entry level HT Transceiver

[BigDaveZJ]

Looking at picking up the BaoFeng BF-F8HP as my first HAM unit. Specifically looking for an HT in this scenario as it's primary purpose will be a SHTF pack in my truck. My wife will be getting one as well and communication with her is the primary goal in a SHTF scenario. I know that with an HT our range won't be the greatest, but both of our offices and our home are all within 5-6 miles of each other, albeit in a somewhat dense suburban environment. I know we'll probably be pushing the limits of the range of these things, but for this purpose I want a cheaper handheld. Eventually we will add mobile units to the vehicles that will make getting that range a lot easier, but for now low cost and portability trump the range. In the meantime we could also simply hook the HT up to an external antenna.

Am I heading down the right path with the BF-F8HP? The description I found on Amazon says it's the 3rd gen of the UV-5R which seems to be a pretty popular unit for what I'm looking for.

 

[Ray_G]

I would say you are; inherent with your purchase is to also recognize that if you are using VHF or UHF freqs to communicate, in an urban environment, you are going to want to 'fight to communicate.'

Or in the parlance that I'm used to; if I had teams out in an urban environment that couldn't communicate they were not an asset, they were a liability-and they knew they had to move to establish comms. Often in that environment that meant getting better electronic line of sight from a roof/high ground.

That applies in your context as well; if you both get radios and you program them, keep them charged, and something happens where cell/landlines are down just also incorporate into your plan that you may have to move to high ground to achieve comms with the HT.

I love by UV-5R's; get the extended battery and a slightly better antenna and you are $.
r-
Ray

 

[Klierslc]

Agree with the above. I have the uv5r-tp and the advertised 8 watts won't do nearly what 3 watts will do from my old Kenwood ht. But, if I use an sma\bnc adapter to install the Kenwood antenna on the baofeng, it works very well and will easily do what you are wanting.

 

[lugueto]

Baofengs are hit or miss. You'll get a bunch of threads if you search this site.

I never had trouble with mine. It worked pretty well, actually. They're a little hard to understand, but there are plenty of guides on the internet for programming and setting them up.

That being said, I replace mine with a Yaesu FT60R. The difference in build quality, performance and ease of use is incredible. I never thought I needed anything more than the UV5R until I tried the Yaesu.

For SHTF scenarios, the Yaesu will last longer, perform better and can use AA battery packs (which may or may not be included with your purchase). If you can manage the expense, I'd recommend the Yaesu or an Icom V80. They're both built like tanks.

 

[camp4x4]

Obviously with the requisite ham licenses... so might be better to agree on a repeater to use if phones go down instead of trying to do simplex. HT's should be fine to hit nearby repeaters. There's 2 open repeaters, a 2m and a 70cm, near Centennial: https://www.repeaterbook.com/repeaters/location_search.php?state_id=08&type=city&loc=Centennial

Could be more too if RFinder.net is correct...

 

[BigDaveZJ]

Yeah the repeaters are actually nowhere near us unfortunately. My office is about 5.5 miles straight south from home, and my wife's office is about 3 miles east from the midpoint of the line between my office and home. There's a huge antenna station right ********** dab in the middle of that triangle, but there doesn't appear to be a repeater there. The repeaters are all 10ish miles away.
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And we will definitely be obtaining proper licensure for this as we will be using it for vehicle to vehicle comms as well when out in the mountains.

 

[camp4x4]

Yeah the repeaters are actually nowhere near us unfortunately. My office is about 5.5 miles straight south from home, and my wife's office is about 3 miles east from the midpoint of the line between my office and home. There's a huge antenna station right ********** dab in the middle of that triangle, but there doesn't appear to be a repeater there. The repeaters are all 10ish miles away.
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And we will definitely be obtaining proper licensure for this as we will be using it for vehicle to vehicle comms as well when out in the mountains.

Once you get your license do try hitting the repeaters... the 2 shown on RepeaterBook.com are up in the mountains... with that kind of elevation they likely have a HUGE coverage range, including the whole town. Repeaters don't need to be in between you two to work, just line-of-site an within range - think of a circle on the ground, not a line. I routinely hit repeaters 20miles from me because they're in the surrounding hills.

 

[BigDaveZJ]

That's a good point. They use that same area to broadcast OTA TV and radio for most of the front range. I know I have a line of sight there from my office and most of the way home, would imagine my wife does too.
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EDIT: Looks like it's about 25 miles as the crow flies

 

[camp4x4]

http://www.eoss.org/drl/repeaters.htm

Check out the "Lockhead Martin" repeater coverage map. Looks like it should be perfect for Centennial.