This is a nice new HT from BridgeCom Systems, the BCH-270. A very rugged little radio, with great audio quality. Today I test the power output and do some on-air QSOs.
Enter comments below for a chance to win this radio. Watch the video for details.
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Thanks for your video’s. You are the one that got me into DMR and I am enjoying it!!!!
I’m a fairly recent licensee (KD9HBC). I’m going to be attending a Skywarn class soon. My current HT is really not very good quality, and has trouble hitting repeaters in my area. I’d love to put that new BridgeCom to good use, serving my community, as a Stormspotter.
Great Show ! KM6MNS!
I am now retired and on a fixed income and would like to get back into ham radio again, and need a radio to begin again. Call sign N8YPQ, I watch your episodes to try to be informed and not embarrassed when I get back on the radio, I now have the time to be more involved with the Ham and emergency community now.
Thanks for all your videos! Very informative. 73’s
For the giveaway, I would give the radio to my 14 year old daughter who is studying for her technician license. BTW, she is using the technician class videos from your youtube page as a study guide. Those videos are a great resource for those wanting to study for their ticket. I used the technician and general class videos to study for my license tests last October. They were very helpful in my passing both tests. Keep up the great work and 73.
Will KI7JFN
My wife is studying to get her Tech. license and she could use my current Yeasu ht and I’d use this one if we win.
Good morning my friend. I’m a new ham and I’m on a very limited budget (SSDI ).This looks like a very nice radio. My current setup is a Baofeng UV-5R-V2+ with a Nagoya NA-771. 73’s , hope you have a great day. KD9JDD.
I’ll get the comments going. Great video as always!
Had several waiting in queue. Looks like some great interested for this HT!
Sweet!
Awesome Video Jason! Keep it up! I need this radio to give to my XYL who just go got her ham license. Shes dying go get on the air. 73! WX4BLF
I need a back up/ extra HT for emcomm
New HAM out of Houston, KG5UZM. Just took my Technician and General a couple weeks ago. Still looking for a radio. Would love to get started with this handheld. Also, really excited about experimenting with AREDN and DMR.
Great show
Enjoyed the video. I’ve never owned an HT, but have became interested in the BCH-270, so the review is timely. Thanks! 73 N0WLS.
I would like the Bridgecom radio for my son Joshua. He is 11 years old and wants to get into ham radio. He has always been interested in electronics and computers. He has assbergers, a high functioning form of autism but he loves to talk at length about his interests and it would be great for him to have others with the same ideals to talk to.
I watched your state of the ham shack and I’m so glad you’re back. Great unboxing, I would use that to replace my Baofeng that I purchased a few months ago after I got my tech. I’ve since upgraded to general and am still working on setting up a HF radio. Thanks again. 73
Great Vid Jason. I am doing a 1 day technician class on the 4th of November. Hope to have several scouts there and other young people. I would be happy to give the radio to the youngest age ham that passes the test. Tom Stahl Miami County Amateur Radio Club. Would also be willing to send you a video of the Presentation. We are part of the Laurel team so all of this is no cost to the prospective hams. -73- Tom WB8LDW
Well, I’m a new ham as of about a month ago (K0BKO.) It has been a lifelong dream of mine since reading a Boys Life magazine article when I was 12. My achievement and how much fun I am having has inspired my son (20yrs old, not 8) to get his ham license too. I am helping him study and he will be testing soon. I was going to give him my ht and buy a new one, but if you see fit, I will pass along this radio along to him when he passes his test. If not, it has been wonderful to find something my son and I can do together again.
Thanks for sharing your review of this radio and Thanks to BridgeCom for giving you this radio to give away!
Ya it’s going to be my first radio
And for my emgncy and response kit
I’m going to be taking my test in a few weeks
Nice little radio….. actually it would go to my 80 year old father-in -law…. he is getting ready to take the Tech. test in the next week or 2
we spend a lot of time camping here in Colorado and he likes that I Can Talk All over the state on the linked repeater system that is easily reached from his prefered camp site.
studying for my technician and general license looking to get into ham radio. I enjoy your videos keep them up
Finally got my wife to start studying for her license. Looks like the perfect first HT for her.
Have heard of them, but have been off the air for over 30 years. Starting up again and forward to getting on the air.
Hello Jason,
I am in trusted with a organization called Hams Helping Hams. We loan radios to schools, churches, Boy Scouts and New Hams that may not have the funds to get their own radios. The inventory we have are radios from mostly silent keys. Anyway this radio if chosen will be added to the inventory. Thank you for the consideration.
Mark
Great video and great presentation. Nice looking radio. The display and menu looks too China. I would have thought that Bridge Comm would have went with a more professional / commercial looking radio. I hope that Bridge Comm comes out with a dual band DMR HT. I would be more interested in that radio. 73.
I’m a new ham just passed my technician license in August of this year. I’ve gotten plugged into a local club that is very service oriented. I have been studying for my general and will be testing in near future. The information that you provide with Ham Radio 2.0 has been invaluable to enhancing my enjoyment of the hobby. Of special interest to me was the series of podcasts pertaining to openSPOT SharkRF and other DMR equipment. I just finished programing my first code plug for TYT md 380 to use with an openSPOT. I’ll be putting it to good use Oct 20, 21, and 22 for Jamboree-on-the-Air during our fall family camp weekend. Last year my son participated in it and got to talk on the radio to other scouts and ham operators. Since the md 380 only can do UHF and we only have one DMR repeater in my area and are mostly still analog FM VHF/UHF it would be nice to have a dual band. Might have to get me one of your t-shirts “Get your Kid interested in Ham Radio and they’ll never have money for Alcohol or Drugs” Thanks again for all the great information and 73’s
Well, this Broadcom HT would make a great giveaway for a ham fest, such as The Big Event in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. For those that may not know where this is, it is near Niagara Falls. Good promo for Livefromthehamshack.tv and Bridgecom. Oh, and don’t let shipping to Canada scare you off. I have a good option.
Many cool videos, Jason, and looking forward to the allstar video.
73
John VA3WM
I do a lot of volunteer work at events along with the local ham radio club. I’m also involved in Skywarn, I work as a communicator for the Meals On Wheels fundraising race, the Corning marathon, and anything else I can help with. However, my handheld died recently (it was one of the cheap Chinese ones, but I had had it for a year) and there are a couple of events coming up I’d like to be involved with. This BCH-270 radio would do the job perfectly. Thanks for your show! – Dan, W2DLC
Hi Jason, I am a Scout leader who teaches the ham radio merit badge and would use the radio as a teaching aid during my merit badge classes and during JOTA. With any luck, it will help bring my love of ham radio to the younger generation and inspire them to obtain their ham licence.
Jason,
I would like to receive the radio for our club, and give it out as a loaner/donor radio to our newer club members who might not have dual band HT yet. this is an incentive to play and possibly generate more people to get licensed and join if they know we will loan/donate a radio for they experience the joy of dual band radios
Great review, love your style.
73
My Son, Thomas is about to take his Foundation license here in The UK, this would be a great start for his shack. 73 Craig. G8PY
New, old HAM from the Netherlands watching and enjoying every episode! Just started the hobby again after a decade of radio silence. This HT would just fit perfectly to begin the hobby again.
73 Werner PA3GYV
Hello Jason,
My name is Jeffrey (KG5UOF), and I got my license a few weeks ago. I am fourteen and very excited to get on the air. I love to watch your show and you have helped me to learn so much more than I would have on my own. I have loved handheld radios and FRS radios for a long time, and this radio seems really nice. Thank You for uploading and being so helpful to all hams out there.
-Jeffrey Moffitt
KG5UOF
Hi Jason:
My Call Sign is KC3IGN. I took my Tech Exam on 11-30-2016. I received Call Sign on 12-07-2016. I have since been upgraded to Extra which occurred on 08-25-2017. I took Extra Exam on 08-17-2017. I am disabled and do not drive. I use a motorized wheelchair to get around. My disability is Cerebral Palsy.
If you were to pick me as your winner of the BridgeCom BCH-270 HT.I would have it mounted and wired into my chair so it would run off off of my batteries with a Mag Mount. I am also involved in ARES, RACES, SKYWARN as well as an ARRL VE. Having the BridgeCom BCH-270 HT would make it easier to participate in the organizations mentioned above in that it would allow me to transmit from just about anywhere within reason given the right conditions and would eliminate some of the restrictions that are placed upon me.
Thank you for your time. I hope to hear from you soon,
David – KC3IGN
73!!
Hi Jason,
I really would like to have this little rig..I do not have any vhf/uhf gear but have been really interested in getting involved in FM. I have been a ham for less than a year, my Call is W6GWL. i have been disabled since 2009 due to a medical malfunction during an operation, and I am on Social Security as a result. I currently have a Yaesu FT-990 and a Hygain AV18VS vertical 80-10 Antenna which i use for HF. Any way, I considered writing with a sob story of sorts, but after having read David ( KC3IGN) Sawicki’s post just above this one, I decided that I would just say that my vote for the rig would be for you to give it to him instead.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
73
Enjoyed the video and look forward to next week’s episode. 73
K9JRD
JASON
Hey Jason
Love the show. I have learned a lot from your channel. Have been a Ham now for just a little over a year and really enjoy the hobby, I have also been trying to turn my friends onto amateur radio. Currently the only radios I have in my collection are cheap Baofengs (uv-5r & uv-82). I would love to experiment with a new radio that is obviously of better quality. I constantly get feedback of low audio transmit on my Baofengs, which is really annoying. Looking forward to new episodes and learning more from your channel.
Matthew – KD2LQF
73!
My wife is testing soon for her tech. She has tested 3 times already but says she will not give up until she passes .That would be a great radio for her ! Thanks for the great videos !
Would like to have a radio like this to start experiencing the. 2m band just received my ticket in July. Kg5uhz 73s and keep up the good work with Ham Radio 2.0 God bless KG5UHz
I’m taking my Technician exam this Saturday. I’ve been watching several YouTube channels since I started studying, and yours is one of the most informative. If chosen for the “giveaway”, I would use the Bridgecom BCH-270 as a mobile HT “test-bed” in my ’04 Corvette, and the knowledge gained would be shared with other HAMs who have unique mobile installation challenges like mine, a vehicle with a non-steel body. It presents unique challenges due to no “ground plane” present like steel bodied vehicles have. Hopefully, the knowledge I will gain in testing in a Vette will help others with non-steel vehicle installations, including marine installations (also mostly fiberglass construction). I also want to get involved in my local emergency response teams, so I will be attending their meetings and volunteering to help them as well.
Enjoyed this episode on the BCH-270 HT. Well I am 60 years old injured on the job an have been on L&I for almost 2 years so a very limited budget. I do not have any 2m or 440 gear and wished I did so I could talk to and meet some hams. This is also the only thing preventing me from working with the local ARES ans RACES. Went to a local ham fest 2 weeks ago but anything that I would trust was way out of my budget or just junk.
Keep up the good pod casts they are very informative.
N6TCO
I have been trying to get my wife to take the Technician class test. She has studied in the past and I feel she could pass it now. I can’t seem to get her to go take the test. She has said her drawback to taking the test is the cost of amateur radio equipment. She is afraid that if she passes the test I will spend a lot of money to get her set up and equipped to operate. If I had this HT, I would be able to get her on the air without having to spend any money. Then, I feel I would be able to get her to take the test and finally get her license.
Great review, it was a pleasure speaking with you at the Green Country Ham Fest.
My 11yr old son is taking the Boy Scout Radio Merit Badge class…4 classes in, scheduled to take his Technician Class test on November 13th. He’s finding the information so interesting, he is now going to incorporate Ham radio part of this year’s Science Project. This would be a great first radio for him.
Wow, Thanks so much! I greatly appreciate it! Update: My son sits for his test next week. He’s excited and ready to go!
Great Video!!
I passed my technician license exam yesterday. I was wondering if I buy an HT should I go for the Bridgecom, or a Yaesu FT65R? Or what would be your recommendation to start out with?
Thanks,
Dan M