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List Price: $129.00
Sale Price: $31.60
Today's Bonus: 76% Off
The Baofeng UV-5R is not an APX7000, so if you're expecting that, you're not going to be impressed. If you want a good, reliable inexpensive dual band HT that is in fact a COMMERCIAL (it IS FCC part 90 certified) Radio, this is for you. Out of the box, it comes complete with a good 1800mah lithium ion battery, belt clip, hand strap and drop in charger. If you're familiar with commercial radios, you'll feel at home programming the UV-5R with the free software, but you'll need to purchase a USB cable if you don't already have one (this radio uses the same 2-pin Kenwood LMR style cable that Wouxun, TYT and many others use). The cables are less than $20.
You get 128 channels with any combination of VHF or UHF channels. Another plus is the radio ACTUALLY SUPPORTS NARROWBAND, INCLUDING SPLINTER CHANNELS. This is a HUGE plus if you want to use the radio to listen (or transmit, if you're authorized) to public safety after 2013 when the FCC mandates narrowband on VHF and UHF. Many agencies are also going to channel steps most ham radios cannot properly tune (e.g. 154.8225). The UV-5R uses DSP, so it has great audio on both transmit and receive. Reports I got about my transmit audio were great, and I noticed if I spoke loudly, the DSP did a good job of attenuating the voice to a tame level.
The display is fairly easy to read, and for it's size the keys are easy to press. What I really like is the large volume knob with integrated power switch, no accidental turn off of buttons! The PTT key is easy to actuate and you don't get fatigue for long conversations. Speaker is loud, though I don't think it has the 1 watt of audio the specifications state. It is loud enough to hear in a crowd or driving down the road with the window open. Construction of this HT is solid, does not feel like a $50 radio, more like a $150 radio.
The only downsides are the poorly written manual, but hey, this is a $50 radio not a $500 radio. If you've used LMR type radios, you'll be able to get around in the software, the menu system also lets you control many of the radios' features. It does have an FM radio, which actually has great sensitivity, and the flashlight feature is easy to actuate using the lower side button and actually comes in handy.
All in all, this is a great ham HT that has the unique ability to LEGALLY operate on part 90 (commercial) frequencies (for those duly authorized), has great performance, and a long battery life. For the price, you cannot go wrong with it. I would buy another and probably will.
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You would be hard pressed to get a better dual band HT for $62. This radio has international settings, meaning that the entire frequency range from 130-174mhz and from 400-480mhz is open to both TX and RX. This means you do need to be careful as a Ham license only allows you to TX on 2m from 144-148mhz and on 440 from 420-450mhz. The radio is not FCC certified to transmit on any of the Marine VHF, MURS, FRS/GMRS, or business radio or emergency services radio frequencies that lie in these frequency ranges and operating in those frequency ranges with this HT will expose you to FCC action.
You definitely will need the programming cable as the included directions are not enlightening for programming the radio with the keypad. The programming software for the radio is a minimal spreadsheet program. There are better free aftermarket alternatives (there is an active Yahoo group devoted to this radio, there are plenty of Youtube videos, and there is an aftermarket programming package called CHIRP which is a better software program). Make sure that you firmly attach the cable as failure to attach the cable properly will lead to frustration.
The stock antenna is ok if you live under a repeater. For those not living under a repeater an aftermarket antenna is a good upgrade.
For operational purposes the radio transmits and receives quite well and will operate for quite some time on the rechargeable battery that is included with the radio.
For $62 you also have a radio that if it should fall into a lake, get lost or some other calamity strike you can replace it.
Best Deals for BaoFeng UV-5R 136-174/400-480 MHz Dual-Band DTMF CTCSS DCS FM Ham
First, to all of the buyers of the Baofeng radios that are also hams, none of the cheaper Chinese radios (including many that cost far more than the Baofeng UV-5R series of radios) program the same way (from the keypad or from the programming software) as their more expensive Japanese counterparts. Simply seeing the "+-" sign on the radio DOES NOT mean that the radio has automatically programmed the correct offset for the band you are on. Since most hams pride themselves on not reading manuals, (if you are a ham) you may have to re-read this section several times.
Second, for all of the buyers of the Baofeng radios that think FCC Part 90 acceptance also means that you can have two frequencies 12.5kHz apart on your two VFO's (and not hear the other frequency), you will need to purchase a different radio than the UV-5R. If you are looking at the UV-5R as a way to reduce expenses but still want a better receiver, I would suggest either of the Baofeng B5 or the B6 series, which don't cost much more and have a far better receiver.
Third, understand that the Twin Dual Receive (TDR) function is NOT the same as having the ability to receive two conversations at the same time. The radio simply scans back and forth between the two VFO's (think about counting 1001 and 1002 and you get the idea of it's scanning speed), so you may very well miss a short conversation or comment on one VFO from time to time. If this is totally unacceptable to you, purchase a more expensive radio (or carry two radios) as this feature is NOT available (nor can it be re-programmed or hacked into existence) on either the UV-5R or B5/B6 series of radios.
Forth, if you insist on buying the cheapest USB programming cable available, expect that you will have issues getting the programming software (either VIP or Chirp) to work properly, since the majority of folks simply either fail to read or follow the detailed instructions on the Yahoo UV-5R forum (on how to overcome the cheap cable issues and/or don't understand how to properly turn off the Windows 7/8 auto update feature on their program drivers for the cable).
To avoid this cable issue completely, purchase the actual Prolific or FTDI Kenwood 2-prong style programming cables. Since Amazon will not allow any outside links to be published, you'll have to search the internet for yourself (or call a local radio dealer). Buying a real (not cloned) cable and following the instructions on the Yahoo forum will eliminate 99% of the programming issues you hear folks complain about.
Fifth, expect the majority of your issues you hear about from this brand of radios (and Chinese radios in general) to come from the older hams or engineers, as they will constantly insist that "they" should be able to do things with it (using some other method) and will drive themselves crazy trying to figure out why their $60 radio doesn't work like their $300 to $600 dollar Japanese radios from Alinco, Kenwood, Icom, or Yaesu. Those folks, in turn, bash the radios on various forums or e-commerce sites (primarily because they won't follow directions and/or the radio doesn't work the way "they" feel it should).
Honest reviews on BaoFeng UV-5R 136-174/400-480 MHz Dual-Band DTMF CTCSS DCS FM Ham
You get what you pay for. Not for a newbie when programming since the instructions are half a step above useless, and definitely translated. Some of the voice prompts are still in Chinese (low battery). You can get help from some internet user groups specifically for this radio. Programming the repeater offset in memory mode is not what I expected, and not in the instructions... you program the channel twice, once for receive, another for send. You really need to program the channels from a computer. I spent the extra money to get a USB programming cable to match, and downloaded the programming software from one of the user groups. From what I read it was worth getting the genuine cable. Some others commented they bought cheaper versions that turned out not to be compatible with the USB drivers.
I do like the voice prompts... you can use it in the dark, or one-handed without looking at it.
I wanted an inexpensive backup, and that is what it is. Seems to be sturdy, and does the trick, but my 25 year-old Kenwood still outperforms it on 2M.
So far, I am still glad I bought it for a backup.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for BaoFeng UV-5R 136-174/400-480 MHz Dual-Band DTMF CTCSS DCS FM Ham
This is a great little radio that won't break the bank. I was able to get into the club repeater with it from a location where I can not key up the repeater with my much more expensive Yaesu handheld.
Yes, the manual was either written be someone who was not a native English speaker or was translated into English by a machine, but that is what you expect when buying a product from China. I read through most of the rough spots without even feeling a bump in the road. The biggest problem with the manual is that it doesn't tell you how to program the radio. But there are plenty of YouTube videos and plenty of user support on a great Yahoo group dedicated just to this radio.
There are a few problems with the firmware (not upgradable) or things I wish it did differently but none ofthem are show stoppers.
I would buy this radio again and would recommend it to anyone looking for a small radio. I think it would be especially appropriate for the new ham who wants to get on the air but doesn't know yet what they want in a radio.
