$41 BaoFeng UV-82 Dual Band Handhelds

[mhiscox]

We've got a good thread, started in April, for the cheap ($40 or lower) Baofeng 5V-UV radios:

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/106854,

that has much useful information.

But it appears that time, and Chinese electronics, marches on, so you can now instead have the newer Baofeng UV-82 dual band radio

which is selling today at Amazon for $41.

http://www.amazon.com/Baofeng-UV-82...=dealnewscom&ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=AA3MGRC7F9EI2

It so far has 4.5 stars average from 38 reviews, and "the most helpful" review usefully discusses the differences from the UV-5R. One of the points made is that this new radio has a much smaller knowledge base than its ubiquitous (don't get to write that word much) predecessor.

So now you can make your choice between shiny-and-new and tried-and-true. Have at it.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Looks a little like the "Kenwood" TH-F9.

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Holi...d-Radio-with-FREE-Car-Charger/1262905088.html

http://rigreference.com/en/rig/6024-Kenwood_TH_F9_fake

 

[Crom]

I did a cursory job of reading some of the reviews and some of the comments and criticism of those comments. It appears like the UV-B6 and UV-B6, it has a different receiver than the UV-5R series radios. That's good as the UV-B5 and B6 were an improvement over the 5R series.

Also it appears that these new UV-82's are designed for the commercial environment. Rumor has it they have passed part 90 certification from the FCC for business band use. These radios lack a VFO, which is part of the part 90 cert. But their may be a trick key sequence to press to get in while turning it on. Their speaker output is 1 watt compared to the 700 mw other series radios.

I am a little bit interested in the 1.25 meter variant UV-82X.

Thanks for the thread!

 

[4x4x4doors]

FWIW, Santa brought me one of these. I've scheduled the exam for January and now am looking for "Dummies Guide" to make it useful.

Edit: 1/5/14--Passed the Tech Exam, tried the General as long as I was there but no go.

 

[crawler#976]

Amazon dropped one off for me yesterday. It seems like a pretty nice radio for the price. The only complaint I have at this point is the VFO to Memory operation requires a shut down and restart.

Manual programming is pretty straight forward. It's basically the same procedure I used on the UV-5R.

From the Miklor: http://www.miklor.com/COM/UV_ProgMem.php:

Programming a Repeater Channel with any offset
(Standard or Odd Split)

This example is for: 146.700 MHz
600kHz minus offset
into channel 99
CTCSS tone 123.0

1. Set radio to VFO Mode (Frequency Mode)
a.) UV5R/GT3 - Press VFO/MR button
b.) UV82 - Turn radio OFF, then Press/Hold MENU button during PowerON.

2. Select Display A (this is a must)
a.) UV5R - Press [A/B] and select the Upper Display.
b.) UV82 - Press [EXIT A/B] and select the Upper Display.

3. Disable TDR (Dual Watch/Dual RX) which toggles between A and B.
Press [Menu] 7 [Menu]
Select OFF
Press [Menu] [Exit]

4. Delete Prior Data from the channel to be programmed.
Press [Menu] 2 8 [Menu]
Enter 9 9 (Memory Channel to clear)
Press [Menu] [Exit]

5. Store RX frequency
Enter 1 4 6 7 0 0
Press [Menu] 2 7 [Menu]
Enter 9 9 (Memory Channel)
Press [Menu] [Exit]

6. Set CTCSS or DCS codes for Transmit. (if needed)
( example = CTCSS TX tone 123.0 Hz )
Press [Menu] 1 3 [Menu]
Enter 1 2 3 0 [Menu] [Exit]

7. Store TX frequency
Enter 1 4 6 1 0 0
Press [Menu] 2 7 [Menu]
Enter 9 9 (Memory Channel)
Press [Menu] [Exit]

8. The split is now programmed.

This procedure can be used to program standard offsets as well cross band.
If you know the repeater's RX and TX, you can program them separately without using the repeater offset menus.

 

[jerdog53]

Seriously thinking this one.


Sending elections from my electron sending device....

 

[Crom]

I'd stick with the UV-B5. I think it's the best out of the Baofeng bunch.

 

[jerdog53]

I'd stick with the UV-B5. I think it's the best out of the Baofeng bunch.

Why do you say that?


Sending elections from my electron sending device....

 

[uli2000]

I see there is a UV-82X on Amazon that has 2m and the 220mhz band rather than 70cm UHF. There's no 220 in my area and I really don't need another HT, but I got nothing with 220mhz transmit capabilites. Anyone have one? I'd really like to see a Baofeng 220/900mhz radio like what Alinco has put out, maybe even 1200mhz as well.

 

[Crom]

Why do you say that?


Sending elections from my electron sending device....

The UV-B5/6 radios have a better receiver than the UV-5R series and just a guess on my part, I think it's the same receiver as the UV-82. These UV-82 series are marketed towards the commercial world where a VFO should not be and really has no place.

Personally, I would not want to own a radio that did not have near immediate access to VFO. Therefore, the default option for me is still the UV-B5.

 

[dave1014]

Ive had an 82 for about 3 weeks know. Much much better quality thqn my uv5r

Sent from my SCH-I925 using Tapatalk

 

[PortageBay]

My only (small) complaint is having to turn the radio on and off to change from VFO to Memory mode. I do like the dual PTT but it takes some getting use to.....

 

[Herbie]

Just a little note on my UV-82: Got evacuated from our house yesterday due to a nearby wildfire. As per plan, the ExPo vehicle doubles as the primary bug-out vehicle, so once we had our caravan heading out of the neighborhood, I realized my radio was still in the center console from our recent trip. Fired it up and set it to scan my two nearest repeaters and had great info from locals with a view of the fire's path.

What surprised me was that I was still able to hear those repeaters (both 2m and 70cm) 10-15 miles away at our evac point (Mom's house!), despite a LOT of terrain (SoCal hills and mesas) in between. In order to get back to the repeater I needed to be careful about where I was transmitting from, but I could hear everything loud and clear. I know a lot of people keep a HT in their bug-out bag, but I hadn't used HAM enough to make it to that point. Well, I'm sold. For now the BOB will hold my UV-82 whenever I'm not out camping, and I'll probably add a second unit to the collection to stay there permanently.

 

[Frdmskr]

Consider swapping out the factory supplies rubber duck antenna for an aftermarket one (or home brew one!) The factory rubber ducks usually are dissipating heat not RF and you lose a lot of power that way. Diamond, Comet and others make flexi whip (long straight base loaded whip that is coated like a rubber duck) antennas that can be had for a good price. They are usually pretty sturdy as I have had a few for about 10 yrs now - lasted longer than some rigs. While the telescopic whips are more efficient, they break easier so I steer away from them. For real portable operation whip up a JPole you can toss in a tree. See directions here: http://www.qsl.net/wb3gck/jpole.htm If you spend more than a half hour on whipping this up and more than maybe 20-30$ you spent too much. (I assume high due to Radio Shack costs...but ham fests you can get these cheaper.) Cost is based on what type of twinlead and how long a coax run you use....and what type of HT connector you need. Weighs less than a pound and will get you on the air in under 5 minutes from anywhere.

 

[Herbie]

Quick price-drop note: These are currently available on Amazon for less than $35: http://www.amazon.com/BaoFeng-UV-82-Two-Way-Radio/dp/B00E4KLY34

For that price, I'm ordering another...