Baofeng UV-3R - Wideband / Narrowband. What's the difference

[DistantSignal]

Hi guys, there's nothing in the manual about this but the 'W' above the frequency says its on wideband. Whats the difference between the two? What should I be on for PMR frequencies?

Cheers

[Warden]

Narrow, wide is for fm broadcast. Like listening to radio 1.

[normal]

previous thread

This can be confusing because 'wide' and 'narrow' have different meanings on different radio's.

On a transceiver, such as a Baofeng, the usual meaning is that set to narrow it transmits a signal suitable for a 12.5KHz wide channel. On wide setting it transmits a signal suitable for a 25KHz wide channel.
The wide setting will sound slightly louder on some radio's but may sound nasty on a modern PMR radio made just for 12.5KHz channels.

On a scanner NFM is for two way radio signals on 12.5 or 25KHz spaced channels.
The WFM setting on a scanner is for broadcast radio on 88-108MHz (radio 1 etc) which are about 200KHz wide, the sound on the few remaining analog TV transmitters and some expensive license-required radio microphones.

[Mitch]

The 'Wide' and 'Narrow' settings on Baofeng's and other Chinese hand held radios changes two things. First it changes the modulation - Wide = loud, Narrow = quieter, useful for some repeaters, set to Narrow if over deviating/clipping audio to other users. Second it alters the receiver bandwidth, if you get interferance from a nearby signal on an adjacent channel/frequency then set to Narrow and it will have a tighter filter for RX, so less interferance and noise is heard. At least that's what it does on my radios, UV-3R and the others, it all works the same.

[Bogget]

Yes in a way i agree with above but its not modulation its deviation and not quieter (even though it may sound like it) what you get is a mis match with the listening station but you will generallty find if you set W you will get better audio quality as a wider bandwidth will allow more audio bandwidth so giveing the better quality, using wide on PMR is generally not an issue that wil cause ajacent channel intefarance as the power is not great enough but i would not do it on anything with power over 5W

Bogget

[M3HIM]

Well that thread was a mixture of incorrect, partially correct but for the wrong reasons and racist! The Wide / Narrow setting on "Baofeng and other Chinese radios" is the same as the Wide / Narrow 2.5kHz / 5kHz deviation setting on any radio be it Baofeng, Icom, Kenwood, Motorola, Yaesu etc. and it is certainly not a loud / quieter setting although that may be the perceived effect if set incorrectly.

The Wide / Narrow setting is not a matter of choice for better audio quality or volume, it's about having the correct deviation set for the frequency that you are using and the deviation being used correctly by others.

The convention is 2.5kHz deviation with 12.5kHz channel spacing and 5kHz deviation with 25kHz channel spacing.

The use of the phrase PMR in the final piece of expert advice is misleading as PMR is business radio on both VHF and UHF and uses both channel spacings and deviations depending on the band. PMR446 is a UHF band and initially used 25kHz channels with 5kHz deviation but the newer frequency allocations use 12.5kHz channels and 2.5kHz deviation.

If you don't understand any of that then switch off your radio and find out rather than causing interference to others. Also, don't use 5W (or more) and high gain antennas on PMR446 because you may be obliterating the channels for stations that you can't hear.

If you want to use 5W and high gain antennas on UHF with the correct deviation then go on an amateur radio course, learn what these things mean and get a licence that allows you to operate with your "Baofeng or other Chinese radios" on 5W and 2.5kHz deviation on VHF or 5kHz deviation on UHF.

Oh and stop giving advice to others until you fully understand the topic yourself.

[DX-Digger]

Oh and stop giving advice to others until you fully understand the topic yourself.

Thats telling you guys! PMSL

[Tin soldier]

Well that thread was a mixture of incorrect, partially correct but for the wrong reasons and racist! The Wide / Narrow setting on "Baofeng and other Chinese radios" is the same as the Wide / Narrow 2.5kHz / 5kHz deviation setting on any radio be it Baofeng, Icom, Kenwood, Motorola, Yaesu etc. and it is certainly not a loud / quieter setting although that may be the perceived effect if set incorrectly.

The Wide / Narrow setting is not a matter of choice for better audio quality or volume, it's about having the correct deviation set for the frequency that you are using and the deviation being used correctly by others.

The convention is 2.5kHz deviation with 12.5kHz channel spacing and 5kHz deviation with 25kHz channel spacing.

The use of the phrase PMR in the final piece of expert advice is misleading as PMR is business radio on both VHF and UHF and uses both channel spacings and deviations depending on the band. PMR446 is a UHF band and initially used 25kHz channels with 5kHz deviation but the newer frequency allocations use 12.5kHz channels and 2.5kHz deviation.

If you don't understand any of that then switch off your radio and find out rather than causing interference to others. Also, don't use 5W (or more) and high gain antennas on PMR446 because you may be obliterating the channels for stations that you can't hear.

If you want to use 5W and high gain antennas on UHF with the correct deviation then go on an amateur radio course, learn what these things mean and get a licence that allows you to operate with your "Baofeng or other Chinese radios" on 5W and 2.5kHz deviation on VHF or 5kHz deviation on UHF.

Oh and stop giving advice to others until you fully understand the topic yourself.

Waking the thread lol.

Ten years nearly, and what pray tell was racist ?


PMR user on 17 watts asking

[M3HIM]

Well it's not the worst example but the term Chinese in the context of radios is often used as a derogatory term. In this case, it was suggesting that Chinese transceivers, unlike all other transceivers, have a "loud" and "quiet" setting whereas almost all VHF/UHF transceivers have a deviation setting unless, like PMR446 equipment, they are locked to a tightly controlled specification. Anyway, what does Chinese radio mean these days when the likes of Icom, Kenwood, Motorola and Yaesu are all manufactured in the PRC?

I came here from a Google search result looking for the menu item number to set the deviation on Baofeng radios to pass on to someone else but instead found more of the misinformation and disinformation surrounding such equipment that abounds online hobby radio groups.

People come to Transmission1 for advice from experienced users but are being misled by a bunch of have-a-go-Joes who think they know what they are talking about.

BTW, was it entirely necessary to quote reply to me with a copy of my entire post given that the context of your reply would be quite clear?

[Tin soldier]

Well it's not the worst example but the term Chinese in the context of radios is often used as a derogatory term. In this case, it was suggesting that Chinese transceivers, unlike all other transceivers, have a "loud" and "quiet" setting whereas almost all VHF/UHF transceivers have a deviation setting unless, like PMR446 equipment, they are locked to a tightly controlled specification. Anyway, what does Chinese radio mean these days when the likes of Icom, Kenwood, Motorola and Yaesu are all manufactured in the PRC?

I came here from a Google search result looking for the menu item number to set the deviation on Baofeng radios to pass on to someone else but instead found more of the misinformation and disinformation surrounding such equipment that abounds online hobby radio groups.

People come to Transmission1 for advice from experienced users but are being misled by a bunch of have-a-go-Joes who think they know what they are talking about.

BTW, was it entirely necessary to quote reply to me with a copy of my entire post given that the context of your reply would be quite clear?

I'm still failing to see the racism.
Maybe "cheap Chinese radio's" would of been more apt ?

Quoting one's post is a way of highlighting who one is addressing.
Forum etiquette requires that if you quote another contributor's post, you include the attribution so it is clear who you are quoting.

[M3HIM]

I hope that you are being facetious with the "cheap Chinese radios" [no apostrophe, it's plural not possessive] comment.

OK, the comment about "Baofeng and other Chinese radios" was, in this instance, an inaccurate classification of these radios, incorrectly segregating them from 'non-Chinese' radios, whatever that may mean. I certainly see much worse in other online conversations with "Chinese" used as an adjective to mean sub-standard at best.

As this is a ten year-old thread, it was almost certain that your post would directly follow mine. It is forum etiquette to not quote reply the entire previous post but to only quote reply the statements that you wish to comment on.

[Tin soldier]

I hope that you are being facetious with the "cheap Chinese radios" [no apostrophe, it's plural not possessive] comment.

OK, the comment about "Baofeng and other Chinese radios" was, in this instance, an inaccurate classification of these radios, incorrectly segregating them from 'non-Chinese' radios, whatever that may mean. I certainly see much worse in other online conversations with "Chinese" used as an adjective to mean sub-standard at best.

As this is a ten year-old thread, it was almost certain that your post would directly follow mine. It is forum etiquette to not quote reply the entire previous post but to only quote reply the statements that you wish to comment on.

My post didn't follow yours.

I couldn't be bothered redacting your post.