Baofeng radios

[Outdoors]

Ya I’m probably making it up!

I didn’t say you were making it up though.

 

[snoflake]

The only thing sketchy are those Radios! I have said from the start, if you have a good luck with them then great. Many haven't.
Going forward, I guess as long as they are bought from RGB, and programmed by a technician, and have the antennas replaced, and have special mics, and are kept in a dark dry place, and nobody ever touches a button on the outside, then they may get a decent radio that gets a 40km Range.

 

[lilduke]

Then we all agree. If you like em, get em if you dont, dont. I got mine from rough country in Revelstoke.

But I want a yellow one now.

 

[snoflake]

Then we all agree. If you like em, get em if you dont, dont. I got mine from rough country in Revelstoke.

But I want a yellow one now.

Well Said. I hope we can all be friends again and get back to bashing each others sleds.

 

[Teth-Air]

If you use them as designed they are good. If you want something better and are willing to pay 3 to 5 times more, go ahead, There are newer versions of the Baofeng that have completely water proof design and have no jack holes for water to get in. Of course then you need differenct style mic.

Something like this:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100...&terminal_id=d70db3e9cfc747c7891861cd920f1dd6

The microphone pressure fits againts gold plated pads.

 

[moyiesledhead]

I have to revise my last post. I did have a problem with one of my Baofengs. The camo green one. Kept losing it when I put it down out hunting.

 

[snoflake]

If you use them as designed they are good. If you want something better and are willing to pay 3 to 5 times more, go ahead, There are newer versions of the Baofeng that have completely water proof design and have no jack holes for water to get in. Of course then you need differenct style mic.

Something like this:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100...&terminal_id=d70db3e9cfc747c7891861cd920f1dd6

The microphone pressure fits againts gold plated pads.

If you use them as designed they are good? What were they designed for?

 

[Teth-Air]

If you use them as designed they are good? What were they designed for?

Not under water or extremely wet. They have models for that. Sledding is often like that so mics get plugged and water can cause issues with the Motorolla style mic/programming plug. All radios designed similar will suffer the same perils.

 

[snoflake]

Sooo, they are not a good sledding radio then?

 

[Teth-Air]

Sooo, they are not a good sledding radio then?

Very good value. And cheap enough that when the battery gets weak you can just buy a whole new radio, Now is this your only lifeline? Also if you lose it or smash it, don't feel too bad. Look at it this way, how much gear do you carry or how expensive are the tools in your pack? Do you go for the best of everything or do you make a few compromises? Your life could rely on your tools, do you carry Snap-On wrenches? Do you carry full, expert climbing gear? Do you carry snow shoes? You know you might need it sometime? We have to leave some things at home or go with some less expensive items rarther than go best of the best or for some guys would have to go with nothing at all due to the cost. They have worked very well for me and for others here. Good on you for your choice, nice to have choices.

 

[brian h]

I haven't had problems with radio in pack but under some snow conditions had mic issue until I put a mic cover on. As stated previously if want something 3 to 5 times more expensive lot's find these work. For the person starting out in the sport or lot's who only ride few times a year in the deep powder the extra cost imo is not worth it to them. But imo the main thing is having one that works and the group use them when needed

 

[lilduke]

Well Said. I hope we can all be friends again and get back to bashing each others sleds.

Id never take someone's opinion on a radio personal.

Aa long as you have one, thats the main thing!

 

[Lund]

Sooo, they are not a good sledding radio then?

Just wondering, which radio fit's your expectation? You obviously don't use Baofeng but must have a radio?

Majority of my sledding is solo, occasionally with the wife so Baofeng doesn't fit my needs either but in group riding I have no problem using one.
The vast majority sled in groups in designated sledding areas near trail systems, so high end expensive radios make no sense. Your better off spending the extra coin on an Inreach or Zoleo type device in conjunction with a cheapo Baofeng. imo
BTW, some of these VHF require licensing.

 

[snoflake]

Just wondering, which radio fit's your expectation? You obviously don't use Baofeng but must have a radio?

Majority of my sledding is solo, occasionally with the wife so Baofeng doesn't fit my needs either but in group riding I have no problem using one.
The vast majority sled in groups in designated sledding areas near trail systems, so high end expensive radios make no sense. Your better off spending the extra coin on an Inreach or Zoleo type device in conjunction with a cheapo Baofeng. imo
BTW, some of these VHF require licensing.

I have been running a Kenwood for at least the last 10+ years. Yes, they are expensive initially. I agree, that if your riding in a tighter group a reliable radio is not needed (until it’s needed). Zoleo, and other communicators are all great as well. Having a cheaper radio vs not having one at all makes sense if one is on a budget.

I also understand that clearly lots of people have had luck with BF, but I never have. Been on 5 trips this year, and 3 of 5 trips had people with a pooched BF. If you run in a group that communicates a lot, it’s a hindrance not being able to keep everyone in touch.

My new favourite toy it the Trail Tech Voyager GPS. It hooks up with the new Polaris GPS for buddie tracking. It will be nice when all sleds come with them.

 

[norona]

Been using Baofeng Set up for over 10 years guiding sled, sled skiing and riding 5-7 thousand km a year, never had one issue, I help Ray sell them now and have sold over 800 plus radios, I have had 2 mics come back in that time and those are the current mics I am personally using, I use them dirt biking, on my boat in the summer time and they work awesome. Easy to use and work, excellent battery life. The issues I have seen is guys often say I can get them cheaper off amazon or e-bay, while this may seem true once they decide, usually on something based on range, they purchase and pay duty and exchange if coming to canada and then have to find a good mic and antenna, there are fakes in both and lots of cheap stuff that guys post to lure guys in, then they try and program since their buddy told them it was easy, it is not easy and what to load them with etc. I have had guys do this then want ray to program them, cost to ship and ship back and pay to load, now they are over the price we sell. Most of this is user error, because guys just want simplicity, which is why we have done vids on them and provide one system that we have been using for a long time. Lots of professional guides use them here in the sea 2 sky with cat skiing, sledding etc, so my experience has been great and trying to make vids to show the simplicity and yes they can do more as you get more use with them. Cheers dave

 

[FernieHawk]

Sooo, they are not a good sledding radio then?

I thought you were going back to bashing other brands of sleds? lol

 

[snoflake]

My bad.

 

[RGM]

Ya I’m probably making it up!

Considering I only sell black ones then ya.

 

[AkNomad]

We've got 2 Baofeng radios that we use for sledding and for comms when we are at our remote cabin, they transmit a long ways and perform well though I did have an issue with one of them. For some reason after using a remote mic I plugged into the mic port then removed it, I discovered that the radio would no longer transmit. That said, I found a work around for it but I have to leave it off until I'm ready to use it otherwise if I leave it on it transmits all the time. What is a good remote mic for these radios than I can use when I'm riding?

 

[Tchetek]

Considering I only sell black ones then ya.

The coloured ones are the ones that work from another source. I have generally been happy with the buafengs performance. Garmin Rino is a overrated toy.

Like I said I wasn’t posting to bash you or your business. But you posted that yours don’t have issues. Or that you don’t get any back anyway.

I did email you about my issue and as mentioned you couldn’t find my order as it was purchased as a group order by another individual. At the Time you were offering better pricing for orders of 12. You told me to try contact cleaner.

Based on your response and what shipping costs were likely gonna be I cut my losses and ordered myself another 5 colourful ones from another source under my own name so could deal with warranty issues if needed.

Live and learn. Save a buck on a group buy and pay later.

The 4 black radios we did receive from you all had the same bad connection issue in the Mic connection jack.

I’ll send them back to you at my cost and you can test them yourself and verify they were yours however you want. I don’t need new ones.