| W2OMD |
Rating:      |
2013-09-27 | |
| Great for the price |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| I've had the Baofeng UV-5R for almost a year, and it's an unbelievable radio for the price. It's not built to take abuse, and the stock antenna isn't great, but for $40 I can't complain. TX and RX audio are excellent. Programming by hand is not fun, but I got a cable for under $10 and the software is free. The Baofeng UV-5R won't replace my more expensive radios, but it's an excellent addition. |
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| K6SPY |
Rating:  |
2013-09-26 | |
| Junk! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Don't waste your money. Several issues with mine right out of the box. External mic /programming port had short. Charger DOA. Hand mic has no hole drilled for mic element. Mine is going in the trash. |
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| W5VTC |
Rating:    |
2013-09-23 | |
| UHF Trasmit Buggy |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Like most folks, I bought a 5R for a knock around HT. Easy enough to program by hand, but the UHF transmit is buggy. I reset the the radio to the factory settings using Chirp for my installed firmware version. Transmits fine on UHF simplex, but it will not transmit PL tones on UHF, I'm assuming. It works great on 2 meters, which is what I initially purchased it for, but it would be nice if it worked for our 440 repeaters, too.
I stood by the club president, while he hit the a repeater, mine just looked at me and wouldn't hit it. Everything is programed correctly, it just won't transmit to the repeaters. I haven't given up on it, but for $25, I got a pretty decent 2 meter HT.
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| KC8VWM |
Rating:     |
2013-09-20 | |
| UV-5RA Impressions |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I decided to buy one of these after reading the many reviews on them. Mine is a UV-5RA with a firmware code of #297
I purchased mine from HamRadioMall.com selling through Amazon.com. Shipping was very quick and I like the protection Amazon.com offers on purchased items.
When doing research on this before purchasing, I decided the two needed items I would require to purchase are the programming cable and the Nagoya external antenna.
I admit, I was skeptical at first. I mean how good can a $27 dual band HT be exactly anyways? I ordered it thinking if anything I wasted a few bucks so I could find out.
I was kind of expecting the typical cheap quality Walmart grade stuff, but to my surprise this dual bander is actually constructed quite well. It seems the radio has evolved from earlier versions, and there has been a focus on making several improvements from earlier versions.
It's apparent the UV-5RA has been through several refinements when compared to earlier models.
The radio has a solid feel. It actually looks good too. It's not as small as my Icom T90A, despite the "ultra compact" description on the box though. I guess when compared to a Motorola Saber, it's ultra compact. This is just fine with me. The radio is actually just the right size, and the buttons are not too small, or cluttered too close together.
The "ear" for attaching the lanyard is actually made of metal and it seems there is actually some quality that went into this thing.
The supplied antenna seems to work ok, but like any other HT, an aftermarket one is always better.
I guess I don't really understand how they can offer such a radio, packed with so many features at the same price as a typical replacement battery. That is to say, the Li-ion battery must be worth the purchase price by itself without any radio attached.
But then, they also throw in a drop in charger in the deal on top of that. This feature is usually optional with many other radios on the market. I think I paid $60 for an optional drop in charger for my IC T90a.
The quality of the drop in charger reminds me of Motorola chargers I have in the shack. Simple design, but sturdy construction sort of thing.
Programming with the optional cable is about as easy as it gets when used with free CHIRP software. I ordered the cable and it comes with a CD but I ignored it in favor of CHIRP.
I heard programming these were difficult, but that was not the case at all when using free CHIRP software. I programmed the UV-5RA in less than 10 minutes using a Windows 8 PC without any glitch at all.
I can't imagine a better value for the money. Better hurry because I can't see these dual band HT's staying at these ridiculously low prices.
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| WD6S |
Rating:     |
2013-09-14 | |
| Pretty good for under $40 |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I purchased a UV-5R and a UV 5RAonline, both under $40. The only difference I can see is in the case design, The RA is a bit shinier and has a round indicator LED and V/M button while the 5R has square ones. The other controls are the same and the batteries and charger are the same. Programming took a while to figure out. I bought the programming cable and loaded the driver but could not get anything to work. I stumbled on a comment that says to set the port's baud rate to 38400 and now that problem is solved. Programming was difficult. I tried the Baofeng VIP software and could not get it to work. Then I found CHIRP and finally figured it out. It is a bit tedious but it works. The first step is to DOWNLOAD from the radio into Chirp. Then save this as a CSV file. Open this with a spreadsheet and edit- it is a lot easier than using Chirp's spreadsheet display. Save this as a CSV. IMPORT this back to Chirp and download to the radio. You can then save this file as a Chirp .img file. CHirp works equally well with the 5R and 5RA but the .img files are different I think.
Range is not what my ICOM handhelds will do but a reasonable radio to have around where you might not have one otherwise. Get a better antenna than the stub provided.It is a nice size, shape, and weight, and literally has bells and whistles including a flashing light and siren. It can also be used to receive commercial FM radio, though it is not concert quality by any means. |
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| WD0FIA |
Rating:      |
2013-09-09 | |
| Nice, inexpensive radio. |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
For $32 from Amazon this radio is an excellent buy! I use 3 of them on APRS, connected to MFJ 1270X TNC's. Using UIView 32 in KISS mode, on a laptop / netbook, I can have APRS in a small, inexpensive package.
I bought one to keep in the glove box of each car, as they also work great for 2m and 70cm repeaters! If you have a lot of repeaters in your area it's well worth it to buy the USB programming cable. The free CHIRP software is easy to use and makes programming a lot easier.
Sure it's not an ultra-durable radio, but it's not fragile either. If something goes wrong just go buy another one.
I REALLY wish this radio would have been available when I was licensed in the 1970's, as it would make a great starter radio for the new ham wanting to get their feet wet.
I would highly recommend it to anyone. For the price, they are a bargain! |
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| KA7EII |
Rating:      |
2013-09-06 | |
| Nice Dual-Band HT at a low price. |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Just purchased a pair of the UV-5RA version of this radio.
OK - for several months now I have been wondering just how well a $33.00 dual-band Amateur Radio HT could be. A couple weeks ago, a coworker and I got to play with a pair of UV-5RA radios for a few hours and quite frankly, I was impressed. Naturally, I told my wife about the radios (we both have our Amateur Radio license) and after looking at the cost to replace two batteries for our Yaesu VX-5R HT's, we decided to order a pair of these Baofeng UV-5RA's instead of two replacement batteries.
While waiting for the package to arrive, I downloaded the free CHIRP software and got all our local net, ARES, RACES and other simplex and repeater frequencies all set up and ready for programming. Seriously, 20 minutes after opening the boxes, we had both radios programmed and we were making some QSO's and getting excellent signal and audio reports.
Now, a little about the programming cable we ordered with the radios. I didn't try using the driver CD that came with the cable. I have a four year old HP laptop running Windows 7 Home Premium. I plugged the cable into one of the USB ports and got the "driver error" that most everyone gets on a Win 7 machine. This website http://www.miklor.com/uv5r/ has everything you need to know about loading the proper driver for Win 7 complete with step-by-step instructions. You will also find links and info about the CHIRP programming software. I suggest you spend some time on that site before buying or using this radio. Even though they reference the Baofeng UV-5R, everything seems to also apply to the UV-5RA. After getting the proper driver for the programming cable, it was a snap to load 100+ frequencies into the radios. Be sure to "read" the new radio first before loading your program into the radio. You have to use the software if you want to program alpha names for each channel and to set up a welcome message when the radio is first turned on. It is fun to see your callsign and name show up for a second when turning on the radio.
Yes, you can program these via the keypad on the radio but you will not be able to add alpha names to the memories. There is a bit of a learning curve to programming via the keypad but it can be done. It is well worth the $7.38 for the programming cable. It makes programming the radios so easy.
So far, these radios have shown decent battery life, great reception and great TX audio reports. We may replace the stock antennas in the future but for now, I can work every repeater that my 15 year old Yaesu VX-5R can. The fit and finish is very nice and the keys are even backlit. Receive audio is nice and loud. I'm still not sure how these will hold up in the long run but for the price, if it dies in a year or two it is still a bargain for a dual-band HT. |
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| WB6MIA |
Rating:   |
2013-09-05 | |
| Troublesome |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
I purchased 30 units directly out of China for distribution to members of an amateur radio civil defense organization.
Five units were faulty.
One had no RF output.
Four had a defective microphone jack.
My supplier has stonewalled me relative to replacement of the defective units, suggesting instead an internal modification that shorts out the internal switch in the microphone jack.
If my supplier does not ultimately accept responsibility for the defective units I will identify the company on this forum.
This modification invalidates the use of the BaoFeng for digital communication purposes.
My recommendation: Do not purchase BaoFengs from China unless you have solid assurance that the dealer will stand behind the units. The extra 5 or 10 dollars per unit for purchasing locally is a good investment.
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| WD4OIM |
Rating:      |
2013-09-03 | |
| Great Bargain |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I bought two UV5R's and two of the 7 1/2 inch antennas. I also bought the programming cable with disk. The disk was worthless. The radios are great dual band HT's. I jerry rigged one of the UV5R's up to my outside 2 meter antenna and it received just as well as my Yaesu 2800. I checked the VSWR on both bands and it was less than 1.5:1. I had no problem bringing up distant repeaters. With the 7 1/2 inch rubber duck I just barely made it simplex to a fellow ham 17 miles away. The XYL is also a ham and the UV5R's are going to come in really handy. I'm considering buying two more for spares. At $32 each, they are disposable. |
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| KD0FIN |
Rating:     |
2013-09-03 | |
| Great radio for the money |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| For $32 from Amazon this radio is an excellent buy. No it won't do APRS, or 6m, nor is it submersible, but it works great for 2m and 70cm repeaters! If you have a lot of repeaters in your area it's well worth it to buy the USB programming cable. The free CHIRP software is easy to use and makes programming a lot easier. The menus are not very intuitive, and the manual memory entry process is not the most straightforward, but it can be done once you do a little reading and figure it out. It's not an ultra-durable radio, but it's not fragile either. If something goes wrong just go buy another one. I REALLY wish this radio would have been available when I was first licensed in 2008, as it would make a great starter radio for the new ham wanting to get their feet wet. I would definitely buy another one, and would highly recommend it to anyone else. |
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