I have a Rino 530Hcx and my church just bought a few Baofeng uv-82
I’m very new to radios and I’m not sure how to connect them. I’ve set them both to the same channel and nothing. The Rino gives me the option for a Code and the best I can see, in the menu, the Baofeng gives me the option for a CTCS which does provide a frequency, sort of like a code. However, even though it says confirm, the Baofeng won’t keep the setting. I’m just trying to figure out how to connect the radios and have had no luck, even looking through the internet.
Hi, the Garmin Rino 530HCx is an FRS/GMRS radio and the channels are pre-programmed to UHF frequencies on the Family Radio Service (FRS) and General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS).
The Baofeng UV-82 is a dual band UHF/VHF programmable radio for use on business and amateur radio frequencies. The channels are not pre-programmed and require frequencies and CTCSS/DCS codes to be assigned to each one before they can be used.
For instance, channel 1 on your Garmin is pre-assigned to frequency 462.5625, which at the time of manufacture was a shared FRS/GMRS frequency under the old FCC Part 95 rules (this model was discontinued several years ago and is no longer sold or manufactured by Garmin).
Channel 1 on the Baofeng UV-82 will likely be either blank or assigned to a random UHF or VHF frequency by the manufacturer as a sort of placeholder. It is intended to be changed by programming (or reprogramming) the channel to the desired frequency by the user, either directly from the keypad or through a computer via a programming cable and software.
In other words, the UV-82 is not designed to communicate with another radio out of the box. It needs to be programmed to the specific band and frequency to be used.
Also, if you are in the US, the Baofeng UV-82 is not FCC type accepted or approved for use as an FRS or GMRS radio. It is, however, type accepted for use as a Part 90 business radio (FCC ID: ZP5BF-82). If your church previously owned consumer FRS/GMRS radios and wants to switch to a business class radio such as the UV-82, it would need to acquire a license for a business frequency and program the radio with that frequency.
If your church wants to use or continue to use FRS/GMRS radios, the good news is that it can. Thanks to the recent Part 95 Reform, consumer radios formerly labeled as FRS/GMRS under 2 watts are now considered FRS and can be used by any individual, company or organization license free.
If you are new to radios, the best advice is to research these models before you attempt to operate them. It will save you a lot of angst. Here are a few resources that may help.
The Two Way Radio Show Podcast TWRS-25 - Radios at Church
That helps a lot. Thank you for spending the time to reply. I’ll see what I can come up with.
Sounds like I need to switch the baofeng to UHF and then program it to find a matching frequency as well as setting the ctcss/DTS appropriately for the rink.