Emergency two-way radios for what may lie ahead

February 06, 2024, 03:38 PM

rackrack

quote:
Originally posted by parabellum:
It does seem that GMRS is the choice for most people, given the ease of obtaining a license.

While obtaining a Technician's license certainly is not the hardest thing, since they do provide you with the multiple choice questions and the answers, it looks like the pool of questions numbers somewhere between 400 and 500, with the test being 35 questions from this pool. So, to be certain of passing it the first time does require a time investment. I intend to take the test before too long, perhaps a month or two from now but I'm going to nail down the questions to a certainty. It's a matter of rote memorization, but 4 to 500 questions ain't hay, especially if one's goal is simply to pass the test, rather than having an interest in delving deeply into the subject of radio communication.

Of course, all this started for me with recognizing the need for emergency communications in the case of a true catastrophe, and the irresistibly low price of a time-tested cheap Chinese radio which has a remarkable amount of information available online.

However, these GMRS radios which have outputs of 5 or 6 watts and appear to be quite easy to use, make a Hell of a lot of sense. One hundred fifty or two hundred dollars will get you a really nice GMRS radio and if you're willing to invest the money, you can get your whole family legal for the airwaves with no hassle.

But, even with a good-quality GMRS setup, the BaoFeng UV-5R still makes a lot of sense, especially when we're envisioning scenarios where the Federal Communications Commission would be the least of your worries.

Here's a good video to give you an idea of the advantages of GMRS.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/18PttBD4HUk

Thanks for the thread and the video. I've been meaning to fill this gap in my preparations but haven't, until now.

I applied for my GMRS license online on Saturday and received it this morning.

I just ordered two of the Wouxun KG-Q10G Handheld GMRS Radios mentioned in the video from https://www.buytwowayradios.com/

February 06, 2024, 03:57 PM

Hildur

Thanks for the heads up. Bought 2 pair so I can hand out extras to my friends in PR. On sale at Amazon for $39.99.

February 06, 2024, 06:13 PM

trapper189

Just got them and they are RIGHTHANDED!

I kid you not. With the frequency on either radio set to 155.700, if I hold either one with my left hand, the green light flashes and static comes the speaker no matter what level the squelch is set at. If I hold either radio with my right hand, nothing happens. No noise, no flashing light even if hold the radio in the same place it was when I held them with my left hand. Doesn’t seem to happen on any other frequencies I tried. As if that is weird enough, if I hold the radio upside down in the same spot, it’s silent in my left hand, but makes noise and light flashes in my right hand. Voodoo.

On the no weird side:
I heard the local HAM repeater on both its VHF and UHF frequencies and one NOAA weather channel. I also did a quick transmit test on the GMRS frequencies. They seem to work.

February 06, 2024, 09:30 PM

parabellum

This might be useful:

February 06, 2024, 11:36 PM

bronicabill

My pair arrived yesterday evening. Now I just have to dig in and figure out how the heck to use them! So far I figured out how to listen to a local FM radio broadcast, but nothing more without digging deep into manuals, books, and websites! Para, what have you done to us??? LOL

February 07, 2024, 06:48 AM

GCE61

quote:
Originally posted by GCE61:
quote:
Originally posted by parabellum:
I tried to order the Baofeng USB-C-charging extended battery. Ordered it yesterday via Amazon and I got a message this morning from the seller saying my address is currently unavailable, which I suppose means they don't have delivery for this area right now, which is weird because Amazon would be delivering it.

I looked into the seller and they're brand new on Amazon, a Chinese vendor, so I cancelled the order. The version with the mini plug is available readily, but does anyone know where I can get the version which uses a USB-A to USB-C charging cable?

On those large 3800 mAh batteries, note that the ones I got years ago required you to dremel off 3 plastic raised "shoulders" where the battery mates with the bottom of the radio body. This may have changed over the years, but back when I got into these this mod was well known. Take a look at the pic of the areas to be releived.

Just an update to a comment I made a couple of pages ago about the large batteries. I just received another pair of large batteries with the charging plug from Amazon and they did not need to have any modifications done. They came with the charging cable plug, which is a small Circular pin plug at the top of the battery, charged for a few hours and it was good to go

February 07, 2024, 08:49 AM

trapper189

The first thing I did was accidentally do a factory reset. It took awhile to figure out how to switch the prompts back to English from Chinese.

I’ve got local repeaters, MURS, and one NOAA frequencies programmed into channel memory. I was then able to scan those channels. Naturally, it always stopped on the NOAA channel because it continuously broadcasts. Apparently, there’s a setting to skip channels that can only be set using the CHIRP software.

I’ve been listening to an hour long local HAM "check in”. The first item was local HAM operator died and they called his call sign 3x and wished him Godspeed when he didn’t answer. The rest of the time was people checking in and saying what they were doing for the day. One guy got a deal on some 5.56, a bunch are going to Hamcation, and the solar flux is 190, so the 10, 12, and 15 meter bands are “hopping”.

February 07, 2024, 12:57 PM

Chris17404

I love the NotaRubicon Productions channel on YouTube. Great, clear, concise information. But I always play the videos on 1.5x speed.

February 07, 2024, 01:04 PM

trapper189

Concise, not so much. But I didn’t think of the 1.5x speed playback. I was just scrolling through to find the good information.

February 07, 2024, 01:13 PM

SigSentry

Figured out how to receive (and Tx) the 462.725 repeater in my state (CO) on my UV-5R. Had to add a few channels before I happened upon the correct settings. Will probably get my GMRS license in the next few days. The Front Range repeaters, especially when "netted" together get quite the range, from WY to NM. Folks say that as long as you are transmitting on a frequency you are licensed to use, it matters little what device you are using (obeying power constraints of course).

1.25...of course

This message has been edited. Last edited by: SigSentry,

February 07, 2024, 01:26 PM

nhracecraft

quote:
Originally posted by Chris17404:
I love the NotaRubicon Productions channel on YouTube. Great, clear, concise information. But I always play the videos on 1.5x speed.

'Some' of his videos are like that guy in front of you driving 15 in a 35 MPH zone, though I am warming to the entertainment value of his sarcasm AND ridicule of certain rules, entities, groups, etc, and of course, 'some people'...Just sayin'

February 07, 2024, 11:16 PM

BB61

I just bought two of the 3800 mAh batteries detailed above. They should be here on Friday.

The youngest Miss BB61 is going away to college this fall. She has expressed an interest in getting her license so we can communicate if needed.

February 08, 2024, 05:23 AM

bronicabill

quote:
Originally posted by charlie12:
The Huntsville Hamfest would be a good place to go. It's not until Aug. but it's supposed to be a good one.

Huntville Hamfest link

Only a few miles from my house, so I do expect to be in attendance if at all possible!

February 08, 2024, 06:44 AM

bronicabill

When I first downloaded and installed CHIRP, I was completely overwhelmed with it and couldn't figure out how to get started! Thankfully I found an excellent YouTube video that takes you through it step-by-step and answered most all of my questions. It can be found HERE!

February 08, 2024, 07:02 AM

bronicabill

Two quick questions for those who are ahead of me on the Boof-Wang radios...

1. There is a mini-CD disk that came with the programming cable recommended by Para. What is on it, and is it needed? All I see is a bunch of stuff written in China-eeze!

2. When attempting to add the frequency for my local poleece dept dispatch, when I enter the final digit the radio gives me an error message and resets to the previous frequency. Is this telling me the radio is not capable of listening to that frequency?

Thanks in advance!

Edit to add: I answered my own Question 2 in the CHIRP software... when manually inputting the police dispatch freq for Madison, the software wouldn't take it and said it was outside of the freq range for that radio! <boo hiss> I thought these things could be used as scanners also for listening to local police and fire, but I guess not.

February 08, 2024, 07:40 AM

AllenInAR

This may or may not be helpful....

Since the TD-H8 I got was a "ham" radio, the programming software (Odmaster, in my case) would not allow me to enter GMRS frequencies. I had to 'unlock' the radio before I could get them input.

February 08, 2024, 07:50 AM

tatortodd

quote:
Originally posted by bronicabill:
My pair arrived yesterday evening. Now I just have to dig in and figure out how the heck to use them! So far I figured out how to listen to a local FM radio broadcast, but nothing more without digging deep into manuals, books, and websites! Para, what have you done to us??? LOL

+1

My GMRS radios arrived yesterday and so far I've charged, listened to my favorite country station, tried out both the stubby antenna and long antenna (kit came with both), and determined the optional $8 speaker mic is a hunk of junk.