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Baofengs

A1850

A1850

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I have a few Baofengs that I have no idea how to use. I've looked at the threads regarding them on NES and other online forums. I programmed the local PD in there but I have no idea what to do with them to maximize their capabilities. Anyone up for getting a group together and going over how to use them? Beers and Baofengs?
 
A1850 said:
I have a few Baofengs that I have no idea how to use. I've looked at the threads regarding them on NES and other online forums. I programmed the local PD in there but I have no idea what to do with them to maximize their capabilities. Anyone up for getting a group together and going over how to use them? Beers and Baofengs?
Click to expand...

Make it on the right side of the border and I will bring my laptop and cable.

Although all you are really doing by programming it is storing repeater information. This site has a lot of good info that helped me get up and running.

http://www.miklor.com/uv5r/

and this video helped me figure out how to use the key pad for programming.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mzY5vIH718&list=FLnG5YednMoSbJd45iq3_lNw&index=3

What you really need is a buddy or 2 to get into it with you so you can all learn together and actually use them.
 
Got your license yet?

You may be close to the Cape Ann club in Gloucester (www.caaran.net). Twice a year they put on a license-in-a-day class. It's not on their calendar yet, but they should be holding another class in a couple months. You just show up with $20 ($15 goes to the FCC) and do a long day of studying and they administer the test at the end of the day. Pretty much all adults pass and most kids over 11 pass. My son passed when he was 11, then spend 2 weeks grinding through the online practice tests and passed his General. A little enthusiasm and anyone can do it.

+1 on CHIRP. When I got my UV5R, CHIRP came with set-ups for all the non-license frequencies (FRS, GMRS, etc). Technically it's not legal to use the UV5R on those frequencies because the radio has too much power and a detachable antenna, but I guarantee you the FCC has never attempted to bust someone for that. Just stay off the ham bands unless you have your license.
 
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manual programming on that thing is a PITA. definitely want to use Chirp.

assuming you're licensed look at programming a few repeaters in. Westford (PART) and Derry (ISRS) seem to be the most active from what I can hit with the H/T. Depending on where you are you might also be able to hit Gloucester (CAARA), or even Paxton (CMARA).
https://www.repeaterbook.com/repeat...ge=%&status_id=%&order=`state_abbrev`,+`freq`
 
Not licensed yet. I bought the book. I pick it up and put it down. Can never stay focused on the whole thing. The one day class sounds like it would work for me. Still wouldn't mind getting together with some people who know how to use them.
 
A1850 said:
Not licensed yet. I bought the book. I pick it up and put it down. Can never stay focused on the whole thing. The one day class sounds like it would work for me. Still wouldn't mind getting together with some people who know how to use them.
Click to expand...

I watched this video at like 8pm the night before, and then took practice tests until bed time. This video gives ALL of the answers. It is long and kind of boring, but if you listen intently and then go straight to the practice tests, you will past the tech exam.



I used this app for the tests. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.iversoft.ham.test.prep&hl=en
 
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A1850 said:
Not licensed yet. I bought the book. I pick it up and put it down. Can never stay focused on the whole thing. The one day class sounds like it would work for me. Still wouldn't mind getting together with some people who know how to use them.
Click to expand...

Download the question pool, highlight the correct answers and study.

I like to understand, so I made sure I understood why the right answer was right, but the aforementioned method will help you pass the test.
 
There are some pretty good smartphone / tablet apps that will teach you how to pass the test. Study a little, roll through the multiple choice questions until you are scoring well, dedicate 20 or 30 minutes every day for a week, two max, and you'll be good to go. This method will make you a little smarter by osmosis, but it's geared more towards you passing the test than getting you in to MIT. I did this on the ipad for my General last spring and had no trouble.
 
I knew absolutely none of the information on the test when I decided to get my license. Printed out the test questions and highlighted the correct answers and only studied those. Every time I went through reading the entire list I took a practice test online. Whatever I got wrong, I marked on my printout and just kept doing that for a couple of days. Eventually, I only had to study the questions that I got wrong and passed the test within a week of picking up the info for the first time.

I have a bunch of Baofeng's and chirp + the programming cable is a must.
 
there are a bunch of youtube videos that will walk you through basic features you can key in without the cable:





and then there's the flashlight feature - [smile]

those aren't my videos but an NES member maybe?
 
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briz said:
I knew absolutely none of the information on the test when I decided to get my license. Printed out the test questions and highlighted the correct answers and only studied those. Every time I went through reading the entire list I took a practice test online. Whatever I got wrong, I marked on my printout and just kept doing that for a couple of days. Eventually, I only had to study the questions that I got wrong and passed the test within a week of picking up the info for the first time.

I have a bunch of Baofeng's and chirp + the programming cable is a must.
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Some will disagree with this approach to getting a license, but I have no problem with it. If a person sticks with the hobby the theory will come in time. Initially the main thing is to learn rules enough to stay out of trouble and the procedures enough to not piss people off.
 
cockpitbob said:
Some will disagree with this approach to getting a license, but I have no problem with it. If a person sticks with the hobby the theory will come in time. Initially the main thing is to learn rules enough to stay out of trouble and the procedures enough to not piss people off.
Click to expand...

Agreed...that's how I got my tech...but I'm reading the ARRL book for the General. I really do want to understand the material going forward.
 
I just picked up a baofeng UV-82hp. Thing works great, even have a mag mount antenna for the car. For the price of a regular uv-82 ($27) I'm planning to get one as a backup. Slightly better form factor and antenna than the uv-5r and same price. Same crazy programming method but chirp is great.
 
If there's ever a group get together I'm there. I have one sitting in my basement and after messing with it manually for a few days I haven't done much with it. (Frustrated!) I have the study material and also need to dedicate some time to study and take the test. One of these days when I have some time. Hopefully soon.
 
I've had my UV-5R and license for years. I never mess with it manually. Cable and CHIRP only. My computer has a 21" screen and 103 keys on the keyboard. The UV-5R is a computer with a 1.5" screen and 20 buttons. Anyone that can set up repeaters manually is a genius.
 
cockpitbob said:
I've had my UV-5R and license for years. I never mess with it manually. Cable and CHIRP only. My computer has a 21" screen and 103 keys on the keyboard. The UV-5R is a computer with a 1.5" screen and 20 buttons. Anyone that can set up repeaters manually is a genius.
Click to expand...

And don't forget that doing it correctly doesn't mean it'll work. [crying]
 
We have 10 seat classrooms in Peabody MA and Auburn NH. We could host a training session if someone wanted to teach it.
 
garandman said:
We have 10 seat classrooms in Peabody MA and Auburn NH. We could host a training session if someone wanted to teach it.
Click to expand...

I am not in any way qualified to teach anything to anyone, but I would sure come help out, bring some gear, and shoot the shit in Auburn, assuming my work sched agreed with the dates.
 
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cockpitbob said:
I've had my UV-5R and license for years. I never mess with it manually. Cable and CHIRP only. My computer has a 21" screen and 103 keys on the keyboard. The UV-5R is a computer with a 1.5" screen and 20 buttons. Anyone that can set up repeaters manually is a genius.
Click to expand...
Not really. I programmed mine by hand before I got the cable and i am not that smart [smile]. I just used the cable to back it up. There are a few little stupid gotchas when programming by hand that I was not aware of but you tube was my friend.

I think I used this one
[video=youtube_share;qaEEAEhJTrk]http://youtu.be/qaEEAEhJTrk[/video]
 
cockpitbob said:
Got your license yet?

You may be close to the Cape Ann club in Gloucester (www.caaran.net). Twice a year they put on a license-in-a-day class. It's not on their calendar yet, but they should be holding another class in a couple months. You just show up with $20 ($15 goes to the FCC) and do a long day of studying and they administer the test at the end of the day. Pretty much all adults pass and most kids over 11 pass. My son passed when he was 11, then spend 2 weeks grinding through the online practice tests and passed his General. A little enthusiasm and anyone can do it.

+1 on CHIRP. When I got my UV5R, CHIRP came with set-ups for all the non-license frequencies (FRS, GMRS, etc). Technically it's not legal to use the UV5R on those frequencies because the radio has too much power and a detachable antenna, but I guarantee you the FCC has never attempted to bust someone for that. Just stay off the ham bands unless you have your license.
Click to expand...

Do they do similar for upgrading to General or Extra?
 
I also monitor some public safety channels with mine, but to eliminate the risk of dangerous and illegal intrusion on their communications, I always set the simplex control to NONE. Programming...Chirp and a quality cable.
 
cockpitbob said:
+1 on CHIRP. When I got my UV5R, CHIRP came with set-ups for all the non-license frequencies (FRS, GMRS, etc). Technically it's not legal to use the UV5R on those frequencies because the radio has too much power and a detachable antenna, but I guarantee you the FCC has never attempted to bust someone for that. Just stay off the ham bands unless you have your license.
Click to expand...

I just retried CHIRP on my UV-5R the other day and holy crap was that easy. I remember having a hard time the first go around and gave up on it for a while. Even tried following a video on manually setting some things up but CHIRP definitely came through. I believe the file I used was the frequencies you mention as well. I think someone on NES posted a file with them a while back and that's what I used to program it.
 
garandman said:
What's a good starter model?

https://baofengradio.us/
Click to expand...
Link doesn't work, but I found a .pdf comparison chart here: https://baofengtech.com/compare
They are all dual band HTs with subtle differences, so despite the wide array of choices there really isn't much different between them.
It looks like the UV-82 series is "commercial grade" which I take to mean a bigger and maybe better case. The board appears to be different than the UV-5R series, but it's still just a dual band HT.

I have an old "1st generation" UV-5r and it works fine. Personally I'd get either the FB-F8HP since it's a UV-5R series with the latest board, or the UV-82HP since it's got the latest UV-82 series board.
 
I have 2 UV-5Rs and 1 UV-82HP. The UV-5Rs are small and the keypads seem to wear off fairly quick. I much prefer the UV-82 as it is a bigger body, more like the size of a standard commercial radio and just a better look to it. And the HP version is more power which is always a good thing.
 

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