JOSH! you never stop amazing me! i have two of these T1s. Pretty content with it. i have used it on VHF and now will STOP. I was curious about the antenna being so short and working with VHF frequs... I dont think i have roasted it yet... Big fan of your channel. My 4 year old is really into our collection of FRS radios. They have been a LIFE SAVER during pandemic! He really missed hanging out with his friends so i sanitized the radios and dropped a few off at his friends houses. We live in a small town and we are at the top of a hill so he can reach out to almost all his friends! I hear him relaying messages to friends that are out of reach from each other.
Ordered a couple of these Baby-Bees in March for a bit of fun after watching the SOTABeams review - they're on the SLOWEST boat from China and still haven't landed in the UK! Thanks for your thoughts on them, looking forward to them arriving (maybe). Keep up the good work chap!
In CA. I am assume they'll only see a fist load. Fun fact, getting caught with brass knuckles is felony here. But a loaded and concealed firearm is only a misdemeanor.
Ham Radio Crash Course those are prohibited devices in Canada as well. Similar consequences (technically) as you mentioned. Firearms are a step below prohibited devices.
I would probably use the T1 as my "Neighborhood Walk" rig as I'm relocating to a less-than up-and-coming area... If I get mugged, I'm out what, a $20 HT and a pair of sandals? But hey, if you're doing a giveaway, I'd be happy to do a neighborhood field test and see if any muggers think they want it more than I do!!!
Been looking for a tiny radio to pickup weather & etc in the backcountry. I'm not interested in transmitting but along the lines of listening. This looks to fit the bill. Thanks for the review.
Hey, thanks for giving more attention to this radio. I've had one for a while back when they were super cheap and everywhere on eBay. For the volume, there is a mod you can perform. It's been a year or so, but if I recall correctly, a resistor on the board is way too low. So, the radio is effectively always at max volume. IIRC you have to replace this resistor with a significantly higher resistance resistor. I have mine modded and it has been running just fine -- I followed a guide online. Obviously, you shouldn't need to mod this, but hey, cheap radios. You can program VHF into it using the manufacturer's programmer. BUT, the antenna and chipset is not tuned for VHF, so when you transmit, you are sending out spurious harmonic emissions in the non-amateur spectrum. I did see a post somewhere which verified this with an analyzer. So, transmitting VHF on it is obviously illegal and dangerous as hell. But, you can listen to VHF with even with the bad antenna. I still like this radio (let's face it, it's cute). The antenna can't get messed up or bent. It's small. You can charge it via USB micro. But a better cheap UHF radio would be the BF-888.
actually, the wln kd-c1 is even a better choice than the bf-888. wln kd-c1-it performs better in pretty much every way, is slightly smaller, is usb chargable, uses a STANDARD baofeng programming cable, and is nearly as cheap as the bf-888. BTW, the wln kd-c1 is sold under at least 6 or 7 different names, so knowing this will help you get the best price. If people need it, I have a list here somewhere with the different brand names/models that I can post.
The slow release I can image. Where I work we use a lot of ht for communication. And more often then not people open PTT half way through the last word. But that’s a neat little radio.
Use the Baofeng T1 with a crossband repeater? Here in rural Kentucky, repeaters are few and far between. The T1 would allow you to go the the far reaches of your farm and still hit the crossband repeater in your shack. The crossband repeater connects you to all the repeaters your normally can reach. Just a thought.
Wow, cool goodies sent to you by Empire:) Those Baofeng tiny UHF Radios looks sleek and can be used for varied situations. Yes, it should had the ability of changeable antenna while the the volume and squelch issue needs to be addressed. Guess, Baofeng will take note of your review and rectify them soon. Greetings from New Delhi, India. 73s
I love this radio not because of anything about cheap or micro-B, it is because of it size, I love that it is so small and slim, if any one who make a very good and expensive radio size like this I will buy it too. Thats why I am now looking into ID-50A.
To me, this would fill a spot similar to the Alinco DJ-S41 (the 70cm version of the DJ-S11)... Not really something I would spend money on personally, but certainly not a horrible option for an FRS-like radio to use at hamfests/county fairs/other events/activities when the whole family/group has a ham license.
I just ordered 2 for $20.00. Big difference compared to the FRS is that they can use repeaters. I am testing FRS on a Simplex repeater. But I need duplex for my Retevis duplex repeater. I will use them for neighborhood watch in SHTF situations like the aftermath of the George Floyd killing here in Minneapolis. I was both an emergency 311 operator (They drafted election judges to man an emergency satellite call center) and block captain. Radios would have been really hellpful hen because only one grocery store and one liquor store survived in my neighborhood and they were ones neighbors stood in front of every night for two weeks. The rest were ransacked and/or burnt to the ground. People could not get through to police or EMTs through 911. I am setting up a duplex repeater for FRS/GMRS for my neighborhood.
I believe the smaller Baofeng HTs are underappreciated. My first pair were UV-3R which are kind of toy-like, but were cheap and fun for close-in use around home and property on MURS etc. Next I got a couple UV-3R+ versions which are better all-around, like more rugged build, and have a better antenna scheme, but still have some limitations. And then I got a few UV82s which I think somewhat rival my Wouxuns. I especially like the dual PTT buttons. I would certainly not recommend any of these, including the Wouxuns, for demanding SAR or other critical work. But for Ham and personal coms, they are an economical alternative for budget-minded Hams. Always remember, three is two, two is one, one is none...this applies to cheap HTs too. That's why I bought several of each so I could have spare batteries, chargers etc. it seems the drop-in charges are not too good. I loaded all of mine with a variety of interesting frequencies to listen to. TIP: if you program in public service frequencies, be sure to omit the Tx 'side' so as to not cause any unintended interference to these services.
It was nice of Empire Outfitters to send the radios to you. They have a limited use. For me, I believe I would look for something better. Just my opinion.
I've had a couple for backup for about a year.5. They will run dead on their own unlike a normal lithium battery with newer modern radios. The plan was to have them in a go box but brought them out to use them and they were dead. I did put them in at full charge!
actually, the battery IS a normal lithium battery-but those radios tend to have a low level of power draw even when shut off. That's another reason why I prefer the wln kd-c1-they have a physical power switch rather than a logical(soft) power switch. You can leave a wln kd-c1 in a go box for long periods of time, and the battery will stay charged.
I have one of these. I bought i it from Amazon and it came with a programming cable. I only use it for monitoring frs frequencies at work, since that's what they use in house for comms. Works well for that. I did notice the volume control is somewhat unforgiving, but it is ok for my situation.
Been looking at a T1 just to play with. I have 2 Baofeng uv-3r+ radios, love the small footprint. Also love the Yeasu vx-3 used my buddies for a couple of months and it is amazing whish I could get one. Thanks for the review Josh.
You all know what its for lol. Its obviously a beer opener. If you have the pointy part sticking out you can use it to strike the top of the bottle cap, this will help loosen it. Or if you miss opening the bottle with the main part of the opener. The pointy thing will graze the side of it, also loosening up the cap.
It would be interesting to look at the spectral content of the transmitters of the radios that you review. A few more details would be appreciated. Subjective observations and descriptions are fine but I think you need to start drilling down into the technical details.
Thank You So Much You Have Spar Me On. You Have Also Inspired Me To Get My Ham License Im In Ca. North Of You Hope To Be Talking With You On Air Soon. Choa
I thought of a use case - see them going for as low as 15 bucks on ebay. Ever since my old Radio Shack HT-200 died I've always been looking for an ultra small radio for semi-discreet carry for monitoring. Now the wattage on the old HTX-200 was crap but I kept it in the pocket of my flightsuit as a flight medic as a glorified scanner to monitor the agencies I might be flying to when on scenes. With 16 channels and VHF capable, I see the T1 as pretty much having that same functionality. Though most emergency services are on digital trunking - many maintain an old VHF "ringdown" frequency. 15 bucks is pretty cheap for a pocket scanner! Just a thought!
I see a possible market BF was trying to hit, in Europe there is PMR radio service (similar to FRS) that has 16 channels and according to wikipedia requirements for radios are: -non removable antenna -power under 0,5 W therefore technically BF-T1 programed to low power and PMR channels is legal
How can I make a 10 element yagi with 20 baofengs, 2 aluminum poles 8' long for cleaning pools and a bunch of arrow shafts??? Come on Josh let's build this!
If someone just wants to USB charge and has a UV-5 series get a 3800mah BL-5L BaoFeng battery and the USB charging cable for the port on the side. $20-30 for both.
I purchased one of those BF-T1 radios to use around the house as a remote mic into my remote base. However, it didn't come with a programming cable, so that's on order. While familiarizing myself with the radio, I found that the FM broadcast band portion doesn't pick up a single station across the entire band! Guess I need to alert the seller and either have them refund the purchase or send me a full functioning radio. ... Kapt Irk
Hey! Great videos! I was looking forward to get a pair of these, for MTB purposes, due to price, size, reach. Wich one would you recomend to go on a full mtb day in the mountains? Regards from Nicaragua
Could you look at the baofeng bf-r5 mini if you haven't already looked at it thanks, great video from UK 🇬🇧 I've got one of these but just waiting for a programming cable for BF-T1
Would the T1 be a good single use, APRS rig (albeit UHF w/o modding)? I do a lot of snowshoeing and usually have an APRS/APRSDroid rig tucked away in my bag while I'm out and about.
a touch more money-wise (and only a touch)... i would go with a uv-5r + a 1.5-2 inch stubby antenna (a.k.a. dummy load). still no good on vhf, but leaves options open.
A couple of buddies and I usually go on mountain runs in our cars, the cobra radios we have are complete ass. I've managed to program my BF-T1 to work with 1-20 FRS Frequencies. What are the chances we would get in trouble if we set up 3-4 radios to use as 2 ways, on FRS frequencies on these T1's? 😂
I bought a set of these for my wife and I (both hams) for Christmas 2018. What a POS. No programming cable included. Impossible to program without the cable (you MUST use the programming software). Range was horrible. I returned them. Garbage!
Hi josh I was wondering if u know where I can go for my technician test I live on South Gate very close to Cerritos and I’m ready for the test u know any place and when is the closest date I can do it and if I need to schedule please help thanks and keep up the good videos 👍👍
This shouldn't be a last-ditch backup, it should be a first-ditch option. They're cheap and crappy and mine broke within 15 minutes. The battery also self-discharges.
@@HamRadioCrashCourse USB-C will charge your radio three times faster. Instead of being limited to around 12 watts of power for charging, USB-C can power devices at up to 100 W.
Ham Radio Crash Course Thanks for the reply. Was thinking about getting the Yaesu FT-65R as my first HAM then maybe upgrading to a 40+ watt mobile unit. Do you have to aim J-pole antennas? Also. I have a lot of extra RG6 television cable laying around. Could I use it for radio?
So I just ordered a pair of the baofengs all I want to do is listen to the space station and the police in my area also talk to my wife, can you provide the links from your videos on this? Thanks in advance even if you can't help. 👍
@@HamRadioCrashCourse the thing is charging compatibility is something that I see hugely valuable. I've got my HT with me on a trip right now but didn't want to futz with the charger so I've got one battery worth of usage. I've got plenty of ways to charge with USB. It's not just radio manufacturera, it's frustrating that camera manufacturers are the same way. It would just be nice to pack for a trip and not have to make sure I had a specific charger for every toy.
Meh, when a regular UV-5R is available for less than $30, why bother? There’s also some nicer Wouxun HTs in the $40-50 range that make a good backup / go-bag radio.