Radio Minimums According to Silas

(For Baofeng UV-5R/BF-F8HP and Wouxun KG-UV8D type hand held transceivers, in order of what I say is important)
Antenna: Never transmit without an antenna it can damage the radio! As a precaution attach antenna before turning the radio on.
On/Off-Volume: The same knob that turns the radio on also adjusts the volume.
Transmitting: Press and hold the PTT (Push To Talk) button one second before speaking into the microphone at a 45 angle approximately 3-5cm away.
Active Frequency: The frequency that the radio transmits on when pressing the PTT button and the frequency that changes when the arrow keys are
pressed. The active frequency is swapped with the secondary frequency with the A/B button. Wouxun radios designate the active frequency with a
MAIN label above the frequency. Baofeng radios designate the active frequency with an arrow to the left of the active frequency.
Menu: The access point to the radio settings. The MENUE button is used to access the main menu, select a sub menu, and confirm the choice of a sub
menu option. Arrow buttons are used to move between menu and sub menu options. Some menu options have understandable names while other
options have obscurer abbreviations. This guide explains the more critical menus to be aware of.
Dual Watch: The ability to monitor two frequencies at once. On a Wouxun the RPT button will take the radio in and out of dual watch. Baofeng radios
display both primary and secondary frequencies but will only receive on both frequencies if dual watch is enabled. On a Baofeng dual watch is
activated by setting menu option TDR to ON and is noted with a S icon appearing at the top of the screen.
Frequency/Channel Mode: (VFO/MR button on radio front) Switch between entering a frequency and selecting a channel. Wouxun radios will cycle
through the modes frequency, channel number, channel frequency, and channel name. Baofeng radios will cycle between frequency mode and a
memory display format (MDF). MDF can be set to display the channel name by operating the radio menus.
Transmit Power: Can be adjusted in the menu by changing TXP. Wouxun radios display a H or L below the transmit frequency. Baofeng 8 Watt 3-power
radios will display an H,M, or L at the top of the screen. Baofeng 4 Watt radios will display an L when transmitting on low and nothing when on high.
Baofeng radios can also have the power quick changed by pressing the
button on the front of the radio. It is radio best practice to only use as
much power as is needed.
Keypad Lock: The ability to prevent accidental channel change or other key pad operations. To activate/inactivate Keypad Lock press and hold

Squelch: Mutes the speaker in the absence of a strong signal. A high squelch level will prevent week signals from being heard. Can be adjusted in the
menu by changing SQL.
Light/Monitor: A handy little light is activated by pressing the the button on the side of the radio just below the PTT button. Holding this button down
will open the squelch all the way.
Wide/Narrow Banding: How much bandwidth is used in for radio communication. Akin to writing big or small letters on a sign. Big/wide letters will be
easier to read from far away but if everyone uses small/narrow letters then twice the people have room to say what they need to say. Can be adjusted in
the menu by changing WN.
FM Radio: Listen to music or news: Baofeng radios go into radio mode by pressing the CALL button on the side above the PTT button. If this button is
held down the radio will go into emergency broadcast mode. Wouxun radios have a programmable button on the side below the Light/Monitor button
that is default set to FM Radio but can be changed in the menu under the PF3 sub menu.
Scanning: These radios are not good scanners. The radios scan at about 3 frequencies per second so a fully populated 128 frequency will take 43 seconds
to step through. Scanning on frequency mode would take longer. Hearing meaningful conversation with a 43 second loop is unlikely, but identifying
active channels is likely. Scanning a shorter list of channels is more effective at catching full conversations.
Wouxun radios can be menu configured so that the PF1 button will cause the radio to transmit on the non active frequency. The PF1 button is on the side
of the radio above the PTT button.
The effectiveness of an antenna can be improved by wrapping a piece of wire around the antenna outer ground and dangling it down. When working the
2m (140MHz) band use a wire that dangles down 19.5in. When working the 70cm (440MHz) band use a wire that dangles down 6.5in.
The amateur bands for ham radio are 144.1-148.0 MHz in the 2m ham voice range (144.0-144.1MHz reserved for mores code only) and 420-450 MHz
in the 70cm ham range. It is legal for anyone to listen on any frequency but only licensed amateurs may transmit on the ham bands. Every
transmission on these bands is accompanied by the transmitters FCC assigned call sign.
Non licensed individuals are allowed to transmit on FRS and MURS frequencies when using FCC approved radios. Neither Baofeng or Wouxun radios
are approved to use on FRS or MURS frequencies.
FRS1-462.5625 N

FRS2-462.5875 N

FRS3-462.6125 N

FRS4-462.6375 N

FRS8-467.5625 N

FRS9-467.5875 N

FRS10-467.6125 N FRS11-467.6375 N

FRS5-462.6625 N

FRS6-462.6875 N

FRS7-462.7125 N

FRS12- 467.6625 N FRS13-467.6875 N FRS14-467.7125 N

MURS1-151.820 N MURS2-151.880 N MURS3-151.940 N MURS4-154.570 W MURS5-154.600 W

About Using Repeaters: Standard ham repeaters receive on a slightly different frequency then they transmit on. This allows them to transmit and receive
at the same time. Repeaters also normally require a special tone to authorize rebroadcast. To use a repeater four bits of information are needed: repeater
transmit frequency, repeater offset, repeater offset direction, and tone. Repeater offsets are standardized to 0.600MHz in 2m (140MHz) band and
5.000MHz in the 70cm (440MHz) band so it is common to come across repeater data without repeater offsets. Non standard cross-band repeaters are
repeaters that receive on the 2m band and transmit on the 70cm band or vice-versa. When dealing with a cross-band repeater the radio must be set up
with both the receive frequency and transmit frequency in dual watch mode.

Wouxun KG-UV8D Step-by-Step Programming Guide, from Noji Ratzlaff

Set the radio to communicate with a repeater at 147.080+ MHz with a 77.0 Hz Tone
0. Turn on the radio and make sure its unlocked
1. VFO/MR (to frequency mode)
2. Select the upper frequency display A/B
3. Set the frequency: 1 - 4 - 7 - 0 - 8 0
4. Set the repeater offset : MENU - 23 - MENU - 000600 - MENU - EXIT
5. Set the repeater shift direction: MENU - 24 - MENU - + - MENU - EXIT
6. Set the transmit tone frequency: MENU - 16 - MENU - (77.0) - M ENU - EXIT
7. Set the transmit power level : MENU - 4 - MENU - HIGH - M ENU - EXIT
Your radio is now set to transmit as specified
Store and name the current repeater and tone settings in memory channel 37
0. Follow the procedure above to set your radio for the frequency of your choice
1. Store the frequency in channel 37: M ENU - 27 - M ENU - 37 - M ENU EXIT
The frequency is now stored in radio memory
2. VFO/M R (channel mode)
3. Press the up or down arrows or enter the three-digit channel number (all three digits) 0 - 3 - 7
4. Set the name of the channel : M ENU - 26 - M ENU - - M ENU - EXIT
The stored memory channel now has a name
Recall a stored memory setting
0. Turn on the radio and make sure its unlocked
1. VFO/MR (channel mode)
2. Press the up or down arrows or enter the three-digit channel number (all three digits) 0 - 3 6
The stored channel is now ready for use
Set the radio to communicate at 146.740 MHz simplex
0. Turn on the radio and make sure its unlocked
1. VFO/MR (frequency mode)
2. Select the upper frequency display A/B
3. Set the frequency : 1 - 4 - 6 - 7 - 4 - 0
4. Turn off the repeater shift direction: M ENU - 24 - M ENU - OFF - M ENU - EXIT
5. Set the transmit power level : M ENU - 4 - M ENU - HIGH - M ENU - EXIT
6. Clear target memory channel 5 : M ENU - 28 - M ENU - 5 - M ENU - EXIT
7. Store the frequency in channel 5 : M ENU - 27 - M ENU - 5 - M ENU - EXIT
The simplex frequency is now stored in radio memory
CTCSS: Continuous Tone Coded Squelch System, or a sub audio tone that is transmitted along with the main transmission. A receiving radio can be set to
mute all transmissions that are not accompanied by a particular CTCSS. This makes a receiver feel like a radio frequency is more privet but does not
prevent others from hearing a conversation.
CDCSS: Continuous Digital Coded Squelch System, this is pretty much the same thing at the analog equivalent but is less common.