Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

Reviews For: BTECH (BaoFeng) UV-2501+220

Category: Transceivers: VHF/UHF+ Amateur Base/Mobile (non hand-held)

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : BTECH (BaoFeng) UV-2501+220
Reviews: 16MSRP: 139.83
Description:
Tri-band (2m, 220, 440) mobile transceiver w/ 25/10W output on all bands
Product is in production
More Info: http://baofengtech.com/uv-2501+220
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00162.4
W4RAA Rating: 2016-04-08
good radio for the money Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
For the money this is a good 3-band mobile radio.
Add a good tri-band antenna and it works very well.


Pros: Size, price, frequency range coverage, good microphone, good transmit audio, good receive audio.

Cons: Display is a little small but so is the radio. Relay clicking when scanning the bands, not loud but loud enough to hear it.

The 2501+220 is a solid performer. Audio is clear in both directions, It has a Kenwood-style microphone that is easy to use.

I installed a good tri-band antenna with this radio and I am easily keying up all of the local repeaters and some a good distance away on low power. Simplex operations are very good as well.

This model has a speaker jack, unlike the dual-band UV-2501 as well a a data jack that is used to program it. I did not use the free programming software as I have a software program that I used to program the 2501+220. It programs fast less than a minute for 40 plus memory channels.

The frequency range of the radio covers more than the ham bands, I have programmed several aircraft frequencies just to monitor them and they are clear

220mhz is making a good comeback in our area and this a great way to get on 220 in your mobile and have vhf/uhf also.
KB6LED Rating: 2016-02-25
it's just OK Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I’m not going to bash this radio too bad since it’s only $139.00

Pro’s

-it’s small
-It’s cheap

Con’s

-The front end overloads easy in moderate RF environments
-The scan is not very good at all, it will stop on everything regardless of tone guard or not
- Speaker audio it not good at least to my ear
- There is a noticeable whine on a receive signals that goes away when the mic is unplugged.

Bottom line it’s certainly a cheap way to get on all the popular VHF & UHF bands but it’s totally lacking in receiver performance while the radio has great sensitively it’s easily overloaded .
K9TMU Rating: 2016-02-22
DO NOT BUY Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
RECEIVED MY BTECH UV 2501+220 ON FRIDAY. WHILE TRYING TO PROGRAM THE RADIO IT DIED. THE SPEAKER IS MUTED AND YOU COULD NOT HEAR AUDIO UNTIL YOU PUSHED THE MONO BUTTON.THE UNIT DIED WHILE TRYING TO PROGRAM REPEATER INPUT. DISPLAY WENT BLACK AND TURNED IT OFF AND ON.HEARD A CLICKING SOUND NO DISPLAY OR SOUND. GOT A RETURN FROM AMAZON AND SENDING IT BACK AND WILL NOT BUY AGAIN UNTIL I SEE SOME GOOD RESPONSE TO THE PROBLEMS THEY HAVE BEING ADDRESSED.
WD8U Rating: 2016-02-22
great Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Its very nice to see a radio for the USA market..
Other big Co dont bother much with 220,thay dont use 220...Well 220 is a nice band,and glad to see a unit that covers 2,220,440 all in one..
The radio is very small and mounts anywhear...very neat..It does 25-20 watts with no problem..
After you learn Chin-amera language it is very easy to program from the mike buttons..You just need to learn the proceedure...simple after that..

Its a clean modern,small easy to use mobile...
Bob-WD8U
Tampa
N9MB Rating: 2016-02-17
Good XCVR For The $ Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Pros- 1. Tiny
2. Great audio
3. Quiet fan
4. Good xmit audio
5. Solid feeling microphone
Cons- 1. Display size
2. Display is too bright, needs a dimmer
3. Relays are quite audible, annoying when scanning

I've only owned this rig for a few days but my initial impression is that it's a solid, well built unit that could use a little refinement in the ergonomics department.
K7RBW Rating: 2016-02-13
Good things come in small packages Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Summary: This is a great, 3-band mobile rig, but comes with a bit of a personality.

Pros: Size, price, freq. coverage.
Cons: Size, programming software.

Radio-wise, it's a solid performer. Audio is clear in both directions, and I like the Kenwood-style microphone (in fact, it is pin-compatible with Kenwood).

Personality-wise, well it takes a little patience. Turning the channel selector changes the channel in random directions--workaround use the mike buttons, which are very handy. From the mike, you can go up/down in channel or freq, enter a freq or a channel directly and go to a menu option directly.

Audio volume is strong, and this model has a speaker jack, unlike the dual-band UV-2501.

The frequency range of the radio covers more than the ham bands, so be careful when you program the frequencies.

The programming software is still very crude. Hopefully, CHIRP will be updated to work with it, soon. Then you'll be able to keep all your BaoFeng radios in sync without having to manually enter each channel.

There are lots of mysterious (i.e. scantily documented) features, some might be useful to hams, while others (Remote Kill?) might not.

Bottom line: a great way to get on 220 without breaking the bank or forgoing access to 2m & 440.