Walkie-talkies: from a €35 Baofeng to 25W with a licence

Which walkie-talkie to buy: from the €35 Baofeng to the 25W repeater

A €35 walkie-talkie bought on an import platform claims a range of seven kilometres and 10 W of power. The domestic device approved for free use, the PMR446, is capped at 500 mW. The paradox defines the mess: the more useful the gadget is in an emergency, the more likely it is that transmitting with it without a licence is illegal.

The matter starts from a specific premise: a scenario that lasts for days, like the one experienced the day before the thread. Hence the question: which walkie-talkie to buy to endure several days with the mobile network down. The answer, we advance, is not a device, but a decision about what it is wanted for.

The €35 Baofeng: cheap, powerful and with a legal asterisk

The name that repeats most in budget recommendations is Baofeng. The most popular in the UHF segment is around €35, promises 7 km and 10 W —a high power for its size— and has thousands of units sold. Those who use it warn of two things. The first: you have to spend an afternoon programming it, because entering channels into memory is not intuitive. The second: it is advisable to choose models that charge via USB-C so as not to depend on the proprietary charger when there is no socket.

The UV-5 also has its trinc. Some relate that from the Miramundos refuge, almost the highest point in Jaén, it picked up hikers climbing Mulhacén. Translation: with height and a clear line of sight, coverage soars. In a city with buildings in between, it falls apart.

The asterisk is legal. The Baofeng transmits on amateur radio bands and that requires a licence. Carrying it in the car switched off does not free you from trouble either, argues someone who has looked at the regulations.

When is a licence needed for a walkie-talkie?

It depends on where the device transmits. The 27 MHz citizens band and PMR446 do not require a licence. The moment the equipment steps on amateur frequencies —common in Baofengs— the law requires a permit. The process is not an engineering race, some argue; others recall that in the argument there are fines of up to €30,000 circulating and prefer not to tempt the devil.

One case sums up the process: someone bought the walkie, got the licence and, when turning it on at home, barely picked up anything amid interference. The advice received was not to buy more equipment, but to learn to listen first.

From the budget walkie to the 25-watt repeater

When the scenario is prolonged, the 5 W of a walkie fall short. The next stage is equipment like the Wouxun KG-M70, a cross-band repeater of 25 W. Or like the Radtel RT-4D, analogue and DMR at the same time, with encryption and long-lasting battery, presented as the best cheap DMR on the market for those who prepare.

The power jump is not cosmetic. With 25 W and a decent antenna, one can aspire to link up with a repeater: a device that receives on an uplink frequency and retransmits on a downlink frequency, separated so as not to interfere with each other. There are radio club, private and public service ones. Using amateur ones without a licence is outside the law.

PMR446 and citizens band: the legal routes

The PMR446 is the everyday walkie: 500 mW, narrow FM modulation and channels separated by 12.5 kHz. It serves shops, campsites and families within a short radius. Truckers gave fame to the 27 MHz citizens band, today in clear disuse, with a small nostalgic revival and extended use in the Hispanic-American rural world.

There are those who are clear about it and say it outright: a 27 MHz and to the rest, throw money away. The counterargument is that that equipment does not perform miracles without an antenna either.

The physical ceiling: frequency, terrain and antenna

Range depends on frequency, terrain and antenna. No advertisement changes that. And the cable matters. A participant raises a calculation about 25 metres of RG-58 coaxial to the roof, with an SWR of 1.5, to show that raising the antenna is not free: a bad cable loses decibels of signal per metre.

For those who want an outdoor antenna in a flat, the recurring advice is to start simple and check before investing.

Satellite and mesh networks as plan B

Satellite phones —Iridium, Thuraya and Inmarsat are the three networks— work where there is absolutely nothing, but they need to see the satellite and are expensive per minute. Another current bets on mesh networks like Meshtastic or Meshcore with Heltec Wireless Stick Lite 3 boards for less than €12.

With €35 devices that claim seven kilometres, 25 W repeaters that require a licence and satellite phones that cost an arm and a leg, the decision should be clear. It still isn't. Each person prioritises their antiestéticar: the fine, the distance or simplicity. How many will end up getting the licence and how many will keep the cheap gadget in the drawer?