I always wanted to get involved in ham radio. I wanted to atleast get an affordable radio that I could monitor and start to listen to and familiarize myself with the community and see if I really wanted to get my license. The price range was prohibitive. They were always too expensive just to “try”. Enter the Chinese mfg that makes a radio that is very popular with ham radio enthusiasts, Baufeng. The UV- 5RE PLUS seems to be the most popular model. The Pofung UV-B5, seems to be about the same radio. There seems to be some move to re-name Baofeng to Pofung. They are the same mfg. and even the same software CHIRP can be used to modify them. The best thing from Amazon, you can get a fully functional dual band handheld ham radio with 2 day prime shipping for a little over $30. Now that got my attention. At that price range, why even buy the bubble pack FSR/GMSR radios. For $70, I can get a pair of these and program them the same freq in channel mode so it operates the same there and then I have the rest of the 99 programmable channels that I select with anything else I want. Without a lisc, I can not transmit on most but I can listen and even scan channels such as local police and fire in some areas, local business like the local towing company and ambulance company which is all a lot more interesting than bubble pack radios from Walmart!
The post will be where I start the discussion and post the links I find interesting or worth investigation in my fun adventure!
Here are links to sites with data and info on these radios and how to use them.
http://baofengtech.com/
http://baofengtech.com/
http://uv5r.net/
This site seems to have a ton of info on all the radios made by this mfg: http://www.miklor.com/
http://uv5r.net/review-of-the-baofeng-uv-b5/
I found them on Amazon for the best price and service so far: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BXVOKTW/?tag=uv5r.net-20
Here is the Pofung manual: http://www.miklor.com/UVB5/pdf/UVB5_Manual.pdf
Here is another supposed improved model by the same mfg, the GT-3 : http://www.amazon.com/Baofeng-GT-3-Transceiver-Chipsets-Upgraded/dp/B00HHOL1HI/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1410246013&sr=1-3&keywords=baofeng+gt-3
http://uv5r.net/quick-baofeng-gt-3-review/
http://uv5r.net/the-best-hf-verticle-antennas-on-the-market/
http://uv5r.net/swap-it-out-the-best-antennas-for-the-baofeng-uv-5r/
http://www.csgnetwork.com/antennagpcalc.html
http://uv5r.net/the-best-shortwave-radios-and-do-it-yourself-kits/
http://www.miklor.com/COM/pdf/AntennaTestingW9MDB.pdf
http://uv5r.net/swap-it-out-the-best-antennas-for-the-baofeng-uv-5r/
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AT3RO2K?psc=1
http://www.amazon.com/Pofung-BF-S112-Two-Radio-Speaker/dp/B008RZ0EQ0/ref=pd_sim_sbs_e_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=003WZ90831ZFHGPTF0AW
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KDRV91E?psc=1
http://www.amazon.com/BaoFeng-GT-3-Mark-II-Transceiver-Dual-Band/dp/B00GCZVXPI/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1410246013&sr=1-1&keywords=baofeng+gt-3
http://www.amazon.com/Baofeng-Programming-Cable-BAOFENG-BF-888S/dp/B00CP0I474/ref=pd_tcs_compl_e_8?ie=UTF8&refRID=0PEAGB43B3D87SBEZ58P
http://www.amazon.com/Radio-Protection-Baofeng-UV-5R-UV-5RE/dp/B00D8UF0WW/ref=pd_tcs_compl_e_6?ie=UTF8&refRID=0PEAGB43B3D87SBEZ58P
http://www.amazon.com/Tram-1185-Amateur-Dual-Band-Antenna/dp/B0045EQUBK/ref=pd_tcs_compl_e_14?ie=UTF8&refRID=0HJ6HDBYPFVNQ4TBZSF0
http://www.amazon.com/DHT-Handheld-Antenna-Baofeng-Quasheng/dp/B00COKNKS8/ref=pd_tcs_compl_e_11?ie=UTF8&refRID=0HJ6HDBYPFVNQ4TBZSF0
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BJEFRIQ?psc=1
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009KY1V5A?psc=1
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AYP4RA0?psc=1
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KDRV91E?psc=1
http://www.amazon.com/Hypario%C2%AE-Nagoya-Antenna-Kenwood-BAOFENG/dp/B00HUDU1V8/ref=pd_tcs_compl_e_9?ie=UTF8&refRID=0PEAGB43B3D87SBEZ58P
http://www.amazon.com/ExpertPower%C2%AE-430Mhz-Antenna-BAOFENG-KG-UVD1P/dp/B008Y2SPH6/ref=pd_tcs_compl_e_7?ie=UTF8&refRID=0PEAGB43B3D87SBEZ58P
http://www.amazon.com/ExpertPower%C2%AE-430Mhz-Antenna-BAOFENG-KG-UVD1P/dp/B008Y2SPE4/ref=pd_tcs_compl_e_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=0PEAGB43B3D87SBEZ58P
http://www.amazon.com/Baofeng-3800mAh-Battery-UV-5R-L-ExpertPower%C2%AE/dp/B00ATTVKFQ/ref=pd_tcs_compl_e_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0PEAGB43B3D87SBEZ58P
http://www.amazon.com/Baofeng-GT-3-Transceiver-Chipsets-Upgraded/dp/B00HHOL1HI/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1410246013&sr=1-3&keywords=baofeng+gt-3
Here is a Video review with tips :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAaJHG-jEas
Use them with the FRS/GMRS bubble pack radios:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsymHdt1GA4
From Tom’s Radio Room:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqAFovS4wp0
Antenna video review:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVJDwy6Fj7A
How to hack them:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQCTBnD8dBM
Programming:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bsjkCBm33Y
Baofeng UVB5 + homebrew 2m diapole
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E00kMNScCsg
As comms for preppers, security and survival:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tkjn1oyD4YQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNcP4NMwzQU
The BF-F9 seems to cover the 2M band (220)
http://chirp.danplanet.com/issues/1077
The KT-980HP in Europe is the BF-F8HP (High Power) for the US market. While the KT-960, is the older UV-5R model as seen here in the states and such, http://www.k-po.com/INTEK-KT-980-HP.2.html
Here is the link for the high power model but it is not available when I checked.
http://www.amazon.com/BaoFeng-BF-F8HP-TRI-POWER-Dual-Band-Transceiver/dp/B00MAULSOK/ref=pd_sim_sbs_e_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=0YHNZA46826547AKHXR7
http://www.amazon.com/BaoFeng-UV-82L-Two-Radio-Black/dp/B00F4OOMQ0/ref=pd_cp_e_1
http://www.amazon.com/Pofung-UV-82-Black-Two-Way-Radio/dp/B00E4KLY34/ref=pd_cp_e_0
http://www.brickolore.com/2012/12/baofeng-bf-f9.html
http://www.baofengradio.co.uk/bf-f9/
http://threeoldcrows.com/shop/magento/baofeng-bf-f9-tri-color-lcd-display-dual-band-uhf-vhf-handheld-transceiver.html
http://www.409shop.com/409shop_product.php?id=109152
http://www.buytwowayradios.com/products/baofeng/bf-f9-bw.aspx
http://mt.cricketventures.com/mt/mt-search.cgi?blog_id=2&tag=BF-F9&limit=20
http://chirp.danplanet.com/issues/1077
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Delectronics&field-keywords=bf-f9&sprefix=bf-f9%2Celectronics
http://www.miklor.com/COM/Review_F8HP.php
http://www.brickolore.com/2014/08/baofeng-bf-f8hp-high-power.html
http://chirp.danplanet.com/issues/1765
http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/11882
https://www.facebook.com/PofungBaoFeng/posts/815295771848625
http://radioaficion.com/cms/baofeng-bf-f8hp/
http://www.miklor.com/COM/Review_F8HP.php
http://www.amazon.com/BaoFeng-BF-F8HP-TRI-POWER-Dual-Band-Transceiver/dp/B00MAULSOK
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BF-F8-Porable-BAOFENG-Walkie-Talkie-Ham-Radio-with-Emergency-Alarm-Scanning-/141380548460?pt=2_Way_Radios_FRS&hash=item20eaeff76c
http://baofengtech.com/bf-f8hp
http://baofengtech.com/bf-f8+
http://www.amazon.com/BaoFeng-BF-F8-Warranty-Dual-Band-Transceiver/dp/B00IQFH1KS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1410332510&sr=8-2&keywords=sold+by+baofeng+tech
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JGFY_aam1E
Other Radios that are nice and affordable:
IOCOM Mobile: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GS8CCD6?psc=1