Hand helds

I thought I would look around for a decent used handheld for when out and about so checked out FB adds and Robber Bay and a few others. I was amazed at the number selling 'Good condition, working handheld, leads,mike and battery, No charger' then asking silly money. I know from past experience how difficult it can be to get specific chargers which makes it a mystery to my why anyone would even consider them (unless they already have a charger). Not found one yet but I will keep looking for a complete one and the right price. Have a good day.

73s

How about the new thunderpole tx ?

https://www.kcb.co.uk/contents/en-uk/p55556_Thunderpole-T-X-Handheld.html

https://youtu.be/GtfV83TMfMA

You could go cheap, just to try it  

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005868056302.html

rekibrepus wrote:

I thought I would look around for a decent used handheld for when out and about so checked out FB adds and Robber Bay and a few others. I was amazed at the number selling 'Good condition, working handheld, leads,mike and battery, No charger' then asking silly money. I know from past experience how difficult it can be to get specific chargers which makes it a mystery to my why anyone would even consider them (unless they already have a charger). Not found one yet but I will keep looking for a complete one and the right price. Have a good day.

73s

Are you after CB, VHF, UHF or...................
If VHF/UHF then the Quansheng is reported to be great by a ham friend and others. In fact I have ordered one for myself as it does more the the Baofengs.
I know nothing about the Thunderpole I'm afraid.

73

Certainly some interesting points there guys and I will be looking further, I like the idea of the  Quansheng on Ali, cheap and nice to at least try out for little outlay Mitch, gonna give it a go. My main point really though is the number for sale without chargers, it seems a bit like flogging a cheap car but wheels are extra. Loving the replies though and will keep in mind all suggestions. Keep them coming lads, update on success or not to follow. Enjoy the lovely weather, wet and windy, just the summer we want

It depends on what band you wish to work, for CB as suggested the Thunderpole T-X is a great handheld and the President Randy III (which is very expensive for what it is). 
If for amateur use, then the Quansheng UV-K5 is a great radio for the price they can be bought. I got mine on Aliexpress, delivered within 10 days and it cost £14. 
Airband on it does work, but doesn't sound too great and I've tried it in both narrow AM and wide AM. But it goes the job adequately. 
As for 2m and 70cm it does a cracking job to be fair to it. 
Whatever you decide upon, enjoy

Thanks for that 26CT1074 I have ordered the Quansheng from Ali, wont be here for a few weeks but will see when it gets here. Not a lot of money to lose if it turns out to be pants

rekibrepus wrote:

Hi all, I have the Quansheng UV-5R Plus which seems ok however I was going to program it using my Baofeng programing cable, but when its plugged in the radio will not turn on, does this mean I need a different cable or is the radio faulty. I would appreciate ideas for this please.

You need to plug in the radio while it’s off to the computer using the data cable. Press and hold down the PTT while you switch it on and upon programming the led lamp will flash.

Also, if you’re using windows 11… the old drivers for most cables won’t work due to the PL2303 and variant cable drivers are no longer supported. You will need to get an FTDI cable in order for it to work now.

Thats certainly interesting about the cable Michael, the only question regarding that I would ask is I wanted to check after the non starting with the Quansheng and so plugged it into the Baofang I have and it worked perfect.  I will try the sequence you described in the morning and see what results I get. Will let you know. Cheers bud.

rekibrepus wrote:

Hi all, I have the Quansheng UV-5R Plus which seems ok however I was going to program it using my Baofeng programing cable, but when its plugged in the radio will not turn on, does this mean I need a different cable or is the radio faulty. I would appreciate ideas for this please.

I've always switched the radio on first then plugged the lead in, the holding ptt and switch on is just for firmware updates I thought. A firmware update will get you a lot more frequencies if you like to play though.