Tonight there are 7 VHS members taking the Amateur Radio Basic exam. Many thanks to @toptekkie for preparing us by holding twice-weekly sessions for the past month. I’ve learned a ton.
I’d like to continue the discussion about buying radios and find out what people have ordered, what’s recommended, etc.
Several people have RTL2832-based SDR receivers, such as the
R820T2 (I’ve ordered one of these).
Some talk of HackRF One and a whole variety of other SDRs.
Plz discuss…
When purchasing a radio for use in Amateur Radio, one important thing to
consider is whether you intend to use it in the United States.
There is a Reciprocal Operating Agreement treaty between Canada and the
United States:
https://wp.rac.ca/study-guides-2/regulatory-info/canada-united-states-reciprocal-operating-agreement/
I don’t know if SDRs like HackRF One have FCC certification, but
the Baofeng UV5R+ I purchased a few years back from Amazon does.
I’m pretty happy with it, but the user interface does leave a bit to be
desired. Programming software helps a lot in this regard.
The feedback you’ll get from older Amateur Radio operators is that the
cheaper brand radios like this will eventually break down as the Flash
memory fails.
They’ll recommend brands like ICOM which are much more expensive:
http://burnabyradio.com/index.php?manufacturers_id=11
I don’t find this a compelling argument to invest $300 in a new radio when
you’re just starting out. Personally, I think the best radio to get is one
you’re going to use. $30-50 is a small enough investment to get you
started, and you can always upgrade. My Baofeng has always worked well
getting into repeaters here in Vancouver.
I have done more reading and it appears the UV-82 is the newer model replacing the UV-B5/6 models. Amazon.com has the UV-82 for $32 USD with free delivery to the US (I use 5D Packages in Blaine to receive US shipments). (Amazon.ca has it for $59CAD)…
The reviews indicate that the UV-82 has as good a front-end as the UV-B5/6 models. Some reviewers complain that the UV-82 is larger and doesn’t quite fit the hand nicely. However, other reviewers indicated that the larger keys are easier to use.
With regards to the UV-B5/6 models, the main difference between the B5 and B6 model is the flashlight (B5 has a flashlight, B6 has a rotary knob where the flashlight bulb is located). The B6 rotary knob is used for adjusting the frequency. There have been some complaints that the B6 rotary knob is not reliable and it stops working.
The fact is that we are talking about $30 radios. If you expect them to be perfect like a $300 Icom, then you will be sadly dissappointed. I see the cheap radios as a way to get into the hobby and decide if I like it enough to invest a larger amount.
I haven’t found any benefits of a group buy, so I’m ok to go ahead and order a UV-82 on my own.