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Nigel . . .
On Tue, 07 Jan 2025 09:22:02 -0800, "Nigel ZS6RN" <zs6rn@...> wrote: Currently I do not own a Baofeng radio of any type and interest in the brand is as a result of researching what appears to be rebranded / white label version of the BF888S by a local company (Zartek).I can't say whether these two are the same radios. I own a pair of BF-888 radios. They work, and are programmable with CHIRP of RT Systems software. I don't know the full frequency range they will cover. I bought mine probably a decade or more ago. The box they came in said they were license-free radios, but in the USA at least, that is not true. For them to be license-free, they would have to be FCC type accepted for the Family Radio Service (FRS) band, or work on the much lower frequency citizen's band. I programmed them for ham frequencies. I think they have more power than allowed on the FRS band, and the antenna is removable, which also isn't allowed for FRS. There's a review you should read: It states that though Baofeng says they have an output of <=5 watts, it puts out about 2 watts, which IS less than 5W. If that's an issue for you, then you won't want to buy them. There is also some variation in output power from one unit to another (one put out 1.9 watts, even less). More information, drivers, programming software, and more for the BF-888 can be found here: Apparently, these are also available under other model names: BF-666S, BF-777S Pofung T88, GT1 Retevis H-777 This source does not mention the Zartek radio as a rebranded Baofeng. Here's a Reddit thread discussing the use of BF-888s instead of the Zartek somewhere in Africa, I believe: It covers some legal and possibly other considerations. Depending on where I look for information, these can cover 420-470 MHZ or possibly as low as 400 MHz on the low end. These are pretty inexpensive, so maybe buy one and see if it meets your requirements, then buy more if you need several. As for your license-free band where you live, you might want to find out if the radios used on that band are required to be approved by some regulatory agency in your government. Donald KX8K ---------------------------------------------------- Some ham radio groups you may be interested in: /g/ICOM /g/Ham-Antennas /g/HamRadioHelp /g/Baofeng /g/CHIRP |
