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Echo2
09-05-2012, 12:41 AM
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BaoFeng-UV-5R-Dual-Band-136-174-400-480-MHz-FM-Walkie-Talkie-Ham-Two-way-Radio-/170903142951?pt=2_Way_Radios_FRS&hash=item27ca9f0227

http://www.sainsonic.com/zen/albums/SKU/28/28-020/28-020-105/IMG_9516%E5%89%AF%E6%9C%AC.jpg

http://www.sainsonic.com/zen/albums/SKU/28/28-020/28-020-105/3625%E5%89%AF%E6%9C%AC.jpg

I just ordered one and an extra battery.

Essentially for under $60....I got an extra tool to put in the COMMs arsenal.

Short video on the ebay site....reviews say solid unit but a bit hard to program.

I'm not the COMMs expert....but it is definitely a plus point to be able to not only receive....but transmit.

bacpacker
09-05-2012, 12:49 AM
Some of the new ChiCom HT's are pretty slick and are at a killer price. I have a buddy who has 2 of the Wuxson brand and really likes them. They have quite a few options you can get for them.

Check around and see if you can find a computer programming software for it. That makes life much easier to program. BTW that rig will operate outside the normal ham bands as well. Tread lightly in those areas. 2M band is basically 144mhz to 148mhz. I will have to look up the 70cM frequency.

Echo2
09-05-2012, 12:54 AM
They are putting other countries under (us included) by tossing cheap yet fairly high quality goods....I'd feel bad about it if I thought we would pull out of this mess.

Willie51
09-05-2012, 03:41 AM
I just ordered 2 each Alinco DJ-V57 HT units from Gigaparts.com for $129.00 each. The programming software was $49.00 extra. These units are dual band, 2m and 70cm. The 70cm is 420MHz-450MHz. One for truck and one for BOB.

Brownwater Riverrat 13
09-05-2012, 04:35 AM
YEE-HAA! More toys for the boys! Now we're talkin, great find, like to hear more feed back when you get it. (all your radios above) I'll be lookin into more for myself. Make sure you throw a couple in your "Faraday box" Sweet find!


Be safe.............the night is your friend.

rentprop1
09-07-2012, 03:38 AM
Just do your homework before you waste money on these cheap radios, a guy in our county CERT program bought a bunch and sold them off to some folks who all just got their licenses, the result big disappointment.....you will at least need a better antenna, some opted for a magnetic mount car type, some radios can't hit the local repeater when used next to a Yaesu FT270R or Icoms, sure the better radios are over $100 but worth it unless you are just looking for rhe next step above FRS and GMRS.
Yes I have one and regret the purchase

rentprop1
09-23-2012, 01:22 PM
2 weeks later and no more comments, let us know how they worked out for ya :confused:

we had another one loose its programming this past week, but was able to reprogram it with the computer cable , but 3 rd time I know of this happening with our CERT radios ??

Echo2
09-23-2012, 01:43 PM
I received it...feels solid....I contacted my brother (who for our group is in charge of comms)...said he would find the cable and software....so I haven't fooled with it yet.

I'll review it once I do play with it.

realist
09-25-2012, 04:34 AM
Echo thanks I will be waiting for the report. I am looking at getting a few also.

Willie51
09-25-2012, 02:50 PM
I've been testing out my Alinco DJ-57T units that I bought last month and they are doing a nice job now that I adjusted the power setting. They came set up with the lowest power setting (transmit side) and I didn't realize it and was about to send them back. But once I figured that out, I was able to participate with the local ham club during the "rag chew' sessions on Thursday nights. So I feel like I got a good buy.

realist
12-15-2012, 02:05 PM
Hey it has been a couple of months now. How are these units working. Can I get an update please. Pros and Cons would be greatly appreciated. I'm a newby on this stuff.
Thanks

bacpacker
12-15-2012, 02:17 PM
Alincos have been around a long time. Pretty solid radios IMO.

None of the guys around my place have had any problems with their chicom units that I'm aware of to this point. One thing to keep in mind with hts the little whip antenna that come with them are not much more than dummy loads. They are not intended to get out very far. Find you a good hi gain replacement and you be much happier with them.

realist
12-15-2012, 02:21 PM
Can you make some suggestions, makes and models. It is time that I start working on getting something. Also how about adding and external antenna to these units for more distance? Speaking of which what is their range?

bacpacker
12-15-2012, 02:56 PM
I dont have time right now and I'm using my phone, but I will post up some links for radios and antennas tonight. Your range with an ht will vary greatly depending on terrian, location, if you are using repeaters, etc. I'll do a little diddy on that to.

bacpacker
12-16-2012, 01:34 AM
Can you make some suggestions, makes and models.
Also how about adding and external antenna to these units for more distance?
Speaking of which what is their range?

Here is my go to HT at this time. I've got two of them and have had the oldest for 5-6 years with no issues at all.

http://www.gigaparts.com/store.php?action=profile&sku=ZYS-FT-60R&gclid=CPTxsPHpnbQCFQiqnQoddBUAeA

I also have a Kenwood D-7 that is a good radio. ICOM, Kenwood, Yeasu, & Alinco are all made in Japan and are pretty high quality. Wuxson and BaoFeng are the only two I have any knowledge of. Both are pretty capable and very cheap. But the folks I know who have them have no complaints after 2-4 years of service.

The antenna that comes with it is typical of HT antenna's, they are cheap garbage. I have picked up a couple of whip antennas that give more gain and have made a nice improvement. There are also hi-gain models like this.

http://www.diamondantenna.net/rhf40.html

http://www.gigaparts.com/store.php?action=profile&sku=ZDM-SRH77CA

Antenna gain is measured in Db's. A gain of 3 Db is basically staying even. Most factory antennas are 1.5-2 Db or basically a loss. The two I posted above are 6Db gain, or twice the output. While you don't actually put out twice the power, the better antennas radiate more power. External models such as mobile antennas for the car or house can have even higher gains. This is what I use at home. We also got two of these and used them for years with our EmComm group.

http:
//www.k1cra.com/catalog/product.aspx?productID=2505 (http://www.k1cra.com/catalog/product.aspx?productID=2505)

rentprop1
12-16-2012, 05:13 PM
Can you make some suggestions, makes and models. It is time that I start working on getting something. Also how about adding and external antenna to these units for more distance? Speaking of which what is their range?

if you decide on this radio you will at least need a Nagoya NA-771 antenna ( rubber duck ) to replace the crappy antenna they give you with the radio, these will improve reception of VHF signal 2-3 S units according to the reviews on E-ham.net......you RANGE will vary depending on your location , especially will vary greatly depending on terrain, here in Central Florida they do achieve about that YMMV..
even better would be a magnetic mount antenna for your vehicle at about $ 30, but you will need to buy a SMA-F to UHF-F that way you can connect it to a PL-259 connector found on most base and mobile antennas

I started this off with " if you decide to go with this radio ", I have made several comments in this thread about how there radio's are bottom of the line at best, but on every prep and survial forum folks ask about them cause they are cheap. I know almost 12 people ( local CERT members ) that have bought these and they are beginning in the HAM radio hobby and they all claim, its an OK first radio, but many have already upgraded and kept this as a back up or secondary radio

the one I have is in the wife's car in her GHB and I'm almost never in the wife's car, thats how little I consider this radio as worthy and would still take my other handheld should we ever take her car on a long trips or whatever

p.s. that's how little I worry about the wife having coms in a event too , she could talk your ear off man ............but shhhhhh .....lol :D:D:D