Hi all.
I am uk based 64yrs old and looking for something different to do in my spare time. For some reason after a couple of whiskeys one night i ended up watching a youtube video of some guy and a uv-25 radio. couple of days ago i obtained a 2nd hand quansheng uv-k5 to fiddle with, i have had it connected to chirp looked at the channels etc and got familiar with the unit it is loaded with F4HWN 4.0.
Now at this moment all i am interested in doing is listening on stuff, airplanes,ships and anything else (No i have no licence to talk, not sure if i want to early days yet)
So help a newbie out and point me in the direction of something decent to buy for above use, i have a uv-25 in my basket someone else i know has suggested a uv-5rh and 5rm also a un-17pro its like a mine field lol.
i am happy to spend £50+ i suppose i may need something i can upgrade or flash firmware, i have no idea what the stock firmware is or how it differs from modded f/w i would also like something that can store lots of channels (the one i have now is quite small at 200)
Since you aren’t licensed and don’t have any interest in holding conversations with random people over the radio, do yourself a favor and stay out of the 2way radio market. 2way radios are generally made for specific bands and system types. No need to worry about all of that. I simple base station or handheld scanner would do you just fine. I am in the US but from what I understand most if not all public safety is not able to be monitored so that is out of the question. I think you should be safe with ships (providing you are close to the water) aircraft, trains, and maybe the local grocery store if it so sutis you. Uniden makes some great equipment at reasonable prices. Paulears a regular on here might be able to steer you in the right direction on what model would be most suitable for what you want to listen to.
There are plenty of nice little radios now that can transmit, but do have access to lots of bands, but they are pretty horrible for scanning. If you stick in lots of channels and press scan, they scan. Slowly! Many services, especially aircraft have very, very short transmissions. These radios rarely stop on the transmissions because the frequency is empty when they pass. They will stop on a ham having a chat because their overs are very long. Aircraft are on a quest to say what they need to say in the minimum time. Marine band is a bit more rambly, but not much. Personally, a nice simple and small scanner that covers the bands you want is best. I have a little Icom. Probably the most useful receiver I have had ever. Be careful though. Expensive and clever scanners are also complicated. Too complicated for me to bother with now. With scanners, over the years I have realised that you must be prepared to put in real effort to search out the interesting stuff and organise what you stick in the radios. Portable are great for some people but others want 12v types and good outside antenna. Very different. Those little newer radios that do so much, often do it poorly. Some claim to have 23cm receive and transmit, but struggle to get across the room. Others need a computer because the keypad presses are so complicated to just add a single frequency. There are very good uniden groups on facebook if you fancy something clever. Remember too, that many interesting stuff is now gone. Encypted and unlistenable. Here in the UK, we have had our emergency services encrypted for a long time now. Boats, planes, hams, plus kids and your gmrs/family type stuff. In my office, i also get a skip hire company, a gravel and aggregate company and a firm who sell plastic model kits worldwide. That is about it for business. Im in a harbour so my little icom hears boats and a few shipyards. Not exactly exciting. I managed to hear some digital repeaters covering an offshore windfarm. After a week, i removed that one as deadly dull and repetitive.
I have sold lots of the new clever transmitting hand helds as each one comes out, and they’ve been reliable, no returns, but I have not kept a single one for my own use. I just do not like them.
Although I like to talk on the radio, there is nothing like a good trunking scanner and learning how to program it. This is a Uniden SDS200, it’s a bit more than $50 but you get what you pay for. Plenty of Public Safety left to listen to, only the tactical and command frequencies have gone encrypted.
