$40 BaoFeng UV-5R Dual-Band Handhelds

[GarnerFJ40]

amazon has them for $29 right now only a few left.

Bought one right after Christmas, waiting for the radio, cable, and Nagoya antenna to come. Already got the larger battery. Such a tease! Got my tech license back in November and I've been waiting for a radio to work with.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Assuming folks are liking the Nagoya NA-701 as a replacement for the OE antenna?

 

[gahi]

This ram x-grip, coupled with the handheld mic, and a magnet mount antenna (Comet M-24M) works pretty well. I mainly use it for APRS with my phone and aprs droid.

 

[prerunner1982]

It's great having a friend with a couple big lasers. Drew these UV5R "holsters" up and had them cut. Basically ready to finalize with however you want to attach it to anything. Going to make one into a mount for the jeep and gave a couple to friends to make mounts with.

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Looks good.... I made one similar for my Cherokee. Not quite as pretty, but was made with an angle grinder.

 

[Kiddmen57]

Looks good.... I made one similar for my Cherokee. Not quite as pretty, but was made with an angle grinder.


Nice! I normally do but now I've got a bud with a couple lasers in his shop. Since I eat lunch at my desk i sometimes draw things up to make.

I've determined where I'll be mounting it but need to figure out the specifics. May be a few weeks before it all come together. But when it does I may have a product offering for the 11-14 Wrangler.


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[EricM]

I read the whole thread, really. I wanted to get into Armature radio but was under the mistaken assumption that it was very expensive. Looks like I was totally wrong about that.

So, now I am researching getting my tech license.

 

[summerprophet]

Have you thought of any way to mount them ?

I purchased a RAM mount, but found that the little Baufeng was pretty sloppy in that particular mount.

I pulled out the dremel, the heat gun and a scrap of plastic and bent up my own.





Anybody wanna buy an unused RAM radio mount?

 

[EricM]

So, I was looking and there are ones that are about $20 more (Bf f8+ for example) but I will probably get the cheapest one, and if I am totally into it then I will probably get a rather expensive one for the Suburban. If I don't end up being into HAM radio, then I am only out about $35, which is less than a diner out with the wife and kids.

Ordering UV-5R with probramming cable today.

 

[cmj]

Those laser cut mounts are pretty nice looking. If you can come up with a good way to fix it to a RAM mount I bet it'd be a popular option.

Just picked one of these radios up as a cheap loaner to hand out on a trail run. Its no Yaesu but for $29 I wouldn't cry if it gets dropped

 

[Kiddmen57]

I was looking at sinking a flat head screw from the radio side but would need 12ga to sink a #6 . That's way too thick. 14ga is even overkill but gives them a nice feel. I could weld a nut on the backside to accept a 1" studded RAM ball.

I am working on my mount and will share once I finish it.


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[Kiddmen57]

Got the holsters tonight. I'll respond to the PMs and get things going tomorrow.

 

[98OzarksRunner]

So, I was looking and there are ones that are about $20 more (Bf f8+ for example) but I will probably get the cheapest one, and if I am totally into it then I will probably get a rather expensive one for the Suburban. If I don't end up being into HAM radio, then I am only out about $35, which is less than a diner out with the wife and kids.

Ordering UV-5R with probramming cable today.

That's a good plan.

 

[Kiddmen57]

Those laser cut mounts are pretty nice looking. If you can come up with a good way to fix it to a RAM mount I bet it'd be a popular option.

Just picked one of these radios up as a cheap loaner to hand out on a trail run. Its no Yaesu but for $29 I wouldn't cry if it gets dropped

I was thinking I could weld a 1/4-20 nut on the backside of the bracket to insert a 1" RAM Ball

That would add a couple bucks to the bracket as it would require the time to weld.

 

[abruzzi]

I was thinking I could weld a 1/4-20 nut on the backside of the bracket to insert a 1" RAM Ball

That would add a couple bucks to the bracket as it would require the time to weld.

Or just drill and bevel a hole:

http://www.rammount.com/CatalogResu...65077045066045051048057045051085/Default.aspx

 

[Kiddmen57]

Or just drill and bevel a hole:

Yeah. That's what I really wanted to do originally, and have them in the backside of the bracket. The issue for me is that the material is too thin to sink a FHCS (flat head cap screw) flush. 14ga is ~0.070" thick. You cant even sink a #4 flush into it. It takes ~0.100" of material to sink a #6 which I used on a piece of wall art I made. RAM doesn't list the thread size on that link, but I know their 1" balls with female threads are either 1/4-20 or M6 thread. Those are much larger still and would protrude into the radio cavity. This would then rub on the plastic and could eventually rub into the battery material (not a good thing).

Like summerprophet and prerunner1982 I wanted a mount for the unit while in the vehicle. I am fortunate that I have CAD software on my computer at work, and a friend with a CNC laser at his shop. I chose 14ga since he runs it almost daily and could fit it in between other parts. 14ga is stout for this bracket but not thick enough to flush a bevel head in. At least not one large enough to securely handle the weight in offroad conditions. I had the first couple cut as a starting point and gave a couple to friends to also paly around with. I imagined the bracket as the starting point, with good geometry to hold the radio securely using the clip and allow for easy in and out. I kept the bottom open since I have a couple standard UV5R's and one with an extended battery.

OK, sorry for going off on a tangent. I'm still not 100% on where mine will end up in final form, but the RAM system is high on my list.