| N3KCM |
Rating:  |
2012-01-14 | |
| Junk! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| A lot of bad boards have been reported. Cold solider joints? Mine would not turn off using the power button after 2 months. I pushed in a certain spot on the board and the power button worked again. You get what you pay for! |
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| K4FX |
Rating:  |
2012-01-12 | |
| I like it |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
This is a good radio, not a great one. There are a few things it lacks, but it also lacks a huge price tag. I paid 46 dollars for mine in Dec. 2011 shipping included from Hong Kong. It is the Mark II with a dual band antenna. I got it in 10 days, an earphone/mic was included. I paid a little extra for a programming cable. It has 99 memories. Extended receive from 139-170 and 400-470 so it's good for public service. Also receives FM broadcast radio.
For the money, it is hard to beat. |
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| N2DY |
Rating: |
2012-01-12 | |
| Not Bad, Especially for the Price |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I bought a pair of these radios and they came with a vinyl case for each for around $100 shipped. I own a couple of Yaesu VX-2Rs and the Baofeng performs just as well. The radio does feel a bit cheaper, but with the vinyl case on it should be well-protected. The radio has excellent transmit and receive audio and sensitivity is every bit as good as my VX-2R. I actually found the programming of the radio to be quite easy without consulting the manual. Perhaps it is because I am used to the VX-2 which is similar.
My radios came with two antennas each. Contrary to what some believe, these are NOT dual band antennas. One is for VHF and one is for UHF. I checked them each out with an antenna analyzer. This is a bit silly. A dual band radio should come with a dual band antenna. I don't want to have to swap antennas out every time I change bands. Fortunately I have a number of dual band antennas in my arsenal and so it did not matter to me. However, it seems silly to spend 50 bucks on a radio to then have to go out and spend another $20 to get a Diamond or Comet dual band rubber duck. That is the reason for the 4 out of 5. Additionally, those that are assumimg that the antennas are dual band antennas risk damaging the radio when using the wrong antenna for each band.
Other than the antenna issue, it is hard to complain when you get a dual band radio that works well for the price of of a higher end FRS radio. The radio failed for the previous reviewer after three months. Time will tell if mine keep on ticking. For now, I am reasonably impressed. |
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| W8STU |
Rating: |
2012-01-11 | |
| JUNK |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| Mine quit working only after 3 months. It would not turn on unless plugged into wall charger. Battery was still good. It was not worth the money to send back to Hong Kong. A good thing it only cost me $46.00... I would not recommend this HT. Thanks in advance. 73, Stu de W8STU |
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| KJ4JGN |
Rating: |
2011-12-22 | |
| Great |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| I have to say I bought it for hunting camp, and was thrilled with the proformance of this little radio, easy to program, 2/440 bands, for only 2 watts, its a great buy, heck, 45.00 shipped, you cant beat that. The heck with GMRS radioes that cost as much, this little baby does it all. |
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| LNXAUTHOR |
Rating: |
2011-12-06 | |
| Motorola-Vertex: BEWARE! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
looking at my new sub-$50 tinkertoy, the Baofeng UV-3R bears more than a little resemblance to my Yaesu VX3R, and the comparison is unavoidable:
1. same form factor, same VFO/vol knob, SMA connector, side buttons, similar front buttons (with the exception of the power button, vertical array and sub-Vol button); same recv LED
2. the included VHF stubby is indistinguishable from the VX3R's
3. need a cheap replacement battery for your VX3R? current online price is $39.95 - why not spend $10 more and get a radio? VX3R battery works in the UV3R
4. VX3R battery works with the UV3R and vice versa; VX3R AA battery pack works w/the UV3R with a horseshoe 'v' cut to accommodate the UV3R's belt clip
5. Fidelity is as good as if not better than the VX3R
6. the Premiere speaker mic works on both rigs
7. haven't found an SMA antenna that wouldn't fit on the UV3R
8. alas, no AM or internal bar antenna on the UV3R
9. UV3R vol adjustment is soft-louder-loud-really loud; not as a level increment as on UV3R
10. FM receive is quite good; alas, only 15 memories, but more than enough for the band in my area and easily programmed w/three key presses
11. open-source, cross-platform software available for rig programming (kudos to the programmers! thanks!); works great under my OS X and Linux systems
12. more than enough memories (100) for UHF/VHF ham freqs
13. NOAA WX receive available and easily programmed; this alone makes the rig valuable for me here in hurricane country
14. can lock rig to prevent accidental function changes
15. my Comet SMA-703 is a favorite fit, but the included antennas work fine for their purpose
16. includes a cute low-power LED flashlight where the VX3R has a mic/speaker connector
17. the UV3R box uses the same color scheme and labeling as the VX3R box - uh oh!
18. the UV3R includes a wrist strap and base charger unlike the VX3R
19. the UV3R includes a belt clip - no such beast for the VX3R
20. the UV3R includes a speaker and mic!!!
21. did i mention that the UV3R is less than $50?
i don't know why Motorola-Vertex isn't dropping fishcakes in their corporate pants as this unit, part of a creeping advance part of inexpensive ham gear comes to our shores, but it will have to step up its game
- yes, the UV3R is cheap
- yes, it feels like flimsy plastic - but does anyone remember the identical crappy battery latch on the VX2R?
- the included accessories are a very nice addition
- i would have preferred that no Li-Ion battery and charger was included, but instead, a nice AA battery pack was used - perhaps then the UV3R would have been $25??? |
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| WV6Z |
Rating: |
2011-12-04 | |
| Mark II - Brilliant! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Can't really say enough about this little rig, having owned at one time or another both the Yaesu VX1r and VX2r. The Yaesus were expensive little toys and very little more than that. The Baofeng UV3R MkII is an inexpensive toy..... little more than that really. Does a great job with a little MFJ Mag Mount dual band antenna around town in the car. Was told by the other locals around town to toss the old 2m Icom 28h in the trash and just stick with the crystal clear audio of the UV3R MkII as yeah, it really did sound that much superior......
There have already been a blue million reviews on this under $50 (delivered) rig, so I have little to add. The original, sometimes referred to as the MkI is still for sale as well and both cost pretty much the same..... avoid this one like the plague and opt for the MkII. Also note that the UV4R state side varients are nothing more than a re-badged UV3R MkII. If you prefer to spend an extra $20 to buy one from a 'state side' dealer because you have fallen for his line of bull, more power to ya..... I purchased mine from the eBay seller that goes by RadioShop888 and had mine in hand in 6 days...... same goes for my second purchase of another MkII with the car charger / power supply and programming cable.
In a nut shell, definitely not a primary rig, but great as one to throw in the desk, glove box or suit case. Yep, there are other good Chinese rigs with higher power out there at minimal cost too, but for what it is, it is a pretty slick little SDR rig. |
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| HP2DUI |
Rating: |
2011-12-03 | |
| Bang 4 the Buck |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Very Good Equipment, Have the Mark II version.
*Is very easy to Program
*Excellent Audio Reports
*Compact
*Cheap Accesories
*Do I said It cost me About $60.00 Shipped to Panama?
73´s
Guillermo Gómez HP2DUI
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|
| M0CRU |
Rating: |
2011-11-18 | |
| great value |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I'll keep it simple,
It cost $45. The same as a meal for 2 in a bar!
It does everything its supposed to, its so simple and good fun. BUT the antenna supplied, is about as good as a chocolate chisel! You'll need to buy a yaesu vx7r antenna (or similar). |
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| W7DCF |
Rating: |
2011-11-14 | |
| Fun little guy |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I got off on the wrong foot with this radio. As initially received, it would draw down the battery when turned off in less than a day. It was mildly warm while this took place. The battery held a charge fine until it went into the radio. After several days and trying resets and changing some parameters, things started to behave. I really don’t know what was wrong, but happy it got over what ever it was.
This radio has been well and extensively reviewed although if my radio had not gotten over its ailment, I would have given it a 0 or 1 rating. Given the comments by other reviewers and the observation in the current QST that this radio is operating illegally when transmitting on two meters, it would seem that a lower rating is justified. In my opinion, a few tweaks would make this a very viable product and even now it is a fun little rascal. It’s much easier to program than my Wouxun. It would be nice if they would get the low end of the volume control to produce a reasonable level. Maybe that’s expecting too much from a $50 radio that is otherwise fairly amazing for the cost.
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