UV5R can transmit and receive on the 2m amateur band as well as others. If you really want to have a go save up 100 bucks and get a Yaesu FT65 and get licensed

UV5R can transmit and receive on the 2m amateur band as well as others. If you really want to have a go save up 100 bucks and get a Yaesu FT65 and get licensed (it's not hard). I started with the Baofeng thing and tried Summits On The Air (SOTA). Baofengs have very poor filtering which means if you are near a strong signal you probably won't hear anything. I was on a hilltop a couple of miles from a commercial radio mast...people could hear me, I couldn't hear them. Putting up a big antenna made the situation worse, because it drags in more signal in! With the Yaesu I have had 70 mile contacts summit to summit with the supplied antenna. Save your money and get a real one.