Looking at purchasing this radio...thoughts? Price point is good but is it too good?
Thanks in advance for all feedback...
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk
Thanks in advance for all feedback...
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk
Baofeng UV-82HP - thoughts for Storm Spotter use?
- Thread starter TommyRox
- Start date
- Status
n5ims
Member
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2004
- Messages
- 3,993
It will work fine for monitoring the SkyWarn nets. As any handheld, it will most likely be hit-or-miss when transmitting unless you're really close to the repeater or one of the remote voting receivers. It's pretty easy to tell who is using a handheld and who is using a base/mobile radio. The handhelds are generally met with this response from the net control station, "You're not quite making it, please increase power or improve your location". Basically it's the attached antenna that's the issue. It starts out as a not very good antenna and the weird angles it is in while transmitting only makes the issue worse (not to mention the low height).
I have been involved with spotting for over 25 years. By far the best radios have been my EF Johnson 5100, followed by the Motorola XTS3000. I have been able to reach the repeater at times when even a good ham HT could not. For shorter distances or clear conditions, the UV-82 should be ok. I also have the UV-82, and it has a much less sensitive receiver. In actual use last week, the UV-82 could not hear the repeater where the 5100 was full quieting.
Last edited:
N5IMS is right on. One thing I would do is purchase a quarter wave mag mount. This will greatly improve transmit and receive. If you are storm spotting or chasing in your area take the time to go out and learn the distance limitations of your setup. The cheap radios aren't Icoms or Yaesu's but for the price I consider it a good alternative.
I think you will find yourself wanting a mobile with at least 50 watts after a while, especially for storm spotting. I have a dual band Icom and having the ability to receive two frequencies at once is great out in the field. Whether your monitoring WX on one side and a weather net on the other or monitoring a chase frequencies it has proved itself as a great option.
I think you will find yourself wanting a mobile with at least 50 watts after a while, especially for storm spotting. I have a dual band Icom and having the ability to receive two frequencies at once is great out in the field. Whether your monitoring WX on one side and a weather net on the other or monitoring a chase frequencies it has proved itself as a great option.
Last edited:
N5TWB
Member
Ditto to N5IMS and frazpo's comments!! Commenting from the perspective of a Net Control Operator at the Skywarn position at the local NWS office, I really hate to tell a spotter that he's not getting into the repeater well enough for me to understand the report. I want the spotters to know they're appreciated for what they do and their reports on severe weather conditions do matter. We use a very good UHF linked system that has local repeaters throughout NE OK so it's just a shame that some spotters handicap themselves on the ability to access the system effectively. A handheld radio is convenient and useful for lots of things but high reliability for critical communications is not one of those things. Nothing moves messages like wattage (and a permanently-mounted effective antenna)!
rapidcharger
Member
Ask yourself, is this something that lives possibly depend on?
It might seem like a bargain now but look at long term. It's a throw away radio. Resale value?
sent via tapatalk on a mobile device.
It might seem like a bargain now but look at long term. It's a throw away radio. Resale value?
sent via tapatalk on a mobile device.
It's not a bargain if you have to buy two to three times the cost in accessories to use it effectively; I would seriously consider looking into a mobile radio with the same band capabilities and use that. It will end up costing about the same either way.
W8RMH
Feed Provider Since 2012
A quality mobile radio is better. The extra wattage will assure you getting through the electrical conditions created by the storm systems.
I have used 5 watt handhelds which work well during normal conditions but their performance was poor during storm activity.
I have used 5 watt handhelds which work well during normal conditions but their performance was poor during storm activity.
k6cpo
Member
The Baofeng (and Wouxun) radios are notoriously difficult to manually program because they're very basic no-frills radios. (That's how they maintain the low price point.) More costly radios have a lot of the programming steps built into the radio's firmware. In addition, there have been thousands of instances of problems with cables, drivers and programming software for these radios.
In my estimation, they are just not worth the aggravation. That said, I have a Baofeng, but I didn't buy it. I won it as a prize in a raffle at a club meeting. I managed to get it programmed, but now it just sits collecting dust. Someday I may give it to a deserving new ham...
In my estimation, they are just not worth the aggravation. That said, I have a Baofeng, but I didn't buy it. I won it as a prize in a raffle at a club meeting. I managed to get it programmed, but now it just sits collecting dust. Someday I may give it to a deserving new ham...
Not always the case; we hams in the US have gotten spoiled with the automatic repeater split features of our radios, and tend to forget that feature isn't available in other markets. And most of the problems with the cables can be boiled down to them using cheap connectors and counterfeit Prolific USB chips, which force folks to use older drivers and disable driver updating on later versions of Windows.
k6cpo
Member
Maybe so, but I know I probably would not have bought a Baofeng for myself if I hadn't won the one I have. I bought the Wouxun because I needed a Part 90 radio for train operations at a railroad museum and I wasn't going to spend $200-$700 on a Motorola HT that I would only use once every three to six months.
I would opt for a radio with GPS location and APRS if I were storm spotting...but, as said above, there is nothing like a mobile radio with a good ground plane antenna when you're out in a storm. Ultimate setup would be an excellent HT like a Yaesu VX-8DR or Icom ID51A+ with a mobile that could crossband repeat and APRS digipeat for you.
Yes, and those radios are probably some of the most expensive models available, unless you can find a deal on an older one. I have a TM-D710A Kenwood that will eventually be part of my go kit, even though my HF radio also does 2 meters and 70 centimeters for that reason.
By the time you add the GPS receiver to the VX-8DR, the price is over $450. Compared to the VX-8DR, there are better APRS handhelds (Kenwood TH-D72) and there are less expensive APRS handhelds (Kenwood TH-D72 and Yaesu FT-1DR). The only features that set the VX-8DR apart are 6m and 222 MHz transceive (though it's only 1.5 watts on 222 MHz).
The ID-51A+ would be useful if the OP's spotting network is using D-Star. It doesn't do APRS over the air.
At around $150-160, it would be hard to beat a Yaesu FT-60 for an all-around analog handheld.
And, if the solution is a handheld plus a mobile to cross-band repeat and digipeat, I think I'd opt for the mobile first.
Great feedback...gives me good insight on the equipment side. Thanks for the replies!
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk
danesgs
Member
UV-82HP
This radio is part 90. BTW it runs 8 watts not 4 or 5 like the other Chinese brands. I recently got one cause i did not want to spend for a mobile and hit a repeater in Arlington VA I never could before from Ft. Belvoir. yes to a mobile being a better choice but i read the review on this one and its worth it if nothing other than a serious backup while in the mobile,. It gets out.
This radio is part 90. BTW it runs 8 watts not 4 or 5 like the other Chinese brands. I recently got one cause i did not want to spend for a mobile and hit a repeater in Arlington VA I never could before from Ft. Belvoir. yes to a mobile being a better choice but i read the review on this one and its worth it if nothing other than a serious backup while in the mobile,. It gets out.
5W = 36.9897dbm
8W = 39.0309dbm
One S unit on a calibrated radio, 6dbm.
So "gets out" means half an S unit. No. If 5W won't do it, 8W won't either. If using the same antenna, same location, same everything, except one radio is 5W and the other 8W, you would not be able to tell the difference.
If it works for you, that's great. But it's not because it's 8W.
It's funny you say "the other chinese brands", as if Baofeng is special. BTW, I have two Beofengs, I have nothing against them, they work fine for an HT, but they have other limitations. The battery life is fine on them, but they go from "full charge" on the meter to dead within hours, so that alone would not make me want to rely on them in an emergency. I can only imagine they're not as robust to be dropped, are not in any way water resistant, and none of them can be powered externally except via 'battery eliminators" which often are very noisy (RF).
Anyway. It's a fine HT, but if you're serious about relying on it, it's probably best to think about investing in a better one. Plus with another HT, that's more to listen to at once.
danesgs
Member
Baofeng VU-82 HP
Yes its just another Chinese radio, nothing special but feels better, and IMO is worth the money of all the "throw-away" brands. Serious HT for EMCOMM? absolutely not. I would have liked to be able to afford the Anytone 3318 but at 159.00 SRP its a bit too much. As with any commercial HT or mobile you have to factor in the programming cable and software unless you have a friend who can do that for you. I am just glad to see the big 3 getting some competition these days after all the years of none. Even Alinco is getting with the program.
Yes its just another Chinese radio, nothing special but feels better, and IMO is worth the money of all the "throw-away" brands. Serious HT for EMCOMM? absolutely not. I would have liked to be able to afford the Anytone 3318 but at 159.00 SRP its a bit too much. As with any commercial HT or mobile you have to factor in the programming cable and software unless you have a friend who can do that for you. I am just glad to see the big 3 getting some competition these days after all the years of none. Even Alinco is getting with the program.
NevadaCoyote
Member
KG7JSD
I bought two, Baofeng UV-5B's, my wife and I used them when were camp hosting at Twin Lakes because there weren't any phones. I had a lady camper come up to me and say that her husband was having problems breathing. I called my wife on that little radio and she drove up to our supervisors site and our supervisor called an ambulance. That little radio saved a mans life.
Replacing the rubber duck antenna on these radios will improve them.
They may be little but they are worth the cost. I still have them and use them for local communication at times.
I bought two, Baofeng UV-5B's, my wife and I used them when were camp hosting at Twin Lakes because there weren't any phones. I had a lady camper come up to me and say that her husband was having problems breathing. I called my wife on that little radio and she drove up to our supervisors site and our supervisor called an ambulance. That little radio saved a mans life.
Replacing the rubber duck antenna on these radios will improve them.
They may be little but they are worth the cost. I still have them and use them for local communication at times.
- Status
