HAM RADIO: BAOFENG BASICS

Class Description:

“The Baofeng UV5R and associated radios are the most common portable civilian HAM radio in existence. While common, many owners/users are not aware of how to properly utilize this platform to its utmost capabilities.”

This course will give students the basic knowledge of radio communication and frequencies as a whole, and the knowledge, skills, and ability to be an end-user of the Baofeng UV5-R Handheld HAM family of radios and associated equipment.

Please note: This is not a HAM license preparatory class.

Prerequisites:

No radio experience needed.

Course Gear Requirements:

PREFERRED A Baofeng UV5-R style handheld radio (Widely available and inexpensive)

– or –

POSSIBLE Handheld HAM radio not of the Baofeng Family of radios (bring the instruction manual to help troubleshooting)

Notepad and writing utensil. 

Course Gear Recommendations:

Water and packed lunch / snacks for a full day class

A charged laptop with:
– CHIRP programming software installed (link here)
– An FTDI programming cable for radio of choice (Baofeng can be found here) (Please ensure programming cable current drivers are installed prior to class – you will need to plug in the programming cable to do this)

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR: SAM HAVEMAN

Sam found his love for radios while earning his pilots license in High School. He expanded his interest for all things “Comms” when assigned to a Ground Team with the Civil Air Patrol whose duties included finding Emergency Locator Beacons with Directional Radio. Since then, Sam has combined his love of communications with preparedness and has a passion passing that information on to others.

AVAILABLE CLASSES

Saturday | March 8, 2025 (Grand Rapids, MI)

Saturday | June 7, 2025 (Baldwin, MI)

Saturday | November 8, 2025 (Mt. Pleasant, MI)

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