[samatman]

Can you elaborate? I'm interested in having an emergency radio which can listen to (and send on) frequencies I'm not allowed on, I have no intention of transmitting on the prohibited channels, and I have a Baofeng. Is there some obviously better radio I should have instead, and why?

[iasay]

Honestly the Baofeng is mostly fine. Just use it. 90% of it is elitism. The harmonic suppression of the transmitter is crap which is the issue but the radiated power is constrained by the antenna so not usually a problem unless you’re testing it in a lab. Most of the problem is just sinophobia.

If you want something actually with decent capability then the Yaesu FT818 is a good bet. It does all amateur bands, UHF, VHF, airband, FM broadcast all modes. But it costs money.

I’m not an active ham anymore but I keep an 818 around.

As for why I’m not a ham anymore, spend some time with some hams and you will get the idea.

[AlbertCory]

> spend some time with some hams and you will get the idea

Also a former ham (age 14!).

Nearly all conversations:

"We read you loud and clear here. What kind of equipment are you using? Mine is blah blah blah. How do I sound? Ok, over and out."

[linsomniac]

I'm also an ex-ham, I sometimes wish I had renewed my license because it would be nice to have access to a good radio sometimes, but not so nice that I'm willing to go through the exam process again. So I have 4 GMRS radios that I just have to have one license for the whole family to use.

[zanethomas]

"sinophobia"

That translates to "fear of china" which is almost always incorrectly applied. Were there a single word for "boycotting china" that would be more appropriate.

[iasay]

It’s definitely fear based on the crap I’ve heard.

“Why would I buy a radio from communists. It’s probably bugged”

I facepalmed so hard I nearly imploded my skull on that.

[bityard]

I wrote a longer comment about this elsewhere in these comments but the short version is: a Baofeng is a terrible scanner and can't be used to transmit on ANYTHING without a license of some kind. If you can't transmit, then you can't practice, and if you can't practice, you aren't prepared for an emergency.

If you just want to listen, a handheld scanner would be a far better option than a Baofeng (but of course cost a bit more).

[nibbleshifter]

> implying anyone actually cares about the "radio laws" besides HAM's.

[bityard]

The FCC cares a lot, to the tune of $25k: https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-fines-ca-amateur-radio-oper...

Anyone who makes a habit of transmitting on a frequency they are not authorized on WILL be caught eventually, especially if they are interfering with police, emergency services, business users, and broadcasters. And all of these are very easy to do if you own a Boafeng and don't know how to use it.