You passed the “Ham Cram,” got your amateur radio (ham) license, and purchased a Baofeng UV5RA dualband handheld radio.

What next? These are items you should have with first being highest priority:

1. AA battery pack
2. A good antenna
3. SO-239-SMA adapter cable for use with external antennas
4. Mag mount roof antenna for your car
5. 12VDC car cigarette lighter adapter
I have listed Amazon as source since many new hams prefer purchasing through Amazon (there are many others on the internet):

Item 1. AA battery pack

Hypario (AA-alkaline) Battery Case for Baofeng Uv-5r, $8
http://www.amazon.com/Hypario®-Two-way-Battery-Baofeng-Vt-uv9r/dp/B00FPHTPSG

There are countless times when radio is needed but it’s not fully charged. Don’t get stuck off air simply because the chargable battery goes dead, and you can get AA size batteries anywhere.

Item 2. A good antenna

This probably will cost same what radio costs but the stock rubber duck antenna delivered with radio usually will not radiate enough and also has very poor reception. If you can’t reach other stations, then why have radio in first place.

Important Note: Baofeng radios use reverse SMA, typical antennas are standard SMA and will not mate to radio. Antennas below are designed to mate with the Baofeng.

Nagoya NA-771 (updated) SMA female 15.6" dualband antenna by Two-way radio wholesaler, $13
http://www.amazon.com/Genuine-Nagoya-NA-771-Updated-Antenna/dp/B00BY3XN7E/ref=sr_1_2

Comet SMA24J dualband SMA female antenna for Baofeng handhelds w/ 3 year warranty, $30.50
http://www.amazon.com/Comet-SMA24J-DualBand-Handhelds-Warranty/dp/B00QJD2SA2/ref=sr_1_3

Item 3. SO-239-SMA adapter cable for use with external antennas

SO-239 to SMA adapter cable, $6.50
http://www.amazon.com/DHT-Handheld-Antenna-Baofeng-Quasheng/dp/B00COKNKS8/ref=pd_bxgy_e_text_y

Very important not the straight fixed adapter but something of a few inches of coax to prevent accidental breaking of antenna connector on radio. Another important aspect is this is a reverse SMA mate to the Baofeng radio.

Item 4. Mag mount roof antenna for your car

Antenna on the roof will give your little handheld a huge boost in coverage like power of a mobile radio.

Dualband Magmount antenna, $22.50
http://www.amazon.com/Tram-1185-Amateur-Dual-Band-Antenna/dp/B0045EQUBK/ref=pd_cp_pc_2

Non-Amazon source but this antenna preferred,
MFJ-1724B 144/440 dualband mobile at $25
http://www.mfjenterprises.com/Product.php?productid=MFJ-1724B

Item 5. 12VDC car cigarette lighter adapter

12VDC cig light adapter [couldn’t find this on Amazon quickly, maybe it is there]

 

Thanks to Richard Mogford for finding the following sites.

Documentation:

Easier-to-read User Manuals at Baofeng information site: http://www.miklor.com/uv5r/
Print a hardcopy and have it handy.

Repeater Sites:

Good web site for downloading repeaters in your local area: http://www.repeaterbook.com/index.php?state_id=none

Best way is to use the “Proximity” option on this page: http://www.repeaterbook.com/repeaters/index.php?state_id=none

You can output the results to CHIRP format. (You may have to create a login.)

Programming CHIRP software:

http://chirp.danplanet.com/projects/chirp/wiki/Download

For those who do not have the radio (or want to get a spare),
Baofeng UV5RA Ham Two Way Radio, $30.35
http://www.amazon.com/Baofeng-UV5RA-136-174-Dual-Band-Transceiver/dp/B009MAKWC0/ref=pd_bxgy_e_img_z

PDF format of this page (click here)

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