Hi everybody. I’m very new to two way radios, but going to need it for my business. I have my eyes on Baofeng UV-82, I know it is just entry level radio, but for now it will sufis. What worries me is, when I read that it needs to be programmed. Why is that? What is Chirp? Will it work even without programming, just by tuning the frequency? Is it too complicated and should I rather get something simpler that doesn’t need programming?
Thank you very much for all comments and advise.
Well you need at least two, of course.
I suppose the question is - what do you want it to do? Chirp or the manufacturers programming software just makes it less painless to get essential info into a radio - now that they all are so clever and complicated.
Looking at a screen like an Excel spreadsheet with columns and titles is a lot easier than going through the parameters one by one.
You can enter a frequency into the radio that matches your license - which will usually give you a frequency and a CTCSS tone. This means you radio will only burst into life when a matching radio transmits, and vice versa. You could forget the CTCSS tone, and just enter a frequency, and leave it at that - no chirp or external computer connection, and for many things this is enough.
You could, but not legally, enter one of the licence free frequencies and use that. However, if you want to use it for business, I’d strongly advise doing it properly - and paying for a license. Business users generally have just one channel - but it’s perfectly possible to have much more complicated systems. Depends what you need.
To conclude - the manual that comes with the radio explains how to do the programming from the panel. That radio is not one of the simplest - as it has dual bands and dual PTT - which you won’t need I doubt. It’s a pleasant enough radio, but keep in mind that a licence is ?75 for 5 years - so more than the radios.
The radios come with some non-uk channels in them, and you could use those but it’s still illegal - so programming is always needed. keyboard or computer - you choose.
Assuming you are in the USA: If not, regulations for your nation may or may not be similar.
You require the UV-82C. The “C” model is certified for business use, which is required by FCC regulation.
You also require an FCC business radio license. This will also give you the frequencies you are permitted to use.
Once you have all that, Chirp is a radio programming software that will allow you to program your radios to the frequencies you are licensed to operate on. It’s fairly simple.
First, study up on rules and regulations before making a purchase.
Thank you. I am in Ecuador, and so far what I found, is that nobody give a **** about licenses here. But I’m going to look to it more.
It is gonna be used on bike tours to communicate between guide at the front and guide at the back and support vehicle. Dual frequencies actually is handy(that’s also reason I’m looking to this radio) as there is a common frekvencie that all guides use to communicate if there is a problem. So we can listen to that and talk between our selfs without anybody else listening.
So from what I made up from your comments, is, if I am only gonna use two frequencies I don’t really need programming, but it will make it easier if I will need more functions from the radio, is that correct? and is this radio good enough for this?
If you want just two channels in the memory - and only need short distances, then it’s fine. License wise, that’s up to you. Odd isn’t it how when I read your post, I thought you were English, and jwilkers picked up that you were in the US.
If you are not going to need licenses, or bother with them - then at this price, it’s not the end of the world if you hate them!
hahaha, I take it as compliment to my English 
I am originally Slovakian, now living and starting tourist business in Ecuador.
Thank you for all the advise, I was thinking to get some of Motorolas, but they all look like toys (not saying they are bad) and this one looks, at least looks a bit more professional
It’s always a good Idea to put your location in your profile, so you can get assistance easier. Your English was good enough to pass for a native English speaking person. I wasn’t sure, though.
We encourage legal operation here. Of course, in this case, we don’t know what really IS legal
Hi gentlemen, sorry to bother you again, but after some more research, I found lot of complains about Baofeng’s customer service, if you can call it that way, and decided not to suport them(I know I’m just small fish, but anyway) so am thinking about one of licence free Motorolas, I was more-less sure I’m gonna go for T80 extreme, but than I find another range where T460 looked quite good for what I need and it is cheaper, but than I found M range with lot of options, some saying extreme etc. Unfortunately, I found only very limited reviews about some of them and Motorola website isn’t much of help either. Would anybody be able to give me advice which one of these is THE best for use in mountains? Battery live is important, and range as well.
Thank you very much for advise.
I responded to your same inquiry on our blog, but to briefly reiterate for the forum community, The T80 is a PMR446 radio sold in Europe, the T460 is an FRS/GMRS radio sold in the US and the M Series is the older legacy line of Motorola Talkabouts currently being phased out for the T Series.
Performance isn’t going to vary much between these models in mountainous areas. Radios operate by line of sight, so whether you use a Motorola, Baofeng, Wouxun or some other make and model, your range is going to depend more on the terrain around you than the radio itself.
This GMRS Radio Range Chart may help explain the range issue.
Although power options may differ between the different radios, as a general rule battery life depends almost as much on how you use the radios as it does on the model of radio you are using.
In summary, there are no quick answers to accurately predict how any radio will perform in your situation. There are many variables to consider. The shortest answer is you won’t really know how they will perform until you try them out in your particular setting.
thank you Rick, to be honest I don’t know what is the difference in PMR 446 and FRS/GMRS, would both of them work in South America? T80 has advertise only 10 km range while T460 and M range up to 36miles. Do you think they have more power, or Motorola just got a bit more honest? which one of them would you recommend? Or should I go back to Baofeng UV-82?
Technically speaking, all these radios will work anywhere on earth. Radio frequencies are not physically bound by national borders or regions. However, the rules and laws governing the use of those airwaves within a state or country vary, so whether PMR446 or FRS/GMRS radios are allowed in South America will depend on the laws in those countries.
We are based in the US, so our knowledge of the laws and regulations governing the use of radio bands and frequencies are limited primarily to those set by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States.
PMR446 is the band and set of frequencies in the 446MHz range designated for license free radio use in the EU.
Family Radio Service (FRS) is a radio service with frequencies set aside by the FCC for license free use in the US.
General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) is the set of frequencies assigned by the FCC for licensed personal use in the US.
The very first episode of The Two Way Radio Show Podcast is an introduction and in-depth discussion on the consumer radios and services you are asking about. It should answer some of your questions and is a good starting point for learning about these radios.
The link to the episode is below.
TWRS-01 - An Introduction to Consumer Radios
I’m amazed that Motorola, a well respected manufacturer is getting away with avoiding using the magic word WATTS in their documentation and claiming 35 miles as a possible range. They hide it well, with a mention of 3 miles or so in built up areas, but two people thinking they are going to be able to get 35 miles from two battery operated portables is never going to work. Mountain peak to mountain peak maybe, but in real life - antenna height at both ends is vital.
Let’s face it, 5 Watts which is the probably maximum power from these things as they claim 10 hours battery life, won’t get you reliably to a repeater with a decent aerial system high up 10 miles away, and rubber duck to rubber duck is a simply terrible prospect. How on earth Motorola get away with this I just don’t know. Even in a flat desert for a normal person the horizon is at about 3 miles, and it’s only 12 miles from a 100ft tower! Line of sight is not going to be 35 miles.
On the Baofeng reliability - these things are disposable. If you break one, you throw it away and buy another. They have no service backup because they don’t need it! Here in the UK, sending something to have fixed means probably a bill the same as buying a new Baofeng. Fair enough, other countries could have cheaper rates for repair - but probably not that much as the workshop equipment costs so much.
Spend $300 on a radio, and a warranty is included, and after this expires, maybe, just maybe they are still worth more than a minor repair. Spend $60 on a radio and you have to think a bit!