Test your Baofeng’s receiver coverage at your BIL/BOL.

[Lightspeed]

UK radio Amateurs are active once a month on FM frequencies that that can be received on the ubiquitous Baofeng hand held radios.

They’ll be giving each other four reports:

Call sign
• UK amateurs call-signs are 4 – 6 characters, starting with G, M, or 2

Signal report
• 5 and 9 for example means I hear you perfectly and my receiver is reading signal strength 9
• Even Baofengs have rudimentary signal meters.

Serial number
• A sequential number of the number of stations spoken to in this session by the transmitting station

Locator which is a 6 character code that identifies where the transmitter is located
• Eg Locator IO92JL = Lutterworth, East of Coventry
• Locator finder link: https://dxcluster.ha8tks.hu/hamgeocoding/

To find out how far afield your SHTF walkie-talkie will hear in an emergency, tune in, make notes of what you hear and then plot the transmitter’s location. Chances are that some of the M6 operators will be using Baofeng handhelds too.

Tip, try orienting the antenna horizontally and vertically to get best received signal.

Where and when to listen?

Frequency 433.394 – 434.600MHz
• Dates 13 July, 10 Aug, 14 Sept
• Time 19.00 – 21.30 (UTC) = 18.00h -20.30 BST
• More dates and times to listen
o https://www.rsgbcc.org/cgi-bin/contest_r...=70cmsukac

Frequency 145.2000-145.5935MHz
• Dates 6 Jul, 3 Aug, 7 Sept
• Time 19.00 – 21.30 (UTC) = 18.00h -20.30 BST
• More dates and times to listen:
o https://www.rsgbcc.org/cgi-bin/contest_r...est=2mukac

[Straight Shooter]

Many thanks LS ! Very useful .

[Lightspeed]

Anyone have any luck hearing UHF stations?

Our latest project has been to make a high performance directional UHF antenna using readily available materials. In its simplest form cost under £10 for materials from B&Q.

Gil, Radioprepper (in France), has a video of a simple walkie-talkie connected to one of these making contact across the Channel to the UK.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AkmaMMGVYM

That performance isn’t just for the camera. We’re achieving reliable FM contacts at 10 to 60 miles range using 10 and 25w*. This is from random urban locations, not mountain top to mountain top! A simple Baofeng UV5r receives just as well, and is only as a single signal blob quieter on transmit which is almost an un-noticable reduction

‘* Using a Leixen VV-898SP manpack / RT95 type Dualband radios.

[Lightspeed]

Update

A few days ago using a 4w Baofeng connected to the home made antenna described, we achieved understandable two-way contact with stations out to 40 miles range over fairly hilly terrain.