Posting a few links to some fun products to try – available from Ali Express for silly money:
If you’ve not shopped with Ali Express before, stock comes from China, typically in a week or two. Local UK delivery by Evri.
V3S AMNVOLT Mini SI4732 DSP Radio Receiver
Tiny, rechargeable HF receiver with colour screen and built-in speaker. Covers HF bands and FM broadcast (but not 2m or 70cms, sadly). Avoid the v1 and v2. I went for the v3s for £26 – Ali Express Link
Baofeng UV-5R Mini
We all love the original Baofeng UV-5R – this one’s smaller, cheaper, has a colour screen, USB C charging and can be programmed from a smartphone over Bluetooth! Priced around £20 – Ali Express Link
Quansheng UV-K5
All the rage mere months ago as it’s highly customisable (e.g spectrum analyser screen), and a surprisingly good handheld. Under £20 – Ali Express Link
Heltec v3 – Meshtastic or MeshCore Node
Playing with the Meshtastic network with a Heltec started becoming something to try a year or so back, but has perhaps fizzled. Now, we have MeshCore, which is slowly gaining traction. The good news is that most Meshtastic handware can be ‘flashed’ for Meshcore. The Heltec v3 is a cheap entry-level node (under £20) to get you started – Ali Express Link
Note – AliExpress links include an affiliate code, where we get a tiny referral commission. Ordering from these links helps to to cover running costs.
Got any of these? Let us know what you think in the comments below!
