Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

Reviews For: Baojie BJ-218 ( 10 Watt version )

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 : Baojie BJ-218 ( 10 Watt version )
Reviews: 8MSRP: 100+
Description:
2 Meter / 70cm Mobile radio , 10 Watt version
Product is in production
More Info: http://en.qzbaojie.com/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0083.3
W0KDL Rating: 2022-06-04
25 watt version, poor internal quality Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Small micro radio, decent appearing. Loud Speaker. Upon programming manually had numerous issues with it not accepting programed info into memory, or selecting menu changes not accepted. Mistake> Tried the FM broadcast frequency, unit locked onto this freq. would not go back to 2m use. finally shut it off disconnect pwr left it for 1 day. turned back on locked up still. finally after numerous attempts to change back to 2m it went. Last straw, unit locked onto transmit on 2m local repeater freq. , removed mic cable from unit still locked in transmit, turned off /on same, tried numerous buttons stayed locked , disconnect pwr and antenna, stayed locked in transmit mode. waited 2 days no power, turned on again still locked in transmit on same freq, piece of junk. Now, NO power for 1 week or so.. Powered on once more , voila not locked on transmit! trying to get ahold of "Bang Good" where I purchased radio, frustrations with them. Just want refund or willing to try replacement but oh what a hassle this has become. I would not purchase again. This is not my 1st transmitter, ham for almost 1/4 century now, owned many rigs. Caveat Empter
F4DYT Rating: 2020-11-12
Good enough for 2m traffic Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I purchased the 25W version.

Usable radio, good sensitivity for local 2m traffic. Could receive a relay 320 km away.
Not tested in 70cm band.

Transmitter power is underrated by around 30%, according to my power meter. Medium power is more than sufficient for my needs.

Manual in Chinglish, difficult to understand.

Very easy to program in Windows 10 using CHIRP, a cheap 3 or 4 euros RS-232 to USB interface, an Ethernet cable, and 3 cables welded. Details are easily found in the Internet. Don't even dream in programming channels by hand.

Using Windows 10 may require some research work in the Internet, to download and install drivers for the USB to serial interface. This type of problems are known and are solvable, just be patient and do your research, as the solution will depend on your computer hardware.

Scan does not seem to have the option to ignore a channel. Otherwise scanning is fast.

Squelch needs a lot of volume to open.

In conclusion, a little 2m / 70cm radio, worth to buy it despite its limits.

And please, Baojie, next time choose a human translator that understands radio and whose mother tongue is English...

G7IDJ Rating: 2019-10-01
25W Version - you get what you pay for! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought this little radio at the Hamfest in the UK last weekend for £45

Objective:
I wanted a small unobtrusive radio for my car with 2m and 70cm and with ability for RX/TX for commercial PMR frequencies (I hold a license as a commercial radio supplier)
As I have other Chinese wonders for different purposes I was looking for a different radio.

- The radio is tiny, with a tiny bracket and small hand microphone. Ok for my purposes. The microphone feels flimsy and not sturdy at all.

- The audio is powerful and enough

- It works well with local repeaters

- It picks up a lot of noise and breakthrough from interference sources are quite frequent. A high grade radio would have most likely more immunity protection.

- On RX it is ok but weak stations often get drowned in noise

- The instruction manual demands a lot of imagination to figure out how to program the radio.

- I found out that you have to press the menu button twice in quick succession to get into the full menu

- There is an annoyingly loud beep for every function you do on the radio but you can turn off the beep through the menu settings once you get in.

- Two VFOs and Channel banks

- I miss the rotary channel or frequency select button and you can't up or down channels of frequencies from the microphone buttons.

- you can listen to FM radio and as call comes through on the frequency it switches from FM Radio to your HAM frequency

- for repeater functions it is really necessary to store your repeaters in the channel list. To access them from the VFO you have to press about a "million" buttons to get there.


Good points:
- cheap
- functional
- Wide frequency range on VHF and UHF on RX/TX
- tiny
- good audio volume
- slightly innovative design
- extensive menu options

Bad points:
- prone to interference on RX
- no channel up and down on microphone
- crazy manual
- flimsy microphone
- tiny display but to be expected on tiny radio
- a little bit tedious to program


Conclusion:
It is ok for the money I paid for it. Still some room for improvements but it does the job. So far I would recommend the radio with the proviso that it is not a top brand and that there are some trade offs.
Get it program your favourite channels into the radio with the correct repeater offsets etc. and it will be good fun. Ideal for entry into HAM Radio without having to break the bank.
VK3GMO Rating: 2018-07-14
Not bad 25 watt version Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This radio was $85 on ebay. My Alinco went up in smoke and I wanted an inexpensive replacement. This unit is better at hitting the repeater than the Alinco was so while I haven't checked the power, I don't have any complaints. It works and my audio reports are good. The only downside I see as practical issues are the Beep when you change setting is way too loud. As others have noted if there is activity on the inactive band the transceiver picks it up and the audio quality on receive is workable but not great. I am using the 25 watt version. Now to see how long it lasts. Doesn't seem to run very hot and fan has not had to kick in.
K5JCJ Rating: 2018-04-24
Great value radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I recently bought the 25 watt version of this rig for my car. Almost everything about this little radio is perfect, and a great value compared to the Icom and Yaesu rigs I own for the same purpose.

It's size is incredibly small for what it does. Unlike the horror stories of programming other Chinese rigs, this one is a breeze to program, even without the manual. The variable speed fan only comes on when the radio is actually hot. The speaker is plenty loud and clear. There's only two annoyances with it. The volume can only be controlled from the front face of the radio. And it runs in a dual-watch mode all the time so the only way to hear a single station at a time is to tune the other band to a silent frequency. For the $65 they're selling them for, they can't be beat.
VE4ACV Rating: 2016-08-02
NOT TOO GOOD Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
bj218 AKI TIM 218 ( high power model )
25 watts? perhaps in input power ! Mine gets
15 watts output max. This is the second china
25 watt rig i have purchased both get 15 watts out
into a telewave watt meter and a bristal aerospace
watt meter,.... of course the programming cable does not work (win 10) Nice box though. If yours get 25 watts let us know..
VE3YR Rating: 2016-07-12
Small unit Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Mine is a no-name 25 W. Model TM218. Awkward to program from front panel. Had a hard time with USB cable with win7, win2000, and NT. Would not pick up the driver. With XP however, it worked immediately. So entry is still time consuming, but reads and writes quickly. Have yet to figure out how to get the alpha tags to display. One tag programmed once,but on subsequent write cycles, no alpha tags display. Anyone got ideas? Nice deal for 82kc. this mobile will fit in any vehicle. I have not experienced the noise problem mentioned for the 10W version.
VK3FORK Rating: 2016-05-14
Compared to Baofeng Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
When I saw the BJ-218 10 Watt radio , I thought I just had to have one . So I contacted the manufacturer and got my self one .
I have a few Baofeng radios , but always wanted something NOT hand held .
The radio seems to be a very nice solid little unit , nothing has broken or gone wrong .
The programming software is enough to use , but you most likely will need some USB drivers for the program cable ..
One of these days I will make a video on how to program VIA the hand mike ( built in controls )

Lets move onto performance :
I can only compare to my hand held mobiles , Baofeng and TYT .

The receiver in the 218 is not as sensitive as the Baofeng radios
Squelch is set too high and cuts out weak signals
The 218 is a lot more noisy than any of my hand helds

Transmit power ???? ( does not seem to transmit as well as the baofengs = Cant reach repeaters that my UV5r can activate = Same BASE antenna )

Other than these wrinkles , the radio works well ..
Does it work well enough to be a keeper ? , actually you would probably be better off with a Baofeng Tri-power , and use a battery eliminator ( UV5r - GT3 )

Anyhow , I am still waiting on some parts so I can try out a few more antenna , and If I cant get the 218 to perform as I want I will most likely sell it ..

Not really a regretful purchase , but at the same time the 218 does fail to impress ..

Some positives :
Well built
very small ( not much larger than a hand held )
nothing has broken
can use a external speaker ( I do )
Dual channel ( receives on 2 channels )
Each channel can be programmed separately .. One can be 2 meter and the other 70cm
Can be set to band plans ( like Australia )
10watt and 25Watt versions available
3 Power settings ( Low - Med - High )

What I would like to see ..

Infinite control over power ( ramps up and down ) within the power range

More control over the squelch ( fine tuning )

Some way of controlling noise canceling ( radio is to noisy )

Some of these things could be done with the program software ..
Another thing I would just love to see from all radio manufacturers , is separately setting Tx and Rx frequency ranges ..
I would love to enable Rx through out the entire frequency ranges , and have Tx set to the band plan ...