Interesting and I have been thinking about getting a baofeng. They hands down have the best reviews by everyone, even those that prefer to only buy American products.
Is your license a lifetime one?
I really want to start building my own data tower and try to get more ppl to do so, so we don't need big corps to be able to use the air waves. This seems like a good start.
Baby steps😀
That's the spirit! Decentralized communication!
Absolutely recommend a baofeng for a starter radio. What I'm finding is that when I get more well versed in comms, I'll want something more. But there's no other radio out there for that price, so it's hard to bash em.
The license is good for like ten years. I don't know exactly, but it's a while. I'm not the type to advocate for a licensing process, but it really opens a lot of doors to get the license.
As for a tower, they can be built or bought. Check FB messenger, they're pretty affordable actually. I saw one that was $50 per 10' section. Sounds like a lot when you get up really high, but you're building a tower for crying out loud. $5 a foot is pretty good. Of course, you can just strap the antenna to your roof or hoist it in a tree or stick it on a pole in the ground for a lot cheaper too. Lots of options.
I have 2x BF UV-9R Plus and a BF UV-5R. I'm using the 9R+ for kayaking as they are waterproof. In Australia, the CB is FM so I can use the public channels. The 5R is mainly used in my car with a handheld speaker.
Thank you for the valuable information my friend.😀
How do you like the 9R? I'm thinking I need one lol
Got them for about 10 months now, still working fine.
They are bulky but work good. There are less accessories for them than the 5Rs. You will need to get the correct USB cable if you want to program them with a software on the computer but you can also program them using the built-in keyboard although a bit more painful if you have many channels to enter.
Yeah, I've got the cable to program. I worked up a program of local repeaters for my group of guys to use.
What I meant is if you have a 5R you would need another cable for 9R+ Not same connector
Ohhh, okay! Damn, that's a whole nother expense lol
Maybe one day. Our local 2m channels plus murs/frs/gmrs is 120 channels.