Baofeng UV-6R Review (Ham radio / walky talkie)

OK, so basically they are a super long distance walkie talkie? So, if one purchased multiple UV-R6’s, this is something that one could use to communicate with friends and family within their town for example?

Super flexible, I’d say. And yes, they should be sufficient to communicate with friends and family within their town, but there’s a lot of factors that can drastically increase or decrease the effective range.

How about the licensing; what is required and how much would it cost?

That’s a considerably more complex question, depends on the country and the usage case.

Assuming you’re still in Florida, the ARRL has a page that has links to exam material, study guides, and testing dates and locations. The testing fee is usually $15, IIRC, and that includes taking all three license tests (if you want, it’s not required).

Baofeng keeps changing the outer case without doing much internally .
I would like to see the toy features removed ( Flashlight / alarm ) , and some serious internal upgrades .

Don’t get me wrong , I really appreciate what Baofeng has done , I just dont care for the side order of junk .
And they just keep adding new cases to the internals and calling them new models … ( ? ) I guess car companies do it all the time …

My last Baofeng will be the GT3tp ( Famous last words ) , and I will move the rest out the door .
I have the Tonfa - TYT - UV-82 - UV-5r - GT3 ( MK1 ) and a Baojie 218 ……
I will see how good or bad the GT3tp is , I may just end up with two GT3’s …
And if anyone is looking for a killer antenna ( Kinnota AZ507R ) , it is simply BOSS !
Another 10 minutes and it should be dark out !
Take the F1 for a walk …

Thank you Sir, I appreciate the info!

Thanks for a great review.

I’ve just been given one of these as a present to replace my defective UV-5R.

It seems to be going OK apart from being a bit over sensitive on the squelch front. The keypad lights keep lighting up randomly which I assume is caused by a momentary signal breaking through. I have tried programming the squelch settings via Chirp (as I did for the UV-5R) but i’m not sure if it is taking them as when I read the data back into chirp the original squelch values are there.

Chirp does report it is using an experimental driver, so maybe this may get fixed sometime?

Anyway I will keep on testing and see how it goes.

Agree with the antennae comment. The stock one needs to go to really help out. The pictured nagoya is what I went to as well. Seems well worth it. The test isn’t hard to get a tech license now that there is no code requirement in the US.

These antennas are very good
http://www.dx.com/p/diy-replacement-walkie-talkie-antenna-for-wuoxun-u-v-black-305712#.WnqmRriUls0
https://www.banggood.com/NA-771-10W-SMA-F-SMA-M-Dual-Band-Radio-Antenna-for-Walkie-Talkies-p-965096.html?rmmds=search

I also built a cheap fantenna, could get over 30 miles simplex on 5 watts

I have a QYT-8900R in my truck as well
Was trying to tie a cellphone running APRSDroid to the handi-talkie

These are great “budget” radios

73’s
KF5CIF

Problem with the Nagoya Antennas is that you are more likely to get an underperforming fake than a legit one. I even got a fake from Amazon (not a 3rd party but Amazon directly!)

So how long is the distance ? 2 miles ?

Sorry to revive this old thread but is any HAM still active in this forum? I am new to the amateur radio hobby and wouls like some advice.

Ask away. What’s your call sign?

— N6VSB

Just finished my Technitian course today and I am taking the test on Monday, General course is nezt Saturday and then test on following monday. When I get my call sign I will provide it :slight_smile:

What handheld and mobile unit do you recommend? Thanks in advance

I haven’t bought a new radio in going on 20 years, at which time all of us hang glider pilots were getting our licenses and 2-meter HTs, mostly Yaesu/Vertex.

At this point to get more involved in radio, I’d look up what my local ham emergency response folks are using and match their setups.

https://www.google.com/search?q=florida+ham+radio

Search for NALCO/ARES in your area. Odds are they’ll be using 70 cm band radios, but could be 2-meter. Go to meetings, get to know the neighbors.

Your local area likely follows the national band plan: Band Plan

Right now I’m working with a very local group using repeater-capable GMRS radios and a local repeater in a self-announcing (fire, earthquake) emergency response coordination arrangement.

There’s a heck of a lot going on out there, your local folks are your best guide.

Thank you very much for pointing me to the right direction!

Virtually everyone should have their tech license. They made it easy enough and the benefits are so great. Ham Radio is the #1 electronics hobby. It has no limits. If you want you can even launch your own satellite.

Buy cheap handheld, use it some time and see if 2/70 suits you. Than you can buy more rigs or move to HF :slight_smile:
Mike

Also check out http://www.arrl.org/ which is a useful source for a lot of information.
In recent news there, this: