Amateur Radio Options

[srbecker58]

I have a thread going in another section here and I was told my choice of radio was basically trash, so I am here to seek the guidance of you guys/girls that know WAY more than I do.

I purchased a B-Tech UV-5X3 to be used for backup communications in the case of an emergency such as a natural disaster, SHTF situation, or lack of cell phone service in hunting/camping situations. I understand the B-techs/beofangs are cheap aka CCR or Cheap Chinese Radios, but that was kinda my intent for just getting into radios. I am now 2nd guessing my purchase.

So, my uses are:
- Camping/Hunting loss of cell service and need communication (likely a standard FRS/GMRS walkie talkie would suffice here)
- SHTF scenario where maybe the power grid goes down or some crazy stuff happens with the government. Highly unlikely, but having a back up would be nice
- natural disaster that takes out power and/or cell towers

About me:
- I am unsure currently if I want to pursue my Amateur Ham license or not. I will if I have to but not letting that determine my radio choice
- budget I would like to stick with is maybe $220 and lower
- I know that multi function units likely mean they are not the best at either function such as communication and scanning, but I would like the unit to be able to be programed with my local PD/FD as well as maybe some repeaters so that if/when there was a real emergency, I could at least hit a repeater that people are likely listening to.

Based on this information:
1. Are there any radios that you can recommend or at least brands that are decent?
2. Am I ignorant/misinformed to be looking at an Amateur handheld vs just a standard GMRS/MURS?
3. Even if I dont plan to make this a hobby, do you still recommend I pursue my technician license?

Any other advice?

Thank you!

 

[jhooten]

Any other advice?

Besides stop listening to idiots, fools and brand snobs?

Are CCRs **** radios? Yes they are. That does not mean they don't have value. I have "real" name brand radios. I also have a UV5 and a UV3. Came very close to watching the UV3 wash down a storm drain working an event in a monsoon. I'd probably cry if one of the good radios fell over the side of the boat. If one of the CCRs goes over the side no great loss, amazon will have another here in a couple days.

I don't put all my eggs in one basket. I've been a licensed amateur for well over three decades with equipment to make signals from 160 meters to 23 cm. I also have CB, MURS, FRS radios for my own use and enough to lend out if the need arises.

By all means go for your license. Find a group with like interest and have fun.

 

[srbecker58]

Great! At least a little positive lol. Would you suggest I keep my 5X3 for now then? Learn on it and upgrade when I know what I really want or is there something else/better I should look at 1st?

 

[jhooten]

Great! At least a little positive lol. Would you suggest I keep my 5X3 for now then? Learn on it and upgrade when I know what I really want or is there something else/better I should look at 1st?

Keep it. Even when you get a better radio keep it. It is paid for and it only takes a few pennies worth of electric to keep it ready to go. You never know when you will need a backup.

 

[chief21]

Even if I dont plan to make this a hobby, do you still recommend I pursue my technician license?

By all means! The Technician test is easy enough... just requires some study to familiarize amateur terms, FCC rules, and a little basic radio knowledge. The main thing a ham license gets you is legal access to many frequencies and bands. And since there are so many different aspects to the hobby, you just might find something of continuing interest.

 

[jwt873]

A 5W handheld can be handy for camping etc. But, I wouldn't count on a $60 walkie talkie with a range of perhaps 3 miles to serve me in any sort of emergency. (I don't believe the UV-5X3 is certified for FRS/GMRS. If it isn't, it can't really be used legally without a ham license).

If you're serious about amateur radio emergency communications during widespread emergencies, you should be looking at HF. Most amateur communications for major events (hurricanes, earthquakes etc) take place on HF. For example ---> Caribbean Emergency Weather Network Handling High Volume of Post-Storm Traffic .. With HF, you'll have access to interstate (or even international communications) and won't be limited to a couple of miles as you would with a VHF/UHF hand held.

As I type this, the sun is up.. HF conditions on 20 Meters are pretty good.. I have an HF radio in my vehicle. I can run out to my Jeep right now and reach California, Texas or New York. That's what you want to be able to do during a serious emergency,

Other than that, a satellite phone would be something to consider if you really want to be prepared for a SHTF event.

 

[srbecker58]

Interesting information there, thank you!!!

 

[bharvey2]

A lot depends upon who you intend to communicate with. If it's between you and close family members who will be in fairly close proximity to you, a few CCR handhelds might be fine. If you are looking for reliable communications with "the outside world" during a SHTF event, I wouldn't depend upon ham or GMRS infrastructure. Simplex or point to point communications may be more reliable but no more so that the person on the other end of the mic. Who knows who that is going to be? Don't get me wrong, radios can be an invaluable tool in an emergency but they are just that. You need to make sure that your choice is the right tool for the job. For that, you need to clearly define the problem you're trying to solve before picking the tool you intend to use to solve it. That being said, with whom do you intend to communicate? How far way will they be? What is your and their skill set and willingness to learn what you need to learn to operate successfully under adverse conditions? Maybe, if you're just looking to get help if you find yourself alone and hurt away from civilization, a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) or satellite phone might suit your needs.

 

[mmckenna]

So, my uses are:
- Camping/Hunting loss of cell service and need communication (likely a standard FRS/GMRS walkie talkie would suffice here)
- SHTF scenario where maybe the power grid goes down or some crazy stuff happens with the government. Highly unlikely, but having a back up would be nice
- natural disaster that takes out power and/or cell towers

It's really hard for anyone to give you a solid answer without knowing who it is you want to talk to.

About me:
- I am unsure currently if I want to pursue my Amateur Ham license or not. I will if I have to but not letting that determine my radio choice
- budget I would like to stick with is maybe $220 and lower

Your decision is going to depend on what it is you want to do with the radio. A radio that is going to do 'everything' is going to be way outside your budget. Radio choice has a lot to do with what you want to use it for, who you want to talk to, and what you are licensed for. You are putting the cart ahead of the horse. Buying a radio should be one of your last steps, not the first.

- I know that multi function units likely mean they are not the best at either function such as communication and scanning, but I would like the unit to be able to be programed with my local PD/FD as well as maybe some repeaters so that if/when there was a real emergency, I could at least hit a repeater that people are likely listening to.

I think you are talking about two different things here….
Listening to PD/FD is going to depend on exactly where you are. The frequencies used by these agencies will need to be known, not all radios will cover everything. This is why I recommended a scanner. Best bang for your buck for listening to local agencies. You also need to know if they are digital, what type of digital, if they are on a trunked system, if you are actually in range of their system, etc.


And by 'hit a repeater', we'd need to know which repeaters. Is it ham or GMRS? That will dictate what kind of radio you want. No point in buying an amateur radio if you don't plan on getting your license. If GMRS is where you intend to transmit, then that will dictate which radio you need. Hopefully you didn't mean talking on the PD or Fire repeaters, that's not legal or advised, even in emergencies.

Based on this information:
1. Are there any radios that you can recommend or at least brands that are decent?
2. Am I ignorant/misinformed to be looking at an Amateur handheld vs just a standard GMRS/MURS?
3. Even if I dont plan to make this a hobby, do you still recommend I pursue my technician license?

Still not enough information for anyone to make a good recommendation for you. There's a lot of details involved.

If you are looking to just communicate between your own family or nearby neighbors, the GMRS is a great option.

If you are looking to make random contacts with others, then ham radio is a great option.

And don't overlook things like CB or MURS.

So, maybe us asking questions would help:

Who do you want to talk to? Be specific. Family? Friends? Neighbors? Random people? That will help us answer your request about what kind of radio service you are looking for.

And looking at Erie County, you are going to be better off with a dedicated scanner for listening to local agencies. Looks like your city has mostly UHF, with some analog and some P25. P25 is going to rule out any of the low cost radios or ham radios. That's going to need a scanner capable of P25.

 

[SA4MDN]

and you aint gonna be able to TX on any ham band legally till you do get your ham ticket

 

[jwt873]

IAnd by 'hit a repeater', we'd need to know which repeaters. Is it ham or GMRS? That will dictate what kind of radio you want.

And one more note on repeaters.. You may have many ham or GMRS repeaters in your area, but how many have emergency standby power and how long will the standby power last should there be a protracted power outage? Something to consider when preparing for an emergency situation.

 

[danesgs]

I would take a step up without selling the farm and buy an Anytone UV778 Mobile. Reason: easy to use and program, 200 channels, color display, small enough to fit about anywhere. 25 watts out which will get you down the road farther than a 5 watt HT. Been running mine as a base for 2 years without a failure. Around 119.00 on Amazon. Get you tech ticket even if you never use it. It lasts for 10 years, longer than you will have the radio(s)

KJ4DGE

 

[k7ng]

1. Get a ham license. Even if you hardly ever use it, it's still an option. Who knows, in a pinch you might need to use someone else's (ham) radio and that someone else might not want you doing so if you weren't suitably licensed.

1b. Same for a GMRS license.

2. Handheld radios hear a lot better than they talk. Getting a 'kerchunk' back from a repeater across the county with an HT isn't necessarily 'hitting' it, because it may very well be that voice communications would still be unintelligible. Trust me on this. So don't pour all your expectations into one portable radio, whether cheap or gold-over-silver with filligree.

3. HT's aren't scanners, and scanners aren't HT's. An HT may scan, but while it's doing so, you don't have a 2-way radio. Get both. Find out everything you can about the services in your area that you want to monitor (or any other area of interest) and get a scanner that is suitable for those systems. You can spend waaay too much, or not enough, on a scanner depending on who and what you want to hear.

4. Consider situations ranging from minor inconvenience (I stepped on my cellphone) to SHTF... Are you planning to have your HT and your scanner with you at all times? Would you be able to cover more possibilities with, say, a properly-installed mobile radio setup AND an HT, or INSTEAD of an HT? Or a base-station setup? Or all three?

5. Do you have a radio budget set allocated?

6. Do you know anybody in your area who has radios and uses them? Have you talked to them on the subject?

Do the above sound similar to things that have been posted on this thread before?

 

[srbecker58]

Wow, so many great responses here!!! I appreciate everyone's direction and input and I have really learned a lot in the last 2 days in regards to just how broad my questions really were, hence the difficulty in answering them. To try and put most of this to rest, I will do my best to answer most of the questions but more in broad terms.

1. After reading and really looking at what I plan to use my radio(s) for, I have determined, at least for the time being to go with my GMRS license and only my GMRS license for now. I dont plan to, at least not yet to make this a hobby or get intrinsically involved with HAM. I might as well start small and easy.

2. I came to that conclusion by taking a deeper look at the type of communications I will likely be doing. I plan to talk to my family and friends, all locally, while camping, hiking, or even over repeaters which there are a handful of local GMRS repeaters in the area. If I really needed to, I would want to talk to my buddies, who are also local and have GMRS radios, so they will likely also be getting their GMRS licenses and that will allow us to hit those repeaters. I dont need to talk to random people, but the repeaters will at least allow me to talk to some people.

3. As far as my equipment, the Btech UV-5X3 that I already purchased and own will likely stay in my possession for use in the future, as a scanner for most of my local public safety outlets that I already have programmed in, and just as a backup radio. I also decided to purchase a pair of cheap GMRS radios (Radioddity GM-30) to get me started, keep in our camper during camping season to use to communicate with our kids, and also to hit the local repeaters once I have my license. If I find myself enjoying the radios or getting more involved, I can upgrade my radio choice to a nicer GMRS radio OR look at getting my tech license for amateur HAM.

4. I would love to buy a P25 scanner to cover all my local authorities, especially my home town PD, but those are just out of my budget at the moment, so the scanner is on hold. I do however have a scanner my grandfather gave me that I keep at work for fun which picks up all the local authorities near work. So that is fun.

I think that based on everyone's responses and follow up questions, that GMRS is really what makes the most sense for me right now.

 

[AK9R]

Now that you have a path forward worked out, if you have questions about GMRS, please post them in our GMRS forum.

 

[srbecker58]

Will do! Thank you!