Baofeng UV-3R Review: Eden Valley Radio Society Forum

M5TXJ has a review of the Baofeng UV-3R on the Eden Valley Radio Society Forum.

Overall, another positive review. I won't repeat everything he says, but he sums up:

"Pros
Size, price, performance, dial locks by pressing down, charging battery in situ, clear display, simple menu system, long battery life, reasonable power output, did I say price!

Cons
instructions don't match updated firmware, no dual band aerial, slightly poor fit of battery cover."

Some of the sellers are now offering a dual band antenna instead of including both a UHF and a VHF antenna. Since I don't use 440, if I get slightly better performance out of the VHF specific antenna on 2M, then that's a win for me.

I'll say it again - the barrier to entry, from a cost perspective, to ham radio is very low. I suggested that someone could spend $15 to get their license and then use Echolink from a phone or PC to "get on the air." If you want to play radio with a real rig, a $55 UV-3R would go a long way. (Of course, some people spend a lifetime and small fortune on ham gear.)

Movie Created Gun Myths

No wonder the liberal media is afraid of guns... I'd be afraid of guns that have "clips" that hold hundreds, nay thousands of bullets that can be absolutely silent or cause huge explosions, too.

Via the Weapon Blog.

New Holster

If you want to be the baddest man in the cul-de-sac, you need a holster for your beer.



Of course, if you want to be the baddest man in the cul-de-sac, don't wear salmon pants. (Also, you shouldn't describe a color using the word "salmon" either.)

Gun Rush

I saw this article about the rise in gun purchases. While I can not prove causation, there is a strong correlation that suggests one of my co-workers might be the root cause.

In the past year, he's acquired a G26, a G27, a Double-star AR-15, a Smith & Wesson M&P15-22, a Smith & Wesson 9mm VE, a Smith & Wesson .22 pistol of some sort, a Taurus 709 Slim, and a HiPoint .45. Now he thinks he needs some sort of big caliber revolver. God bless America!

Yaesu VX-3R Knock-off: The Baofeng UV-3R

The Chinese are at it again. This time we have a knock-off of the Yaesu VX-3R. The VX-3R is a tiny, but full featured 2M/440 HT. At $175, it isn't super expensive, but not exactly cheap either.

Enter the Baofeng UV-3R... it looks a lot like my VX-3R, but you can get three of the UV-3R for the price of the Yaesu.




G4ILO is on top of things again with a great review of this new rig. Some of his key points follow:

"The UV-3R makes [another Chinese radio] look a quality product. This is the first new electronic product I've had that didn't come with a peel-off protective film over the display. The plastic casing is extremely thin and the plastic belt clip that can optionally be attached looks as if it would easily break. To be fair, the flimsiness of the Baofeng may not be due to cheapness but to save weight."

"Confusingly, the rotary switch on top of the radio must be pulled up before it can be rotated."

Note: the VX-3R works this way as well.

"I also checked the strong signal handling performance of the receiver the same way I did recently with my other hand-held transceivers. It was on a par with the VX-8GR and the JMT-227, at the poor end of the spectrum."

Here you can see the UV-3R in all its glory.



For $55 I am willing to roll the dice. When the storms hit last week, my wife was looking for my VX-3R. Unfortunately, I keep that one in my laptop bag. I was contemplating another radio already, so finding this one has tipped the scales. I'm off to eBay.

A Deal You Can't Refuse

M.J. Mollenhour, whom I had the pleasure to meet, is celebrating the imminent release of his new book by dropping the price of his first thriller to $0.99!

I don't have a Kindle, but I've got an iPad on the way and I have the Kindle client on my Android phone. I've downloaded some of the free books, but this was my first Kindle purchase. Perfect timing as I head to the beach in the near future.

Get it here:

We know who you are... and what moves you to act.

We know who you are...
When I read about the new features that are browser specific, I again think of how easy it is to differentiate computers using unique markers from various sources (network cards, browser version, ip address, plugins, etc.) There are no secrets on the internet.

And what moves you to act...
Targeted advertising, much like the ads on this humble blog, have evolved to the point that they do a fairly good job of predicting what you might buy. However, marketing technologists are not satisfied - they want to appeal to you using the technique that is most likely to persuade you. So, they've figured out that you would want to buy a BMW X6. Now they are going to show you an ad that has a German engineer describing all the advanced features of the X6 - if you are persuaded by expertise. If you think it will help you pick up chicks, then the ad might feature Pippa driving one.

Of course, business isn't the only one to have an opinion on the matter..
I am not just a number! At least the courts don't think you can equate an individual to an ip address.

Via Slashdot.org and Slashdot.org

Unintended Consequences

Who knew that the end of of quality was a good thing for throwing a monkey wrench in the process to cook cocaine? It seems the drug lords need cookware that can handle rapid temperature change. Unfortunately, the new generation of soda-lime glass isn't up to the job.

Via Bruce Schneier.

Please define: Gun Violence Victim

What qualifies someone to be a gun violence victim?

Being shot at?
Being shot?
Being shot twice?
Having a loved one shot?
Having a loved one shot and killed?
How about all of the above?

Apparently even answering all of the above is not sufficient if you are a Second Amendment supporter.

Linoge explains it all over at Walls of the City.

Definitely worth the click, some network bandwidth, and a couple of minutes to read.

The Gun Test - To Fail Means Jail

This should be enlightening...



They have some sort of test on the VolunteerTV web site.