04/04/2021
You can program NOAA weather channels and FRS, GMRS and MURS with this too. Get a cable to easily program the radio with Chirp. I use this all the time....its holding up great! I love these radios!!
03/04/2021
This is a great radio for those looking to get into amateur radio with out burning a hole in your wallet. It's easy to use, easy to program. Most of all it's well made and durable which surprised me given the price. This might be one of the best handheld radios on the market for value.
03/04/2021
I love Baofeng radios, and the BF-F8HP is a real nice workhorse. With a good antenna (Nagoya 24J in my case) I'm able to hit repeaters dozens of miles away. 3800mAh batteries will keep this thing running for a long time even with lots of activity. A programming cable is pretty much essential to get the most out of this radio.About my only complaint is the inability to disable the alarm entirely (this is an option on some Baofeng/Btech radios). The best option you have is setting it to "site" which at least prevents it from squealing over the airwaves. I also would like an option to control the flashlight operation (disable the blink mode) via programming.Finally, a few quick tips about licensing:* You do NOT need a license to own this radio, and listen in on any frequencies this radio can access.* You DO need a ham license if you want to transmit with this radio. It can also be used unlicensed in an imminent emergency threatening life or property -- but you're better served being licensed, or at least getting intimately familiar with how it works, or it's useless to you in an emergency.* This is not FCC type-accepted for GMRS, FRS, or MURS transmit usage. However, it will transmit and receive on all of those frequencies.
02/04/2021
Great little radio. The extra watts compared to my UV 5r radios really made a difference. We use these daily to stay in contact with family members while traveling and while hiking around the area where I live.
01/04/2021
This is a more purpose built and firmware updated triband ht that works very well. It is not as high powered as the other more "fast and loose" baofeng HT's and seems to have better filtering. The wattage is slightly under spec but again, it seems to be a "more conforming" version of the ubiquitous HT. The one thing I can say for the unit I received (batch from back in December) is that mine came with a 1.25m antenna that has a white washer and says 220-225 mhz. I have several of the Baofeng triband (cheaper likely just firmware mod to triband) radios that came with non-US "red" washer 220-260mhz antennas. Folks, if you can get that white washer rubber ducky 1.25m antenna it is worth the premium for the BTECH (although there are other nice firmware features of the BTECH over the others)! I have the popular NA-320A and the custom triband from Smiley Antenna. They have low SWRs in the 220 band (advertise 1.3-1.8) HOWEVER THIS LITTLE OEM RUBBER DUCK was 1.2-1.3 measured on the VNA flat across the 222-225mhz. I really wish I could find another one of these aftermarket! Best HT 1.25m antenna I have used so far that wasn't more expensive than the radio. Check your order, that is the key for 1.25m on this radio.
26/03/2021