Hand Held VHF

They look interesting! QAt $A45 you really haven't got much to lose.


Funciton:
Dual band, dual display A/B band independent operation
128 groups channels storage Shortcut menu operation mode
VFO & Memory channels scan Emergency Alarm
Tri-color background light selectable 0~9 grades VOX selectable
PTT & ANI ID FM radio and 25 stations storage
1750Hz Brust Tone Time-out Timer
Channel Monitor Battery Saver
Keypad Lock Channel Step: 2.5/5/6.25/10/12.5/25KHz
Low Battery Alert ROGER SET
Emergency Alert 25KHz/12.5KHz Switchable
FM Radio (65.0MHz-108.0MHz) Large LCD Display
LED Flashlight Hight /Low RF Power Switchable
Voice companding 50 CTCSS/ 104DCS coder & tone searching
dual standby PC programmable
Wide/Narrow Band(25kHz/12.5kHz) Transmitter time-out timer(TOT)
High/Low TX power selectable Busy channel lock-out(BCLO)

Specification:
General
Frequency Range 65-108MHz(FM Receive only)
136-174MHZ and 400-470HZ (TX/RX)
Channel No. 128
Frequency Stability ±2.5ppm
Antenna High gain DualBand antenna
Antenna Impedance 50Ω
Operating Voltage DC 7.4V
Mode of operation Simple or semi-duplex
Dimension(W x H x D) 100 x 52 x 32 mm
Weight 250g(including battery, antenna)
Antenna : SMA -Female
Earpiece / mic type : Kenwood Plug type
Transmitter
Output power 4W / 1W (Max 5W)
Modulation Mode 16kΦF3E / 11kΦF3E
Maximum deviation 5kHz(Wide) / 2.5kHz(Narrow)
Spurious Radiation 7μW
Adjacent Ch. power ≤-65dB(Wide) / ≤-60dB(Narrow)
Pre-emphasis characteristics 6dB
Current ≤1.6A(5W)
CTCSS/DCS deviation 0.5±0.1kHz(Wide) / 0.3±0.1kHz(Narrow)
Intermediation sensitivity 8-12mv
Intermediation distortion ≤10%
 
Last edited:
William_H said:
I cam across this HH from China. Certainly cheap. Has anyone ever seen one and would it be suitable for a standby HH VHF for the boat.
Presumably no useful approvals olewill
Click to expand...

Unless it can be tuned to the Marine VHF channels, selecting single or dual frequency operation as appropriate I'd not think it any use for the boat.
 
VHF: 136-174MHz, Marine bands are only 156 to 162MHz so it will work but you will have to manually select the frequency you want to use, not so ideal.
You probabbly will not use the Chinese voice prompt either.
 
William_H said:
I cam across this HH from China. Certainly cheap. Has anyone ever seen one and would it be suitable for a standby HH VHF for the boat.
Presumably no useful approvals olewill

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Baof...z-UHF-400-470MHz-FM-Portable/1436729245.html?
Click to expand...
Haven't come across that particular model but the baofeng uv 3r and uv5r are highly regarded in ham circles as being very good performers for the money, I have each, the 3r can be charged off usb but the 5r needs 8v from memory, or mains.
Great radios and a very good low power listening option but illegal to transmit outside of an emergency, as we all know :)

With 2 it's a way to get pmr466 walkie talkie as well, for shore parties or just up the mast, they come with voice activated mics.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BAOFENG-U...ecialistRadioEquipment_SM&hash=item51baf2b662
 
It's a ham style radio in which everything is manually controlled. It does cover the marine VHF frequencies, and it apparently can do duplex, so possibly you could manually program some of the the 99 channels to mimic the 50-odd marine VHF channels. Even with the channels programmed, it will always need care in operation - press the wrong button and suddenly you're outside the marine frequencies, or at a point in the band that doesn't correspond to a channel.

Not what I would choose for practical marine use, but possibly an interesting toy. Not legally approved, as you suspect.

Pete
 
You can stroll into a chandlers and pick up a marine H/H VHF for £50.

Not a lot to lose there either. But you wouldn't have to, 'cause if it didn't work you could take it back for a refund.
 
prv said:
It's a ham style radio in which everything is manually controlled. It does cover the marine VHF frequencies, and it apparently can do duplex, so possibly you could manually program some of the the 99 channels to mimic the 50-odd marine VHF channels. Even with the channels programmed, it will always need care in operation - press the wrong button and suddenly you're outside the marine frequencies, or at a point in the band that doesn't correspond to a channel.

Not what I would choose for practical marine use, but possibly an interesting toy. Not legally approved, as you suspect.

Pete
Click to expand...

A friend of mine just mentioned Boa Feng yesterday and said that their kit was pretty good and very cheap. I haven't had time to look yet but seem to remember that he said it would work fromPMR to Marine ranges, so marine part was a bonus in an emergency. He said it was cheaper than PMRs on high street and much better kit.
 
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Mistroma said:
A friend of mine just mentioned Boa Feng yesterday and said that their kit was pretty good and very cheap. I haven't had time to look yet but seem to remember that he said it would work fromPMR to Marine ranges, so marine part was a bonus in an emergency. He said it was cheaper than PMRs on high street and much better kit.
Click to expand...

My impression is that they do a good job of the technical radio stuff, so produce a transceiver that performs well for little money, with lots of features. What they don't do is user interface - you have full control of the radio and it's up to you to pick the correct settings for what you want to do. This is fine for hams, who understand what's going on and can make the correct choices (and are interested in doing so). It's not so good for people who just want to use the radio as a tool, and I bet the menus etc are clunky and not especially well-designed either.

"Marine part is a bonus in an emergency" - provided you have the frequency for ch16 committed to memory, of course, and that you don't inadvertently enable tone squelch or any other non-marine functions.

Pete
 
prv said:
My impression is that they do a good job of the technical radio stuff, so produce a transceiver that performs well for little money, with lots of features. What they don't do is user interface - you have full control of the radio and it's up to you to pick the correct settings for what you want to do. This is fine for hams, who understand what's going on and can make the correct choices (and are interested in doing so). It's not so good for people who just want to use the radio as a tool, and I bet the menus etc are clunky and not especially well-designed either.

"Marine part is a bonus in an emergency" - provided you have the frequency for ch16 committed to memory, of course, and that you don't inadvertently enable tone squelch or any other non-marine functions.

Pete
Click to expand...

Yes, my friend has a neat HH which can be programmed/cloned via serial interface with buttons to pull up desired pre-prog. functions. A bit more expensive than Bao Feng though and not something I'd need.

I like to have a plan B and even a plan B for that plan. So my point was that it would give marine VHF as a bonus to back up my fixed set and handheld. Odd you should mention Ch 16 committed to memory, my friend aksed for a channel to listen on as a quick check and I gave hime the freq. for 16 without thinking and 12 when I realised he'd get more traffic on that. I didn't even know I'd remembered until he asked.

My friend knows I'm as techie as he is but to be honest, I haven't even looked at these yet just confirming that another amatuer radio guy also thought they made reasonable kit for the price.
 
William_H said:
I cam across this HH from China. Certainly cheap. Has anyone ever seen one and would it be suitable for a standby HH VHF for the boat.
Presumably no useful approvals olewill

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Baof...z-UHF-400-470MHz-FM-Portable/1436729245.html?
Click to expand...

Check out this Yahoo Group for a similar model. https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/baofeng_uv5r/info‎

These radios can be programmed using a lead , software and a PC and can cope with a multitude of types of signal.
You can program the marine channels using the channel designator instead of frequency so they replicate your
marine HH. If a Radio ham you can program local chat channels...Local repeaters with all the CTCSS and shift etc
as well as IRLP and Echolink nodes.

I suspect the same factory may make products for some of the well known names.
 
The OP's radios are a newer development of the Baofeng UV-5R. They can be programmed via a PC and the software. Very neat solution for a ham... not set up and go got a Marine VHF. And of course totally illegal to use as a marine VHF.

I have a UV-5R and am a licensed ham. I have played extensively with it and can testify that it is technically possible to set it up as a marine VHF, even disabling various options is possible and it can be made into a reasonably idiot proof marine VHF. It can also be set up on the PMR 466 frequencies and used with cheap family radios... also illegal. I have also used it to listen to the Chicago police and fire service and also as a 2 meter and 70cm amateur radio - both of which are legal. (note - you have to be in Chicago to hear the police and fire!!)

I would not have it on my boat in a situation where it could be confused with a marine VHF and potentially in the wrong hands, in a high pressure situation, end up being used incorrectly. Worse still - not being able to contact CG or other boats in emergency.
 
i think the real value of a hand held is when taking an unscheduled dip. in that situation a degree of water resistance might prove useful which, afaik, this nice little radio seems to be lacking. i'd get a cobra for another twenty quid.
 
Thanks every one. It was especially good to hear the brand is known in ham circles as OK. I gather that the functions while veru complex can be set up ona PC. I do have a ham operators ticket but have not had a station licence for 50 years. I don't think I have any urge to join the hams on 2 metres. I have a fixed VHF on the little boat that works well and gets a bit of use on the club boat to boat frequency, but have on occasions wished for a HH kept in the stern locker for access while helming. Just wishful thinking I suppose. olewill
 
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