It's 5:25am on a Sunday morning and something wakes me up?
I go downstairs, put the kettle on and switch the Misuta on to see if it finds any stations transmitting. Not really expecting much at that time in the morning I was surprised to hear a film director shouting orders to his staff. A drone was mentioned at one point presumably for aerial shots. I have no idea where the filming is taking place but it must be within a few miles of here...
I remember finding a small advertisement card hidden amongst the goodies of the Pofung GT-1 box. I paid no attention to this flyer at first, mearly flicking it across the room like a beer mat.
Time had passed as I came across this card again whilst I was fumbling for something that had gotten stuck behind the TV.
I read the card on both sides and shook my head..
The first side (above) explains the Baofeng company timeline where they rebranded. First of all they were called Baofeng, then a little later they changed their name to Baofeng? and lastly in 2014 the name changed to Pofung.
It doesn't make a great deal of sense considering Baofeng branded stuff is still on sale. Or is it that Pofung is the high end version of Baofeng much like what a Range Rover is to Land Rover? Or I could be buying old Baofeng stock from two years ago! I have seen stuff with the logo of Baofeng/Pofung together.
I have wasted too much time thinking on this.....next
What on earth?
On the reverse side of the Baofeng timeline is this arty collection of words cunningly shaped as a radio. It looks quite nice although some of the words are odd
Dual Band, Multi-language, Ham, Scan, IP67, Portal, Hot Sale. GT-1, Two Way Radio, Fresh Start, driving, 2014 Global Pofung, Vehicle, Mobile, Emisora, GT-3, Keyboard, UV5R+Plus, Display, Quanzhou, Storage, CW, Light, Berlin, Morse Code,New Beginning, Marconi, Programmable, Frequency, DTMF, Analogue, Wide Range, Antenna, Police, FCC, UV-82L, BF-888S, State-of-the-art, Voice help, Back packer, Channels, Portable, Amateur, Fungerat, Rio de Janeiro, FM, UV-5R, Joseph Fourier, New York, Anti-Terrorism, Two million users, Transmit, Ambition, Travelling, CTCSS/DCS, Emergency
(I highlighted words that seem the most irrelevant)
Features: standard digital meter - nothing special
Shipped From: HK
What's in the packet?: The meter and a crap instruction sheet
Not a lot going on in here!
Why did I buy this thing?
I wanted a new multimeter and thought I would be clever and get a cheap one. In fact the cheapest I could find. That is not always a bad thing of course but when it comes to precision instruments I should have really known better!
This device epitomises the phrase "Cheap Chinese crap" in no uncertain terms. There seems no weight to this device, almost lighter than air. I initially thought I had been scammed and they sent me an empty plastic case?! I decided to open it up and see what was what. Inside is a small PCB with a single processor doing the work. With a cheap plastic dial assembly, display and a few wire connections to the plugs there is little else to the unit.
Strangely the LCD display is the best part of this meter. it big and clear with a good level of contrast. It's a shame about the rest of the meter.
I suppose its a testimony to modern manufacturer that only a PCB of this size is needed today to run a multimeter....yeah but the result can make items like this feel cheap and crap?!
It's pretty good for battery testing
Concerns
I really don't think it's a good idea to use this meter for anything other than testing batteries and small components - and definitely NOT mains voltage (230V) for a number of reasons.
Firstly this device does not contain a fuse on the HV side of things so things could get very deadly if something goes wrong.
Secondly the testing probes are crap. Both positive and negative probes are wrapped in a very thinly insulated plastic which has the potential to become very hot when a high voltage is put across it.
Thirdly there are no safety cat ratings anywhere on the meter. No nothing. This is a little alarming. I was at least expecting a cat III (for domestic use) type rating.?!? So it can be assumed that this device has not had any official certifications for safety.
Something to think about before shoving 230V across it.
Rating: ✅✅
You certainly get what you pay for with this thing. It's only really fit for testing batteries (which it does quite well). A digital 'battety tester' for under 3 quid is pretty good value when you look at it that way.
From the top of a very snowy rishworth moor yesterday I managed to hear some fairly distant stations coming through my UV-82. I found this quite surprising considering the blizzard that was taking place outside the vehicle.
Through the snow came Mo and the boys on the Liverpool Repeater which was roughly 46 miles from where I was. Rishworth moor sits about 430m asl which explains the reason why I could. It's not a massive distance by any stretch but certainly more than normal. I think the sensitivity of the Baofeng radios is also a contributing factor.
Atmospherics do play a big part in radio propagation I'm told so perhaps snow doesn't really matter? Interesting nonetheless. More high ground shenanigans to come
Notable Features: 16 Channel, FM radio, flashlight, monitor button, channel scan, voice prompt, battery save
On the outside this package looks fun and colourful.
Big bold fonts and colours along with a hipster "color me RADio" tagline adorn the front. None of the plain brown cardboard you normally get.
As far as radio box's goes this is one of the most eye-catching designs I have seen.
I'm not sure which age group they are trying to target though.?
Thankfully there is very little in the way of bullshit written on the box unlike the majority of baofengs. No real over inflated claims or features that don't exist.
The usual Baofeng bundled bits in the pack
Inside the flashy box are the usual accessories that are bundled with most Baofeng radios. The Charging dock, lanyard, belt clip, crappy ear piece etc etc. Nothing new to report.
Full frontal shot
First Impressions
So here we have it....a Baofeng 888s radio in new fancy clothes - the Sainsonic GT-1.
Its hard to look on ebay for radios without coming across the very popular Baofeng 888s single banders. They are absolutely everywhere! and dirt cheap.....£10 each or something? Now that's what I call value.
I perhaps should have bought one a while ago but I never bothered. The reason is that these style of radios don't have a display screen. I like having a screen so I can see what's happening and maybe input some stuff. So when it comes to choosing a radio then an LCD display is quite important to me however, after some glowing recommendations from friends I thought I would pay my money and take my chance.
The Pofung/Baofeng/Sainsonic GT-1 is available in three colours, green, orange and yellow.
This orange version was on ebay where I managed to buy it for £11.50 including the postage.
Research suggests that this model normally sells for around £12.00 from UK sellers which seems a good price for a 4-5W radio. In comparison to an similar featured Intek branded radio the GT-1 is vastly cheaper!
The package arrived in good time and without any mishaps.
First thing I noticed was the rather trendy outer retail box. Gone are the drab generic plain cardboard boxes offered up by Baofeng. It looks like Sainsonic have redesigned more than just the radio.
I took the radio from the box and took a closer look....
The battery looks like a standard 888s unit. (3.7V in power and around 1500mAh effective capacity.)
This is half the power of the UV-5R and UV-82 batteries and a slightly lower capacity too. I hoping that the lack of an LCD screen on this radio may offset the lower power capacity of the battery. - it may last longer than a few hours before charging I hope.
Much like other Baofeng radios, the GT-1 has a metal chassis to which everything is attached to. I'm not sure if it's made from aluminium or die cast but it feels solid.
The top of the radio features the power/volume knob together with a channel selection knob. - vital if you don't have a screen.
The selection knob operates quite nicely switching between the 16 channels with a positive and firm action. It's unlikely to get accidentally switched whilst on the belt or in the pocket.
The little LED Flashlight is the next feature to be found on the top. Just like other Baofengs it is activated by clicking on of the side function buttons. It's bright and works as expected.
Lastly on top is the Antenna connection. Male SMA as usual.
The left side of the radio features the PTT button and the usual secondary function buttons. (Assigned to FM radio, ,monitor, Flashlight or alarm) The buttons feels a little cheap to the touch. It's quite easy to to hit the PTT by mistake and TX when you don't want to.
On the right hand side of the radio sitting behind an orange flap is the comms port. This is the standard Motorola type incorporating speaker and mic jacks. As well as plugging in a set of earphones this port is used to program the radio of course.
The last part of the radio to look at is the Antenna.
As a comparison the photo above shows the GT-1 antenna on the left and the UV-5R stock antenna (A-85) on the right.
The 888s/GT-1 antenna is around 2cm shorter and only covers the UHF band unlike the A-85 which is dual band capable.
I have heard some bad things about the gt-1 antenna so I get the feeling that it will find itself in the bin before too long.
Overall I think it's a nice little radio package for the money.
I don't think it would be a radio I would use everyday but it would certainly be good as a back up pocket radio
Testing
So far I have tested short and long range communication (up to 20 miles) and I'm impressed.
The stock antenna is the weak link in this radio. It's awful.
Below is a video demonstrating the recieving quality of this radio with a repeater station just around 20 miles away from home. Despite the crap antenna the audio quality is good.
20 mile recieve - Indoors
20 Miles recieve - Hiltop
On the transmission side of things the GT-1 handles itself well at short range communication. Audio is crisp with very little in the way of drop outs or spurious artifacts.
One unfortunate feature of this radio is its front end. The radio can become overloaded or go totally deaf at the drop of a hat. This is quite normal for the cheap Chinese baofengs though - nothing new there.
The GT-1 was able to open a repeater some 20 miles away when tested outdoors at altitude.
* The GT-1 antenna did indeed turn out to be mostly crap. Switching it with the A-V85 was like switching the light on. More stations could be found when scanning the channels and commercial FM radio was clearer with less static.
Switching the stock antenna again with the Sainsonic 641 was a huge improvement when I took the radio out in the hills.
The best thing about the GT-1 stock antenna is that it doesn't take up too much room in your bin when you chuck it out!
Definitely replace it...
Good Points:
Cheap
Good battery life
Stylish design
Small and compact
Bad Points:
Stock antenna is crap
PTT button is a little too sensitive
Listening to FM stations is hit and miss
Front end is easily overloaded
Cannot change settings on the fly
Has to be programmed via a PC + cable
Rating: ✅✅✅✅
A fantastically priced back up Walkie-Talkie is how I would describe the GT-1. A definite boost to the PMR446 scene.
Cheap enough to buy, cheap enough to replace.
Price: £5 with shipping Sold As: For spares or not working Manufacturer: Motorola Model: TLKR T5 Power: 0.5W Stated Max Range: 6Km Antenna: Fixed internal loop Run By: 4x AAA (in each set) Notable Features: Unusual antenna, Channel busy alert, room monitor, timer, priority scan. dual watch, auto power off ALT – Accelerated Life Tested (tests include: vibration, moisture, drop-test, salt, fog, heat and cold) True Condition: Handsets in excellent condition, box in good condition, belt clips never used, charger dock in good condition.
First Impressions
With a less than usual appearance these Motorola's stand out from the crowd. Where is the Antenna? Is it for hanging up in the shower? The antenna is the loop and its not waterproof for starters!
These are not a new design. The TlkT T5 and the lesser TLKR T3 have been on the market for a few years now. Their impact on the Walkie-Talkie world is unknown. This particular design no longer appears in the mainstream so was it a little too bizarre?
Appearing on ebay were these fine specimens advertised as being for spare parts or not working. Taking a punt I won the auction and paid 99p for the radios and £3.50 postage which seemed alright at the time. These were quite expensive radios when new so if I only got one working it would be worth more than the £4.50 I paid.
The package arrived in the original retail box. Inside was both handsets, 2x unused belt clips, a docking station, 2 X battery packs and instructions.
The radios are well made and robust. The usual Motorola quality. The keypad is well laid out and the PTT discreet.
Apart from the slightly tatty box everything is as new. The handsets are in excellent condition, not a scratch or a mark on anything. This radio kit has had a good life. Hardly any use and kept in good order.
Looking at the set you might wonder what's wrong with them? Why are they not working?
Testing
According to the previous owner one of the radios worked ok and one radio had a bad battery pack.
I tested both radios and found that both rechargeable packs were knackered so I chucked them out.
Rather than spending around £15 for two new packs I simply installed 4x AAA batteries in each set and turned them on.
This does mean that I can't recharge these handsets in the docking station now (the contacts are in a different place) so for the time being the dock is going into storage. I might change my mind about buying new batteries?
Both radios came on as expected and were already preset with ctcss codes. Once these were removed I ran some basic transmit and recieve tests in the house. Indoor performance was great. Clear and loud audio was heard from the speaker.
For close communications these are as good as rest. The room monitor feature could be useful but tying up one of the eight PMR channels whilst it's active seems a little selfish.
Running the scan feature the radios were able to pull in most of the local signals but not as many as the old goodmans GMPR's.
Using the dual watch function was straightforward enough. The radio will simultaneously watch two channels, breaking through when a signal is recieved. This features works well and has its uses.
Outdoor performance was average. No worse or no better than any of my other handsets. The recieved audio was crisp and clear. A distance of up to 2 miles can be achieved in most situations before the signal drops off.
These radios have not been tested at altitude yet but I'm not expecting anything special.
Headphone jack and 9v charger socket on this side
Neat little PTT on this side
The Motorola TLKR T5 radios are average when it comes to performance but the features and looks make it worth the money - £4.50 for two working motorolas isn't bad at all!
Price: £12.95 with shipping Sold As: Used Manufacturer: Goodmans Model: GPMR116/117 Power: 0.5W Stated Max Range: 2 Miles Antenna: Fixed standard PMR Run By: 4x AAA (in each) Noteable Features: 10 Preset memory slots, out-of-range alert system, extra sensitive Reciever Approx Age: ? 2002-2011? True Condition: Handsets almost New, Box is knackered, Power adapter in good condition
*✅ Note: Despite the Radio having GPMR116 on the front. This set is actually the GPMR117 twin pack. 116 is only designated for single handset packs?! confused?
The kit came complete - including the instructions
First Impressions
I first saw these a number of years ago in Argos (I think?) retailing for around £99 for the pair which seemed quite expensive at the time. I never bothered. Instead I opted for the much cheaper Aldi Silvercrest specials which were doing the rounds at the time. The silvercrests were boasting bags of features and only cost £20 a set which seemed tremendous value. Time passed and the next time I would come across these was in some youtube videos posted by Gary104. Using the Goodmans Gary managed to make some impressive long distance QSO (contacts) with only half a Watt of power.. quite remarkable.
See videos below..
89 Mile contact
30+ Mile Contact
I have found that buying PMR Walkie-Talkies is a bit of a gamble if I haven't seen them working beforehand. Most manufacturers will overstate the effective distance range giving much disappointment when you get them home and try them out. My best PMR set so far are the Binatone action 1100s which have proved to be quite long range when standing on top of a hill.
Despite every PMR radio being built to a specific standard, required to have fixed antennas and limited to half a Watt, the guts of each radio can differ quite a bit. Some are more sensitive or have better modulation than others.
Having seen Gary get some outrageous distances from these Goodmans on half a Watt I thought it was time to get a set.
Some of the features of the GPMR117
After paying £12.95 for a second hand set I was hoping these would be every bit as good as Gary's.
The Goodmans arrived fully working and intact. Inside the box was both handsets, belt clips and split power charger. The original retail box is a bit tatty but im not that bothered about cardboard to be honest.
The two Transceivers are in really good condition with only one small blemish on one of the facias.
These radios are reknown for their somewhat flimsy construction so the first job on my list was to check the antennas and PTT buttons for damaged or wear. Everything checked out OK with nothing bad to report.
When comparing the features of these radios against similar more modern sets there really isnt much in the way of new features. These old handsets pretty much do everything that a brand new Motorola set would do - although there are a couple of features not normally seen on retail Walkie-talkies.
1. Out-Of-Range Alert system
I don't think I have ever seen this feature on any twin pack of walkie-talkies?
When both handsets have this feature enabled they constantly monitor the distance between each other and send an alert message once one goes out of range.
It's not very clear from the manual how this actually works but there does appear to be two different range alerts. One for short out of range and one for quite a lot out of range I presume.
On the face of it this could be a really good safety feature.
6V Charging port and recharge slider switch
2. 10 Channel Memory
Another feature not normally seen is memory storage.
If you happen to have lots of different channel and ctcss code combinations this handy feature will make life much easier.
Have to say I havent tried programming any in yet.
PTT button and the Monitor button
3. Adjustable Squelch
Most consumer PMR446 radios don't have the ability to alter the squelch sensitivity. These Goodmans have three levels of sensitivity to adjust. A simple option in the menu is all that's required. A handy extra feature.
Testing
As PMR radios go, these perform just as well as anything else I have tried if not a bit better.
On transmit the signal is both clear and loud. Recieving is even better. These handset seem super sensitive, much more than any of my other sets! When set to scan the goodmans can pull in way more signals than both my binatone and Motorola rigs. I'm really impressed.
There is no need to discuss the maximum range of these radios having seen what can be done in the videos. At short range (under 2 miles) these performs well.
Despite the GPMR117 looking like kids toys, these radios are fantastic.
You don't need to spend a fortune on good PMR radios when you can get some of these. These may be old but there is life in em yet!
Definitely one for the collection.
