homepage Forums SimHQ Community Community Hall Radios VHF/UHF Shortwave

Not sure if any of you guys have any interest in radios but if you are there are many options. The Baofeng radios are replacing CB radios as the preferred choice, and they are dirt cheap. If you want to transmit with the Baofeng radios you need to get a TECH license. The TECH license is pretty easy, pass with 26 questions correct out of 36, couple of weeks of study and done. These are 2 radios I recently purchased




ATS-909X2
ATS-909X2 FM/SW/MW/LW/Air Receiver│SANGEAN Electronics
Amazon.com: SANGEAN ATS-909X2, Ultimate FM/SW/MW/LW/Air Multi-Band Radio : Electronics
https://www.amazon.com/SANGEAN-Ultimate-Multi-Band-Radio-ATS-909X2/dp/B08MSXX6LH/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2DW01ZWQPWEYP&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.vSJUDqzv2b_3GULXN5qIuEbksmxiP-8yQPvzlPfcjUm4DlsHXIPgAqHjnaS8p6MIBn30_shE9zXmDYTEdbLB_9bkHWAOzAZaPAJ6cmU2w4pqZqDyxSpaAbrpo_2t1_uZ_pi6Qa7LV3LZfoAM3Id-G6So0SDChnCZEfxAC4HCaaEvq4UHo8gO2zRe6zznV2bUxId03uvNdChrW4yuEgtvRL2frT5_JM-Gngu9E0h7Hfc.QJNGWJMDtD80DwluutIUNSuUaM4TGb-lxTZ_ymOnMug&dib_tag=se&keywords=Sangean%2BATS-909X2&qid=1756442249&sprefix=sangean%2Bats-909x2%2B%2Caps%2C139&sr=8-1&th=1

Baofeng
BAOFENG BF-F8HP PRO 10W Tri Band Two-Way Radio, IP54, 1000 Channels, GPS, Aviation RX, USB-C ‣ Baofeng Tech & BTECH Radios

https://baofengtech.com/product/bf-f8hp-pro/?_gl=1*1byesl0*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3NzgyNjk1NzUuRUFJYUlRb2JDaE1JazhDNHE3cXFsQU1WcGRiQ0JCMkpSZ3p1RUFBWUFTQUFFZ0oxOV9EX0J3RQ..*_gcl_au*ODM2MzUyOTEzLjE3Nzc5NDkwMjQ.*_ga*MTIxNjEzOTA2Ni4xNzc3OTQ5MDI0*_ga_J107FZCW7Q*czE3NzgyNjk1NzQkbzMkZzAkdDE3NzgyNjk1NzQkajYwJGwwJGg4ODg0OTQ5NjQ.

That Baofeng also has the aircraft band in addition to VHF ?UHF and NOAA.

I have a dumb question, Ter. Is this what they used to call 'Ham' Radio? I thought that was pretty cool and almost got into it.

On the Amateur Radio issue, I'll just point people back to https://simhq.net/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/4667985/re-baofeng-radios#Post4667985.

It really comes down to who do you want to communicate with, and do you want to do it 'legally'.

If you have family or friends that have Amateur Radio licenses, or you want to talk to other hams, then go for it. I submit most people are not going to find their family members or friends to be enthusiastic about studying for a Technician Class license. GMRS is a better solution for a lot of people.

Useful resource: RepeaterBook.com

In the age of smart phones and great coverage for most areas, it is difficult to get many people to see a need for messing with GMRS, ham or CB radios. And now some smart phones are even utilizing satellites along with terrestrial cell towers. Some people still recognize the vulnerabilities of the cell tower based infrastructure ("Preppers" for instance), but even many of those aren't going to bother with the time and expense, however small it might be.

Terl, what do you think of that Shortwave radio so far? That is something I haven't really messed with. I do have a Software Defined Radio that can pull that stuff in if I feed it with the right antenna setup. Configuring the software can be a real pain though.

Yes it is Leaf85, no dumb questions when it comes to HAM Radio, it is a nickname for amateur radio, originating as a pejorative term for, or slang referencing, amateur operators, rather than an acronym. The term likely originated from early 20th-century wired telegraphy, where "ham" described incompetent, "ham-fisted" operators sending Morse Codek later used by commercial radio operators to denigrate enthusiastic, non-professional hobbyists. I have been a HAM for 40 years, fun hobby but is dying because there are no new younger members, just old farts like me. It's a fun hobby. You can start this hobby for only $30,with a Baofeng radio.

Good points CyBerkut. If you want to communicate VHF/UHF get your TECH license, although GMRS is an alternative. When I was growing up at 13 years old in the early 70’s there was a ton of 50K/100K watt short wave transmitters but once the internet came aboard there is a a handful of real transmitters. There is still a lot of stuff out there that you can listen to but not like the old days.

I first got into CB radio around 1980. I borrowed an AM set from a pal at school, I was around 12/13 at the time and it was kinda taking off in the UK. It went legal in the UK in 1981 and I got into it in a big way for around 4/5 years.

I had many different radios and "twigs". I remember having a few scafolding poles screwed together with a huge Thunderpole, then a Silver Rod on top, guy ropes securing it to the ground, my mother used to get pretty annoyed with my "latest" conversion, invention lol, but teens back then were always experimenting with something or another.

I met my first love on the CB, we ended up together till I was around 21 or so, actually went to see the minister, booked the function suite and date but it fell apart and I ended up married to someone else a few years later.

The CB was great back then. It was our social media. Used to have great fun going to the regular CB meet, getting "eyeballs" with people and the whole radio, tech side of it interested me greatly.

I did dip my toe into the Ham licence side, I tried going to night school to a view on getting a licence but at around 14/15 years old it was quite clearly way out of my depth.

My first legal CB was an Amstrad 901 which my mum got me from a hire purchase catalogue which were quite popular back then. I think I maybe contributed to the payments from my paper round or milk round, or so I said I would, lol.

I loved the Ham International radios, those were the ones to have, the Multimode, Concord and the Jumbo which was gorgeous.

I still watch a few videos on YT about CB, radios, tech etc but have no interest in trying it out.

Mick.

Just ordered a V2.4 Version Malahit DSP2 SDR Radio Receiver with 3.5 Inch Touch Screen,10kHz-380MHz 404MHz-2GHz AM SSB DSB CW NFM WFM RDS Digital Radio. A new generation Software Defrine3d Radio, the future. $ 480.00 bucks, hopefully I like it but good thing about Amazon if you don’t like just it back for a full refund. “Amazon.com: V2.4 Version Malahit DSP2 SDR Radio Receiver with 3.5 Inch Touch Screen,10kHz-380MHz 404MHz-2GHz AM SSB DSB CW NFM WFM RDS Digital Radio, Noise Reduction Portable Shortwave Radio with 5000mhA Battery : Electronics “. DSP2 SDR Radio Receiver with 3.5 Inch Touch Screen,10kHz-380MHz 404MHz-2GHz AM SSB DSB CW NFM WFM RDS Digital Radio. A new generation Software Defrine3d Radio, the future. $ 480.00 bucks, hopefully I like it but good thing about Amazon if you don’t like just it back for a full refund