+Javier Martinez Most PMR and FRS radios use CTCSS (google it,) its tone coded squelch not all manufacturers use the same code, when you press the transmit button it sends out a tonecode, only other radios with this code will open the squelch to let you hear them. Sure if you turn the squelch off and listen to the white noise you will hear everyone on the channel but most people dont want to do that and most PMR and FRS radios come with the squelch on as standard. Its limited because it doesnt stop people trying to talk at the same time on the same channel but what what you can do on these radios is set the tone so that you dont hear other people you do this by choosing an uncommon tone. So the answer to your reply is yes everyone could hear each other on the same channel but only if you listen with the squelch open and are happy to listen to white noise inbetween overs which most people wont do particularly in a work environment and there is no need a you are likely to only want to listen to people within your organisation. Many manufacturers use the common tone of 67hz although some cheap sets let you change them as does this one.
Thanks for being specific about your test. I'll be ordering one soon for the kiddos to use around town with their friends. I don't believe in them having phones to early so this will be perfect for them to keep in touch and checked on. Thanks for the great video. Really appreciate it.
My mate and I have one each for when we go out on our mobility scooters to keep in touch when needed and to save stopping to talk-they are really clear and are a great little asset to have.
love it. we have 6 of these from our local online seller for a cheap price. about 6$ each. and i'm surprised and impressed. the downside is the battery life. overall its a good buy.
Yes they are amazing value aren't they, I get the occasional comment from ppl saying Chinese junk etc, they aren't junk they are superb little sets that are so cheap it doesn't matter.
@@alphanomega2799 i bought it from lazada.com. similar to amazon. online store. but check it also from your local online store. the shipment came direct to china and delivered by their partner courier. im from Philippines so the price is inexpensive.
@@papadenz2022 ok thanks... but I just left the lazada website and the prices are ridiculous like over a 100$.. I guess they are cheap for u since u are there
I have a Baofeng UVB5 I have VHF boat radio frequencies,fire ems and police frequencies, It has UHF frequencies,it hasnt had any problems it goes very very very far ranges when im listening to FD frequencies its clear as day ive picked up firefighters up to 71 miles from me and boaters ive picked up to about 72-73 miles from my dock on sunny days! Excellent radio
Great video, subbed. Got a set of three with mikes/speakers and we use them professional on steel construction sites and maintenance and welding jobs on plants etc., often with crane operators. No experience with other brands but very content with this brand.
hiya, I have received my Proster walkie talkies this morning, tested them out with my dad and they work perfectly fine walked into my local town center speaking to my dad on the radio and they worked fine in shops aswell..I was also picking up the police and paramedics on it aswell lol awesome
Channel 16 can be set and will scan all 16 (or whatever ones are set to scan) when set to ch16 and scan function is enabled...when scanning if it stops on an active channel and you transmit it will always transmit on the channel 16 freq. if it is programmed otherwise it will transmit on the highest channel number that is set. You cannot tell what channel the scan stopped on so it is only good as a receive scanner function...
There great for the price and they are really easy to use for as cheap as £10 and that anyone can use them without any previous knowledge/experience with other radios they are perfect for on site use.
Power output he measured was just over 1 watt. Totally legal in U.S. power-wise. His summary of the radio begins around 13:00. I wish video presenters on UA-cam would edit more succinctly. We appreciate your sharing your experience, but this could've been edited down to a minute or two and your content wouldn't've suffered, IMHO. Have a nice day.
Also make sure you get the right Programming cable with the chip in it. The newer boafengs use a cable with no chip but the BF-888's need the cable with the chip in it.
Good afternoon can you help me? I want to connect two devices, the first device is the same as the one you have, while the other is different, but they are all from BAOFENG, thank you …
Awesome. If you haven't already, do you thing you could get your hands on the Quansheng TG UV2 and run it through the paces? I'm really wanting to get one but previous chicom experiences have be puckering up a bit...
Another UA-cam review shows 3.5 watts output, but whatever, pretty good range you’re getting there. I’ve got some been using for years, bought extra capacity batteries and longer antenna too That U.K. plug has just been added on later, technically illegal to sell like that, supposed to be a factory fitted sealed plug these days
WolfAirsoft Yes, but the antenna is removable, so leave it screwed in. The radio is DEAF to any other commercially available radio 'til you programme it. The 16 channels are PMR. Me? I'm tired of programming everything, so I'm chucking that in; if I want PMR., then I would go for the new Motorola extreme, 16 channels with everything working straight out of the box, and it can hear all other PMR radios.
Thanks for this video. It looks like you are using SDR# to record the test transmissions. Did you use a voice activated recording feature within SDR#, or simply record the whole time during testing? I'd like to perform similar tests but do not want to leave the program recording while I am away from the computer. Thanks again and 73's.
estos radios son compatibles con los radios Kenwood tengo una base y me gustaria ver si me puedes ayudar si puedo meterlo a la frecuencia que maneja mis radios kenwood si son compatibles con esos radios me podrias ayudar si funcionarian
I am in the United States and am a representative of a volunteer organization. We use these radios on business frequencies with a license. Besides being a bit quiet, they do their job fairly well.
Get 2 Watts and in crowded housing and Metal Biz Buildings getting 1/2 Mile between 2 Units . Getting a LONGER ANTENNA for both and will test.. will increase some in the City with 3x Longer Antenna's of course. Work great as is !
My friends and I want to buy some of these for car trips so we can talk and ask directions and stuff. Are these ready to be used straight out of the box without any programming or software additions and stuff? And if so, is there a way to get onto a channel thats just privately you and your friends. I don't know a thing about how to use these so any tips and info would be much appreciated. And whats the illegal frequency thing you were talking about?
In general if some other person in your range uses the same frequency the possibility of catching their conversation is very high. That's why you use 16 channels to choose from You can brief your friends to use. Only channel 1. And if there is some other group of people russian or Chinese or what ever it might be. By hearing your conversations they will usually switch to their own channel. For example number 6. That's how your group of people will be chatting on channel 1 and the russian will be chatting on channel 6. It is very simple. Yes if you decide to listen to Russians on channel 6 just switch to this channel. Or vice versa:-)) Yes you limited by 16 frequencies only. But the possibility that 16 groups of different people using the same 16 frequencies in the same time are very low. It will never happen-:) no matter if you in the wood or mountains or urban. That's why everybody has he's unique channel to use. You can buy advanced radios with 128 channels. But there is a big possibility interfering with civilian or police radios. This means more channels you have the more frequency options you got. Usually if you have some 5-4 friends you ask them to choose the same channel and you will be converse on it.
Hi again Knoxieman, did you ever get the beep function to work when programming the BF-888s handsets? Also does the busy lock feature work? Many thanks.
The Baofeng UV9r plus is my cheapy of choice 2-way though far more features. Have a couple of UV5r's but find the 9's even better built. How do they do these for the price? I have the 888's for holiday family use, cheap enough not to care if you drop one and the kids love them.
+f4bscale Very likely not even some of the bigger UV5R variants dont put out 3 watts on UHF, you can generally take the power labels on the boxes with a massive pinch of salt, not that it matters as for the money they are great radios and all that extra watt or two would do in practice is just flatten your battery more, if range is a concern you need a better antenna on all these Chinese radios.
+knoxieman Thanks, I've sent for one so as to make a comparison. You are right about the antenna. I have worked my way through a few fake Nagoyas and they do improve performance a little. I now have a genuine Nagoya NA771 and it improves performance from, say 5 or 6/10 to 7 or 8/10 at 3.4 miles from a high point (almost line of sight). That's back to another 888s (original antenna) in a bedroom window.
negusorigins I don't think so, I don't have these radios any more as they were given away as gifts, I'm sure none of the cheap headsets have inline buttons.
What was being used to receive them? Unless it was another identical handset, then surely it's an irrelevant test. I can hear PMR stuff from miles away on my IC9100 and big antenna at home, but I couldn't hear them on another PMR handset.
I always do the range test from two fixed locations on all the test videos back to base so I am comparing the radio to other radios in that sense, yes I do agree that along side that it would have been good to do a radio to radio test and an urban test. Thanks for watching.
Fantastic video mate thank you very much for taking the time to do it these look like the Retevis H-777 Walkie Talkie. Do you know if there is any difference
I like your field tests and all the ham radio reviews ;) I see you are using the AVAIR AV-400 to measure the output power. One question: what minimum power needs this SWR meter to deliver precise values for SWR? Is it usable for PMR devices, means for 0.5Watt? Or do you have other recommendations for such a SWR and power meter? Thank you
+Music Matt 76 Yes some do have this feature its random between sellers, you can use the Baofeng software to enable it as well, I dont use voice inversion its fun to play with it though.
+knoxieman thanks. So what's the risk with the frequency. Is it a case of maybe bleeding over to one that's being used all ready or is it the uhf backup frequency if the police airwaves radios go down
Thanks for the test. I am waiting to receive two of these from China. Question - when you did your distance tests what kind of antenna were you using at home? Internal/External? Being a ham I suspect you were using something like a discone on your roof. If so that would receive markably better than another portable. Tx, Bill N7GYV
being using these for about 2yrs power,geat radios for money,,,very good range and loud enough audio on tx and rx,,,,churp software gives basic programming i found the bf888s software English version much better for accessing all features,,,speech inversion is really handy are it make you audio sound garbled to anyone trying to listen in to your conversation although this does not encrypt your audio,so any on with speech inversion activated can here you on there radio,,,power out i have no had any problems with my radio giving 4w on high and just under 1w on low,,,,,like you say great radio for the money.
It's strange because I've used CHIRP to program my Baofeng UV-5Rs, and I've found that while the majority of the functions I've programmed the radio for actually go through, things like Busy Channel Lockout don't seem to work, so I wonder if it's the same case here, except with the power setting not being accepted by the radio vs my issue with the BCL feature.
hola amigo he observado tus videos de las dos radios bf888 y bf999, veo que enelvatimetro la triple 9 da mas de 5 wats. de potencia, quiero encargar de china unos cuantos de estos pero no me decido cual me recomiendas? hello friend I have watched your videos of the two radios bf888 and bf999, I see that enelvatimetro the triple 9 gives more than 5 wats. of power, I want to order china a few of these but I do not decide which one you recommend me?
Hi there don't worry too much about power levels none of the cheaper Chinese radios put out the power they say on the box, kdc1 is a great budget radio with superb audio and decent power for its size
I've got the baofeng uv5r these look really similar to you're sets sure the one's I got from cash converters for £5.00 are very early ones in radio terms. ....
I ordered 2 of these for camping I live in the United States, I am not a ham operator can I still use these radios? What other than the cable and software do I need to do to use and program them? What frequencies can I use here in the states? Thanks
Str8Klownin1 FRS/GMRS channels can be programmed into them, you can Google a list. No they're not legal but if you're not being a nuisance no one will ever check.
Hi ! thnak you for the video, I did not really understand everything since I don't know anything about radio or channels or whatever, but I have few questions and maybe you can help ! So I boght ten of them on a chinese website and unfortunatly everything is chinese, do you know if I can have a chance to change the language ? Also, I only received 4 of them at the moment, so 6 left( I hope) we tried to connect them and we succed, but I am afraid that it will not work with the 6 left, what do you think ? About the performance, do you thnik that some channels work better than the others, or evry of them works the same ? Last question is about the orange button (not the one for the light but the other one) for what it is for ? I know it is a lot of questions, but maybe somebody can help, and sorry about my english which is so bad !
Hello, the voice prompt can only be changed in software, you need to get a programming cable, sounds like the other radios are on different frequencies, you can put them all on the same frequency with the software, it is important that you find out what frequency channels you are allowed to use in your country first, the side buttons can be programmed for scan or to drop the squelch.
I have a pair of these that I want to use as walkie-talkies when I go camping etc. I keep hearing the frequencies have to be changed, but what to? If PMR frequencies are a no-no because the radios are too powerful, which frequencies CAN we legally use in the UK? We only need them to keep in contact with eachother. Any advice would be good :)
+Walter Ego well its a tricky one to answer, legally you shouldnt be using them unless you are a licensed radio ham and even then not on PMR, however if you are going to use them and you are not a HAM it is essential that you program them on to the 8 PMR frequencies that way you wont cause interference, you still wont be legal but at least you wont be potentially causing havoc.
knoxieman Thanks for that - I certainly don't want to interfere with important communications somewhere. I wouldn't be using them often or for long conversations so PMR sounds the best way to go. Now we shall never talk of this again....... ;-)
Hi Im a bit confused here so are any frequencies out side of the 446mHz range ok to use is that what the pmr thing means? I got some of these and a cable and it's showing they are preset from 450 to 469 so I dont need to change anything? Thanks
download the program chirp from danplanet you can program them with that, you will also need the cable of course. The radios are often supplied pre programmed on frequencies that will not be legal for you to use in the us and UK so its important to change them to avoid causing interference.
I bought 1 box of two 888s's with two chargers and two earpieces for $20 bucks on Tophatter. I don't know jack about uhf, vhf, FM, etc. Could you explain what splits are and all those settings in the 888's programming software? These radios a set to high power by default. I couldn't get more than 1.5 miles out of it with trees, hills, and buildings in the way. Funny thing., the signal got very weak at 100 yards line of sight on a football field here in the USA.
I got 2 BF-888s the other day. Both work but on the one the battery wont stay in. The catches on the bottom are fine. A very slight pull and the battery come out. Any suggestions?
I've bought 14 of these to use in a school to keep all classes in contact with office, impressed with quality.
So you can use 14 and all talk to eachother just fine?
Yep
Dude, these are 2-way radios. Not cell phones. Yes, everyone on the same channel can hear and talk to each other.
+Javier Martinez Most PMR and FRS radios use CTCSS (google it,) its tone coded squelch not all manufacturers use the same code, when you press the transmit button it sends out a tonecode, only other radios with this code will open the squelch to let you hear them.
Sure if you turn the squelch off and listen to the white noise you will hear everyone on the channel but most people dont want to do that and most PMR and FRS radios come with the squelch on as standard.
Its limited because it doesnt stop people trying to talk at the same time on the same channel but what what you can do on these radios is set the tone so that you dont hear other people you do this by choosing an uncommon tone.
So the answer to your reply is yes everyone could hear each other on the same channel but only if you listen with the squelch open and are happy to listen to white noise inbetween overs which most people wont do particularly in a work environment and there is no need a you are likely to only want to listen to people within your organisation.
Many manufacturers use the common tone of 67hz although some cheap sets let you change them as does this one.
Reece, how do you feel 1 year on about them? Any regrets?
I love these decent quality cheap and talks 4 miles through houses all over my neighborhood easy on simplex
Thanks for being specific about your test. I'll be ordering one soon for the kiddos to use around town with their friends. I don't believe in them having phones to early so this will be perfect for them to keep in touch and checked on. Thanks for the great video. Really appreciate it.
glad you enjoyed, range in built up areas will not be as good of course.
My mate and I have one each for when we go out on our mobility scooters to keep in touch when needed and to save stopping to talk-they are really clear and are a great little asset to have.
love it. we have 6 of these from our local online seller for a cheap price. about 6$ each. and i'm surprised and impressed. the downside is the battery life. overall its a good buy.
Yes they are amazing value aren't they, I get the occasional comment from ppl saying Chinese junk etc, they aren't junk they are superb little sets that are so cheap it doesn't matter.
@@knoxieman hahaha. that is true. but nevermind those junk instructions. the item is great. we are happy with it.
Dennie Williams where did u get them for 6 dollars a piece ?
@@alphanomega2799 i bought it from lazada.com. similar to amazon. online store. but check it also from your local online store. the shipment came direct to china and delivered by their partner courier. im from Philippines so the price is inexpensive.
@@papadenz2022 ok thanks... but I just left the lazada website and the prices are ridiculous like over a 100$.. I guess they are cheap for u since u are there
I have a Baofeng UVB5 I have VHF boat radio frequencies,fire ems and police frequencies,
It has UHF frequencies,it hasnt had any problems it goes very very very far ranges when im listening to FD frequencies its clear as day ive picked up firefighters up to 71 miles from me and boaters ive picked up to about 72-73 miles from my dock on sunny days! Excellent radio
Great video, subbed. Got a set of three with mikes/speakers and we use them professional on steel construction sites and maintenance and welding jobs on plants etc., often with crane operators. No experience with other brands but very content with this brand.
Cheers good review, lots of effort put into this review i appreciate that. That price is crazy low wow!
Thanks so much 😎
hiya, I have received my Proster walkie talkies this morning, tested them out with my dad and they work perfectly fine walked into my local town center speaking to my dad on the radio and they worked fine in shops aswell..I was also picking up the police and paramedics on it aswell lol awesome
Channel 16 can be set and will scan all 16 (or whatever ones are set to scan) when set to ch16 and scan function is enabled...when scanning if it stops on an active channel and you transmit it will always transmit on the channel 16 freq. if it is programmed otherwise it will transmit on the highest channel number that is set. You cannot tell what channel the scan stopped on so it is only good as a receive scanner function...
I do like these radios and got some a good few years ago.Still working well now.
WALKIE TALKIE 2021 🔊
There great for the price and they are really easy to use for as cheap as £10 and that anyone can use them without any previous knowledge/experience with other radios they are perfect for on site use.
Yes absolutely 😎
Thanks for taking the time. I might just get this. Greetings from Vancouver island!
Thanks
kno ieman,how long do i charge the walkie talkie
@@rethikas14 only takes about 5 hours. Im happy with this purchase. Worth it.
Power output he measured was just over 1 watt. Totally legal in U.S. power-wise. His summary of the radio begins around 13:00. I wish video presenters on UA-cam would edit more succinctly. We appreciate your sharing your experience, but this could've been edited down to a minute or two and your content wouldn't've suffered, IMHO. Have a nice day.
Thanks but this has been by far my most watched video so clearly I did something right.
Also make sure you get the right Programming cable with the chip in it.
The newer boafengs use a cable with no chip but the BF-888's need the cable with the chip in it.
US low end limit is now 2 watts before you need a license. These radios are perfect.
Good afternoon
can you help me? I want to connect two devices, the first device is the same as the one you have, while the other is different, but they are all from BAOFENG, thank you …
Subbed. we need more like you, thanks for the review!
thanks and thanks for the sub, more reviews to come.
Awesome. If you haven't already, do you thing you could get your hands on the Quansheng TG UV2 and run it through the paces? I'm really wanting to get one but previous chicom experiences have be puckering up a bit...
Good one
I have the Baofeng UV-82.
It is a dual band VHF/UHF.
I love it.
I can get out about 50 miles with repeaters.
Thanks for the vid.
timm2020 Oh yeah, KD8YWL
Another UA-cam review shows 3.5 watts output, but whatever, pretty good range you’re getting there.
I’ve got some been using for years, bought extra capacity batteries and longer antenna too
That U.K. plug has just been added on later, technically illegal to sell like that, supposed to be a factory fitted sealed plug these days
Thank's for your video, price in France is 21 € one radio, good radio
thanks, it is a great little radio amazing value for money.
thanks very much that's very kind
Splash proof really not waterproof
are the Retevis RT24 any good and are they uk legal licence free?
The charger is very poor quality without protection, be careful.
WolfAirsoft Yes, but the antenna is removable, so leave it screwed in. The radio is DEAF to any other commercially available radio 'til you programme it. The 16 channels are PMR. Me? I'm tired of programming everything, so I'm chucking that in; if I want PMR., then I would go for the new Motorola extreme, 16 channels with everything working straight out of the box, and it can hear all other PMR radios.
Great Video and Testing! Getting a pair of them too :) 55 & 73 from germany
Peter Grygorczuk Many thanks!! & Yes for the money they are amazing radios, you will have a lot of fun with them for sure!
Very good review my friend I have a question are the BF888s compatible to connect to a repeater network
absolutely amazingly awesome review Sir....Outstanding job!!!!!!!!
Thanks for this video. It looks like you are using SDR# to record the test transmissions. Did you use a voice activated recording feature within SDR#, or simply record the whole time during testing? I'd like to perform similar tests but do not want to leave the program recording while I am away from the computer. Thanks again and 73's.
estos radios son compatibles con los radios Kenwood tengo una base y me gustaria ver si me puedes ayudar si puedo meterlo a la frecuencia que maneja mis radios kenwood si son compatibles con esos radios me podrias ayudar si funcionarian
Great review video! I'd love to see a review of the Amcrest atr-22
What is the name of the song at the end? Great, informative video. Keep up the good work!
Thanks, the music is generated by the video editor program so doesn't really have a name as such
Great video and test I would definately change the power supply wire.....
I am in the United States and am a representative of a volunteer organization. We use these radios on business frequencies with a license. Besides being a bit quiet, they do their job fairly well.
I doubt they are type accepted for biz band use.
@@captlarry-3525 they are part 90 certified. Check the FCC database. Also this comment is 5 years old lmao… we’ve since started using Motorolas.
Get 2 Watts and in crowded housing and Metal Biz Buildings getting 1/2 Mile between 2 Units . Getting a LONGER ANTENNA for both and will test.. will increase some in the City with 3x Longer Antenna's of course. Work great as is !
thanks for your review, was doubt with this product... till u saying great about this one... thanks mate
This radio can also be programmed to transmit and receive on vhf. It won't transmit well on vhf, but it will receive pretty good.
Mine dont on vhf
Appreciate the video. I ordered a pair which came in this afternoon and was wondering how far the range was. Thanks for the demo.
Roddy Smith hey no problems they are great budget radios, enjoy :-)
My friends and I want to buy some of these for car trips so we can talk and ask directions and stuff. Are these ready to be used straight out of the box without any programming or software additions and stuff?
And if so, is there a way to get onto a channel thats just privately you and your friends. I don't know a thing about how to use these so any tips and info would be much appreciated.
And whats the illegal frequency thing you were talking about?
Yes
In general if some other person in your range uses the same frequency the possibility of catching their conversation is very high. That's why you use 16 channels to choose from You can brief your friends to use. Only channel 1. And if there is some other group of people russian or Chinese or what ever it might be. By hearing your conversations they will usually switch to their own channel. For example number 6. That's how your group of people will be chatting on channel 1 and the russian will be chatting on channel 6. It is very simple.
Yes if you decide to listen to Russians on channel 6 just switch to this channel. Or vice versa:-))
Yes you limited by 16 frequencies only. But the possibility that 16 groups of different people using the same 16 frequencies in the same time are very low. It will never happen-:) no matter if you in the wood or mountains or urban.
That's why everybody has he's unique channel to use.
You can buy advanced radios with 128 channels. But there is a big possibility interfering with civilian or police radios.
This means more channels you have the more frequency options you got. Usually if you have some 5-4 friends you ask them to choose the same channel and you will be converse on it.
I'm unsure what the illegal frequency thing he was on about either, they transmit at 446mhz which is fully compliant.
nice tune at the end
Hi again Knoxieman, did you ever get the beep function to work when programming the BF-888s handsets? Also does the busy lock feature work? Many thanks.
How to you set the power level via the software enabling these radios to be uk legal for PMR channels?
That was a great review! Thank you so much!
The Baofeng UV9r plus is my cheapy of choice 2-way though far more features. Have a couple of UV5r's but find the 9's even better built. How do they do these for the price?
I have the 888's for holiday family use, cheap enough not to care if you drop one and the kids love them.
12:36 is it the wind that causes that jamming sound
What about the 'new' Misuta 888s, their ad''s are quoting 3 watt power output, not the previous
+f4bscale Very likely not even some of the bigger UV5R variants dont put out 3 watts on UHF, you can generally take the power labels on the boxes with a massive pinch of salt, not that it matters as for the money they are great radios and all that extra watt or two would do in practice is just flatten your battery more, if range is a concern you need a better antenna on all these Chinese radios.
+knoxieman Thanks, I've sent for one so as to make a comparison. You are right about the antenna. I have worked my way through a few fake Nagoyas and they do improve performance a little. I now have a genuine Nagoya NA771 and it improves performance from, say 5 or 6/10 to 7 or 8/10 at 3.4 miles from a high point (almost line of sight). That's back to another 888s (original antenna) in a bedroom window.
+knoxieman Is the earpiece push to talk? Deciding whether to bye a push to talk earpiece with it so I can leave it in my pocket while speaking.
negusorigins I don't think so, I don't have these radios any more as they were given away as gifts, I'm sure none of the cheap headsets have inline buttons.
Hi! Great video, it made me buy 4x of them :). What software are you using around 11minutes? Thanks
*It is sdr# used in sdr radios software defined radios. hope u found it useful*
Good review but whats wrong with the plug and twin cable.Its double insulated as most chargers are --- isnt it ?
no it's not double insulated, have to be bit careful there.
I bought one of these and one BaoFeng UV-5R Plus to use at work to communicate :) Best regards
Good review.
Do you know what is the difference is between this 888S vs 888?
that one of them has an s and not the other
Bf 888s model is price is per unit and maxcimum talking range km from set to set.
You can get maybe 10 miles line of site
What was being used to receive them? Unless it was another identical handset, then surely it's an irrelevant test. I can hear PMR stuff from miles away on my IC9100 and big antenna at home, but I couldn't hear them on another PMR handset.
I always do the range test from two fixed locations on all the test videos back to base so I am comparing the radio to other radios in that sense, yes I do agree that along side that it would have been good to do a radio to radio test and an urban test. Thanks for watching.
Just subscribed, thanks. M0BND, haven’t used my license for god knows how many years, keep thinking about it though. Thanks for the review.
What licence
thanks for the information about the baofeng bf888s I like your video so much
Hi ,
Do you think these vary from set to set ?...just bought 4 for my kids ...I do have ham licence but only M6 .
.regards
Del
Fantastic video mate thank you very much for taking the time to do it
these look like the Retevis H-777 Walkie Talkie. Do you know if there is any difference
Thanks v much I don't know if they have been cloned but its very likely!
I like your field tests and all the ham radio reviews ;) I see you are using the AVAIR AV-400 to measure the output power. One question: what minimum power needs this SWR meter to deliver precise values for SWR? Is it usable for PMR devices, means for 0.5Watt? Or do you have other recommendations for such a SWR and power meter? Thank you
Yes it's very accurate and has a 0 to 5 watt scale so good for pmr
Knoxieman, what test software are you using on this video for those BF 888s radio's? Name of software please.
+Lena Marie Peters hello there, its SDR software and its called sdrsharp
+knoxieman .... thanks for the heads up.... will look into it
Today I received 888s with RED sticker on the back and it have scrambler! But only with Miklor program for 888s.
73
+Music Matt 76 Yes some do have this feature its random between sellers, you can use the Baofeng software to enable it as well, I dont use voice inversion its fun to play with it though.
will these work straight out of the box though on an illegal frequency or do you need to program them for them to work?
yes they will still work
+knoxieman thanks. So what's the risk with the frequency. Is it a case of maybe bleeding over to one that's being used all ready or is it the uhf backup frequency if the police airwaves radios go down
Hi. Thanks for the great video. Do you know if the channel frequencies are reset to the factory settings if the battery runs out of power. Thanks
Thanks for the test. I am waiting to receive two of these from China.
Question - when you did your distance tests what kind of antenna were you using at home? Internal/External? Being a ham I suspect you were using something like a discone on your roof. If so that would receive markably better than another portable.
Tx,
Bill
N7GYV
I can see VHF in the manual.... Is this VHF too?
no its uhf only
being using these for about 2yrs power,geat radios for money,,,very good range and loud enough audio on tx and rx,,,,churp software gives basic programming i found the bf888s software English version much better for accessing all features,,,speech inversion is really handy are it make you audio sound garbled to anyone trying to listen in to your conversation although this does not encrypt your audio,so any on with speech inversion activated can here you on there radio,,,power out i have no had any problems with my radio giving 4w on high and just under 1w on low,,,,,like you say great radio for the money.
It's strange because I've used CHIRP to program my Baofeng UV-5Rs, and I've found that while the majority of the functions I've programmed the radio for actually go through, things like Busy Channel Lockout don't seem to work, so I wonder if it's the same case here, except with the power setting not being accepted by the radio vs my issue with the BCL feature.
Chirp is loaded with options that are not supported on a radio of these specifications. Don't have to be.
hola amigo he observado tus videos de las dos radios bf888 y bf999, veo que enelvatimetro la triple 9 da mas de 5 wats. de potencia, quiero encargar de china unos cuantos de estos pero no me decido cual me recomiendas? hello friend I have watched your videos of the two radios bf888 and bf999, I see that enelvatimetro the triple 9 gives more than 5 wats. of power, I want to order china a few of these but I do not decide which one you recommend me?
Hi there don't worry too much about power levels none of the cheaper Chinese radios put out the power they say on the box, kdc1 is a great budget radio with superb audio and decent power for its size
Great review nice to see a good well put together test I've also subscribed look forward to more.....
many thanks :-)
I've got the baofeng uv5r these look really similar to you're sets sure the one's I got from cash converters for £5.00 are very early ones in radio terms. ....
sorry but by any chance do you have the link to the video of how to program the radios? Thank you in advance.
+Arturo Ortiz If you search for programming chirp in youtube you should find videos that will help.
I ordered 2 of these for camping I live in the United States, I am not a ham operator can I still use these radios? What other than the cable and software do I need to do to use and program them? What frequencies can I use here in the states? Thanks
Str8Klownin1
FRS/GMRS channels can be programmed into them, you can Google a list. No they're not legal but if you're not being a nuisance no one will ever check.
We have exactly the same make and model variable power supply and swr meter. 73 MM0SDK.
Scared of a bad there
The box in the very beginning of the video says VHF/UHF. Are these dual-band?
No
Excellent video, thank you...
Ok, its straight out of the box, can we pick anything up on this without the cable, we are new to this so it seems a bit baffling lol.
probably not, get a cable and program it then you will, have fun.
Would these be okay for kids to use? Ages 7-16. Looking for cheap but good quality Walkie talkies for my brothers for Christmas.
Hi ! thnak you for the video, I did not really understand everything since I don't know anything about radio or channels or whatever, but I have few questions and maybe you can help ! So I boght ten of them on a chinese website and unfortunatly everything is chinese, do you know if I can have a chance to change the language ? Also, I only received 4 of them at the moment, so 6 left( I hope) we tried to connect them and we succed, but I am afraid that it will not work with the 6 left, what do you think ? About the performance, do you thnik that some channels work better than the others, or evry of them works the same ?
Last question is about the orange button (not the one for the light but the other one) for what it is for ?
I know it is a lot of questions, but maybe somebody can help, and sorry about my english which is so bad !
Hello, the voice prompt can only be changed in software, you need to get a programming cable, sounds like the other radios are on different frequencies, you can put them all on the same frequency with the software, it is important that you find out what frequency channels you are allowed to use in your country first, the side buttons can be programmed for scan or to drop the squelch.
I have a pair of these that I want to use as walkie-talkies when I go camping etc. I keep hearing the frequencies have to be changed, but what to? If PMR frequencies are a no-no because the radios are too powerful, which frequencies CAN we legally use in the UK? We only need them to keep in contact with eachother. Any advice would be good :)
+Walter Ego well its a tricky one to answer, legally you shouldnt be using them unless you are a licensed radio ham and even then not on PMR, however if you are going to use them and you are not a HAM it is essential that you program them on to the 8 PMR frequencies that way you wont cause interference, you still wont be legal but at least you wont be potentially causing havoc.
knoxieman Thanks for that - I certainly don't want to interfere with important communications somewhere. I wouldn't be using them often or for long conversations so PMR sounds the best way to go. Now we shall never talk of this again....... ;-)
Nice little radios. Inexpensive too.
These neat little radios are great for simplex, but they don't seem to like using repeater offsets.
I've not used the 888 on repeaters much although I've used plenty of other super cheap radios that have been ok 🤔
Hi +knoxieman , how do i programme it again so that I can use it in the UK please?
thank you
Do you have a recommendation to make the wire safer, maybe another charger?
By the way, have you tried any other antenna on this radio.... like the Nagoya NA- 771 or NA-666?
Rui Delgado Yes tried the 771 made a noticeable difference as you would expect although it makes the radio less pocketable
Hi Im a bit confused here so are any frequencies out side of the 446mHz range ok to use is that what the pmr thing means? I got some of these and a cable and it's showing they are preset from 450 to 469 so I dont need to change anything? Thanks
Can you please measure the distance between the two screw holes on those radios please
Hi Jake sadly not as I gave these radios away after the video was made
I’ve added this to my favourites playlist
Chap on eBay doing 2 units for £5!!!!!Very cheap and a great little radio
What program you use for hear and receive the signal in your pc?
program these with MURS UHF / DOT & Star freqs for some added privacy
I have those radios one question when I got them they didn't come with a programming disk how can I program them out of the factory status.
download the program chirp from danplanet you can program them with that, you will also need the cable of course. The radios are often supplied pre programmed on frequencies that will not be legal for you to use in the us and UK so its important to change them to avoid causing interference.
thank u ill look it up
I bought 1 box of two 888s's with two chargers and two earpieces for $20 bucks on Tophatter.
I don't know jack about uhf, vhf, FM, etc. Could you explain what splits are and all those settings in the 888's programming software? These radios a set to high power by default. I couldn't get more than 1.5 miles out of it with trees, hills, and buildings in the way. Funny thing., the signal got very weak at 100 yards line of sight on a football field here in the USA.
Splits is where you transmit on a different frequency than you receive on, split frequency.
@@knoxieman Is it's sole purpose so that a conversation cannot be followed by a random listener?
Is theoud repitious noise ( music?) a youtube reqirement?
Here in America UHF GMRS we are allowed up to 5watts on a hand held HT.
Yes that is great to be honest lots of people use more than 0.5W on PMR over here now
7 miles is Phenomenal but what was the antenna and radio used on the receiver end?
SDR and roof mounted co linear, I can get 7 miles line of sight radio to radio.
Hello. How many kilometers can a radio receiver cover?
are these suit for trekking or hiking?
I do like your ham radio footages.
I own two bf888e,s which is a pmr version with fixed aerial
Can you use them to talk to someone with the same radio like a walkies talkie? Without programming them in the US?
I got 2 BF-888s the other day. Both work but on the one the battery wont stay in. The catches on the bottom are fine. A very slight pull and the battery come out. Any suggestions?
Ok then. Thank you for your help.
Thanks for the review. May I ask, what SDR software was that you used?
Cheers!
Chirp works well and its free
Me and car group want to use these for highway drives and what not
There's about 10 of use is this what we need just these or gotta add something?
+✱AT Productions✱ go ahead buy them on ebay 10£ each
Thanks for the review