Ask us anything: Amateur (Ham) Radio

Good moning,

I have a baofeng bf-f8hp and i want to listen to my local sheriffs dept and EMS. I've set it to the proper frequency but i get nothing except an occasional blip of static. are there any additional settings that i need to set? I can factory reset my radio and start from the ground up if necessary.

Thanks in advance!

Henderson Repeaters

Vance County Freqencies
 
yeeyee said:
Good moning,

I have a baofeng bf-f8hp and i want to listen to my local sheriffs dept and EMS. I've set it to the proper frequency but i get nothing except an occasional blip of static. are there any additional settings that i need to set? I can factory reset my radio and start from the ground up if necessary.

Thanks in advance!

Henderson Repeaters

Vance County Freqencies
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Those are likely legacy systems, might be used for pager and siren tone activation or may be completly offline now. Your local responders should be operating on the viper system which is P25 (digital), your baofeng cannot decode P25.
 
hp468 said:
Those are likely legacy systems, might be used for pager and siren tone activation or may be completly offline now. Your local responders should be operating on the viper system which is P25 (digital), your baofeng cannot decode P25.
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Thanks, I had no idea Vance County was up to speed, they are so low-budget on everything else.

Is this what you mean?
Vance County Radio Freq

What would i need to listen to P25 digital?
 
yeeyee said:
Thanks, I had no idea Vance County was up to speed, they are so low-budget on everything else.

Is this what you mean?
Vance County Radio Freq

What would i need to listen to P25 digital?
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8075D86A-7BE8-4F73-82D8-FF72238D6EBD.jpeg


You would need a scanner capable of decoding P25. Something along the lines of an Uniden Homepatrol 2 or similar. I believe there’s a way to do it with multiple sdr dongles but I’ve not gone down that rabit hole.

If you got this route, make sure that whatever you buy will decode both p25 phase I and P25 phase II, I believe viper will be transitioning to phase II sometime in the near future.
 
hp468 said:
You would need a scanner capable of decoding P25. Something along the lines of an Uniden Homepatrol 2 or similar. I believe there’s a way to do it with multiple sdr dongles but I’ve not gone down that rabit hole.

If you got this route, make sure that whatever you buy will decode both p25 phase I and P25 phase II, I believe viper will be transitioning to phase II sometime in the near future.
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Thank you, yeah i think i read all of NC will be Phase 2 by 2025
 
yeeyee said:
Do you have a handheld recommendation? I don't need the best of the best, baofeng quality will do.

thanks
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No such thing as a cheap P25 scanner (that I’m aware of). Any of the uniden handhelds would/should be fine but unless used, they are not cheap. Even used, they are far from the baofeng price point.
 
hp468 said:
No such thing as a cheap P25 scanner (that I’m aware of). Any of the uniden handhelds would/should be fine but unless used, they are not cheap. Even used, they are far from the baofeng price point.
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How can I tell if a radio is P25 phase 2 compatible? does it just say it? for example, this radio says it's digital but has no mention of p25 or phase 2 in any of its descriptions.
 
mostly22lately said:
Do you guys know when NC Viper Phase 2 is expected to turn on the CISA encryption?

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I do not but unless soemthing has changed, NC statutes prohibit public service encryption.

Edit to add, public service traffic used to be classified as public record thus encryption was a no go. IIRC there was a big stink in the western part of the state(idr which county) years ago when LE encrypted their comms. Not sure what the outcome of that was. Reckon I aught to get spun up on it.
 
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hp468 said:
I do not but unless soemthing has changed, NC statutes prohibit public service encryption.

Edit to add, public service traffic used to be classified as public record thus encryption was a no go. IIRC there was a big stink in the western part of the state(idr which county) years ago when LE encrypted their comms. Not sure what the outcome of that was. Reckon I aught to get spun up on it.
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The Chatham EM says that it’s all going to go encrypted. I disagree with this because it’s a large step towards secret policing.
 
hp468 said:
You need a scanner, not a radio.
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yes, a radio

mostly22lately said:
You'd be able to tell from the price ;-)

www.radiowalkietalkie.com

Difference between P25 and DMR two-way radio systems - Knowledge - ETMY ASIA Co., Limited

Difference between P25 and DMR two-way radio systems
www.radiowalkietalkie.com www.radiowalkietalkie.com
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haha i've started to notice.

Which portable handheld p25 p1&2 is the best bang for my buck?

I'm looking for portable and handheld because I would also like to take it to work and listen to that city and sheriff's dept too.
 
Seems like you're more talking about transceivers, and, unless you are working for a 2 way shop servicing a government agency, I don't know where you'd buy one...

Look like these, for one of numerous examples:

www.icomamerica.com

IC-F7010 IC-F7020 | Products | Icom America.

Icom,America,Land Mobile,Marine,Aviation,Amateur,Network,Systems
www.icomamerica.com www.icomamerica.com

Now, if you'd be willing to carry a laptop PC and a receiver hardware dongle and a suitable antenna:


Gummnt does not want you to hear what they are saying about you, I guess you have figured that out by now.

DNyuz - Latest Breaking U.S. News

Latest Breaking News, U.S. and World Politics, Crime, Business, Science, Technology, Autos, Entertainment, Culture, Movie, Music, Sports.
dnyuz.com

Once they turn on the encryption, none of these options will be of any practical use.
 
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noway2 said:
The Chatham EM says that it’s all going to go encrypted. I disagree with this because it’s a large step towards secret policing.
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Yea, I have major issues with that as well.

yeeyee said:
yes, a radio
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I don’t think your understanding. You will not be able to access viper with a radio(ie a handheld transceiver). You would need a viper code plug and assigned system ID to access the system. This is not a “type a frequency in and listen” type deal like old analog systems.

Uniden handheld p25 scanners:
Bcd325p2
Bcd436hp
SDS100
 
hp468 said:
Yea, I have major issues with that as well.


I don’t think your understanding. You will not be able to access viper with a radio(ie a handheld transceiver). You would need a viper code plug and assigned system ID to access the system. This is not a “type a frequency in and listen” type deal like old analog systems.

Uniden handheld p25 scanners:
Bcd325p2
Bcd436hp
SDS100
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Yes, i'm sorry i meant to say scanner, i think my phone auto-corrected me to Radio because i've been typing that in for the past few days while apparently looking for the wrong thing

So with either of those 3, i can listen to all emergency services in my truck?
 
yeeyee said:
Yes, i'm sorry i meant to say scanner, i think my phone auto-corrected me to Radio because i've been typing that in for the past few days while apparently looking for the wrong thing

So with either of those 3, i can listen to all emergency services in my truck?
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Couple things to note.

Those will decode p25 ph1&2 transmissions that are NOT encrypted. If/when your local agencies go encrypted, it will no longer work.

Your local agencies may have tac channels or operation talk groups that are not published in the scanner databases or talk groups that are only simplex for fire ground or other onscene operations. The above image I posted is from radio reference, it shows those talk groups to be “D” mode which is digital not encrypted. So those should be available to listen to at a minimum.

When you lock onto a talk group with one of these scanners you may miss some traffic here or there from the scanner jumping between frequencies. *this is my experience with a home patrol II and a bct996xt. The newer models may be better.


So I cannot guarantee that you will hear ALL traffic.

You would be better off to reach out to your local amateur radio club to see if any members are into scanners and pick their brains locally. That would give you a better idea of what to expect before dropping $500 and being disappointed. It’s a pretty big purchase, I’d hate for you to be disappointed in their performance if they don’t meet your expectations.
 
In the spirit of trying new ham things, I got my rig set up for FT-8 this week to give it a try. I made about 15 contacts the other day. All of them were calling CQ and I answered them. I've got a couple of questions.
How many times do you try contacting someone before it's impolite?
Can you try to contact someone that isn't calling CQ?
When someone is calling CQ, sometimes they list North America, SA, EU or some other designation at the END of their CQ line. If you look at normal FT-8 formatting that isn't who they are trying to contact (like when they write CQ DX). It seems to be where they are calling from. What is the significance of this? Do I need to pay attention to it or ignore it?
Any help appreciated.
Insults and abuse will be graded on the standard 1-10 scale. :)
Joe
 
JoeR said:
In the spirit of trying new ham things, I got my rig set up for FT-8 this week to give it a try. I made about 15 contacts the other day. All of them were calling CQ and I answered them. I've got a couple of questions.
How many times do you try contacting someone before it's impolite?
Can you try to contact someone that isn't calling CQ?
When someone is calling CQ, sometimes they list North America, SA, EU or some other designation at the END of their CQ line. If you look at normal FT-8 formatting that isn't who they are trying to contact (like when they write CQ DX). It seems to be where they are calling from. What is the significance of this? Do I need to pay attention to it or ignore it?
Any help appreciated.
Insults and abuse will be graded on the standard 1-10 scale. :)
Joe
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Sometimes if I’m having trouble calling someone, I will try changing my transmit frequency to see if I can make a contact. Since much of it runs on automation, you’re not breaking any etiquette by continuing to try to call.
 
hp468 said:
Couple things to note.

Those will decode p25 ph1&2 transmissions that are NOT encrypted. If/when your local agencies go encrypted, it will no longer work.

Your local agencies may have tac channels or operation talk groups that are not published in the scanner databases or talk groups that are only simplex for fire ground or other onscene operations. The above image I posted is from radio reference, it shows those talk groups to be “D” mode which is digital not encrypted. So those should be available to listen to at a minimum.

When you lock onto a talk group with one of these scanners you may miss some traffic here or there from the scanner jumping between frequencies. *this is my experience with a home patrol II and a bct996xt. The newer models may be better.


So I cannot guarantee that you will hear ALL traffic.

You would be better off to reach out to your local amateur radio club to see if any members are into scanners and pick their brains locally. That would give you a better idea of what to expect before dropping $500 and being disappointed. It’s a pretty big purchase, I’d hate for you to be disappointed in their performance if they don’t meet your expectations.
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Thank you. I will be holding off on a scanner purchase.
 
JoeR said:
In the spirit of trying new ham things, I got my rig set up for FT-8 this week to give it a try. I made about 15 contacts the other day. All of them were calling CQ and I answered them. I've got a couple of questions.
How many times do you try contacting someone before it's impolite?
Can you try to contact someone that isn't calling CQ?
When someone is calling CQ, sometimes they list North America, SA, EU or some other designation at the END of their CQ line. If you look at normal FT-8 formatting that isn't who they are trying to contact (like when they write CQ DX). It seems to be where they are calling from. What is the significance of this? Do I need to pay attention to it or ignore it?
Any help appreciated.
Insults and abuse will be graded on the standard 1-10 scale. :)
Joe
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You can try to contact anyone, anytime, for as long as you want to.

Doesn't matter if they aren't calling CQ. You have to consider they're doing something else, though.
Like, maybe, talking to someone else.
Is it impolite if the other guy hears you, but doesn't reply?

Call often if you want the Q.
I am one short of WAZ, for example, after 45 years.
Think I am going to pass that up when the opportunity strikes?

Remember, propagation can change quickly, and if a path opens, and you're there ...
A post above said to QSY after a bit, and that is smart advice.

Now ... If I'm calling CQ and I add <EU>, I only want EU stations. If I format my message oddly for the mode, the intent still remains.

On the topic of something new ...

Using the same exact setup you have for FT8, see if you like JS8CALL better.
Slightly different frequencies (7078 for example instead of 7074).
It's basically texting, but on HF. If the SNR is good, switch to turbo mode and type ahead of your buffer - if you can.
 
In case it is t obvious, with FT8, look at the waterfall to see where everyone is transmitting their slice and pick something that isn’t being in use, if you want to call CQ at least. Often times I will respond on their frequency, but you don’t have to. The computer will decode everything in band.
 
I see that we have a ham thread. Wonderful. I’ve had my Tech for a few years now and remain decently active in local 2m repeaters. Studying for general right now. Got a slew of HTs and some 50w mobiles. Also I’ve been branching into digital here lately. Scooped up a Baofeng DM1701 and it’s been a surprisingly good little HT.

~KN4TQJ~
 
HawgBonz said:
Failed spectacularly at the General. I guess "D" wasn't for "Dunno".
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The tests are written to determine if you practiced or studied the reference material more than anything else, as you just demonstrated.

Congrats on getting your ticket.
 
Dear Ham Radio men,

If you could be bitten by a radioactive ham radio, and gained superpowers, would you prefer:

* Be able to generate radio waves in order to generate destructive blasts and cause you to fly.
* Be able to send and receive radio waves directly to minds, emulating telepathy.
* Be able to manifest into reality radio programs, ie bring The Shadow or Dick Tracy to life to act as you sidekicks?
 
I see reviews all around the globe on baofang being good to the worst crap you could ever imagine. Is it reasonable for those trying to do SHORT distance? Was looking at a 2 pack so wife can talk to me and direct on off-road trails. Plus would be if I could connect to my dad while hunting in Croatian. He currently uses a uniden vhf radio that works well but over $100 a pop I was hoping something cheaper in a 2 pack. Last cheap vhf radio I had you could not adjust the squelch and wouldnt go past 300 yards. Are these baofangs any better? Looking at the uv-5r
 
@Squanchy I believe the UV-5R is sold / licensed as a ham radio. As a result, while it may function on FRS/GMRS frequencies, it may not be technically legal to do so, though your risk of anything resulting of it is minimal. While it may work for what you describe, point to point communication within a short range, my personal experience with the UV-5R is that it isn't worth much. As a point of comparison, I had one and couldn't break squelch on the K4ITL repeater in on the WRAL tower in Garner from Chapel Hill, but was "full quieting" with my Kenwood which theoretically had the same power output. The UV-5R also has a reputation for "bleeding" outside of the designated spectrum, pretty badly.

So in short, while it may do what you want, they certainly are cheap, and they do have their place, there are better products out there. While a bit more expensive, something like this might suit you better: Amazon link to Motorola FRS two pack.
 
noway2 said:
my personal experience with the UV-5R is that it isn't worth much. As a point of comparison, I had one and couldn't break squelch on the K4ITL repeater in on the WRAL tower in Garner from Chapel Hill,
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Speaking French to me lol my dad's uniden is just 5 watts as well.
 
Squanchy said:
Speaking French to me lol my dad's uniden is just 5 watts as well.
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Ok, I will try to translate to something more intelligible, like Japanese.

There is a popular ham radio repeater on the WRAL TV tower that I was trying to talk on. It is located at about 1,800' in the air, which gives it a very wide line of sight, which is pretty much the distance over which VHF/UHF radio signals will propagate. I was roughly 54 miles from that repeater. If I pushed the talk button on the Baofeng radio, it would activate the repeater's receiver, but the signal was so poor that the only thing that came out on the transmit side was static. If I used my $300 Kenwood, which was also a handheld radio with the same theoretical power level, it would go through clearly.
 
noway2 said:
it would go through clearly.
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Sorry I'm VERY ignorant on this stuff. So the baofangs output either isn't rated properly or the antenna is really poor quality?

Is it reasonable to assume the baofangs can transmit within a half mile? Handheld to handheld
 
Squanchy said:
Sorry I'm VERY ignorant on this stuff. So the baofangs output either isn't rated properly or the antenna is really poor quality?

Is it reasonable to assume the baofangs can transmit within a half mile? Handheld to handheld
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You're not ignorant, at all.

To make the radio link work from point A to point B, you need (1) some level of power and (2) a way to radiate that power and (3) a way to not lose all the radiated power before it gets to the other end.

So, you are correct (not ignorant) : either the radio is not transmitting the power it is supposed to, or, the antenna sucks, or both of those ...

BUT

You did NOT say what that half-mile consists of. That is critical to know, as is the frequency you are trying to operate on.

And without that information, I cannot answer the question.

In many cases, perhaps in most realistic cases: no, it is not reasonable to assume you can talk 1/2 mile between these radios.
 
That situation would be THICK woods in eastern NC. Zero hills very flat but thick
 
Squanchy said:
That situation would be THICK woods in eastern NC. Zero hills very flat but thick
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OK.

Trees are really bad for VHF and UHF radio signals and are worse the higher up in frequency you go.

If you're using a pair of the Baofeng UV-5R this means:

(A) Use one of the cross country itinerant VHF frequencies -- pick any one where you don't hear other people talking

151.625 MHz
151.700 MHz
151.760 MHz
151.955 MHz
154.515 MHz
154.540 MHz
154.570 MHz
154.600 MHz
158.400 MHz

And (B)

Use a full sized gain antenna such as this one, idealized for the bands you want:


That should work, IF the radio is putting out the 4 watts or so it's supposed to at that frequency.
Here is the math:

At 1 mile at 155 MHz you have 100dB path loss (80 dB prop loss plus 20 dB foliage fade margin).
You have a unity gain antenna (0 dB), +34 dBm of ERP, and -90 dBm receiver.
124 dB power budget less 100 dB path loss = 24 dB 'overhead'
 
Baofeng radios come with iffy antennas. I have one that is only marginally better than nothing, 2 that are ok, and one that works great.

Get the antennas as mostly22 said.
 
As above, the best accessory for range is a replacement antenna that is as close to 19" in length as is possible.
 
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