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Baofeng UV-5R scanning
- Thread starter kiwi_den
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OH boy, that is a tough one. I am not sure what you mean. First, Baofengs are not scanners if that is what you mean. Channels? have you programmed frequencies into memory [aka channels] or are you trying to scan in VFO. Please, please, provide a lot more information. Start with radio/scanner you are using and what channels/frequencies you are trying to "scan". Also, what country are you in? KIWI may imply New Zealand so this may change the proper use of a Baofeng or scanner or channels or frequencies.
With the information you've provided, there are only two possible answers.
1. You're doing something wrong
2. The radio is faulty
1. You're doing something wrong
2. The radio is faulty
I'm a total noob when it comes to ham radio. I was thinking of buying Baofeng UV-5R to try to listen ambulance, fire dept. police and from what I've seen on the videos you have to know their exact frequency and program it using PC. So it can't search frequencies on it's own like usual radio?
Also is NooElec RTL-SDR, FM+DAB better?
Also is NooElec RTL-SDR, FM+DAB better?
nd5y
Member
Baofeng radios only scan/search 3 channels per second. That's way too slow to be useful for searching.
The upper and lower search limits are not keyboard programmable.
If you want to search for unknown signals then a SDR dongle would be better.
The upper and lower search limits are not keyboard programmable.
If you want to search for unknown signals then a SDR dongle would be better.
Ham radio (or more properly amateur radio) involves transmitting. In order to do so legally, you need to obtain a license and a unique call sign from your local government. By international agreement, there are standards which must be met, so there are exams.
If you're just listening, then you're 'scanning'.
The cheap Baofengs are transmitters that cover the VHF and UHF ham radio bands. That's what they were designed for. As nd5y points out, for scanning, they aren't a good choice. The only reason they are so popular for scanning is that they're so inexpensive.
I'd go for the dongle..
If you're just listening, then you're 'scanning'.
The cheap Baofengs are transmitters that cover the VHF and UHF ham radio bands. That's what they were designed for. As nd5y points out, for scanning, they aren't a good choice. The only reason they are so popular for scanning is that they're so inexpensive.
I'd go for the dongle..
Last edited:
KC4RAF
Member
SDR dongles are by far the best choice.
The Baofeng transceivers just don't scan fast enough, nor the usual frequencies you're after.
The Baofeng transceivers just don't scan fast enough, nor the usual frequencies you're after.
12dbsinad
Member
- Joined
- Mar 15, 2010
- Messages
- 1,953
They work OK if you are only planning on scanning a half dozen channels or so. Any more than that it becomes painfully slow like the others stated. I would consider upping the bar a little bit if you want to scan. Plus you would get into the ability to add and delete channels from the front panel, which is VERY useful.
OK thanks for the info, guys! I'll probably go for a dongle.
Do you have any recommendations?
12dbsinad
Member
- Joined
- Mar 15, 2010
- Messages
- 1,953
If your only intention is to scan and you aren't going to actually transmit, get your ham license, etc, than a dongle would be your best bet. I'm not sure what your area has for systems, but a cheap ham radio like these will only do conventional analog. If you have any digital systems you are out of luck. The dongle on the other hand will open you up to all kinds of possibilities.
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