Hi,
Sorry I know this is an old thread, but I was hoping you still had the img for the Baofengs?
Our Sqn has just purchased a set and now i need to look at getting them set up.
Thanks
Andy
I may…? But I may have to download it from my units radios…
I’d love if I could have those too if you don’t mind
Folks our radios are years old but replacing a battery is more than buyimg a new set just wondering what radio sets your Sqn or wing are buying my own.personal choice would be not to have to give cadets the Freq to programe but for staff to have these pre set as added security
Any radio that allows selecting a frequency should also be able to set to select a frequency.
A lot of praise is given the Baofeng radios UV5 models available on eBay is offered on the RAFAC Comms Facebook group. cheap (£20) seemingly reliable and Cadet proof - if only because their cost makes it readily replaced (not that the Cadets need to know that!)
That would be great if you could.
With so many units using these radios now I’m surprised its not been bunged on sharepoint somewhere.
Cheers
Andy
We bought a bulk deal of Baofeng UV6’s from eBay for £180 - for ten of them - and they are fantastic little radios. Yet our previous Wouxun’s cost us £100 each - we have 4 and they do the same job.
Hi
Sorry to be pushy but any joy on that file?
I need to be able to use these radios next weekend at an event.
Cheers
Andy
Right, I didn’t get into unit on Monday because I was less than well. I have however found one in my outbox (I do not miss the days of having to delete everything to get under the 40mb!)
I don’t fancy posting it on the open page, but PM me for it with an email address.
Old post I know “bought a large quantity of rotary-selector cheap radios for the same reason” what ones did you go for I’m.looking for VHF
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Baofeng-Handheld-Walkie-Talkie-Amateur/dp/B015DZA6DM/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1527371085&sr=8-3&keywords=baofeng+vhf
Here’s a nice cheap example, if you’re not looking for VHF though, and can do with UHF, then these next ones aren’t a bad shot
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10X-BaoFeng-Walkie-Talkie-UHF400-470MHZ-2-Way-Ham-Radio-BF-888S-16CH-Long-Range/162930575546?epid=21016016606&hash=item25ef6b48ba:g:mNAAAOSw8oxazbBH
I’ve used these ones before and they have a pretty good range on them, managing a couple kilometers!
Some nice fair price kit there. In my wing we only use VHF and I rather not have the Freq on display as God knows what site they end up on or scanner lol
With the Baofeng’s (UV5R at least) you can preset channels with names so the frequencies cannot be seen 
1 Like
I own my own Baofeng uv5r and i believe that they are actually very good radios for UHF & VHF bands. Bu the baofeng radios have a power of 5 Watt, which exceeds the ofcom regulations, any pmr 446 radios need to be 0.5 watts. Hope this helps.
Whilst operating on our own frequencies that isn’t a problem. 5W is perfectly acceptable. Most handhelds also have a low power mode of usually 1W which we should really be using as standard for all local work - to prolong battery life.
It is however worth noting that any radio which can be programmed to other frequencies - such as the Baofeng - is NOT type approved for use on PMR446. You are breaking the law by simply using it at all, so actually the extra 0.5W (on low power) output isn’t of great concern.
That being said, PMR446 is not a monitored band. Ofcom aren’t out there chasing down people who are using programmable radios.
“what you in for?”
“murder, you?”
“using an overpowered, programmable transceiver on PMR446”
4 Likes
5W is the limit for ‘simple business’ licences, which are not expensive (something like £75 for five years). Well worth it if you need simple cheap handhelds.
2 Likes
You can also purchase them as an organization licence for the same cost to cover a number of handhelds. Useful if a group of you are off somewhere and want something with more power and more channel options than PMR446 offers.
Although I’d say, probably not of great benefit to the RAFAC since we already have our own channels for free.
Yup, great value.
- Con: Cannot be used with official callsigns and sensitive procedures. Not much use for training.
- Pro: Don’t need to waste time with official callsigns and procedures, and can just communicate efficiently instead. Useful for actually doing stuff.
PMR446 is OK but range can be quite limited and you can get more numpties on it. Simple Business Radio could be worthwhile depending on your needs.
Though, to be fair, our procedures are not really difficult and when using abbreviated procedures (as we should be doing as standard when conditions permit) are even less so.
“Dave, it’s Jim… Can you send those guys over with the brews…”
“Hello mate. Yep… On their way”
Is not really that much simpler than:
"L12 A1 this is L12 A5… Can you send those guys over with the brews…
“L12 A5 wilco”
1 Like