baofeng bf-f8hp....HELP

bspitt

Cajun in da Carolinas
Joined
Dec 16, 2016
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Location
foothills of NC
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My beautiful bride got me one for Christmas...so far I've figured out how to turn it on and adjust the volume...that's about it!. this whole ham radio is Greek to me. I know not to use the "push to talk" Button because I don't want a fine or worse....but I would like to set it up to listen to a few ?repeaters?...I don't even know what that is. Maybe one day I will get my license if listening seem enjoyable.

Thanks in advance for any help.
Brannon
 
You can use the chirp program to build templates and such. There are a few YouTube videos as well to help you out.
 
If you're anywhere near the Raleigh area, tune to 147.270 at 8:30 each evening to catch the Johnston Area Radio Society ragchews, prepper nets, and tech nets.
 
You will need a programming cable and the newest version of chirp. Once you have those it's really simple. You can find ANY and ALL frequency on the net. I use repeater book app to find those especially when I'm traveling.
 
Here's a CSV file of all the 2m/70cm repeaters within about 100 miles of CLT. All the entries are named.

Import this in to CHIRP and you'll be good to go.
 
bspitt

I go tomorrow (Tuesday) to Newton. I leave Newton to head back to CLT about 10:30 (exact time may vary a little). If you wanted to meet me on Highway 16, I can bring my laptop and programming cable to program your radio in a parking lot somewhere. Let me know.
 
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htperry;n28357 said:
bspitt

I go tomorrow (Tuesday) to Newton. I leave Newton to head back to CLT about 10:30 (exact time may vary a little). If you wanted to meet me on Highway 16, I can bring my laptop and programming cable to program your radio in a parking lot somewhere. Let me know.

Absolutely...wow thanks...pm coming your way.
 
I think this may be why some people (read, most) become discouraged with HAM. It's so damned convoluted and complex that most just give up and move on to something else easier to use. Maybe not as effective, but easier. The last thing I need is yet another hobby, I just want to listen.......
 
Bailey Boat;n28899 said:
I think this may be why some people (read, most) become discouraged with HAM. It's so damned convoluted and complex that most just give up and move on to something else easier to use. Maybe not as effective, but easier. The last thing I need is yet another hobby, I just want to listen.......

I really do not think Chirp is complicated to use, once set with the repeaters you want there is really no reason to change it unless you want to add a different repeater. You basically open a "sheet", just like a spreadsheet program, and then import repeaters within whatever set mile radius you like. The list is imported right in the program from Repeaterbook. You also choose the band (most will want 2m and 440) and then whamo presto they magically appear. Just delete what you don't want (or keep em all) and then name them if you choose and click on upload to radio. Done.

Now one thing you said I really agree with and I get it entirely (which is why I stopped trying to learn my banjo). Some "hobbies" can get pretty involved and unless you have a real desire to conquer it, the best course is to move on to something you prefer. I LOVE bluegrass and Old Time music, but I have figured out that I will never be a musician.

If anyone in the JoCo area wants to buy a HT and needs help programming it, just PM me.
 
Ham radio is a technical hobby and skill set that isn't for everyone. I enjoy ham radio, but understand it's not for everyone.

I enjoy watching the Cowboys stomp some Lions ass, but I'll never be an NFL player. Sometimes we have to be comfortable as spectators.
 
Bailey Boat;n28899 said:
I think this may be why some people (read, most) become discouraged with HAM. It's so damned convoluted and complex

You say that like it's a bad thing! :)

Yes, it's a hobby not for everyone. It IS a hobby with endless nooks and crannies to learn and experiment with things, which makes it big fun for those with "the knack" .

If you can learn to operate a modern TV, you can learn to operate on 2m. Beyond that there's an infinite amount of subjects to learn about.

John
 
Good job Howard! Glad you got it going Brannon... now get your study book and join in the fun!
 
htperry;n28975 said:
I enjoy watching the Cowboys stomp some Lions ass, but I'll never be an NFL player. Sometimes we have to be comfortable as spectators.

Pats / Cowboys Superbowl!

580f544aff45ecd426fe07a0d860c366.jpg


BTW I was a Patriots fan before Brady....back when they sucked....
 
htperry said:
Here's a CSV file of all the 2m/70cm repeaters within about 100 miles of CLT. All the entries are named.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...W4HTP_UV5R.csv

Import this in CHIRP, into your radio and you'll be good to go.
I didn't know 145.250 is set to skip, but I used to have a lot of TWC cable leak interference around here on 145.250. When a cable leak starts around here, 145.250 is unreadable and stops the scan every round with horrible noise.
 
angerhater got a new UV-82 for Christmas. He texted me about getting it going and I texted back, but haven't heard from Shaun yet. He's in CLT and I am happy to get his new radio programmed. Christmas time is a good time to get started studying for that easy license exam.
 
htperry said:
angerhater got a new UV-82 for Christmas. He texted me about getting it going and I texted back, but haven't heard from Shaun yet. He's in CLT and I am happy to get his new radio programmed. Christmas time is a good time to get started studying for that easy license exam.
Where do you get the study guide?
 
Go download this free study guide, read it through without trying to completely understand everything at first. Just be familiar with it. Then go take one or more of the free online testing programs that tells you immediately if the answer was correct. (This gives you feedback on the correct answer.) Take these over and over until you score 95% or better.
There is a fixed pool of questions. The test will be a subset that come from that pool. When you see the same questions come back around, you will eventually know the answer. I used an app on my phone and ran the test(s) each night before bed until I was close to 100%. Don't settle for 80% because you're going to have some loss in the real test because of nervousness, etc.

This is the method I used for my Tech and General. I did the General in less than a week. This method has worked for many I have advised that were struggling with the standard books and study guides.

Some may say this is cheating. That it's just studying for the test. But, many of us feel that the real learning is getting on air and using the radios, especially for the new Techicians class licensees. The author of this study guide states this as well.

http://www.kb6nu.com/wp-content/uplo...-guide-v20.pdf
 
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georgel said:
Go download this free study guide, read it through without trying to completely understand everything at first. Just be familiar with it. Then go take one or more of the free online testing programs that tells you immediately if the answer was correct. (This gives you feedback on the correct answer.) Take these over and over until you score 95% or better.
There is a fixed pool of questions. The test will be a subset that come from that pool. When you see the same questions come back around, you will eventually know the answer. I used an app on my phone and ran the test(s) each night before bed until I was close to 100%. Don't settle for 80% because you're going to have some loss in the real test because of nervousness, etc.

This is the method I used for my Tech and General. I did the General in less than a week. This method has worked for many I have advised that were struggling with the standard books and study guides.

Some may say this is cheating. That it's just studying for the test. But, many of us feel that the real learning is getting on air and using the radios, especially for the new Techicians class licensees. The author of this study guide states this as well.

http://www.kb6nu.com/wp-content/uplo...-guide-v20.pdf
Just downloaded to send to my wife, who was turned off by the full ARRL manual. thanks for posting.
 
georgel said:
Go download this free study guide, read it through without trying to completely understand everything at first. Just be familiar with it. Then go take one or more of the free online testing programs that tells you immediately if the answer was correct. (This gives you feedback on the correct answer.) Take these over and over until you score 95% or better.
There is a fixed pool of questions. The test will be a subset that come from that pool. When you see the same questions come back around, you will eventually know the answer. I used an app on my phone and ran the test(s) each night before bed until I was close to 100%. Don't settle for 80% because you're going to have some loss in the real test because of nervousness, etc.

This is the method I used for my Tech and General. I did the General in less than a week. This method has worked for many I have advised that were struggling with the standard books and study guides.

Some may say this is cheating. That it's just studying for the test. But, many of us feel that the real learning is getting on air and using the radios, especially for the new Techicians class licensees. The author of this study guide states this as well.

http://www.kb6nu.com/wp-content/uplo...-guide-v20.pdf
See the sticky at the top of the section.
 
A free online test I recommend is the one on www.qrz.com under resources. You don't have to have an actual call sign to login. You can create a temporary one and change it to your call sign when you get one. QRZ will be a site you will use often in your radio life. This test corrects you immediately if you answer incorrectly. The free one at https://www.eham.net/exams/ grades you at the end and is a good way to practice just before you take the real exam.

i can't find the original Android app I used before, but this one looks good. This way you can practice test anywhere..., which I did.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d....ham.test.prep

Lawless, thanks for making a sticky on it. I recommended it a few times on the old site over the years, but never made a sticky.
 
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