emergency, and learn how to report such emergencies over the air (write the instructions in a survival kit). In a case of life or death, a possible slap on the wrist for using HAM frequencies without a licence becomes irrelevant. Many of those frequencies' primary function is emergency use.
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In the case of a dire emergency of life and limb or destruction of property one does not need a license to transmit on amateur radio frequencies. Power limits and band allocations (hams have various levels depending on their license) are also out the window during such an emergency.

There are no ham frequencies set aside for emergency use though. So if there is no active local repeater that you could reach you might want to program in the VHF and UHF national calling frequencies. Hams tend to monitor these regardless of repeater use. For VHF it would be 146.520 and for UHF 446.000. Though VHF handhelds in simplex (radio to radio without a repeater) will only get 2 to 4 km in most terrain.
 
Doug_M said:
For sure. It is not illegal to receive.



In the case of a dire emergency of life and limb or destruction of property one does not need a license to transmit on amateur radio frequencies. Power limits and band allocations (hams have various levels depending on their license) are also out the window during such an emergency.

There are no ham frequencies set aside for emergency use though. So if there is no active local repeater that you could reach you might want to program in the VHF and UHF national calling frequencies. Hams tend to monitor these regardless of repeater use. For VHF it would be 146.520 and for UHF 446.000. Though VHF handhelds in simplex (radio to radio without a repeater) will only get 2 to 4 km in most terrain.
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Thanks for the info on the national calling frequencies. BC has a pretty extensive deployment of repeaters (out of necessity due to terrain) but it is always good to have more options.

I was under the impression that an "e" listed in the frequency notes specified that the frequency was on emergency power and should only be used for emergencies.

See here, for example - quite a few of them have an "e" in the notes: http://www.bcarcc.org/vancouver.pdf

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Edit: I see now after some more reading that it simply means that the station has backup power.
 
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ironsighter said:
Thanks for the info on the national calling frequencies. BC has a pretty extensive deployment of repeaters (out of necessity due to terrain) but it is always good to have more options.
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Yeah I'd definitely include the national calling frequencies (ours are the same as the US) for emergencies. Most places are probably like here where among the local hams there are a handful of retired guys who always monitor those freqs practically 24/7. Other options for getting through in an emergency, and this would be a good idea for guys going deep into the bush, is to get a mobile ham radio for you vehicle that does crossband repeating. That is to say, the vehicle radio can be set to receive on a VHF freq and simultaneously re-transmit on UHF (and vice versa). The mobile radio will be 25W to 50W on average and with a bigger antenna so it will extend your range quite a bit.

The ham license for using VHF/UHF isn't difficult to obtain. It consists of a 100 question multiple choice exam where 70% is required to pass. So if one is "weak" on one aspect of the material they can still pass. The license is free (though an examiner may charge, usually no more than $20) and good for life. It would be a good thing for someone to work on this winter. Start here:

https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/025.nsf/eng/h_00040.html

Oh, and the Chinese are making cheap mobile radios too (~$200US).
 
Doug_M said:
Yeah I'd definitely include the national calling frequencies (ours are the same as the US) for emergencies. Most places are probably like here where among the local hams there are a handful of retired guys who always monitor those freqs practically 24/7. Other options for getting through in an emergency, and this would be a good idea for guys going deep into the bush, is to get a mobile ham radio for you vehicle that does crossband repeating. That is to say, the vehicle radio can be set to receive on a VHF freq and simultaneously re-transmit on UHF (and vice versa). The mobile radio will be 25W to 50W on average and with a bigger antenna so it will extend your range quite a bit.

The ham license for using VHF/UHF isn't difficult to obtain. It consists of a 100 question multiple choice exam where 70% is required to pass. So if one is "weak" on one aspect of the material they can still pass. The license is free (though an examiner may charge, usually no more than $20) and good for life. It would be a good thing for someone to work on this winter. Start here:

https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/025.nsf/eng/h_00040.html

Oh, and the Chinese are making cheap mobile radios too (~$200US).
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Excellent info. Thank you.

I was under the impression that I needed to be able to do 5 words per minute in Morse code with 99% accuracy in order to get a HAM licence.
 
Thx for the info Doug_M
I will prob just do exactly that n take the course.
Just placed a call n left a msg for an uncle who is heavily into ham his whole life, re advice n assistance once these arrive.
 
ironsighter said:
Excellent info. Thank you.

I was under the impression that I needed to be able to do 5 words per minute in Morse code with 99% accuracy in order to get a HAM licence.
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The morse code requirement was dropped years ago. It was eliminated in most countries and has allowed the hobby to grow. While I intend to learn morse code "one day", I know if the requirement were in place I'd not have bothered myself. Too high a barrier to get started.
 
Order placed within an hour of CA saying they are back in stock. 3 days later and still not even shipped??
 
Doug_M said:
The morse code requirement was dropped years ago. It was eliminated in most countries and has allowed the hobby to grow. While I intend to learn morse code "one day", I know if the requirement were in place I'd not have bothered myself. Too high a barrier to get started.
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I've decided to study up for the basic exam. I ran through the online sample exam yesterday and got 61 out of 100 just based on my existing knowledge of electronics, some common sense, and some good guess work. I figure a few weeks of study and I'll be ready to get at least 70 out of 100.

Thanks again for your contribution to this thread!
 
ironsighter said:
I've decided to study up for the basic exam. I ran through the online sample exam yesterday and got 61 out of 100 just based on my existing knowledge of electronics, some common sense, and some good guess work. I figure a few weeks of study and I'll be ready to get at least 70 out of 100.

Thanks again for your contribution to this thread!
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That's great! You can find a local examiner here: http://apc-cap.ic.gc.ca/pls/apc_anon/query_examiner_amat$.startup

and hopefully a local club here: http://wp.rac.ca/clubs/

I gotta warn you though. Buying radios is almost as addicting as buying guns!
 
Thank you for all the info you have shared here Doug. I think I will also be looking into this for a winter project. I have been trying to learn morse code as well (I thought it would be interesting to learn even before I considered getting an Amateur Radio Operator Certificate), a but I still have quite a way to go with that. The basic learning of the code for the letters to send them (slowly) wan't so bad but trying to listen to the code and translate it to actual letters.... wow lol
 
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