A handheld amateur radio transceiver for under a tenner…
When first launched, the Baofeng BF-888S grabbed the headlines recently for being available on eBay for under £10. At the time of writing, the price is a daft £6.99, plus £3 postage from China – the price of a couple of aerial connectors!
If you don’t want to wait weeks for a delivery from overseas, you can get a Baofeng BF-888 shipped from the UK for not much more (See Baofeng 888 at Amazon.co.uk)
Here, you’ll find a short review and some information on using this 70cm radio.
About the Baofeng BF-888S
Before we start – note that this radio has some important limitations for amateurs:
- It only works on the 70cm band
- It only has 16 channels
- You define these channels by programming the radio from a PC
- There is no screen, and no menu access to settings such as squelch
- The price doesn’t include the software programming lead, which is pretty much a “must”
Baofeng BF-888S Specs
| Band: | 70cm-only |
| TX Power: | 5 watts |
| Frequency Range: | 400-470MHz |
| Tones: | CTCSS and DCS |
| Dimensions: | 115 x 60 x 30 mm |
| Battery Life: | Quoted as 8 hours |
Using the Baofeng BF-888S
For its price, and subject to the limitations we’ve outlined, it’s an acceptable radio. With only 16 channels and no easy way to change anything, you may think that it’s pretty useless and that you’d be better off spending an extra £15 to get a Baofeng UV-B6 (2m/70cm, plus a screen). That may be true, but if your needs are simple, or you’re looking for a backup radio, this could be an option. Here are a few possible uses for a radio like the BF-888S:
- Accessing or monitoring one or two local 70cm repeaters
- Chatting to other amateurs locally on 70cm simplex (using dedicated channels)
- Use with a service such as RAYNET, where only one or two frequencies are required
- Use with another type of licence, such as the Business Radio (Simple UK) from Ofcom
The radio comes boxes with a mains charger, belt clip, strap, earpiece & mic, battery, small 12 page manual and 11cm SMA antenna. Like many other Baofeng radios, it has a panic alarm and an LED torch.
Programming the Baofeng BF-888S
As we’ve mentioned, you need the PC programming lead to be able to program in the channels. The 16 preset channels are not part of the amateur allocation, and some of pre-programmed frequencies are allocated to the UK emergency services, so not channels you’d want to transmit on.
If you own a Baofeng already, you may already have the required lead. This is a USB lead with two plugs, one slightly smaller than the other. This plugs into the speaker and microphone holes shown here:
You’ll also need the Baofeng BF-888S Programming Software – At the time of writing, this could be found here: www.409shop.com/shop_displaynews.php?id=292. It’s a standalone EXE that doesn’t require installation. A second EXE is supplied to switch between Chinese (default) and English.
Once installed, start the program, select the right comm port for the lead, turn the radio on, and select “Read from Radio” to get the channels.
Programming is pretty straightforward – The transmit and receive frequencies for each channel, the CTCSS or DCS tones, if required, Narrow/Wide, and Power. Once set, you can then “Write to Radio”
Trying to program an unsupported frequency won’t work. Check out the error message:
You can also tweak the radio’s settings – including squelch, VOX mode, voice prompts and TX time out.
Channel List
Out of the box, the radio is pre-programmed with 16 frequencies in the 450MHz to 470MHz range. Below is a list of what ours had preset.
WARNING: These are not amateur or PMR frequencies. The frequencies cannot be used in the UK without the appropriate Ofcom licence, and you will therefore need to change the preset channels before use! Some of the channels preset are assigned for “Business Radio (Police & Fire)” and “Scanning Telemetry” use, so don’t use them!
- 462.125MHz (CTCSS 69.3)
- 462.225MHz
- 462.325MHz (CTCSS 114.8)
- 462.425MHz (CTCSS 114.8)
- 462.525MHz (CTCSS 114.8)
- 462.625MHz (CTCSS 127.3)
- 462.725MHz (CTCSS 136.5)
- 462.825MHz (CTCSS 162.2)
- 462.925MHz (DCS 025N)
- 463.025MHz (DCS 051N)
- 463.125MHz (DCS 125N)
- 463.225MHz (DCS 155I)
- 463.525MHz (DCS 165I)
- 450.225MHz (DCS 023N)
- 460.325MHz
- 469.950MHz (CTCSS 203.5)
Summary
It works, it’s fairly durable, and it’s at a silly price. Certainly not for everyone, but if you can live with the limitations of 16 70cm channels, then this could be a handy addition to your collection.
By the way – I won the Baofeng BF-888S reviewed here in the Essex Repeater Group 2014 AGM raffle. Thanks to the ERG for offering this little radio as a prize. Thanks also to Murray G6JYB from the Essex Repeater Group for suggesting that it gets a review on Essex Ham.
Pete M0PSX
Your Questions
Q. I recently bought a pair of these radios for me and my nephew out camping. I was just wondering is there any real-world value to programming them with new codes and if so what are they?
Most Baofeng 888s are programmed with preset frequencies that you’re not allowed to use without a licence. There are no frequencies that you’d be allowed to transmit on without some kind of licence (including PMR frequencies due to the 888’s power rating). Here’s what you can do with an 888:
- Listen to amateur radio UHF frequencies (such as a local repeater)
- Talk to other amateurs on amateur radio UHF frequencies (once you have passed your amateur radio licence and got a callsign)
- Communicate with colleagues by getting a Business Radio Licence (Simple UK) from Ofcom (£75 for 5 years at the time of writing)
- Listening to frequencies that you’re allowed to listen to (apart from amateur radio, there aren’t many you can legally listen to)
I would like to add a few things to this review about usage which may offer some in field usage.
In where i work we have 10 of these radios all used on a business licence. They might be cheap but we have dropped them from 4 meters and the worst that happened was the battery came off. The signal on them is pretty hit and miss over distance where conditions are less than perfect but on 1w they have been fine for when we moved offices 300m down the road and was doing building to building. Being warehouses there is a lot of stuff to get in the way and the construction of them made it more a challenge.
Battery on these things is extremely good as in our warehouse it does get cold and the radio do not lose their charge as much as other battery powered items. Life based on about 8 hours of use a day is round about 4 days.
Worst damage to them has been the clip tends to break on the office staff where we clip them to our belts and get up and down from the chair. Also the i damaged mine getting out of the van.
Sound quality on these is pretty good even when arabic / urdu is being spoken over them.
on a personal use i can from my home hit GB3OY which is about 3 miles from me on 1W. From my partners i can hit the repeater using the BF-888s on 1w which is 6 miles away. Me and partner have used them on 70cm simplex (For the record we are both hold the relevant licences).
Excellent – Thanks for that Mitchell. They do seem pretty rugged – I haven’t tried the drop test yet!
Can i hear police also on my radio and can i her and talk yo cb on my bf888
Hi there so is there any way to operate these without a licence for simple camping use sorry if this has already been answered and I missed it please reply to my email as I may not get the chance to check it here
Clarkson4864 @ hotmail.com
Hi Jamie,
You will need a licence to use this radio – options are a) Ofcom Business Light licence at £75 for 5 years, or b) UK amateur radio licence.
yes, there is a free pmr, they sometimes call it CB PMR, nobody will bother you if your using hand held to hand held, but dont use base antennas as you will attract attention.
suppose to be 1/2W hand held to hand held, approved radios
Interesting
Every airsofter I know runs these radios. Never heard a licence mentioned
If it helps i was on top of a pallet rack and it drop out my pocket on to a hard floor
I reviewed these radios back in 2012 and can add the following:
Radio suffers from intermod problems due to unstable oscillator (phase noise), measured power output is 2 Watts only, not 5. The label on the back shows the ‘less than’ sign, so technically they’re not liars…
Still, for the price, it’s a fun radio.
Hans
Guys, I need help. We bought around 20 of these for a construction work where our engineers/workers can communicate. Now we have some signal issues due to the terrain. How can we get an repeater installed for these? I have no idea whatsoever on these tech but would be very helpful if we could get hold of a repeater which would help our purpose.
We also have on another site around 50 mites sets with same issue. Any help on this would make our life far simpler..!
It’s possible to get them to work duplex by programming them to frequencies that will operate a repeater. There is a plug in instant repeater from China, and if you place an aerial in an advantageous position then it should extend the range.
You would be wise to use ctcss to prevent interference and unauthorised usage.
Make sure you choose at least 5 MHz separation between TX and RX or will have desense and poor receive performance.
Technically you should apply to ofcom for a licence and a nominated frequency.
Alternatively look around on eBay for a UHF talkthrough box and programme your radios to work on that. A local amateur should help you out for adrink
Hi Chris
How do I go about buying 2 BF888S radios?
Hi ,
I Have got a new bf 888s 5 piece set.
Can I request you to please help out in programming my walky talkies.
I Intention is to configure all the 5 walky talky to different freq’s and when two person are communicating I dont want the third one to listen.
can You please help me out in a guiding me through step by step process.
I have installed the BF 888s V1.0 version.installed on my system.
looking forward for your reply.
Thanking you in advance.
regards
Jai
Hi there,
Thanks for your review, it sounds like it will be great for what we need them for. Quick Q. We’re going to be using these for a festival in the middle of nowhere. Now I know that technically we should reprogramme them, but if that turns out not to be possible (or too hard), what of the frequencies should we definitely avoid? And which are likely to cause the least problems…
The frequencies that came programmed with our unit are in a block of frequencies allocated to the UK regular Ofcom, and all of them require an appropriate licence. It appears that it would be an offence to transmit on any of frequencies without the correct licence.
Thanks Pete. I get that and will make every effort to ensure compliance. If for a temporary period this were not to be possible (Until I find access to a PC and the right cable!), are there any of the frequencies that are likely to cause less nuisance than others? As mentioned, these are going to be used in a very rural area.
I do not take your advice as “use them as is” just, “what could a user of these devices do to mitigate any possible interference, if they absolutely have to use them before getting round to adjusting them”. I understand that anyone using them is open to a fine etc. I also suspect that many many people who purchase these just use them “as is” without any regard to reprogramming, and so this advice would help any readers to take steps to be less likely to cause harm or interference.
Thanks!
Hi Gav, I have one of these and took a copy of the programming before I reprogrammed it for the amateur bands. My factory programming was similar to what’s in the article.
They are all frequency and squelch combinations used at the factory as part of their testing, and it’s entirely possible the list changes with each batch. Without reading this list from your own radio, you have no way* to tell where it’s transmitting.
Obviously none of the frequencies that came from the factory (450.225–469.950MHz) are within the amateur bands; it’s not really possible to operate on a principle of ‘least harm’ here, since every channel is factory-programmed to transmit a random similar crime.
My ‘advice to readers’ would be, the radio spectrum is not a free-for-all. PMR and CB radio were both made available for personal communication, and there are several business radio licences (starting at £75 for 5 years) to use with certified kit.
It is indeed a shame that there are plenty of YouTube videos and forums where unknowing people recommend the radios as a good option, with no regard for the law. Actually, these radios are a pretty bad option: They’re limited to about 3 watts, they’re not certified for business use, the stock antenna is poor, they’ll only communicate with the same radio from the same batch unless you program them (and, by breaking the law and transmitting over someone else’s frequency).
Dear readers, you can do so much better for yourselves by using PMR or CB for personal communication, and a proper business licence and kit commercially.
You can also take a fun course to get an Amateur Radio Licence and learn about radio. Even at the Foundation level, you’ll be able to use roughly three times the power of this radio to talk locally, and you’ll have access to radios and frequencies that can communicate with people on the other side of the world — that’s where the real fun begins.
In short: If you just want a licence-free walkie-talkie, don’t buy these radios.
hi where can I download the Frequency’s for the Baofeng 888s to program for the UK.
thanks
The 888 only holds 16 frequencies – what frequencies / services are you looking for?
Can these be used like receivers to receive the Muslim call to prayers being transmitted via a mosque radio frequency.If I enter he mosque frequency into the trans receiver. It will not be use to communicate with te mosque, but just to listen in their public and live transmission?
Hi there,
yes it can be used to listen to them frequencies as they not to far above the amateur band on 454.025mhz (check with your local mosque what one they are using)
Right, finally got the Grandson’s radio sorted with CHIRP, would like to say thanks to 2E0KDG and M0PZT for helping me plus a couple of other stations that chipped in.
One thing I like about this radio is that you are not paranoid about bumping into things and knocking the VFO or A/B buttons like on the UV-5R handies.
Oh, cheers to Pete for putting the BF-888s post on Essex Ham.
M6UHN
Hi guys am looking for a test certificate or declaration of conformity for bf888s,
My bf888s are stuck at the post office in mauritius! Because of those certificates! Thx in advance
Richie…
Hi Rishi,
If you do not already have a PMR licence from ICTA Mauritius,apply first then ask for a type approval certificate for this radio.
Conformity documentation is available from Baofeng or Pofung themselves direct, if not on their website, contact them they will email you the needed doc.
If all ok, ICTA issue the approval within a week, free of any fees!!!
Good Luck.
Hey i’m from Mauritius, I’m getting same problem too, have you already been able to get the type approval certificate, i bought the same walkies
Hi
Totally new to all this – I bought a few for my wife for when she is up the farm doing the horses – great little products, but what frequencies AM I allowed to use? (I can see which ones I can’t, but which ones CAN / SHOULD I?) thanks.
If you don’t hold a valid licence (such as an amateur radio or a business radio licence), then I don’t think there’s any frequency you can legally use. You can’t even legally use the PMR (walkie talkie) frequencies as the radio isn’t compliant with hardware requirements for PMR. Your options are:
Hi I have purchased these two way radio to teach with I would like to no how to set the mic up so that I don’t have to keep pressing the button all the time can you help ?
hi i have these radios and use them around our farm. ive been told that they should transmit 5w but its more like 3w i have the software to set the freq’s to the uk standards and to set the power level to low. i don’t own a power meter, does nyone know what the power is when its set to low ?
cheers in advance
High power approx 5w
low power approx 1w
if your using them on a uk simple light licence 449mhz (£70 for 5 years) there is no uk standard unless they are the licenced business ones which you can do up to 5w on. If your using them on 446 even 1w is illegal.
ah thanks for that
There is a standard for the business light licence, it’s IR 2044 for “Business Radio Land Mobile Services, covering Area Defined, Technically Assigned and Light Licence Authorisations.”
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/spectrum/spectrum-policy-area/spectrum-management/research-guidelines-tech-info/interface-requirements/ir20441.pdf
I’d love to know if these radios conform, since the document calls out to a number of EC directives which the radios also need to comply with; it’s a bit of a rabbit hole that could do with an answer.
People ask this question a lot, so it’d be nice to have a final answer — hopefully someone will ask Ofcom and report back :)
Just received a pair to use for local town functions. I have applied for a Business UK light licence, which it appears will enable 3 UHF frequencies.
These radios must NOT be used without an Ofcom licence (amateur or business)…wish the advertisers would stress this fact!
Build quality excellent…case of tough polycarbonate. Instructions imply they are water resistant. Flashlight in flash mode flashes SOS…fascinating.
It appears that the marked CE0678 indicates compliance with the complicated Ofcom requirements. No certificate of conformity is included, but the CE marking should suffice.
On application for a licence, no questions are asked about equipment, use or competence. You just tick a box indicating that all requirements will be met.
The number 0678 (against the CE) is the Notifying Body number of EMCC Rasek http://www.emcc.de/index.php who are a recognised test house for this type of equipment. I understand that they have tested the UV-3 and UV-5 for Baofeng. Unfortunately if you email them they will tell you that they have not tested this model radio. A test certificate from a notifying body is only half the requirement though. The manufacturer has to then make a Declaration of Conformance. See http://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2014/53/oj which is not apparent.
I would be wary that the documentation is all wong…….or possibly simply fabricated.
Hello,
I have been given the task of ensuring that the set of about 40 Baofeng 888s radios are safe to use in a large retail environment without interupting any other frequencies like Fire Brigade, Police, Ambulance etc, I have the Chirp software installed on my PC and have viewed the frequencies but I have no idea if they are correct or not. The two frequencies shown are :-
459.625000
446.387500
The last person to set the radios has left the business and I need to perform this task when we purchase any new radios as and when old ones are faulty or broken.
Could you tell me which frequencies I need to avoid for the above services so that we can operate the radios in a safe manner.
We are using these radios in the Greater Manchester area of the UK.
Thanks for your help!
Dez Staley
Hey Dez,
You’ll need to contact Ofcom Licensing:
Tel: 020 7981 3131 or 0300 123 1000, press option 1 for Licensing. Or spectrum.licensing@ofcom.org.uk.
Tell them about your business and see if the previous person organised use of these radios on those frequencies.
There are no “licence free” frequencies that these radios can legally be used on anywhere in the UK (because they do not meet the interface requirements for PMR).
The frequencies you’ve given look like they would have been either granted specifically by Ofcom or ‘picked at random.’ If you call them, they can confirm.
I’d love to know what they say when you give them the radio make and model, since I’d like to know if these radios are authorised to be used under Ofcom’s business licensing. At £75 for 5 years, it’s a good option for businesses, but you have to use radios approved under a particular standard. My assumption is these cheap radios don’t meet this — if they tell you they do, we will finally have an answer for people in the same situation.
Good luck!
Hi
We are looking to get 10 of these for when we drive to car meets around the country. The passengers will obviously use them. Will the be OK if we’re driving in convoy and all using one channel? Any advice would be great thanks
Hi,
There are no legal ways of using these radios to transmit without some form of license. If your convoy are all licensed amateur radio operators you can program them (will need a cable and free ‘chirp’ software) to some channels in the allocated frequency range. Or, you MAY be able to use them if covered by a UK Simple Light business license and programmed to the appropriate frequencies, but I’m not sure if they are type approved for this use.
If you do have appropriate licensing sorted and are sure you are permitted to use the frequencies you have them programmed then another thing to consider is that cars are metal boxes – they will attenuate your signal to quite a large extent – if you can get external antennas on the outside of the cars your range will be much better.
The only license free options in the UK are:
* PMR446 radios (the little walkie-talkies you can get a lot of places) operate on a very specific set of frequencies, use lower power than these sets and must be ‘type approved’, usually having fixed antenna. I believe Midland now make one with an external mag-mount antenna specifically for in car use, called the GB-1 which you may want to look at, it is much more expensive than the 888s)
* CB, which uses very different frequencies and is also subject to other restrictions and requires a larger antenna to work well.
I hope that helps!
Further to my previous reply, here is a link to the Midland GB1, which is probably your best option for license free in car use:
http://www.nevadaradio.co.uk/two-way-radio/
Pls what distance can this work.am one of your dealer am 4rm abuja nigeria. Tanx
Clement back to back these radio’s will work a few hundred meters to a couple of miles depending on the environment and terrain.
It does not matter if these are set on low or high power they will only emit around 2 watts.
As said above these radio’s have little use unless the owner of these radio’s has a valid business license or a valid amateur radio license.
If you are a dealer of these radio’s please program them before they are sold so that they can’t transmit as anyone who can legally use these radio should have the appropriate knowledge and skills to program them on the band they are licensed to use them.
Kind Regards.
Agree, it would be good if these were sold programmed not to transmit at all. Any competent user would be able to quickly program them for frequencies they can legally use. People might still use them illegally, but at least it would prevent illegal use out of ignorance and require an explanatory note in sales material stating that the purchaser is responsible for setting them up on the correct frequencies and being properly licensed.
For licensed amateurs, it’s great to have these available so cheaply – one can program in a few local repeaters and not have to worry about knocking a button, accidentally toggling V/M modes or dropping a £200+ Yaseu on to rocks when out and about.
I have had two of these for amateur radio use for just over a year and very pleased with them. So pleased that I have just received two more today from Amazon at a bargain price and with UK 13 amp plugs on the chargers. The last ones came with poor quality adapters but worked OK. But I am a little disappointed with the new ones as the power output is barely 2 Watts (1.78 measured on Marconi 2955 test set) compared with 4 + on the older ones. This means they will not access a local repeater which the older ones will. I explain all this as I would like to know if anyone else has experienced this. Have Baofeng deliberately reduced the power output for some reason, maybe to comply with regulation? The low power setting barely produces any RF at all !
I know the specification states LESS than 5 Watts but dropping it to less than 2 Watts is taking liberties. I have never had a problem with the older 5 Watt ones so am really puzzled by this change to the specification.
Ok, need a bit of help! Deadline : Friday Night… 10Pm. Our charity operates a booze bus! We have a fair distance to cover. I now have 8 of these handsets for use in and around Edinburgh City Centre … But … I am pretty sure to allow coverage i need to frequence to local repeaters – am i right? How do i do thos?! I am a complete dummy with these and really, really need them to work!!! Please help!!!
Hi Frazer,
To use an amateur radio repeater, each user would need to be a licensed radio amateur (Foundation level or above). Each radio will need to be programmed with the correct settings for the local repeater.
Pete
Hello Frazer,
It is illegal to use these radio’s in the UK unless as Pete says you and all other users have an amateur radio licence. Or you can apply to Ofcom for a business licence and are allocated a specific UHF frequency. It is also illegal to program and use them on the “CB” PMR 446 allocation as they transmit more than 500 milli Watts and have a removable aerial. What you need (unless you have an amateur licence as also your friends) are PMR 446 handies from Argos and other places. The 888’s are easy to program using free software downloadable from the WWW for use on the UHF amateur band by licensed radio amateurs. This band is shared with other services including the MoD and you should not use them under any circumstances as supplied out of the box, you will be liable to prosecution; just some friendly advice !
A point of interest to users of Baofeng 888S’s
I have just purchased two new 888’s and when used for the first time on a local repeater, I was surprised how “deaf” the Rx was and also could not access from distance as before with an older 888S?
What I have discovered with the new ones is as follows:-
1.The Tx output power is no more than 2 Watts, much less than earlier ones.
2.The centre pin on the “rubber duck” aerial does not make contact with the SMA socket on the radio unless it is screwed down very tightly to make a fairly waterproof seal.
It requires a fair bit more of extra force to screw the aerial down compared with the older ones.
And so this has resolved the deaf receiver problem, but the sensitivity does vary quite a bit between individual units, but then they are under a tenner a piece and cheaper than buying just spare batteries.
In Europe you could program them in the PMR band:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PMR446#Externe_link
In US you can program in the FMS band:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_Radio_Service
ok 2W > 0,5 but nobody knows :-) ( did not check what LOW tx power gives) you just need to glew the antenna to the case ( should not be removable according to the “strict” rules from PMR ( not sure FMS)
Just a quick follow up comment; these radios *can* be legitimately used on the PMR 446 band in the UK without any license. But you need to program them carefully to do so. This is the only recommended use if you don’t have a license.
Hi Adam,
Maximum power allowed on PMR is 0.5 watts and the lowest output setting on the Baofeng is 1.0 watt, so as outlined above, use of this Baofeng for PMR isn’t permitted.
Ideal then to pirate PMR same as 555
Hi. Christopherfancett. I. Have. Business. Radio. UK. Licence. Full. . Licence. Number. Is. 1101579/1. I. Like. Radio. It. Is. Good. Thank you. From. Christopherfancett. G20831
I think this radio is pretty good,I own a pair of this radio, It can work well about 2 km and It also cheap radio,before own this radio I use T 388 walkie talkie but the battery is not long lasting and also the range only 500 meters max,thanks
hi, me and my girlfriend are going on a camping trip with friends and thought about getting CDC® 2PCS Baofeng BF-888S Rechargeable Long Range Walkie Talkies do I need a license to use these for personal use or whilst we are in the cars and how do I program them to work together and be UK legal. please help.
You will need a licence to use this radio – options are a) Ofcom Business Light licence at £75 for 5 years, or b) UK amateur radio licence.
As anyone any information to extent the tax/Rex to 480 MHz, I understand that earlier models worked fine up to 480 mhz, I’ve seen them used in Australia on CB.
I use RT Software for programming these.
Thanks Ernie G4LUE.
I have been thinking about buying a set of (probably six) Baofeng BF-888S radios for some time both for Amateur Radio use (despite their limitations) and for business use (Simple UK Light – licence pending) but I am concerned at the stories here about inconsistency of output power especially with later models.
Has anyone looked into why some production runs of these, otherwise excellent value, transceivers vary so much from (almost) 5 Watts to as little as 2 Watts on high power setting? If so, can they be adjusted to the optimum output or is there a manufacturing defect causing this issue?
Tnx es 73 de M3HIM
Hi, had bought a set of 4 of these assuming they were ok for use :(
Is it possible to adjust these to use PMR446?
Does anyone have a programming cable?
How much does the amateur license cost? And how long is it valid? Is there a license required even to just listen on ofcom frequencies?
I googled about the amateur licensing and I found the nearest club to be far away from Leeds where I stay.
Finally can u also recommend reading material and exam sample papers to get the basic amateur license?
Hi Ahmad,
The UK Ham radio licence is free and lasts a lifetime (no expiry). There’s a one-off £27.50 exam fee. You don’t need a licence to listen to amateur radio.
As for getting started, there’s the RSGB course book (approx £5), or we run a free online training course. There are mock papers available too. See our How to become a Ham section for details, or let me know if you need links to anything. All the best, Pete
Hi,
Reading these replies I’m now confused.
I purchased 2 Ghost walkie Talkies & received Baofeng BF888s.
Before I purchased them I asked did I require any form of license of which I was told NO.
So reading the above it would seem that I DO require a license.
I wanted to use them for house to house 2.4 miles away seeing that it was listed up to 7km.
On a test run and charged straight out the box it’s only say 1 miles which is poor.
After that I can hear a voice but unable to understand. A little further up the rd and I just see the green led glow.
Any help / advice would be great.
Hi Ian,
Yes, the 888s cannot legally be used in the UK without a licence, either a ham radio licence, or a business licence (£75 for 5 years)
Distance ratings for radios are always misleading, and generally mean under ideal conditions. In an open space (out in the country) with no obstacles in the way, then 7km (or over) is certainly possible, but in a built-up area and from indoors, the range will be much reduced. Radio signals travel in straight lines, and it depends how much “stuff” is between you and the other radio. Metal, concrete, bricks, hills, town centres, etc will all help to block/reduce the signal. It’s not the fault of the Baofeng, it’s just how radio signals work at the frequencies these radios use.
What advice can I give? If you want to use these radios legally, you need to get a licence (as stated above). If you want to check the range between the two, try it in an open space with nothing blocking the signals between the two radios. If you want radios to talk between houses, then amateur radio or CB radio would likely be your best options
Does that help?
Pete
It’s just occured to me that throughout this thread no one has actually said where to find
the 75quid business simple licence, try here:
http://static.ofcom.org.uk/static/businessradio/BusinessRadioSimpleUK.pdf
Thank you for your guidance in this article. I fell foul of inaccurate advertising on Amazon.co.uk and bought the Proster equivalents of this radio, not realising I needed a licence in order to use them legally in the UK.
I have linked back to this page from my review so people know what they need to do if they want to use these radios legally.
Needless to say I sent them back and have ordered a set of four Motorola TLKR T80s instead.
The Baofeng installation file called BF-88S_V1.05.EXE Will not open and run by default.
The program does not display the run as administrator by default and nothing is displayed
making you think the program cannot be compatible with your operating system.
The secret is to right click on the program icon and to run the program as administrator
in order to install the software.
I managed to get it working even on an old Windows Vista computer. Windows however
took a few minutes to locate the correct driver for it on line so wait a few minutes.
It finally set up the USB programming cable to com port 10 on my machine but this may well
be different on yours.
Here is the link to the BF_88S_V1.05.EXE file file on the miklor.com website for those
of you having problems finding it: http://www.miklor.com/BF888/888-SW-BF888S.php
Seems to me if you are going to spend out for a simple business licence (£75 for 5 years)
giving you 3 x 449MHz frequencies.
You’d be better off buying a dual band Baofeng UV5R or UV82 for around 20 to 25quid,
giving you with the same licence 2 x 164MHz, 2 x 169Mhz and 3 x 173Mhz
as well as 3 x 449Mhz
And 4 watts with a better RX
Can u change the 2pin to a UK 3pin plug ?
Hi
I’m trying to set up frequencies on my 888s, but I can only download from the radio, but not uploading. I use CHIRP and http://www.miklor.com/BF888/ software, both have the same issue.
Please help
Many thanks
These radios are great for the price. The real power output 2 watts on these radios.
There is also a VHF mod that can done on these using Chirp but only the first 8 channels can be programmed to VHF 2 meter frequencies and the other 8 for UHF.
You’ll only get a 500mW output on VHF.
Great informative review, and interesting subsequent posts.
Certainly seems that the dual band sets with display would be a really good option for the extra outlay.
I’ve not really done any research, but I suspect that the required software is only for Windows based computers?
Anybody know if there’s a Mac version out there please?
thanks…Pete
These radios have very poor range as they are and do about 2 watts. They are as wide as a barn door but good radios for the price.
16 channels is all you really need for 70cms. 8 simplex channels and a handful of your local and fairly local repeaters will fill those 16 channels nicely.
Not many people use 70cms simplex any more, people rather mess about on PMR446 instead. They are not legal to use on PMR446.
Actually, seen these programmed onto 446 and used over a surprising range by a stables I knew of. A very rural area and they were covering a distance of 4 miles much to my surprise. That’s as the crow flies.
I am a Youtuber with 1K+ subscribers and I have made a quick detailed video on the Baofeng BF 888S.
Here is the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBPFNdxKZJE
what a crap useless video…try harder please….
So if you used 2 of these bf 888 radios straight out of the box on a camping trip, at the stables, on a shoot or similar, even if they are technically illegal to use, who would actually know and how could they do anything unless you were stood in front of them whilst using them.?
After all its illegal to drive over 70mph but how many people have driven over 70mph?
Just wondering.
Technically, Ofcom is responsible for policing the radio spectrum and have the authority to prosecute for transmitting without a licence. They’re more likely to pursue someone causing interference to a priority user, of course. For example, transmitting on a military frequency outside a military building might result in some swift action.
Given that it’s pretty cheap and easy to get a licence, or to buy a licence-free PMR or CB, then it’s not exactly hard to operate legally and without possibly causing problems for legitimate radio users.
Yes, people do exceed the speed limit, but not getting caught doesn’t make it right. Personally I’d rather have a speed limit (with a deterrent) than a lawless free-for-all on the roads.
We now have a lawless free for all on ham radio…admit it how many so called hams still work 555?
I have a couple of these little radios and find they are surprisingly good for such a low price. The 88-E is an 888 with a slightly shorter aerial which appears to be super-glued on to make it “Legal” for PMR use. Both wife and I are licenced, and the radios are programmed for 70cm local repeaters and simplex. The channel 16 memory scanning is an added bonus! I can from a local high point work a repeater over 30 miles away with the stock antenna. Not bad for a £10 radio. 73 David G6IYD
Ideal for high power PMR into your dual band ham antenna… totaly against the law but who cares?… nobody now ham radio is full of 11m ssb freebanders ….
The sets We have need to be put on a mod frequency for cadets training legally transmitting is there anyone who can help us by changing them to our mod frequency for the sea cadets .Lt ( s.c.c. ) horne royal naval reserve . Staines and egham unit G4GJV .I am not computer literate .