Question from a doctor friend about VHF HT's

[N2CHX]

Hey guys, I figured I'd post this here as I don't use these radios and I know a lot of you do.

"Hi, Kelli!Just thought I'd ask you a quick ham question. Are you familiar with those small handheld UHF/VHF transceivers from China by companies like Baofeng? At our hospital, we communicate with EMS on frequencies like 155.235 and 155.340. We have radios that we share, but they're gigantic and heavy, and the sound is horrible. I thought it would be nice to get my own that could also serve as a scanner as well.- First, would I need a license to use one of these?- Is this the right gadget that I should be looking for? For example, one of the radios I saw on Ebay covers 136-174 & 400-470MHz. - Can I switch frequencies just by pressing the buttons on the radio itself, or do I need some kind of software to set it up?"

[N8YX]

Are those rigs certificated by the FCC as Part 90 devices for the allocations on which your friend wishes to operate?

If not: He can use them for listening purposes only and not to transmit.

There are quite a few commercial (Icom/Kenwood/Motorola, etc) VHF HTs which have a smaller footprint and can be programmed for both VHF commercial allocations and ham radio usage, assuming the user is licensed for each service.

Anything else is asking for fines.

[NQ6U]

A Baofeng will work. Programming them from the keypad is a nightmare and the software supplied by the OEM sucks Thousand-Year-Old Eggs but there's a free open source program called CHIRP that works like a champ. Tell your friend to by the $8 programming cable when he buys the radio and he'll be okay.

On Edit: They've been approved for Part 90 use.

[N2CHX]

Thanks guys.. Do you know if any of these radios have scanning capability?

[NQ6U]

Thanks guys.. Do you know if any of these radios have scanning capability?

The Baofeng UV-5R does, but it's slow.

[K7SGJ]

The Baofeng UV-5R does, but it's slow.

Ever seen a fast Dr.?

[KC2UGV]

Are those rigs certificated by the FCC as Part 90 devices for the allocations on which your friend wishes to operate?

If not: He can use them for listening purposes only and not to transmit.

There are quite a few commercial (Icom/Kenwood/Motorola, etc) VHF HTs which have a smaller footprint and can be programmed for both VHF commercial allocations and ham radio usage, assuming the user is licensed for each service.

Anything else is asking for fines.

They are Part 90 certified for business bands, but not safety of life (AFAIK).

[kb2vxa]

Part 90 is Part 90, the only "safety of life" certification they don't have is approval of the US Bureau of Mines, they're not explosion proof. OK, separating sarcasm from serious,"explosion proof" is an electrical certification meaning the case is gas tight which it's not.

Using an HT as a scanner can be a clumsy affair because the two devices are vastly different. A ham rig can't receive trunking systems and there are several types of them, or most digital audio formats and new ones come out every year. Scanner manufacturers have a hard time keeping up due to patents and they're WAY behind. The long and short of it is an HT makes one lousy scanner and even one Part 90 certified may not be compatible with Part 90 systems in use locally, so not knowing what's what in that neck of the woods I have to simply say no.

By that I mean yes to drugs, no to HTs. (;->)

[W2NAP]

They are using HT's to talk to the EMS bringing people in? Here they have a "base" going though a repeater.

I also wonder what kind of rigs they are using now. Honestly if I was them I would pick up some good /\/\otorola's

[ad4mg]

The Baofeng UV-5R does, but it's slow.


Ever seen a fast Dr.?

I see what you did there... :-D

[K7SGJ]

I see what you did there... :-D


And here I thought I slid that through un-noticed. Good catch.

[K0RGR]

Not all Baofengs are created equal. The UV5R is 'certificated' for Part 90 use, but you need to be certain it has the proper Part 90 FCC tag on it. The Baofengs bought directly from China through Amazon are usually lacking the Part 90 sticker, and may not be Part 90 compliant. I would suggest they talk to a U.S. dealer who may offer warranty or repair service, and can steer them in the right direction. Radio City http://www.radioinc.com/ offers several Chinese brands and can advise on the Part 90 acceptability of them. I think they carry the TYT brand expressly for this reason.