I've been issued radios before, but they were all set up and I didn't have to do anything.

How difficult would it be to get a set of baofengs to use for
-generic comms in lieu of cell phone
(And what would be the range? Could I speak to GF at the store a couple miles away?
-finding unused channels and turning radios to them?  How secure would this be?
-linking up with others that are already working on a channel?
-finding active channels and listening in?

Is this the kind of learnin' that would only take a few youtube vids, or am I in for a lot more than that?

What kinda range in suburban/rural/mountains/desert for use as 2way radios?

Would I need a HAM license for any of the above stuff?

I've used them a little when borrowing from others, and I've been issued some fancier ones... but like I mentioned other people did all the programming.  

Thx

The practical answer is "it depends".  The legal answer is different.

I have several UV-5Rs tuned / programmed (using CHIRP) as marine radios.  I use them in Costa Rica at our fishing lodge.  No legal issues using them as handhelds (our base station software defined Motorola is far more powerful).

CHIRP is pretty simple to use.

You can tune / program them to FMRS / GMRS.  Legally?  No.  You can tune / program them to amatuer radio frequencies.  You need a license for that to legally operate them.

Range?  Pretty much line of sight.  Where we use them is flat and our base antenna is very elevated.

to use the radio in question, the answer is yes.

I can hit the local repeater 6 miles away loud and clear when standing outside. YMMV.
Watch some youtube videos to program them, its not hard.
You will need a HAM license to transmit legally. Everyone can hear your conversation if they are on the frequency.

Nwver assume that consumer grade radio comms are secure.

The ham tech test is 35 questions, multiple choice, out of a pool of 200. The questions, along with the the answers, are published by the fcc.
So, all you have to do is menorize to get the licence.
Actually knowing what you're doing take more effort.

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_10_22/664274_Baofeng_UV_5R_information.html

Anything you don't find there, shoot me an IM.

Not hard.  You could create a template, program all of them in minutes from the same file.

3-10 miles depending on antenna, and other factors.  Possibly in some buildings, some not.

There is a standard channel spacing within the ham bands.  Some are used for repeater channels,
some used "simplex", that is, radio to radio direct.  I program in all the simplex frequencies and
number them in such a way that it is easy to scroll through them in the memory.

There is none.  Encryption is not allowed for ham radio.

There are procedures for calling, communicating with others.  No, you don't say "breaker, breaker".  
This is not a problem.  You will learn this.

Not a problem.

More than that.

During a past hurricane, from my desk in my home, I used my UV-5R going over a repeater 5 miles away to
run a local net.  That repeater has a range of roughly a county wide area.

Yes.  You would need at minimum the Tech license.  It's so easy even girls can do it.  Heck, a local school teacher
that knew nothing about radio (I think she was an English teacher) easily passed the Tech first try, and came within
two questions of passing the General exam for which she did not even study.  You can do this.  Your wife can do this,
and your kids can do this.  If you studied together would be good.



There are online study guides, practice tests, and other info.  We can hook you up with all that.

Thanks guys, great answers. Gonna FO I guess

Communication range will be anywhere from 1/2 mile to 50 miles. 1/2 miles if you are in downtown New York, with buildings around you. 50 miles, if both stations are on top of a tall mountain with nothing blocking the line of sight.

Check out HAMRADIO360.COM, where you will learn a lot of interesting information. That resource belongs to one of our own members.

So that website says to get the pofung u82 instead of older uv5r. Similar price.

The 82 is 5w, the 82hp is 7w.

Is there much differenxe?

I mean it's stronger obviously lol.  Is the antenna that comes with them that big a hindrance? Which length should I get for portable easy use?

Yes the 5w version is plenty.
I've been really happy with my $20 Signal Stuff super flexible whip for both bands. It really performs (matter of fact I'm going to go add it to my suggestions on the page)

ETS: Change made, Signal Stuff Antenna Here

Get the Baofeng UV-b6.  Much better quality than the r5 and comes with a decent antenna instead of a dummy load that looks like an antenna.

Costs a bit more, $28, but easily worth it.

I've played with a pair of Boafengs and tried to program them for a friend.... they won.

I wouldn't buy them unless you have access to someone in your area who is willing to set them up for you. Even simple shit like programming repeaters is fucked up like a football bat,.... very counter intuitive.

CHIRP is your friend for programming. It takes some effort, but not impossible.

http://chirp.danplanet.com/projects/chirp/wiki/Home

About the range of these.....
I did this with my dad (both licensed) on 2 meters simplex.
Radio: Baofeng uv-82hp, stock antenna.
He was in a moving vehicle, I was stationary at home
Topography is virtually flat, with trees and little to nothing in the lines of buildings. Single family structures mostly single story.
At 2 miles, it was a stretch. His house is about 10.5 miles by air, direct route through an area that's mostly sand dunes and a lake. NO WAY!
I'm going to retry this in the fall with open stub J poles on both ends elevated as much as possible. His end will most likely be in his attic.

I'm sure that the metal in the car didn't help. Next time try it when he's outside the car at various distances.

Yea, I'm figuring the metal in the car will be sort of like his wife inside a building.

I've got both.  I started with the B6 and got a lot of comments that my signal was garbage (4-10 miles from repeaters w/ a pretty clean LOS).  I replaced it with an 8" antenna and it does as well as the roll-up J-pole I have-I think the one that came with it was defective.

My thoughts:
The B6 is a lot easier to program by hand on the fly.  If I needed to program something or tweak a setting on a channel on the 5R right now, I'd be SOL--5R has some subtleties that aren't easily overcome if you don't have the manual in-hand.  In either case, CHIRP and a programming cable are the way to go.
Programming aside, the 5R is easier/more intuitive to drive in normal use.
The LCD on the 5R is way better. I think the B6 now has a display backlight? which would certainly help.  B6 has like an old calculater stick format display which is hard to read letters on.  The 5R also will show 1 or 2 more characters than the B6.
Size wise, they're very similar, but the 5R just feels a lot slimmer.
5R has 25% more memory slots (128 vs 99)
I've dunked 2 UV-5Rs underwater and both came out of it non-worse for the wear.  No experience on this with the B6.


I dunno why they can't make the menus work the same from one model to the next.  I mean they are very much the same danged radio.  The menus look and seem like they work the same, but no.  Very very different.

Agree with all of this.

I strongly suggest getting a REAL (not $3) programming cable so you can use Chirp software. Programming them by hand is clunky and slow. With the cable you can quickly do several with FRS/GMRS, MURS, and all local repeaters.

My favorite "Bao-fangs" are UV-82 model. I like their ergonomics. They work pretty well too. The factory supplied antenna works amazingly well.
Programming is actually very easy. It can be somewhat confusing at first. I've watched a Youtube video on how to program them, did it once and have never had a issue ever since. You just have to remember to save a new memory channel twice into the same memory channel number. First set the receive frequency, PL tone and whatever else and save it the first time. After that, set the transmit frequency with a PL tome and any other parameters and save it to the same channel again. Obviously, you need to do calculate the transmitting frequency by hand for each repeater. First time the voice prompt will say - "receive memory", second time - "transmitting memory" It's that simple! If you screwed up, simply delete the memory channel first and do it again.
I also bought one UV-82X radio with 2m/220 Mhz bands. It works very well. I use it to communicate with my Kenwood TH-F6 when we need a "semi-private" comms, like at hamfests. Not many people monitor or use the 220 Mhz band.

Good info guys, I haven't bought yet because more info is coming in