Subj : Re: Chinese radios
To   : Zero Reader
From : vk3jed
Date : Sat Jan 07 2017 03:31:00

-=> Zero Reader wrote to All <=-

 ZR> So who has a Chinese handheld? C'mon, admit it... it's the radio choice
 ZR> of militia groups and public servants alike. $35 or so on Amazon. It's
 ZR> a decent rig for the money.

Actually I don't.  I have played with a few of these radios.  For the price,
they're not bad, and the idea of a cheap "throwaway" radio has its merits. 
Just haven't got round to buying one myself.

 ZR> When it comes to programming these things, you CAN do it through the
 ZR> built-in menus, but why would you want to? Use Chirp and a USB cable.

Agree.  I have programmed up a couple for a friend, and Chirp makes it dead
easy.  That's the way to go.

 ZR> If you want a radio for a crisis, get something like the Yaesu FT-817
 ZR> or 897 field radio, so you can get on the HF bands. With low power and
 ZR> a wire antenna you can talk all over the US. A handheld, like the
 ZR> Baofengs, are only useful for repeater contacts (lets assume the
 ZR> repeaters are down), and simplex communication, and that's only good
 ZR> for a few miles at best, unless you are atop a mountain or other high
 ZR> point.

I have my trusty old IC-745.  An older, bigger radio, bas has been rock solid
since I bought it secondhand in 2000.  I also have an IC-7000 in the car,
though the IC-745 is just that bit more robust.

 ZR> tl;dr - Chinese handhelds are fine in some situations, but HF radios
 ZR> will actually get something done in a crisis.

Yes, if infrastructure goes down, HF is king.  However, many infrastructure
failures are local or regional, so a combination of HF and clever use of
VHF/UHF can work well.  I have done this on the VoIP WX Net, using
IRLP/Echolink to make the long haul trip halfway around the world to someone
within HF range of the affected area.


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