TYT UV8000E Radio Vs. Baofeng BF-F8HP Radio Ham

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  • jwh20

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    Feb 22, 2013
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    Hamilton County Indi
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    Cameramonkey

    www.thechosen.tv
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    May 12, 2013
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    Oh sure...no federal regulations matter...we can just all do what we want now.
    So you are saying that one technicality actually matters?

    Sure, I'll grant that there are some that actually do matter. Like pushing too much power on an assigned frequency that causes harm elsewhere. But some like the one I referenced is silly. In that case, there is no way anyone would know you were not on a Midland or Cobra unless they were standing in front of you.
     

    rvb

    Grandmaster
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    Jan 14, 2009
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    All you need is a $20 Baofeng and an echolink repeater....blammo...you're talking around the world...you just need to get a license.

    EchoLink is ok, but it’s point to point. You have to know the node you want to connect to. If you have a smart phone or tablet or a PC, you don’t even need a radio, just the app/program. (Still need a license). I used EL, for instance, to listen to hurricane nets recently, on my ipad...

    DMR lets you connect to different talkgroups that key up anywhere from 1 repeater (local TGs) to thousands (Worldwide TGs). There are local, statewide, regional, etc talkgroups. Kinda neat, and much more useful than EchoLink, IMO.

    ...and, most DMR radios can also be used analog, so you can still connect to analog repeaters, and EchoLink...

    -rvb
     

    Sailor

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    May 5, 2008
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    Fort Wayne
    Everyone who bought those GMRS bubble pack radios at walmart, also went to the FCC web site and paid the $70 for the license to use all the channels on that radio right?
     

    PistolBob

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    Oct 6, 2010
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    Yeah...get a DMR hand held. The GD-77 is DMR and analog...plus a bunch more freqs. Very easy to program. Amazon has them for like $85 and you can talk around the world.
     

    jedi

    Da PinkFather
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    Oct 27, 2008
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    Is the gd77 not the same as those chinease knock offs rhe baofeng? Or is the quality better? I had a baofeng years ago but after years of daily being in my backpack for emergencies it died. :l

    Never got around to getting another one.
     

    rvb

    Grandmaster
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    Jan 14, 2009
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    IN (a refugee from MD)
    Is the gd77 not the same as those chinease knock offs rhe baofeng? Or is the quality better? I had a baofeng years ago but after years of daily being in my backpack for emergencies it died. :l

    I don't know anything about the gd77, but the TYT MD380 is almost the DMR "default" radio.... I'd say nearly 1/2 of what I hear on the air is people using them, which is impressive given the # of radios available.

    Yea, it's also a cheap Chinese radio. I had to send my first one back due to a bad display. Second one has been fine. (R and L was very good to work with on the exchange, didn't make me send it back to TYT). 3 guys I work with have them and have had no problems.

    There is lots of support for the md380... firmware upgrades, better codeplug editors, etc.

    Also ~$85 shipped.
    MD-380 TYT MD380 440 MHZ DMR HT W/PROGRAMMING CABLE

    -rvb
     
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    rvb

    Grandmaster
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    PistolBob

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    Oct 6, 2010
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    The DMR radios are not that bad to setup. You just need to edit the code plug to include your DMR ID number, add your favorite freqs if they are not already in the codeplug, then upload the codeplug to the radio and you should be good to go. Make sure you keep a copy of the codeplug on your computer at home incase you need to load it in to another DMR radio. Make sure you have all the Talkgroups you want and make sure whatever you buy is two time slots and not just one. The Baofeng is single time slot and not worth diddly squat. Do not buy the cheaper DM5R from Baofeng...you will be sorry...it only has Time Slot 1.

    Radioddity makes the GD 77...I like it a lot better than the MD380 I had. But to each his own. Never bought a MD390 so I don't know about that one. They also make a MD-398 too...no idea about that one either.

    You'll need a valid license to get a DMR ID and set up your DMR radio.
     

    Lebowski

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    Jun 6, 2013
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    Between corn and soybean fields.
    Indiana has a pretty well established network of DMR enabled repeaters. I monitor talkgroup 3100 (USA) and see a lot of Indiana ID's keying up. Pretty much wherever you are in the state you should be able to reach a DMR enabled repeater, otherwise you can create a DMR hotspot using a Raspberry Pi and an additional module if you wish.

    Get a TYT-MD380 for less than $100, install the updated firmware and the MD380Tools onto the radio and you're good to go. Check out the Hoosier DMR Facebook page or website and just import the codeplugs they provide.

    As far as 2M/70cm radios go, a Baofeng is okay. Get yourself an additional battery and a roll up style slim-jim antenna that you can hoist up into a tree with some paracord and your range will increase comically over the stock antenna. With my Baofeng I can hit Cincinatti, Louisvile, Lawrenceburg and Indianapolis on 5 watts with my roll-up antenna that was made by another Hoosier ( Dual band 2m 70cm Slim Jim Antenna with 16' rg-58 ). In fact, just toss that stock antenna in the trash and replace it with a good whip antenna for portable use.

    Use HamStudy.org to study for the test. I'm studying now to upgrade my license class so I can start using the HF portions of the amateur bands.
     

    rvb

    Grandmaster
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    4   0   0
    Jan 14, 2009
    6,396
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    IN (a refugee from MD)
    MD380 is single band....GD77 is dual band. There is no DMR coverage in Johnson County.

    Theres what, one or two VHF DMR repeaters in Indiana?
    if you spend a lot of time on the coasts where VHF is somewhat more pravelent it might matter. Though I was in Boston a couple weeks ago and still found UHF Repeaters to work on....

    Edit: though if your looking for a "do-it-all" radio, incl dual-band analog, then yea, that’s a good point.

    -rvb
     
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