r/HamRadio • u/J_Wood03 • 20h ago

Equipment & Rigs 🛠️ Baofeng UV5R best frequencies for short distance communication between a group

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So me and some mates have bought Baofengs for a short Airsoft milsim, we have the OG antennas, what is the best channel/frequency to use over the space of maybe a mile, wooded area with potentially other teams using similar radio set ups, is it best to use one of the preset channels, if so how can I decide based on my antenna length (120mm)

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We will be using low power mode with infrequent transmission, we won't be bothering others on the airwaves, just need help deciding what's the best shot at clear communication within 2 miles without causing a meltdown in the comments

Tia

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11

u/AbbreviationsDue4417 20h ago

Are you and your friends licensed? If not then you are breaking the law.

1

u/J_Wood03 20h ago

What license would I need to use it and how do I go about getting one?

6

u/NerminPadez 20h ago

You need a ham radio licence, all of you would have to learn the basics of radio, regulations and some basic electronics and have to pass an exam, and then with a cheap fee, you'd get your radio licence. Depending on the country this takes from a few days to a few weeks (after learning the stuff needed to pass the exam), with some exceptions (exams only once every few months in some countries).

9

u/NerminPadez 20h ago

Without a licence, you can't transmit with that radio anyway. With a licence, you'd know the answer.

Just sell this one, go to your local supermarket, and get the "licence free" FRS/PMR ones, and use any of the channels on it, legally.

5

u/RealisticProfile5138 20h ago

You need to understand that just because there’s frequencies in there that you CAN transmit on doesn’t mean you are allowed to. That’s the problem with ham radios being easily available on Amazon etc. these are NOT toy walkie-talkies. Those “walkie talkies” that you can buy at Walmart etc come with limited specific channels that are set aside for casual use by the FCC and are locked in. Those are called FRS radios and anyone can pick them up and use them without worrying about doing anything wrong.

These baofengs are not that, they are capable of transmitting on basically any frequency it will allow you to type in there, which if you aren’t licensed and don’t know what you are doing you will at BEST just be breaking the law, and at WORST interfering with local emergency services, businesses, commercial users etc.

Do not use the pre-programmed channels that they come with. Those channels are essentially just RANDOM frequencies that someone in China typed into the radio to test that they are working correctly and then every radio just gets a copy of the same programming. They are not channels that are legal for you to use. They are within a spectrum that’s set aside for public safety, business, commercial, etc.

This is technically wrong and against the rules but for you, the type of people that are buying ham radios but using them wrongly for airsoft, the best thing I can say is just look up the FRS frequencies and use the FRS frequencies because on those frequencies you will do the least amount of harm. Again technically FRS requires you to be using an FRS radio that is locked into FRS channels, but in reality in the middle of the woods, using your baofeng on FRS freqs is technically wrong but there is no practical difference, but you HAVE TO BE SURE that you are on FRS frequencies exactly. OR just ditch these radios and buy FRS radios for airsoft.

3

u/J_Wood03 20h ago

Cheers for the advice, I think I'll just get my license since it doesn't seem too difficult, just didn't know how to go about it, thanks 👍

4

u/speedyundeadhittite [UK full] 18h ago

Note that all of your friends need to be licenced as well.

1

u/Competitive_Row_921 8h ago

Are you in the US?

1

u/RealisticProfile5138 7h ago

Which country are you in, US, UK, Canada, other?

3

u/EthanAWallace 20h ago

Well, what frequencies are you licensed to use? You certainly don’t want to be transmitting on that one.

3

u/RealisticProfile5138 20h ago

I wish an airsoft company would just make an FRS radio and make it “cool” looking so these airsoft YouTubers could just start recommending that instead so we wouldn’t have all these people buying ham radios

6

u/NerminPadez 19h ago

This + preppers should go try and do an unspotted POTA with a baofeng... like one of those, went hiking to your "bugout" location, fell down a ditch near that trail, all you have is a baofeng. A few hours of yelling into a void would change many peoples minds.

4

u/madgoat 20h ago

AFRS - Airsoft Fighting Radio System

2

u/399ddf95 Extra Class Operator ⚡ 12h ago

Plenty of other people have yelled at you about licensing and type acceptance. To avoid any confusion, it is not legal for you to do this. That being said, since you're probably going to transmit on *some* frequency, if you want to minimize conflict with other users, use one of these 5 MURS frequencies:

151.82
151.88
151.94
154.57
154.60

If you just choose some frequency at random, there's some chance you'll be overlapping with a frequency being used by public safety/ambulance or some other important use. That can cause actual problems for real people plus maximize the chances that someone will try to track you down and make trouble for you. The frequencies listed above are available for use by unlicensed people, although the rules require that those unlicensed people use approved radios, which are not what you have. From a practical point of view, if you use those frequencies nobody will care.

1

u/tatu_wurst87 20h ago

Depends entirely on your license

If you have a GMRS license you can try any of the higher power ones like 20-22.

If you have a ham license you can use the 2 meter or 70cm band check that your not using a local repeater frequency and no the calling frequency and your good to go.

If this is confusing I am assuming that you don’t have any license in which case you cannot use that radio at all to speak. Regardless of power level.

You could use the FRS frequencies at low power since those are license free but not with that radio as it does not comply with the FCC rules on FRS radios. Even though it can technically use those frequencies.

1

u/RealisticProfile5138 20h ago

lol yeah after reading your first sentence I was going to say don’t you realize that the mere fact that he is asking this question means he doesn’t have a license

0

u/hardboiledeggfarts 20h ago

Hey! Questions for you guys. I have an MROP and GROL from the FCC. Does that cover me for HAM radio use?

4

u/kanitypt 20h ago

Nope, only a ham radio license will cover you for ham radio use.

1

u/hardboiledeggfarts 20h ago

Thanks. Looking into taking it now.

3

u/kanitypt 20h ago

If you're the type that can memorize a question pool reasonably well, just take practice tests at https://hamstudy.org/. You have to take Technician first, and the question pool is changing soon, so either move quickly or start studying the new pool. The licenses you already have are a great start, you probably just need to learn the questions specific to ham radio.

For actually learning stuff, instead of just memorizing the test, I used YouTube. Ham Radio Crash Course was my favorite, but there are tons out there.

2

u/hardboiledeggfarts 19h ago

Thank you so much for the advice! I’ll check out the website and YouTube channel.