I figured it was time to get familiar with the Chinese radios that are sweeping over ham radio. The BaoFeng UV-5x3 tri-band radio is the guinea pig.
It's unfortunate that I now live in a graphically driven media society. I like to read. I need to see a bit of explanation and discussion about the content of a video piece--as that tells me if I want to spend time watching it. What is the summary? What are the main points? Even CNN and Fox seem to be able to do this most times!
I used to do that, but I've been trying to streamline the process of posting notices in a variety of places. Looks like that's counterproductive, and I'll try to say a bit more in the future. FWIW, I was attempting to follow the QRZ.com guidelines for posting podcasts. It says a "one sentence description" should be enough, and I did two, but I still take your point. The YouTube channel does have a summary. Here's what it says: HamRadioNow doesn't do 'unboxings', and we don't do product reviews per se, but this time we do both. A new BaoFeng UV 5x3 tri-band handheld (144-220-440) caught Gary's eye, and at about $80 he thought 'why not'. He needed to learn more about this wave of cheap Chinese radios, and very few radios include the 220 band. The main rap on the Chinese radios is that they're hard to program. Gary finds this one different than the Japanese brands, but not necessarily more difficult. And it programs easily with free Chirp software. Harmonics have been an issue. This episode includes an interview and demo from ARRL Lab Product Review Engineer Bob Allison WB1GCM from the 2014 Hamvention, where Bob was testing ham's radios on a spectrum analyzer.
Vids or links to vids usually go to the trash. Six Mb's all I got and can only bother to read 1/4 page on line or a good book.
For me it's about 80% a matter of time, and 20% of interest. Once I finish a show, I scramble to "publish" it in about a half dozen outlets. But I rarely have the time, or frankly the interest, in turning into an article. I know how long it takes because now and then I do just that. My interest is making a TV show. For you readers, there are plenty of blogs and websites. OTOH if someone volunteers to transcribe or summarize the shows, I'll be delighted to provide space or a link. The shows are also available as audio podcasts. That can help those (like me) who don't have time to sit and watch, but can listen while doing other stuff. www.HamRadioNow.tv/rss
i can read or scan an article so much faster than watching a video or podcast. The later have become dominant because they are easier to do than crafting an article. We have become an illiterate society. Yes, I prefer cw as well.
Good job Gary....a little diversity has proven your adaptability to a wide audience. It takes a lot of time and energy to do what you do and I appreciate it. Randy KA4AQM
I don't follow all the different podcasts and you tube but I have always enjoyed your videos...podcasts...whatever you want to call them. The Internet is a wealth of information just a wonderful source..and you provide timely information and I greatly appreciate all you do. I have donated in the past but may be time to feed the pig again.. Thanks again Gary and 73. See you on the radio
A much better deal on this TYT model.Higher output power & lower price at around $50 is what my neighbor purchased one for & it looks & sounds great on all three bands.Also has dual receive just FYI. Clayton W4KVW
A 'perceived' issue. I'd like to challenge that widely held assumption, because no VHF-UHF testing I have seen including testing at our own club on members' radios on analyzer equipment calibrated to a traceable standard performed by career technical individuals has demonstrated any of the oft mentioned HT radios tested transmitting spurs at a level even close to the threshold of being illegal to operate. It is true some are more 'clean' then others, as one example any Yaesu FT1DR tested just about perfectly clean analog, notable as our club like many operates the Yaesu repeaters everyone runs now. Having spurs which can be seen in testing has drawn a short straight line for many already predisposed to a negative opinion on the economy radios to a 'dirty' verdict. I'm no defender of chinese business practices or products or any business practices or products but let's be real about what any lab setting testing actually indicates. In my area the dust up started or was made fresh when some repeater trustee and license holder very vocally made forbidden operation of 'chinese junk' on his system. FWIW I brought in a box of rugged, proven commercial radios subjected to the same testing. This is retired stuff which became doorstops with the narrow band mandate. HT1000, MT1000, SP50, HT90, GP88, all high bands, a few examples of each. Most tested at least as bad as the economy HT's for spurs, the SP50's being far worse, and the GP88's darn near clean. BTW the GP88's are made in ---you guessed it--- china by or for the big M. The SP50 was M USA, one of their last made here in long service. I sure wish the cleanliness is next to godliness hypocrisy mantra was more widely practiced on high and medium frequency. I have personally copied chinese radio arguments between hams made with blasting splattering 10kc wide angry signals, as I am sure many others have. What a bitter irony. 73 CW
Video is nice till you live were i do in the woods and have limited data on my phone. So i can't watch but about 10 seconds at a time and im sure you know i hit the close button and give up. Thanks for the reveiw wish i could have seen it . and reading i guess will not be a option... Just sad for the hams that want to read and not take the easy way out or fallow main stream..... 73 w9epl
Post-literate, perhaps. I don't like it either, but from years of teaching I've seen the trend has been towards more visual images and less reading and writing. (Though many people still do both.) It's a dumbing down, perhaps, and certainly a shift towards more right than left brain thinking. Finding a good student who can sit down, carefully read a book and then know to dig deeper and actually think about what he or she learned has always been a fairly unusual event. It seems to be becoming even less common today. In some ways canned materials are great for showing things, in others they are very limited and limiting. Anyway, if this video does exactly what it advertises then I don't see how we can ask any more of it.
