Hello Everyone! Newbie needs help and encouragement

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Rmerks

Newbie
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Sep 25, 2021
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3
Location
NW CO
So I am totally new to armature radio and am currently studying for my license. I bought a Baofeng 5rv2+ radio, hoping to at least listen in on emergency calls. But I am really struggling with how to program it and enter the frequencies. I have the standard antenna and a longer whip antenna. I live in a small very remote town, but we do have 1 repeater here. I have been doing so much reading that my mind is spinning and I am almost ready to give up on the whole thing.

Do I need to program in the repeater before I can listen in or is that just to transmit?
If I do need to program it in the how would I do that? Using fake number as ex. (888.46250)
The offset is -5.0 MHz but my radio does not have that frequency setting and I can't manually add it.
It also says it's DMR enabled if that means anything.

Again using a fake frequency as ex. (888.99000) For emergency services how do I enter that? Just drop the last 2 zeros?

I am so sorry for sounding so ignorant about this all, I'm not as savoy on things as a younger person would be.

Thank you in advance for any help you can give.

Rebecca
 

trentbob

W3BUX- Bucks County, PA
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Welcome Rebecca. Don't put the cart in front of the horse. Study for your test on your smartphone... ham radio prep.com it's a good site to use. Once you download it and pay a small fee, it's a great preparation for the technicians test. There are free sites also. Just search. You want to just keep taking practice exams over and over until you see the total pool of about 350 questions LOL.

You're going to use the internet for most of your information, you have to be independent and be able to pretty much answer your own questions and learn the material and you will. Use your favorite search engine and search for all of the 2 meter repeaters in your county and surrounding counties. If you have a scanner and you're only listening, all you have to do is put in the output frequency. You don't want to be getting into things like DMR yet. As far as emergency calls that's not what you're going to hear in ham radio even though there are emergency Nets used for training purposes and preparation.

You also want to join your local amateur radio club, again use the internet. They will offer you a lot of guidance as far as testing and will have a volunteer exam coordinator and you can take the test with your own club.

The whole idea is to pass your exam and get your license. As you get more information while studying for your license, your questions will be answered.

As far as your inexpensive Chinese radio I can't help you there as I don't own one, I'm sure someone here can help you to put in your local VHF and UHF repeaters with the offset. As you know you can listen with no problem... Bob.
 

drdispatch

What's the frequency, Kenneth?
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Fightin' River, Michigan
Welcome, Rebecca!

I second everything that trentbob said; the internet is your friend.
As far as the radio, I can't help you with that either, but if it didn't come with an owner's manual, (or at least not an English one), check the internet for that, too.

And remember this: We were all new once....
 

jwt873

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Woodlands, Manitoba
Just a couple of tips..

First off, you need to know what to listen to and what's available in your area. RadioReference is a great resource for this. This link shows what's available in CO -> Colorado Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference

Also, apart from the general internet, YouTube has a lot of good info.. Open YouTube, search for "Programing UV5R".. Lot of good videos walking you through what you need to do in order to program the radio.

And
 

nd5y

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Wichita Falls, TX
I would advise against using YouTube for learning anything about ham radio.
Most radio related content is garbage made by content producers with little knowledge of anything except how to monitize YouTube channels. If you are a newbie you won't be able to tell the useful information from the BS.
 
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jwt873

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That's true.. YouTube is the 'wild west' with a lot of fluff, and people who just want to hear their own voices. But there are some really good UV5R programing vids.. The trick is finding the good ones out of the ones presented in the search results.
 

Rmerks

Newbie
Joined
Sep 25, 2021
Messages
3
Location
NW CO
Thank you everyone for the advice. Looks like whats being said is that I just need to study for the test and that in turn will help me understand my radio better. None of the info in the manual really makes any sense to me and tell you guys what, The internet has not been my friend. The more I look into it the more confused I get LOL.

I have a couple of free sites saved to help me study and they seem to be pretty good (I think) as I know nothing.

Thanks @trentbob for the info on the ham radio prep.com I'll check out that one to.

@jwt873 Have searched that site and the only frequencies in my area are for emergency services and it seems that my radio is a ham only that will not pick up those.

@nd5y Thank you for the link to the manual online. It's not quite for my radio but most things are similar and easier to read than the super tiny print manual that came with it.

Again thanks for all of everyone's input.

Rebecca
 

alcahuete

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Antelope Acres, California
@jwt873 Have searched that site and the only frequencies in my area are for emergency services and it seems that my radio is a ham only that will not pick up those.

That is likely correct. The Baofeng is a ham radio, not a scanner, regardless of how some places market the radio. It is analog only, and limited to UHF (400-480MHz or so). If you're trying to listen to something in the 800 MHz range, it's not going to happen with this radio.
 

Rmerks

Newbie
Joined
Sep 25, 2021
Messages
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Location
NW CO
That is likely correct. The Baofeng is a ham radio, not a scanner, regardless of how some places market the radio. It is analog only, and limited to UHF (400-480MHz or so). If you're trying to listen to something in the 800 MHz range, it's not going to happen with this radio.
Mine is both VHF and UHF I only have one repeater in my area and it says it's DMR enabled It's frequency is in the 445-440 range. Not sure if that makes a difference.
 

SmitHans

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Oct 12, 2009
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Location
Arizona, USA/Sonora, MEX
... I just need to study for the test and that in turn will help me understand my radio better. ...

This is exactly right. Too many people buy a radio without knowing anything about it, & I am convinced that just serves to add to any confusion. It's like buying an airplane then asking about all the controls without ever having taken flight lessons. Study for & get your license - alot of your questions will be answered in that process.

@jwt873 Have searched that site and the only frequencies in my area are for emergency services and it seems that my radio is a ham only that will not pick up those. [Quote}

Your radio should pick up public service radio between 136 - 174 MHz & 400 - 512 MHZ. It will not pick up emergency services outside of those frequencies. It will not pick them up if they are encrypted, digital, or on a trunked system. It will not pick them up if they are too far away. Your radio is a portable, which doesn't have nearly the range of a base station or mobile with an external antenna.

If you want to listen to emergency services, find out what frequencies they are on, what mode, & if they are encrypted. Only then will you know what equipment to get, or if you should even bother.
 

alcahuete

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Antelope Acres, California
Mine is both VHF and UHF I only have one repeater in my area and it says it's DMR enabled It's frequency is in the 445-440 range. Not sure if that makes a difference.

Sorry, it is VHF and UHF. I was thinking of a different radio for some unknown reason. :)

Your radio will pick up the frequency for that repeater, however, that radio is analog only, if I recall. You will not be able to pick up DMR or any other digital mode.
 

bharvey2

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Mar 12, 2014
Messages
1,842
Welcome to the radio hobby Rebecca. Don't fret too much about not knowing too much. Everyone has to start somewhere.

While the Baofeng 5R radio tends to be a popular starter radio, it is pretty limited in it's ability to monitor most of the newer public service radio systems. It will work to some degree if those systems are VHF or UHF analog systems between 136 - 174 MHz & 400 - 512 MHZ. Digital systems like P25, DMR and NXDN and or/700 or 800mhz systems are out of reach of that radio.

The first step would be to find out what area you would like to monitor and determine whether your radio is capable of receiving those system's transmissions. jwt873 included a link from this site's database. Chose your county from the map and then select the appropriate system. If the frequencies fall within the Baofeng's range and are analog, your off to a good start.

If you're computer savvy, you can obtain a programming cable for your radio and use a free program called CHIRP or the software dedicated to your radio. For monitoring, you only need to concern yourself with entering the desired frequency in the receive column of your radio software. You don't want those values in your transmit column or you could accidentally transmit and you REALLY don't want that to happen.

All that being said, you being in a remote area could advantageous in that the public service system is a small, analog one within the frequency range of your radio. The down side of that may be that being in a remote area may inhibit your ability to receive signals on a handheld radio. You may need to program your radio and then bring it in to the nearest town to try to monitor. I hope this has been helpful.
 

W5GX

Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2018
Messages
116
So I am totally new to armature radio and am currently studying for my license. I bought a Baofeng 5rv2+ radio, hoping to at least listen in on emergency calls. But I am really struggling with how to program it and enter the frequencies. I have the standard antenna and a longer whip antenna. I live in a small very remote town, but we do have 1 repeater here. I have been doing so much reading that my mind is spinning and I am almost ready to give up on the whole thing.

Do I need to program in the repeater before I can listen in or is that just to transmit?
If I do need to program it in the how would I do that? Using fake number as ex. (888.46250)
The offset is -5.0 MHz but my radio does not have that frequency setting and I can't manually add it.
It also says it's DMR enabled if that means anything.

Again using a fake frequency as ex. (888.99000) For emergency services how do I enter that? Just drop the last 2 zeros?

I am so sorry for sounding so ignorant about this all, I'm not as savoy on things as a younger person would be.

Thank you in advance for any help you can give.

Rebecca

Checkout miklor.com, they're a great resource for Baofengs and other CCR (Cheap Chinese Radios). There may be a little more than you need now, but their resources are definitely great supplements to the original manual.

In the YouTube world, I do like Josh Nass with hamradiocrashcourse.com. Yes, he monetizes. Yes, he tries to hustle in the hobby. But he's not wrong with a lot of his technical tutorials - and he's partial to the Baofeng family of radios. He knows they're a "gateway drug". :D

There are several smart phone apps for free that just give you random tests. You can register for some so they track progress.

Double check your radio model, as I'm not sure that one is DMR capable - DMR and conventional analog radios use different technologies, so you want to be clear on your radio's capabilities first.
 

ladn

Explorer of the Frequency Spectrum
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Oct 25, 2008
Messages
1,284
Location
Southern California and sometimes Owens Valley
Mine is both VHF and UHF I only have one repeater in my area and it says it's DMR enabled It's frequency is in the 445-440 range. Not sure if that makes a difference.
Welcome, Rebecca!

Your Baofeng is an analog radio and DMR is a digital format. DMR will sound like a machine gun on your radio. As others have mentioned, Miklor is a great resource for CCR information. Don't forget to download the CHIRP programming software. It will make programming your radio a lot easier.

As for ham radio training, I'll recommend my friend, Dave Casler's (KE0OG) videos. Dave has an extensive selection of technician level training videos and other topics on his YouTube channel. He lives in the Montrose area.

In addition to whatever ham repeaters may be in your area on VHF or UHF, you should program in 146.520, which is the national "simplex" (radio to radio) amateur frequency. You may also be able to monitor the US Forest Service (USFS) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) frequencies in your area as they are mostly conventional VHF high band.

73!
 

Firekite

Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2019
Messages
471
As for ham radio training, I'll recommend my friend, Dave Casler's (KE0OG) videos. Dave has an extensive selection of technician level training videos and other topics on his YouTube channel. He lives in the Montrose area.
100%. He’s legitimately one of the best resources in the entire amateur radio community.
 
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