School me on walkie talkies

[acegunnr]

Just skimming this article - https://www.whollyoutdoor.com/best-handheld-ham-radio/

Any comments from actual hand-held ham radio users?

(Many many moons ago I was a CA ANG HF radio tech; these toys have always struck me as very complex)

As a licensed Ham and President of our local club, I recommend the BF-F8HP to our newly licensed users. You pay a little more for a better quality UV-5 type radio. Beware of the cheaper UV-5 clones and cloned accessories. I usually have them go to https://baofengtech.com/ or their Amazon store to purchase their radios and accessories. They are a US distributor and maintain good quality control (no cheap clones), good customer service, and their customized radios have good features.

[hermosabeach]

as others have said- Line of Sight

The earth curves so you have a limited range with any line of sight radio

Walls eat signal
If you have line of sight between the two radios- the walkie talkies

With the hills in my area, the FMRS radios don't reach too far...

[NATEWA]

As a licensed Ham and President of our local club, I recommend the BF-F8HP to our newly licensed users. You pay a little more for a better quality UV-5 type radio. Beware of the cheaper UV-5 clones and cloned accessories. I usually have them go to https://baofengtech.com/ or their Amazon store to purchase their radios and accessories. They are a US distributor and maintain good quality control (no cheap clones), good customer service, and their customized radios have good features.

[Jongage]

Can anyone give any qualified information on a system like this?

Sounds very intriguing.....

https://gotenna.com/

Essentially it turns your cell phones into work-anywhere walkie-talkies, even includes text messaging / chat.



X

Over priced millennial cell phone crap. It bluetooth connects to your phone to send data over a RF signal to other gotenna's It doesn't connect outside the proprietary system.

The garmin inreach are better. They connect to an existing satellite network and can bridge the gap from no cell service to cell service.

[Jongage]

Are there local clubs to help newbies get started? I realize that no one is meeting face to face right now. I have a bunch of baofengs and accessories but have no idea on how to get started. Any good YouTube videos on how to operate and set up the radios so I can at least listen to what’s going on?

Whats your location?

Get a program cable, download CHIRP. Tons and tons to youtube baofeng programming videos

[DrjonesUSA]

Over priced millennial cell phone crap. It bluetooth connects to your phone to send data over a RF signal to other gotenna's It doesn't connect outside the proprietary system.

The garmin inreach are better. They connect to an existing satellite network and can bridge the gap from no cell service to cell service.

Thanks for the info.

[tozan]

Ham is the best way to go for distance period.

But a hand held ham does not transmit all that far either. But, you can get more range with a taller antenna or a repeater. Those are not normally or widely available for FRS/GMRS and CB radios. So, a Ham wins...

The key to getting distance is more wattage, longer/taller antenna, better ground plane and a repeater... Again these are mostly only available for a Ham radio.

Hand held hams will have between 5 to 8 watts that is a lot more than FRS/GMRS and cb radios. So Ham is better.

Mobile Ham rigs normally run between 50 to 100 watts of power they can get around 30 to 40 miles on a good day without a repeater. The range will depend on terrain, power, antenna, type of vehicle and how and where you mount the antenna. With a repeater I have talked with people in Long Beach from Reno and as far as Ceder Rapids. But, those are not normal ranges to hit with a 2 meter mobile radio.

Starting out with an entry-level Technician class license will get you started but, is limited. Talking around the world might be possible with a Tech lic. but, very limited compared to a General or Amateur extra license.

Will you stay informed or more informed with a Ham radio? Maybe but, it would depend on who you are talking with and where they are. Radio operators are just normal people like us some might have no clue and some may be very well informed and some may just be a conspiracy nut wanting to spread their nonsense... A lot like the people on Calguns you can listen and try to filter out who is right wrong or crazy... lol


To sum it up..

Hand held Ham is best walkie talkie.. Period...

Mobile Ham is better

In house Ham with a roof mounted antenna is better yet

A house unit with lots of power and a big tower is best.




I did the Ham test online study course and passed the test after three weeks of study.




73's K1CJM Sparks Nevada

[Jongage]

Yep.

All HAM tests canceled as of right now.......

[LindenBruce]

Ok thanks. What's the quality of the Baofengs? B.

[crufflers]

All the bubble pack radios are limited to 1/2 wattage. That is nothing.

These are 8 watts max... and you can choose the low, med, high output setting.

https://www.amazon.com/BaoFeng-BF-F8HP-Two-Way-136-174MHz-400-520MHz/dp/B00MAULSOK/ref=dp_ob_title_wld

Something like these might be ok for around the house or property. (2 WATTS) I actually have these because my kid wanted some and they are surprisingly good. Better than I recall the old COBRA's and similar... which were truly mediocre toys.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077HJPZB4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[the86d]

CB is in not much use anymore. I tried and its hard to find anyone using it.

Wouldn't that be a good thing with less interference, and longer range on those freqs?

Might be a good investment these days if the freqs. are unused?

12-Watt, legal SSB CB Radios might be a good option?

[secretasianman]

[secretasianman]

Baofengs work well but most will also transmit out of band.

[NATEWA]

Whats your location?

Get a program cable, download CHIRP. Tons and tons to youtube baofeng programming videos

Sac

[Jongage]

Ok thanks. What's the quality of the Baofengs? B.

RF quality: Crap
But they are cheap so you can afford to loose/break it. Learn the basics and decide if you just want something to talk on or get into it more.