K6GBW
Off Grid Kid
So, I drive a Subaru Crosstrek and the interior of that car is basically non-radio friendly. I have advocated for remote mount radios with controls in the microphone for a long time now. Unfortunately, despite my cajoling the Japanese big three at all the ham conventions, they have not produced one. Then came Baofeng/BTech...they listened, they made one, and I bought it to test it and find out how it worked.
To begin with this is not a highly technical review. This is a subjective review based on my personal experience. So all you guys that like to use your electronic widgetry to test things and compare microvolts...this probably isn't for you.
I mounted the main unit on a piece of HDPE board and velcroed it under the seat of the car. The power was straight from the battery and grounded to the driver's seat bolt. The antenna was a Comet B10NMO in a permanently installed NMO on the roof. I drove from Los Angeles north through the Owens Valley to Mammoth Lakes CA and attempted to see what kind of radio mischief I could get into along the way.
First contact was on the 210 Freeway where I made contact with a station in Crestline on 146.520. We ended up having a QSO for about 35 minutes with a maximum range of 35 miles. I noticed that the recieve side of this radio has a reviever that doesn't hold lock quite as well as some other radios. There was a fair amount of picket fencing, but when I had a solid signal it was fine. The QSO with the station in Crestline was really very good considering the distance and the poor antenna I was using. The Crestline station said the audio from my radio was good. I also was only running the radio at 25 watts. So, firt test seemed to be a win.
Second QSO was with a station in Mojave through a repeater. Again, this conversation went on for quite some time and he reported that my audio sounded fine. The repeater output was strong and I have no problem receiving him for over 45 miles.
The third QSO was with a station on Lone Pine CA via a repeater in the Alabama Hills of the Eastern Sierras. That station reported my microphone audio was "slightly hot" but otherwise my signal was very good. The repeater was strong and I had no problem holding him for a distance of about 40 miles.
The next QSO was with a station in Bishop CA and again, he reported a strong signal from my radio that was still only at 25 watts. He never remarked on my audio at all so I assume it was good enough that he didn't feel the need to comment. This conversation went on until I headed up the Sherwin grade.
Once in Mammoth Lakes I had a few short QSO's with people in the town on Mammoth Lakes via the repeater on the summit of Mammoth Mountain at an altitude of 13,000 feet. Again all was well and good audio reports.
In the end this radio was choosen more for the fact that it can be mounted into a car with little to no room for a mobile radio and not for the quality of the tranceiver, but as it turned out, this little Baofeng/BTech is actually a fairly decent radio. Is the reciever as good as an Icom 2730A or Yaesu FTM series...no, probably not. But it was adequate and the form factor made it a great fit for my needs.
I should point out that this radio is also programmed via an app that can be put on your phone or a tablet. I choose to use an Android tablet for mine and the programming experience was really pretty darn easy. No cables to worry about and I was able to program about 35 frequencies into the radio in about twenty minuntes. Never having used a radio that can be programmed by app before I was dubious as to it's utility. Now, I think it's brilliant!
In the end, this Chinese radio turned out to be better than I initially thought it would be. The form factor is absolutely what is needed as cars become more compact and have less space going forward. The app programming is absolutely a game changer as far as I'm concerned. If Kenwood, Icom, Yaesu or Alinco would stop producing warmed over radios from the 90's and produce something like this I'm sure it would sell like hotcakes! It's time for the radio world to evolve! While the Baofeng/BTech isn't a perfect radio and can stand some improvements, I applaud the fact that they are willing to take invoative steps while others sit on the sidelines basically doing nothing.
All just my opinon of course, feel free to disagree!
To begin with this is not a highly technical review. This is a subjective review based on my personal experience. So all you guys that like to use your electronic widgetry to test things and compare microvolts...this probably isn't for you.
I mounted the main unit on a piece of HDPE board and velcroed it under the seat of the car. The power was straight from the battery and grounded to the driver's seat bolt. The antenna was a Comet B10NMO in a permanently installed NMO on the roof. I drove from Los Angeles north through the Owens Valley to Mammoth Lakes CA and attempted to see what kind of radio mischief I could get into along the way.
First contact was on the 210 Freeway where I made contact with a station in Crestline on 146.520. We ended up having a QSO for about 35 minutes with a maximum range of 35 miles. I noticed that the recieve side of this radio has a reviever that doesn't hold lock quite as well as some other radios. There was a fair amount of picket fencing, but when I had a solid signal it was fine. The QSO with the station in Crestline was really very good considering the distance and the poor antenna I was using. The Crestline station said the audio from my radio was good. I also was only running the radio at 25 watts. So, firt test seemed to be a win.
Second QSO was with a station in Mojave through a repeater. Again, this conversation went on for quite some time and he reported that my audio sounded fine. The repeater output was strong and I have no problem receiving him for over 45 miles.
The third QSO was with a station on Lone Pine CA via a repeater in the Alabama Hills of the Eastern Sierras. That station reported my microphone audio was "slightly hot" but otherwise my signal was very good. The repeater was strong and I had no problem holding him for a distance of about 40 miles.
The next QSO was with a station in Bishop CA and again, he reported a strong signal from my radio that was still only at 25 watts. He never remarked on my audio at all so I assume it was good enough that he didn't feel the need to comment. This conversation went on until I headed up the Sherwin grade.
Once in Mammoth Lakes I had a few short QSO's with people in the town on Mammoth Lakes via the repeater on the summit of Mammoth Mountain at an altitude of 13,000 feet. Again all was well and good audio reports.
In the end this radio was choosen more for the fact that it can be mounted into a car with little to no room for a mobile radio and not for the quality of the tranceiver, but as it turned out, this little Baofeng/BTech is actually a fairly decent radio. Is the reciever as good as an Icom 2730A or Yaesu FTM series...no, probably not. But it was adequate and the form factor made it a great fit for my needs.
I should point out that this radio is also programmed via an app that can be put on your phone or a tablet. I choose to use an Android tablet for mine and the programming experience was really pretty darn easy. No cables to worry about and I was able to program about 35 frequencies into the radio in about twenty minuntes. Never having used a radio that can be programmed by app before I was dubious as to it's utility. Now, I think it's brilliant!
In the end, this Chinese radio turned out to be better than I initially thought it would be. The form factor is absolutely what is needed as cars become more compact and have less space going forward. The app programming is absolutely a game changer as far as I'm concerned. If Kenwood, Icom, Yaesu or Alinco would stop producing warmed over radios from the 90's and produce something like this I'm sure it would sell like hotcakes! It's time for the radio world to evolve! While the Baofeng/BTech isn't a perfect radio and can stand some improvements, I applaud the fact that they are willing to take invoative steps while others sit on the sidelines basically doing nothing.
All just my opinon of course, feel free to disagree!
