I've recently returned from a cruise holiday where 'Ham radios' were on the prohibited list for this particular cruise company. It is their policy that any prohibited item discovered is not only confiscated but destroyed by security. So taking a scanner should be safe, right? Well, I didn't want to take that chance, in case a security staff member couldn't or wouldn't make the distinction between a scanner and a ham radio, even though the difference is obvious to a scanner hobbyist.
I was able to carry out a little bit of listening on board by taking a Baofeng BF-T1. Here's my summary of that experience:
The good:
* Being ultra cheap, if the radio was confiscated, it wouldn't matter. I purchased my BF-T1 for less than USD $17, though that was a few years ago now.
* It's 'toy-like' appearance makes it look harmless - far removed from a 'dangerous' ham radio or scanner.
* Being slim & compact makes this radio easy to use without standing out like a sore thumb. Slip it into your pocket, and used with some earphones, no-one would be the wiser.
* Since the radio is charged by a USB socket, it can be charged just about anywhere without needing a special charging cradle etc. Very handy.
* Even though the BF-T1 is sold as a UHF only walkie talkie, it contains the AT1846S RF transceiver chip, which officially covers 134-174, 200-260 & 400-520 MHz. (the chip will actually go a little wider than that, typically 130-180, 195-280, and 390-550 MHz). A few tricks the programming software will have the radio working on all those frequencies.
* Comparing the BF-T1 with it's built-in (non-removable) antenna against a true designed-from-the-ground-up dual band radio that was fitted with a similar sized UHF only antenna gave very similar results on VHF frequencies. This means the BF-T1 doesn't have any electronics that unduly restricts VHF reception, even though it was designed for UHF only. It's just the tiny UHF antenna that is the limiting factor for VHF reception. And you can partly overcome that by holding the BF-T1 by the antenna using your fingers; your fingers act as a capacitively coupled antenna and enhances VHF reception.
* Of all the cheap walkie talkies using the AT1846S RF transceiver chip, the BF-T1 is one of the fastest scanning radios. It's still fairly slow at about 4 channels a second, but that's a lot better than some other comparable units.
The not so good:
* To use the radio discreetly with earphones needs a custom audio adapter cable be made up.
* The BF-T1 has no field programmable capability, nor any search feature. You are going to be limited to the 20 channels that you must pre-program before leaving home. (interestingly, the radio has enough memory to hold over 100 channels, but for some reason is limited to just 20?)
* There is a design flaw with the BF-T1 that means it's minimum volume is still obnoxiously loud. This can be fixed by the addition of a single resistor inside the radio.
* There is no TX inhibit feature. This can be overcome by programming the TX frequency as 000.000 MHz. The radio will still appear to be trying to transmit on 000.000 MHz, but no RF signal is generated. Still, that might freak out a security officer who is examining the radio, if they decide to take a close look at it. A better solution might be to remove the little metal button 'domes' underneath the PTT so that the radio will never even attempt to transmit.
It's not a perfect solution, but where there is the risk of confiscation - it's quite a usable option.
Am I advocating the BF-T1 be used where scanners are clearly not welcome, for example on board an aircraft or other security sensitive area? No, most definitely not. Just don't go there.
Using the BF-T1, I was able to listen in on the ship's internal UHF communication system, and keep tabs on the VHF marine band as well. There was some interesting listening to be had that I'd otherwise have missed out on.
I was able to carry out a little bit of listening on board by taking a Baofeng BF-T1. Here's my summary of that experience:
The good:
* Being ultra cheap, if the radio was confiscated, it wouldn't matter. I purchased my BF-T1 for less than USD $17, though that was a few years ago now.
* It's 'toy-like' appearance makes it look harmless - far removed from a 'dangerous' ham radio or scanner.
* Being slim & compact makes this radio easy to use without standing out like a sore thumb. Slip it into your pocket, and used with some earphones, no-one would be the wiser.
* Since the radio is charged by a USB socket, it can be charged just about anywhere without needing a special charging cradle etc. Very handy.
* Even though the BF-T1 is sold as a UHF only walkie talkie, it contains the AT1846S RF transceiver chip, which officially covers 134-174, 200-260 & 400-520 MHz. (the chip will actually go a little wider than that, typically 130-180, 195-280, and 390-550 MHz). A few tricks the programming software will have the radio working on all those frequencies.
* Comparing the BF-T1 with it's built-in (non-removable) antenna against a true designed-from-the-ground-up dual band radio that was fitted with a similar sized UHF only antenna gave very similar results on VHF frequencies. This means the BF-T1 doesn't have any electronics that unduly restricts VHF reception, even though it was designed for UHF only. It's just the tiny UHF antenna that is the limiting factor for VHF reception. And you can partly overcome that by holding the BF-T1 by the antenna using your fingers; your fingers act as a capacitively coupled antenna and enhances VHF reception.
* Of all the cheap walkie talkies using the AT1846S RF transceiver chip, the BF-T1 is one of the fastest scanning radios. It's still fairly slow at about 4 channels a second, but that's a lot better than some other comparable units.
The not so good:
* To use the radio discreetly with earphones needs a custom audio adapter cable be made up.
* The BF-T1 has no field programmable capability, nor any search feature. You are going to be limited to the 20 channels that you must pre-program before leaving home. (interestingly, the radio has enough memory to hold over 100 channels, but for some reason is limited to just 20?)
* There is a design flaw with the BF-T1 that means it's minimum volume is still obnoxiously loud. This can be fixed by the addition of a single resistor inside the radio.
* There is no TX inhibit feature. This can be overcome by programming the TX frequency as 000.000 MHz. The radio will still appear to be trying to transmit on 000.000 MHz, but no RF signal is generated. Still, that might freak out a security officer who is examining the radio, if they decide to take a close look at it. A better solution might be to remove the little metal button 'domes' underneath the PTT so that the radio will never even attempt to transmit.
It's not a perfect solution, but where there is the risk of confiscation - it's quite a usable option.
Am I advocating the BF-T1 be used where scanners are clearly not welcome, for example on board an aircraft or other security sensitive area? No, most definitely not. Just don't go there.
Using the BF-T1, I was able to listen in on the ship's internal UHF communication system, and keep tabs on the VHF marine band as well. There was some interesting listening to be had that I'd otherwise have missed out on.
