Hi - wondering how far can I be to reach another Baogfeng ham?, I need them to talk to a couple of people I work with about 15 - 20 miles away...
1073894
I am unaware a a hand held that can do that without tranmitting to a repeater.
1073895
Hi Connie. That's not going to happenBaofengs only put out about 4 1/2 wattsThe only way your going to talk to your friends is thru a repeater. Simplex is onlyGood for about 5 to 6 miles. Hope this helped you. I have four of them and been a ham for 27 yrsHave fun
1073896
Will I live in Missouri I know bye chatting to other hams here, they have the same unit. I would go on a local repeater and see if u can get a ham to help u.
1073897
you could if you talk off a repeater tower with it.but just going radio to radio it is unlikely.
1073898
Well, if you live on the edge of a cliff on a very tall mountain and your friends are 15-20 miles away across the lake (with nothing between you but air), then yes you probably could have that conversation (I have on several occasions worked over 100 miles on UHF simplex with my handheld and the standard rubber duck antenna, but I was 9,500 feet up a mountain looking down at flat farm land in AZ). Otherwise, the other folks are correct. In "normal" conditions (and this is just a rough estimate), every watt on VHF/UHF FM equals approximately 1 mile in range, so your 1/2 watt FRS radios really only work about 1/2 mile, not the outlandish claim of 35 miles the manufacturers mark on their boxes. Well, if you live on the edge of a cliff on a very tall mountain and your friends are 15-20 miles away across the lake (with nothing between you but air), then yes you probably could have that conversation (I have on several occasions worked over 100 miles on UHF simplex with my handheld and the standard rubber duck antenna, but I was 9,500 feet up a mountain looking down at flat farm land in AZ). Otherwise, the other folks are correct. In "normal" conditions (and this is just a rough estimate), every watt on VHF/UHF FM equals approximately 1 mile in range, so your 1/2 watt FRS... » Read More Well, if you live on the edge of a cliff on a very tall mountain and your friends are 15-20 miles away across the lake (with nothing between you but air), then yes you probably could have that conversation (I have on several occasions worked over 100 miles on UHF simplex with my handheld and the standard rubber duck antenna, but I was 9,500 feet up a mountain looking down at flat farm land in AZ). Otherwise, the other folks are correct. In "normal" conditions (and this is just a rough estimate), every watt on VHF/UHF FM equals approximately 1 mile in range, so your 1/2 watt FRS radios really only work about 1/2 mile, not the outlandish claim of 35 miles the manufacturers mark on their boxes. « Show Less
1073899
if you are going to talk radio to radio ? then you have to consider a few things . like terrain of the land , the weather . from inside to outside a building , alot of thing effect the signal you transmit. i'm not saying you can't , but highly unlikely , and it depends on whether you use the uhf or vhf portion of radio , that will determine range too . i have been a HAM radio operator for 20 years and i understand what effects "RF' signal paths ,but 15 to 20 miles under perfect conditions ? maybe . best answer i can give you , hope this helps .
1073900
You need a radio repeater at this distance this radio repeat only 1 miles aprox
59766
If the question is how far two radios can be to still communicate it would depend on terrain and weather (lesser). Clearly the 36 miles claimed might only be direct line of sight, like between two high mountains, the curvature of the Earth would not permit it even over water. The signal does bounce around, which both reduces its ultimate range but then helps overcome shorter range communication where line of sight is not present. Based on my experience with it expect a couple of miles range, less if in hilly woods that are wet.Value for price is still good, and I recommend them unless you need long range communications. If so use cellular if available, or satellite if not. If the question is how far two radios can be to still communicate it would depend on terrain and weather (lesser). Clearly the 36 miles claimed might only be direct line of sight, like between two high mountains, the curvature of the Earth would not permit it even over water. The signal does bounce around, which both reduces its ultimate range but then helps overcome shorter range communication where line of sight is not present. Based on my experience with it expect a couple of miles range, less if in hilly woods that are wet.Value for price is still good, and I recommend them unless... » Read More If the question is how far two radios can be to still communicate it would depend on terrain and weather (lesser). Clearly the 36 miles claimed might only be direct line of sight, like between two high mountains, the curvature of the Earth would not permit it even over water. The signal does bounce around, which both reduces its ultimate range but then helps overcome shorter range communication where line of sight is not present. Based on my experience with it expect a couple of miles range, less if in hilly woods that are wet.Value for price is still good, and I recommend them unless you need long range communications. If so use cellular if available, or satellite if not. « Show Less
1172873
That very good anten. Try to move hang to another place. So you can get any channels.
1062791
I know for sure at least 2 miles. I had to run to a gas station down from our house, and to test them out my husband stayed home and I went. We continued to talk to each other while I was driving. Once I got to the store we started breaking up, however, I was coming in clear to him, but he was breaking up. I believe that was other over the air interference from the store. Also we weren't in a straight line from each other like you would be in the woods. So far they work great, but we haven't had the opportunity to test them out for other distances, but the fact that he was breaking up and I was clear to him I believe it I wasn't at that store it would've been a lot longer of a distance of talk. I hope this helps......
114526
Hello Kathryn, same question! Distance suggested of supports ? Did you recived information?
645177
Not sure as floor to floor but I have one in my and one in the office building about 300 feet from my house and another one in the buying station at the end of my wharf and I can talk back and forth from either location. The total distance is roughly 609 ft apart.
2055606
Hi, you can send message to tell seller your working distance via Amazon after place order.
1638133
As long as the other people you want to talk to has a radio with marine channels or GRMS, if you want to talk to the regular two way radio or normal CBchannels your outta luck. It is a marine radio
1099273
The only way VHF works is line of sight. To talk more than a couple of miles on land you have to have a very tall antenna on both devices. Way taller than 10'. Talking over water gets you more range but not 35 miles with a handheld. That is a myth. I also own sets that out 6watss of power and they talk marginally further on land but still not 5 miles. We use these units on controlled burns and we have good luck with them on 2-400acre tracts but they will occasionally go out of range. So basically VHF is the best but don't expect big range on anything handheld. Period.
748075
Technically, to the horizon if you're on 2M, a little bit less if you're on 70cm. But that's with ideal conditions, one person on a high elevation, literally nothing in between, and ideal antennas. Realistically, with the antenna that comes with the radio, you're looking at a few miles. But again, it all depends. Are you in dense urban jungle? Then more like 1-2 miles. Are you in the forest? Maybe 3-4 miles. Are one of you on a mountain top overlooking a valley and the other in that valley? Are both of you on different mountain tops? The limiting factor here is the stock antenna on the HT, but this can be easily remedied. Many people make aftermarket antennae for HTs which, while less portable, will dramatically increase your range. So final answer is, it depends. All numbers quoted above are guesstimates. And if you don't know what 2M, 70cm, or HT means, or if you don't have a license from the FCC or equivalent regulatory body, please do not buy this radio. This is not a high power walker talkie, this is an amateur band radio, and as such requires a license to operate lawfully. If your interested in getting licensed, the process is pretty easy and very cheap, $15 to take the written test. Google "amateur radio license" for more on that.
885298
Yes if you do the mod that is easily found on the net. I did it and from experience I would not repeat the process. I permits marginal CB reception but of course you can't transmit. You won't pick up any of the long range skip like you could with a dedicated CB such as the Galaxy 979 which has upper and lower sideband. Frankly the IQ level of CB transmissions is rarely higher than the channel number you happen to be on. Get your ham technician license I finally took my exam last week and that's the way to go, you'll be glad you did.
1900098
If you are both at the same elevation and each holding it about 5 feet from the ground (mouth level), the max distance you can get is about 7 miles with any radio. Now if one person is higher then the other, you could theoretically get more distance. I generally get about half a mile with these. BUT the good thing about these radios is these are the only consumer grade (blister pack) radios that can hook up to a repeater. So if you have a GMRS repeater in the area you can get some major distance. Be advised also, that you have to get a special license with the FCC to operate these. One license will cover anyone living at one address.. It's around $80 bucks. If no repeater in the area, you might want to go with the midland's. They have a bit more power then the Motorola's, but it's hardly noticeable. Hope that helps.
1955947
It depends on what you like. I was very captivated by the idea of ham radio as a child in the 1950's and when I was most active in the hobby it was because I liked working ships at sea, people on other continents, the Amazon, Antarctica etc. Cellular phones and the internet have taken away a lot of the thrill for me for that sort of thing now. For you, it may depend on what you like to do i.e. do you like to chat with people in public conversations that anyone can listen in on. Unfortunately for me personally, it's not my thing. I bought the Baofeng Radio mainly for emergency use and, sadly perhaps, have talked on it very little. You might want to seek out a local ham radio club and see if they are the kind of folks that you would enjoy chatting with. If so you might enjoy the VHF/UHF thing like the Baofeng. If you are interested in DX (HF) that's another story. I hope this is helpful to you. I would be happy to try to answer any other questions you may have.
1010585
Honestly, I've never had a Ham radio before, but I can refer you to my colleague who turned me on to this radio which he uses for Ham and we both use for 2-way for work. His e-mail is N9HEP@sbcglobal.net Good luck and please let Bill know that Dusty referred you to him. Cheers!
2250061
I can't really answer that since I've not tried to figure out the max range; I didn't buy these to talk to people 36 miles away. The fields I attend range anywhere from a half mile to a few miles in length one way or another, with dense tree coverage; so the people I talk to are always within a mile. I've had no comm issues at these fields.
233554
Plug them into outlets very close to eachother to get them talking. Then move one to the remote location.
147330
I am picking up my wifi from my house to my shop ( where the cc x mile is located ) I am also able to see multiple signals from others some more than a mile away. The distance is about 500 feet and I am getting 5 bars in shop, the area is wide open space .