Inexpensive Scanner

[DickH]

While recuperating, I had lots of free time so I decided to try a very inexpensive Chinese portable radio to use as a scanner. They are basically for transmitting on two Ham bands, but I noticed they cover Hi Band (136 to 174) and UHF (400 to 520). After reading a lot, I bought a Baofeng UV-82 for about $27 from Amazon. I thought for $27 it can't be much good, but it will be fun to play around with. I just checked the Amazon site and the UV-82 is now $26 but they have a combination that adds the programming cable and a remote spkr/mic, all for just over $35 which makes it eligible for free shipping, too!

It was a bit complicated to get started, but after it was up and running, I was astounded with its performance. My area is hilly (nearly mountainous), yet I can hear stations 35 to 40 miles away with the Baofeng rubber duck antenna inside my apartment. The reception is as good or better than the other 10 scanners I own.

IN THE BOX: radio, battery, antenna, drop-in charger tray with A/C adapter, belt clip, handstrap and printed manual.

PROs:
Printed Manual.
Free program (CHIRP) available.
Can scan 128 channels.
Dispaly color can be Purple, Blue or Orange.
Freq. steps 2.5/5/6.25/10/12.5/20/25 (khz).
Voice prompt (tells what you just keyed in).
CTCSS & DCS squelch operation.
Transmit can be disabled per channel.
FM Broacast band, 65 to 108 (Foreign and U.S.).
41 Menu items can be set on the keyboard.
Better volume than regular scanners (no distortion at full volume).
With CHIRP, you can make an unlimited number of groups of freqs.
Battery gives me about 18 hours running, about 4-1/2 hours to re-charge.

CONs:
Scans Channel Name or Freq. - can not see both together.
Squelch tail can't be adjusted.

SUMMARY: If you want a good Hi Band and UHF, non-trunking scanner for a very reasonable price I don't think you can find a better deal than the Baofeng UV-82. There are lots of videos on YouTube and this site has much information. Miklor Information Site, VHF UHF Handheld Radios

 

[sparklehorse]

They are impressive radios for the price. One of the complaints with the Chineses HTs, including the Baofengs, is poor front ends, so tend to get some intermod or overloading in RF dense areas. I'm sure that will improve over time. My Baofeng UV-B5 isn't too bad actually, although it does make some weird pops and cracks on some frequencies. Another one I own which is a very good radio is the Quansheng TG-UV2. It's a little more money, and arguably harder to program, but a very solid little radio. Here's an interesting video from a guy here in Portland that compared a few of the Chinese HTs:

http://youtu.be/kmlWTrYPAQU

It's quite possible that it's not the sensitivity of the Quansheng that accounts for its better performance in that video, but just a better front end than the others. I wouldn't expect any cheap portable to be able to deftly handle all the signal coming from the very large antenna being used. Especially since he's just a couple of miles from all the TV & FM antenna farms in the West Hills.

(Edited for clarity and added info)
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[DickH]

Thanks for the link. Very interesting video.
I must be in a good spot for VHF since there is no indication of RF overloading. I am very near 122nd & Stark in a 2nd floor apartment.
Here is what I am hearing on my Baofeng UV-82, most with good quieting, using the supplied rubber duck antenna..
Yamhill county Fire Dispatch - 453.8375.
Columbia county Dispatch - 154.130.
Skamania county Fire Dispatch - 460.625.
Cowlitz county Dispatch - 154.235.
Clark county, Vancouver Dispatch - 154.07.
All of the Clackamas county Hi Band PD & FD freqs. in the 154 & 155 range.

 

[n1yw]

be careful you don't get yourself in trouble with that little thing.
i have the UV-82L and it will TX all over the place !!!

 

[DickH]

be careful you don't get yourself in trouble with that little thing.
i have the UV-82L and it will TX all over the place !!!

You can disable the transmitter on all or individual channels in the CHIRP program. Change the DUPLEX column to OFF.

To change the entire DUPLEX column:
1. Click any row to highlight it.
2. Click CTRL A to highlight all rows.
3. Click PROPERTIES, a MEMORY PROP window opens.
4. Tick the box at DUPLEX, change to OFF.
5. Click OK.

 

[n1yw]

nice to know.
they should be shipped with the TX disabled and be user enabled
i can TX 420-450 and 144-147 legaly
some one not in the know could really mess up the police/fire/ems trying to do their job.
FCC and local hams getting their repeaters keyed up wouldn't be too happy....

 

[sparklehorse]

nice to know.
they should be shipped with the TX disabled and be user enabled
i can TX 420-450 and 144-147 legaly
some one not in the know could really mess up the police/fire/ems trying to do their job.
FCC and local hams getting their repeaters keyed up wouldn't be too happy....

Yeah, a few months ago I heard the dispatcher for the Salem Police chiding a couple of kids for keying up on their frequency and spouting some nonsense. The female dispatcher spoke in a very stern voice while reading from (I think) a prepared script about how the FCC would track the offenders down very quickly and arrest them if they did not stop immediately. I never heard another peep out of those kids. That was the first time in all the years I've been monitoring that I've heard something like that. I suppose they might have gotten hold of dad's service HT or something, but I think it was more likely a Baofeng or other Chinese radio. They would have to have known something about programming though, and repeater inputs and PL tones. Not impossible for an eleven or twelve year-old.

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[sparklehorse]

Thanks for the link. Very interesting video.
I must be in a good spot for VHF since there is no indication of RF overloading. I am very near 122nd & Stark in a 2nd floor apartment.
Here is what I am hearing on my Baofeng UV-82, most with good quieting, using the supplied rubber duck antenna..
Yamhill county Fire Dispatch - 453.8375.
Columbia county Dispatch - 154.130.
Skamania county Fire Dispatch - 460.625.
Cowlitz county Dispatch - 154.235.
Clark county, Vancouver Dispatch - 154.07.
All of the Clackamas county Hi Band PD & FD freqs. in the 154 & 155 range.

That is pretty good for a stock duck. You might be able to pick up some of Marion County's fire channels from your location too. They're quite busy and have a pretty good system.

You said earlier you were recuperating. Hope everything's OK.

.

 

[W8RMH]

nice to know.
they should be shipped with the TX disabled and be user enabled
i can TX 420-450 and 144-147 legaly
some one not in the know could really mess up the police/fire/ems trying to do their job.
FCC and local hams getting their repeaters keyed up wouldn't be too happy....

Since they have started selling these radios there has been a sharp increase in unauthorized transmissions and interference on public safety as well as amateur frequencies.

 

[KK4TTR]

I like the scan function on the UV-B5, i do get some intermod near towers. The scan function scans memory or vfo. very nice when there's not much traffic, I can scan programmed memory very quickly.

haven't tried programming them for out of band freq

just ordered 2 more at $24/ea to replace a couple that didn't survive the drop test or take it apart to see how it works test.

 

[gewecke]

True, the import talkies make cheap scanners if you don't mind the slow scan rates ... also good for company radio when working around industrial shops where they get damaged. 73, n9zas

 

[DickH]

True, the import talkies make cheap scanners if you don't mind the slow scan rates ...

Scanning 10 channels in about 3 seconds is not so slow. And show me a scanner that can run for 18 hours on a single charge.

 

[gewecke]

Scanning 10 channels in about 3 seconds is not so slow. And show me a scanner that can run for 18 hours on a single charge.

. I suppose maybe not, but then I'm use to scan rates of 60 - 100cps . I don't have portable scanners per say but I do use my vx6 as a scanner at times and it scans pretty quick for a ham talkie, even quicker than some of my commercial radios. 73, n9zas

 

[Archie]

Reply

How difficult is it for a low tech savvy person to program these radios??? ( to receive ONLY of course)

These must be the ones bought and used by many NYPD guys with their own money.

Can't believe they are so cheap in price!!!!


Many Thanks

 

[sparklehorse]

How difficult is it for a low tech savvy person to program these radios??? ( to receive ONLY of course).

I guess that depends on your definition of "a low tech savvy person". You can certainly program them from the keypad if you're not computer savvy. Tedious, but doable. Either way, programming them is not exactly intuitive, but some understanding of radio basics, repeater offsets, PL tones, etc, will go a long way. You can find plenty of programming help online to help with the details. If you are programming using a PC, the free Chirp software works OK. I've found paying the money for the RT Systems programming software, complete with their proprietary USB programming cable, to be well-worth the money though. It's very good software, and the cable is bulletproof. I've had trouble with other cables when programming the Chinese HTs.

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[DickH]

I guess that depends on your definition of "a low tech savvy person". You can certainly program them from the keypad if you're not computer savvy. Tedious, but doable. Either way, programming them is not exactly intuitive, but some understanding of radio basics, repeater offsets, PL tones, etc, will go a long way. You can find plenty of programming help online to help with the details. If you are programming using a PC, the free Chirp software works OK. I've found paying the money for the RT Systems programming software, complete with their proprietary USB programming cable, to be well-worth the money though. It's very good software, and the cable is bulletproof. I've had trouble with other cables when programming the Chinese HTs.

For what he wants to do he doesn't need to know about radio basics and repeater offsets. PL tones, maybe.

Archie. If you want to try a Baofeng UV-82, I have all the steps written down on how to use the free CHIRP programming software. If you order it on Amazon be sure to get the combination offering that includes the programming cable.
If you want to send me an e-mail click on my name up next to the picture.

 

[nd5y]

You can't program receive only memories in a Baofeng from the keypad. You have to use programming software.

 

[rylvir]

sparklehorse & KK4TTR:
Have either of you noticed if your Baofeng UV-B5 handle reverse burst CTCSS properly? That has been the only drawback to my BF-F8+ (UV-5R) Those squelch tails on NFM are louder than the voice transmission.

 

[nd5y]

As far as I know none of the Baofeng hand helds are capable of normal CTCSS pase shift reverse burst on transmit or receive.
For some reason they chose use a 55 Hz tone instead.
DCS is different. They use the normal 134.4 HZ DCS turnoff code like other manufacturers.

 

[DickH]

That is pretty good for a stock duck. You might be able to pick up some of Marion County's fire channels from your location too. They're quite busy and have a pretty good system.

You said earlier you were recuperating. Hope everything's OK.

It will be a long, slow road back - maybe.

I finally put in the Marion county dispatch freqs. Central 1 & South 1 come in OK, but North 1 is very noisy - pretty much unreadable. Thanks for the tip.