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Baofeng's, Baofengs everywhere. Of all the images I have seen of the attempted coup, I have only seen baofeng radios. These are very cheap ($20'ish) radios th
by UI_at_80x24 6y ago
Baofeng's, Baofengs everywhere.
Of all the images I have seen of the attempted coup, I have only seen baofeng radios. These are very cheap ($20'ish) radios that work very poorly (they splatter all over the bands) even when equipped with decent antennas. They barely work when equipped with the stock rubber-duck antennas.
It's easy to be a snob about the type of radios that they are using, but that's not even the point.
These people are idiots. Bringing their cellphones, recording video of themselves committing felonies and then posting them online. There is already plenty of rules regarding what can/can not be said using amateur radios. There is however no requirement to provide identification before you purchase an amateur radio.
Anybody can buy them, and it's based on the honour system to use them according to the law. It's already against the law to use them in a manner that is against the law.
Id' like to see this used as a punitive measure against everybody who was using them during the coup. Maximum FCC fine for all of them.
- nimbius 6y agoAs a pinch of salt... If you can get a baofeng to last out of the box longer than a week, and manage to DX a handheld or a repeater further than a parking space away, you should at least win a QRP award and a discount on your technicians test before you get sent to the klink.
- mindcrime 6y agoI've been using my Baofeng for a couple of years now and have no problem working many repeaters here in the Triangle (NC) area. YMMV.
- bitxbitxbitcoin 6y agoSimilarly, my Baofeng has no problem on the many repeaters in the Northern Nevada area. Definitely YMMV.
- killtheliterate 6y agosame. it's a perfectly fine shitty radio. i have 3 of them that i keep stashed in various places. they certainly aren't as nice as my yaesu, and they do splatter, but they do work just fine.
- mindcrime 6y agoperfectly fine shitty radio Hah! What a great bit of word-smithing there. I love it. Yes, that's a good description of the Baofeng radios. They're crap, but they're fine crap. Cheap, but workable as a beginner radio. I bought mine right when I got my Technician license, and it's served well for dipping my toes in the water a little. But I'll be buying a higher quality radio soon, if all goes according to plan.
- eindiran 6y agoIf you were to recommend a beginner radio, is a Baofeng what you'd recommend?
- jrockway 6y agoIt depends on how much money you have, and how interested in VHF/UHF you are. If you're very interested in VHF/UHF (repeaters, simplex with your neighbors) and you only have $20, then it's the perfect radio for you. If you have $10,000 and want to chat with people around the world, then you'll want something else. People hear "ham radio" and think "chatting with people all around the world", but that is not what Baofeng radios do :)
- blhack 6y agoStrong disagree, and wish this sort of gatekeeping wasn't present. Go get one of these things. They're $20, and ham radio is a fun and useful hobby. I have many baofeng radios which have been in many forms of being thrown into boxes, backpacks, filled with dust, rained on, abused by drunks, dropped, etc. and they ALL are still working fine, albeit some with dest behind the LCD cover.
- nimbius 6y agoOh its not gatekeeping. You get what you pay for. My baofeng 5 died two hours into a 12 mile backpackign trip across catalina island. It couldn't do a quarter mile line of sight with an airport 2m amateur tower and when turning on the flashlight feature in my tent it died entirely and would not power back on. I was entirely reliant on it for ranger station as well as general comms and phone patch/weather. Packing this plastic trash couldnt have been more dangerous. Programming is also a byzantine nightmare.
- blhack 6y agoHow is it a "byzantine nightmare"? I plug it into my computer, put in the frequencies (and names I want for the channels.), and upload the configuration. That seems pretty straightforward to me.
- jimktrains2 6y agoIm pretty aure they meant programming from the radio itself, without using a computer.
- sbierwagen 6y agoAs a fun ham toy, it's fine. For critical safety-of-life communication... do you want to be using any amateur radio? Maybe you'd want a Motorola or ICOM cop radio.
- stormcode 6y agoAgreed. I've had two $25 baofengs for camping / outdooring for... Four or five years. Both work fine. They don't see a ton of use but they have been banging around camping bins and glove boxes for that time. Batteries hold their charge well. Bonus-- they have FM radios. Weirdly the only thing in my house powered by batteries that does!
- throwaway09223 6y agoNonsense. I bought a baofeng years ago and it works perfectly well. It's a basic, cheap radio well suited for beginners.
- sitzkrieg 6y agofreely ignore that comment, they're actually fine radios that work well and there is heaps of proof of such
- sbierwagen 6y agoI've had a UV-5R for four years. Receives fine. The handful of times I've used it to transmit on a local net nobody mentioned vomiting in disgust at its poor transmission characteristics. The original battery even still holds a charge, which I really didn't expect, since it's probably spent 3.9 years sitting on the charger being kept at the float voltage.
- Johnythree 6y agoHow would people on the same band be aware that it is radiating harmonics?
- buck4roo 6y agoHave both, still love my 15+yo Yaesu VX-5R way more than the UV-5R. I won't be getting more Baofengs.
- jhallenworld 6y agoI had a VX-7R- it was nice, but I didn't use it enough for the amount of money sunk into it, so I sold. I bought a UV-5x3 when I again wanted an HT. It's pretty good- I like that it now has alphanumeric channel memory and I get to see what's happening on 220 MHz. But this is a $90 radio...
- jjhale 6y agoBaofeng's website has a banner suggesting a surge in demand. > Due to overwhelming demand, we are not able to process any additional orders at this time https://baofengtech.com/ https://baofengtech.com/
- kevin_thibedeau 6y agoIt'll be interesting to see if the CBP finally flexes its muscle and seizes them.
- mikestew 6y agoWhy would the CBP seize radios that are perfectly legal to sell? That wouldn't be "flexing", that would be "over-reach".
- Aloha 6y agoThey're not legal in the US, in the way they're sold usually, they claim to be Part 90, and they're not
- jimktrains2 6y agoFor more information https://www.jpole-antenna.com/2018/08/13/baofeng-uv-5r-radios-illegal-the-real-story/ https://www.jpole-antenna.com/2018/08/13/baofeng-uv-5r-radio...
- jcpham2 6y ago100% agree with this comment. Why the warning from the FCC, who knows. I was always told ignorance of the law is no excuse. It must be cheaper to issue a warning rather than expend resources to prosecute the people involved.
- mywittyname 6y agoThere's lots of issues regarding burden of proof. I doubt the FCC has enough evidence to identify these people, much less enough to arrest or convict them.
- ballenf 6y agoThe warning is probably directed more at politicians or civilians making complaints than the lawbreakers. It gives the agency something to point to when they get inquiries or complaints.
- joshka 6y agohttps://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-protecting-americans-overcriminalization-regulatory-reform/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-or... was signed 1/18/2021 coincidence?
- jachee 6y agoWait, am I reading that right? Is it literally making pleading ignorance an option?
- mzs 6y agoalso Wouxun https://radiofreeq.wordpress.com/2016/01/19/militia-radio-frequencies/ https://radiofreeq.wordpress.com/2016/01/19/militia-radio-fr...
- madengr 6y ago"Of all the images I have seen of the attempted coup, I have only seen baofeng radios." I actually didn't see any HTs used by poll workers, but yes, Baofengs are garbage.
- bzb6 6y agoYour post reeks of elitism, which is very common in the radio community. Saying baofeng radios “barely work” when you use them with the antennas they come with is a blatant lie. I’m sorry that there’s some sort of “eternal September” in the radio community because of baofeng users, but lying won’t bring back the days when only people who could afford very expensive equipment could enjoy radios.
- UI_at_80x24 6y ago>Saying baofeng radios “barely work” when you use them with the antennas they come with is a blatant lie. Not a lie. Personal observation. When I first got the radio I tested it at our groups ham shack. I was 150' away from our repeater (open field, no obstructions) and could not get the repeater to acknowledge my signal. I could hear everybody fine, but could not TX. One of my buddies handed me a spare antenna, and presto I was able to use the repeater. I was also able to hear repeaters that were 20+km away that I couldn't tune-in on the rubber duck. Transmit and receive improved with a different antenna. I thought I had a bad radio, bad transmit button, or bad microphone before I swapped out antennas. My statement is 100% accurate based on my observations. Grumbles from the other members in my group agreed with the sentiment. They ship with bad antennas.
- wtfiswiththis 6y agoBought four handsets for my work. They worked through concrete over a distance. Your comment is 100% inaccurate based on my observations.
- jrockway 6y agoI have worked a satellite with a Baofeng (and Yagi antenna), so at least one works. I stopped using mine because I don't have a spectrum analyzer and was told by Reddit that they send a lot of power out of band, which isn't something I care to do. (I have a VHF module in my KX3 that meets my VHF needs. Mostly. Would like even better frequency stability for meteor scatter, WSPR, etc.)
- cstejerean 6y agoYour observation of one radio you tested doesn’t seem to support the kind of sweeping generalizations you made about all Baofeng radios. I have two UV-82HP, two GMRS-V1s, two UV-82C, one BF-F8HP, a UV-50X2 and a UV-50X3. Never had any problems working repeaters or for simplex communication in terrain, both when off-roading or providing volunteer communications for events. Baofeng radios work just fine, and many amateurs I know have several as well. I have never tried the $20 UV-5R radios so I can’t comment on how well those work. But I absolutely don’t buy the argument that all Baofeng are terrible radios and people must be idiots for buying them, even more so when the evidence turns out to be that you had a radio with a bad antenna once.
- blhack 6y agoI don't know why people complain about Baofengs so much. I have a bunch of baofengs that I bought to pass out as emergency radios at burning man. They have saved at least one person's life, because it meant we were able to call the emergency services when somebody had a heart attack and collapsed. I'm sure that guy is glad that that crappy $20 radio was there and a ham operator had configured it for the 911 service it was used for. That alone cemented baofengs into my "good to have" category for life. They're cheap, and that's why I have been able to use them in the places I have.
- i_am_proteus 6y agoPeople mostly complain about Baofengs because they leak a bunch of RF interference everywhere. Not obvious to the Baofeng user, but obvious to radio operators on other frequencies.
- sitzkrieg 6y agoi have measured several models and not witnessed this
- Johnythree 6y agoDepends which band they are being used on. Their filtering is barely adequate on ham bands, but very poor when programmed on other frequencies.
- SaberTail 6y agoMost Baofengs emit an illegal amount of spurious emissions[1]. Maybe you got lucky. [1] https://observer.wunderwood.org/2020/02/07/baofeng-hts-and-spurious-emissons/ https://observer.wunderwood.org/2020/02/07/baofeng-hts-and-s...
- sitzkrieg 6y agohuh, I checked and they are all manufactured after this was published, maybe they got better. but probably not
- swiley 6y agoThe reason there's no requirement to identify yourself is that this stuff isn't hard to make and the FCC already employs professionals for tracking (this is a common sport) and arresting people who abuse the radios.
- Lammy 6y ago> These people are idiots. It makes me uneasy to see how much commentary on recent events seems to focus on insulting these people instead of hearing how society has failed them and why they're upset even if we tend to disagree with their suggested fixes. I think their presence in DC and that "colorful" person they elected are all symptoms of this behavior.
- poulsbohemian 6y ago> focus on insulting these people instead of hearing how society has failed them Look, I'm just a guy, with no fancy credentials or research to back this up, but the more I read, the more I try to understand this crowd, the more I talk with other people about this crowd, the more I believe these people are making choices. That is to say, there are plenty of educated and monied people running amok here. To believe that this is a crowd of impoverished, under/un-employed people with limited economic means that society has failed is in fact allowing them to behave recklessly and grow their audience. Nope. A lot of these folks know what they are doing or are allowing themselves to give in to their worst selves. That's not being failed, that's making choices.
- dane-pgp 6y ago> But she also said the GOP played a role, adding that “if we are the party of personal responsibility, we need to take personal responsibility.” https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/07/nikki-haley-criticizes-trump-456320 https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/07/nikki-haley-critici...
- mhh__ 6y agoNo amount of "economic anxiety" justifies an explicitly undemocratic coup attempt where people were running around looking to scalp democratically elected leaders. There are real ills in society, but - ignoring that republican voters are significantly uninformed about things like the party's support for healthcare, e.g. Efforts to scrap Obamacare largely hurt poor Trump voters - that doesn't excuse them from the fact that they've swallowed the Trump Koolaid and taken part in a coup. And besides, if you want to talk about society failing them - were there any black people in the Capitol?
- NovemberWhiskey 6y agoIt's always a Baofeng because they're the cheapest radio that looks the part; it's just a cosplay element - along with the plate-carrier with the MOLLE and the camouflage pants.
- blahyawnblah 6y agoI know people who use them because they will transmit and receive on pretty much any frequency. Not because they're cheap.
- pnw_hazor 6y agoThe warning applies to GMRS walkie-talkies too. I doubt folks were using HAM bands.
- csommers 6y agoYou sound like a real joy. Quick: let’s implement ID for everything, because that clearly stops criminals.
- japhyr 6y ago> These people are idiots. Bringing their cellphones, recording video of themselves committing felonies and then posting them online. I don't think it's as simple as "these people were idiots because they recorded themselves committing a crime", to paraphrase this line of thinking. I'm pretty sure these people convinced themselves, and each other, that they were breaking the law to save the country. They thought they were recording a revolution in which they would be the new heroes.
- ALittleLight 6y agoI don't think so. They were at the Capitol for a few hours. They committed some vandalism and brawled with the Capitol police. Maybe the guy with the zip ties thought he was there for revolution, but most seemed to be taking advantage of an opportunity to run in and see or loot the Capitol.
- minikites 6y ago>loot the Capitol Then they should be shot on sight. The only reason they weren't fired upon is the color of their skin.
- krastanov 6y agoThis attitude really saddens me. We should be advocating for all protestors to be treated with such gentle touch, not for all protestors to be brutalized the way BLM protestors were. Thankfully, this is the attitude I have heard from most BLM leaders.
- ALittleLight 6y agoI agree that the comment you are responding to is saddening, but I disagree with the characterization of the Capitol protesters as being treated with a "gentle touch". One unarmed woman was shot and killed, others were maced, beaten etc. Three other protesters died from causes that I've just seen described as "medical". This hardly seems like evidence of a light touch to me. In my estimation the Capitol Police were some combination of surprised, unprepared, under-equipped, and under-manned. The police didn't seem to have any plans or preparation. Some police are seen standing aside and letting protesters in to the Capitol (which, I agree is a light touch, but I also saw police kneeling in solidarity with BLM protesters, which is also a light touch). Other police are brawling with protesters (which, I think is probably about the right level of violence, we just needed more police to be there doing it and for all the police there to understand what they were supposed to be doing). I don't think the police should shoot Capitol protesters or BLM protesters. I do think they should use physical force against both when they do things that are unacceptable - e.g. entering the Capitol or destroying or looting stores. I would say both groups call for a similar medium touch.
- chrisseaton 6y ago> These people are idiots. I think 'these people are idiots' is an easy thing to think but almost always the wrong thing. Few people are idiots. Most people are just as smart as you are. More likely, these people fundamentally aren't looking at the situation like you are. Probably, they don't care what you, or the police, or the FBI, or anyone else, think about what they're doing and don't care how they're being tracked. They don't feel the need to hide. It's comforting to think 'nah they must be idiots' for not hiding... but maybe more concerning to realise they could be right about not needing to hide.
- minikites 6y ago>Most people are just as smart as you are. These people don't believe in objective reality (Biden won the election and there was no meaningful voter or election fraud) and I'm having trouble thinking of a definition of "idiot" where something like that doesn't qualify.
- chrisseaton 6y ago> These people don't believe in objective reality Again... maybe they don't care instead of they don't believe? They may tell you they don't believe but what's not necessarily what they really think. 'They're just an idiot' is lazy analysis and dangerous. Very few people are idiots. Most people are lucid. It's dangerous because you're giving yourself a reason to be less cautious (how dangerous can they be - they're idiots, right?) rather than thinking these people aren't playing by the rules I'm playing by, what should I do about that? Whenever you think someone’s an idiot stop and think if it’s their modus operandi to make you think that.
- still_grokking 6y agoBeing dangerous and being an idiot are completely orthogonal. > Very few people are idiots. Most people are lucid. I would question this. The average IQ is by definition 100. But that's not much at all! And there are 50% even below this line. If one has a look at for example https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy_in_the_United_States it get's even more worrisome. A large part of the US population is actually illiterate. In other parts of the world it looks even worse! We as a species would have solved most of our issues thousands of years ago if the average dude out there wouldn't be so incredibly dumb. And if you think about it a little bit, and judge form "normal" behavior around you, it's frightening how stupid people are actually. (Just put on the TV for a quick recap). If you're here on this site chances are high that you're smarter than the average. Looking form this position it may be hard to acknowledge all that stupidity around you because "No, they can't be such dumb, nobody can be such dumb". But in fact they are even dumber than you could imagine...
- lxe 6y ago> It's already against the law to use them in a manner that is against the law. Well said.
- lxe 6y agoHan anyone recently verified the Baofeng's harmonics output? I got a TinySA and wondering if it's possible to somehow wire it up to test them.
- duxup 6y agoI think many felt they had nothing to hide. Many are in camera calling it a revolution. Many aren't hiding theur faces, giving their names in interviews. A person in one of the videos taking photos of random documents says "Ted Cruz would want us to do this". I think they expected to have no consequences...