And I have no idea how to use this thing. I know I can't broadcast without a license, but I wanted to monitor channels to see whats going on locally. Can anyone tell me the basics?

This is the reason everyone in Ham radio facepalms when someone says they will use the gear in an emergency because they don't need a license.

Good on you for seeking help! There is a thread here thats 5 or 6 pages of info on that radio. Do you know the difference between simplex and duplex? Are you familiar with repeaters, offsets and tones? Or is it just the hardware?

Depending on where you are I can get you data for the repeaters in your area. Since you will only be listening you will only need to listen on the output freq which is pretty simple to program

In any particular area, there will usually be at least one ham repeater that's commonly used for emergency message traffic. You'll probably want to program the output frequency of those repeaters into some of the memory channels in your radio. To find the repeaters in you area, you can use an online repeater list like this.

Also, some ham repeaters (particularly on the 440 MHz ham band) are linked to each other, providing region-wide or even state-wide coverage. These repeaters tend to get a lot of use during weather emergencies.

You'll also want to program in your local NOAA weather channel (listing here).

There may also be other non-ham repeaters than handle traffic for your local public service (police, fire, ambulance, electric/gas/water utilities, etc.), but many of these services are now scrambled or digitally encoded, so they may not receivable by the general public.

I have poked around in here prior to my purchase and I know that I need a license to transmit, but I really don't think I'll need to do that. Would be nice to be able to keep tabs on things in case things get kind of hairy. I know what a repeater does, but I'm not familiar with the other terms. Ive got a book coming but it wont be here in time.

Have you looked up any repeaters in your area?

What exactly are you hoping to hear on radio? What info is useful to you? If you are willing to disclose your zip maybe a repeater or two can be identified nearby that you can monitor.




Of the hand held amateur radios available on the domestic market you picked arguably THE most difficult one to program manually. Sorry to have to tell you that. In all likelihood, as a non ham and end user completely unfamiliar with ham operation, its likely to be a challenge for you to get your radio up and running.






 
 

1.)....GET YOUR FUCKING HAM LICENSE  

8yrs old can do it.  

in addition to the legal aspect, nobody is going to talk to you if you don't have an FCC issued call-sign.

sounds like you should have bought a bearcat scanner.


2.) there are no "channels"

you'll need to find the  frequencies of the 2meter and 440mhz repeaters in your area.

http://rptr.amateur-radio.net/  can help you find the frequencies.

since you can't transmit yet, you won't need to worry about the PL tones and offsets.

Try to find a local ham club to help guide you along.


see if you can get the rig to search between 145-148mhz for starters

I have to agree with the comment above about difficulty in programming. I have a few other Baofeng radios and I don't program manually; nobody I know does either. I can't imagine trying to make sense of the manual and program it while not knowing the basics of ham radio repeater use. I guess one upside is that for simply monitoring the local repeater you can probably get by without properly programming offset and tone. You could listen just with the correct repeater output freq.

Im not into HAM, but I come in here and read the topics sometimes.



It sounds like you want to listen to a scanner.



here is a nationwide scanner link that has emergency channels you can listen to.  http://www.radioreference.com/apps/audio/

thats a neat link. the only problem with that is if the power goes out, how am i going to listen to it

same way you would power your ham radio.

Just to add to that RadioReference Link....there are some "Live Streams" that you can listen to on your PC/Phone....as long as you have net access

I bought a bottle of bourbon to prepare for Sandy.


I think I got a better deal.

For help programming the radios without a computer.
UV-5R
For a list of repeaters...
Repeater Book

Google your local county's frequencies to find and tune to those (that radio can actually TX on all RX ranges, so you could directly contact local EMS/Sherriffs dispatch (assuming that they are not using trunked systems) if you needed to. Program GMRS channel 20 (a google search will tell you the frequencies).

Hit Menu, 1, Menu, 5, Menu, Exit. (this will allow you to acess frequencies in 5kHz steps)

When you look at the repeater book frequencies, there will be a frequency with a + - near it, the next column will have another number (PL/CTSS). This can be changed with under section 25 of the menu to + - or off. Offset is section 26 (enter 00.500 for 2M freqs, 6.000 for 70cm freqs). I'll let you read up on programming. Remember, you have to be on the A frequency and you need to make sure that the channel you are saving the frequency to is clear (ie, if another freq has been stored on that channel you have to delete the channel before you can store a new frequency).

After the hurricane, do yourself a favor and take the tech exam.

Don't feel bad - I've had a Yeasu vx-5r for years.. and when I just pulled it out of storage I looked at it and wondered what all the little abbreviations on the buttons meant.

You probably would have been better off with a scanner. With the Uniden home patrol all you have to do is input your zip code and it programs itself. Seeing that the Home Patrol is close $500 and you purchased a UV5R for shtf then I'm going to assume that its out of your budget,

This is a prime example of the 'I'm not gonna use it unless it's an emergency' Catch 22 and why ham radios are of very limited use to people unwilling to get their licenses.



Come time for SHTF...they don't have a clue how to use the radio they have...and then it's too late to learn.

Yup

Hell, around here most hams that show up for bike rides, triathalons, etc don't know how to program their radios either.

I resemble that remark

I have one of the uv-3R as one of my backup HTs.  I would not even try to program it without the software & cable

They do make a very neat little EDC/ cheap HT.