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Baofeng UV-5R is cheap ham and has a ton of bands. I bought both of mine for around $30 bucks and got a giant antenna. There's a ton of videos on youtube on how to set up and use. I would scan and find your channels and save them.
This guy has all you need to know here: https://www.youtube.com/c/HamRadioCrashCourse
You need to get a license to talk on it or FCC will come after you. They give you your handle id after exam and fees. I have the book but still haven't taken exam. Figured I would use it if shit hits the fan. I listen to police and fire channels then and again.
Its Free to listen
Taking license info. You can get your license online these days.
https://hamradioprep.com/how-to-get-your-ham-radio-license-made-easy/
Are the Baofang radios unlocked for FRS/GMRS transmit?
I have all the weather bands programmed and all the local channels. I wrote the frequencies down on paper, then added them to chirp and uploaded to baofeng with its data cable.
I got a longer antenna and a battery shell replacement to use 6 AA's. This is just so I can power it if we lost power since you can't charge with now power.
I got 2. One in a faraday cage and one outside LOL.
The UV-5R covers the 2m (VHF) and 70cm (UHF) bands. Propagation at these frequencies is mostly line-of-sight, which depends hugely on the environment. With the built-in antenna at ground level in an urban area you'd probably only get a few tens of miles. On top of a hill you could get hundreds. If you plugged it into a 14-element Yagi on a tower you'd do very well indeed, but nobody uses a hand-held for that.
On these amateur bands it's common to use repeaters, which receive on one frequency and re-transmit on another, to improve range. They're usually sited on a nearby hill and are run by local amateurs for no profit.
This is pretty much the info I was looking for! Thanks!
Show up at your truck? :)
If it was an emergency and only an emergency and you can.
If not welcome to fines and jail time if they hear you and FCC fines. Amateur radio license has all this info in the study guide.
Good point. And its also probably a good idea to study this material so you don't get yourself killed (unlikely with handhelds; very possible with rigs that are any larger)