(Part 2) Top products from r/Baofeng

Honestly, I use my baofeng mobile all the time just on battery power.

Sure, I have to disconnect it from the antenna and bring it into the house, but it's a lot easier to isolate it from the car's electrical system noise when it's not charging in the car. (Plus I only have to charge it ~once a week)

I have a car charger for it, and whenever I use that charger you get a bunch of noise from the 12v system. Cars are just really dirty electrically-speaking.

Honestly though, I'm really looking into spending the money for an actual Mobile rig. The low-wattage of the handhelds is really limiting, and you're gonna have to have an external antenna anyway. Buying something that'll work better from the start is a wise investment. A mobile rig is a good in-between, because you can use it from the car, or hook it up to a 12v power source at home (old computer PSU?).

"Buy once cry once"

Sure thing! Sounds like a fun project.

You could pick up one of these and modify the cable, it would be a bit easier.

Don't be too worried about the perceived small amount of power. 5 watts is nothing to sneeze at.

I have a mobile antenna installed on the roof of my truck which I usually use with my 60W mobile unit. That unit is on the way back to china so for the last week or so, I've connected my UV-5R to the antenna feed line using this adapter.

I've found that I am able to hear and get into repeaters all over my area. 20, 30 miles no problem.

Antennas are more important than power output (or at least as important), so driving around with a mobile antenna hooked to your handheld is going to be miles away better than trying to transmit with your handheld from inside the car. That's going to be true for two reasons: 1. The mobile antenna is just going to be better than your HT antenna. 2. The mobile antenna is outside the car

Much luck to you, I say go for it.

Fair enough, here's exactly the Wouxun one I have, I like it. Again though, I don't know it meets your needs; it meets mine. If your environment is super loud this might not be the fix.

http://www.amazon.com/Wouxun-SMO-001-Remote-Speaker/dp/B007F7N11Q

This.

1. Cut sheath
   
2. Fold back braid like a Chinese finger trap
   
3. ???
   
4. Profit
   
   Some coax is way easier than others to do this with. I have a shitton of BNC Twist-ons for quick easy antennas & repairs
   
   https://www.amazon.com/Valley-Enterprises-Twist-Cable-Connectors/dp/B002A6ER2O/

This was my solution.

For Power.

For access.

For mounting I made something similar to this out of banding strap and clip the belt strap to it.

And for improved range/signal I use this mag mount

With the baofeng 888s being so cheap I actually keep that on my belt and keep my uv5r permanently mounted in the car.


Here's a mount and go mobile option for $104, you will need to pick an antenna.

Neither (yeah, I'm gonna be "one of those guys").

I say that because there are so many knock-off Nagoyas -even on Amazon- that I don't trust them any more.

I bought this Comet, and I love it!

It's a baofeng accessory. Working in the first place is a plus. I have one of these For the same setup you have and it works great. you can still only hear mono on left side though.

Yes, but they are not cheap. The comment below using SDR would be much less expensive, but I don't know a lot about digital trunking with an SDR unit.

Here is a standalone portable unit: https://www.amazon.com/Uniden-BCD436HP-HomePatrol-TrunkTracker-Programming/dp/B00I33XDAK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1549520011&sr=8-1&keywords=digital+trunking+scanner+p25

It's about $50 cheaper if you get a base unit, but still crazy expensive. If you do happen to invest in one, there is software to program it easily using data from radio-reference.com. It's called freescan.

There are a bunch of these on Amazon, but none of them seem to step down the voltage for the charging base.

The other way to go is a battery eliminator but quality again seems to be iffy.

From the radio you need this
sma to bnc adapter
then
pl259 to bnc cable
to go to the
swr meter then you need
this F adapter to your standard tv coax going to your antenna

with these parts you can reuse them over and over for antenna projects instead of spends a lot of money on just one antenna you may not wind up using. also you should use any coax you have now and figure out what coax you will need in the future instead of buying new coax since you are inexperienced

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YEEL8H2?keywords=bf888s&qid=1453329543&ref_=sr_1_4&s=electronics&sr=1-4 $78.99 for 6 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EDIC062?keywords=bf888s&qid=1453329543&ref_=sr_1_15&s=electronics&sr=1-15 $128.95 for 10

I see these little guys that are only 2 watts in the UHF frequency range. Would that do the job?? www.amazon.com/BaoFeng-BF-888S-Two-Radio-2pcs/dp/B00ECW9DB4

Use a handset with a headphone jack?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008RZ0EQ0/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/ZTactical-NEXUS-type-Mike-switch/dp/B004W18T6A


Is that it?

uniden bc-125at, can't recommend enough for the price point

The simple answer you may be looking for -
Any of the import radios will do MURS and FRS if they are dual band radios. Most Baofengs have an assortment of accessories also including the battery eliminators - https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Eliminator-Charger-Baofeng-Uv-b5/dp/B00DGWG2VA for a relatively low price.

You could use a battery eliminator to power it without the potential of damaging the battery by being on the charger all the time. You would have to buy a 12v adapter then.

Eliminator: BaoFeng BL-5 12V Battery Eliminator for BF-F8HP, UV-5X3, and UV-5R Radios https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KZ6VGUW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_rHCDAb16QWHX5

12v adapter: AC to DC Power Socket Adapter Converter,Car Cigarette Lighter Socket Power Adapter Charger,Household Cigarette Lighter,With USB 2.0 interface(110~220V Mains to 12V ) (Classy White) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0779V1PVB/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_kLCDAbDXETXMJ