Baofeng Baofeng uv-5r

[KE2BJW]

Are Boefeng uv-5r good ham radio's because I wanted to know if 8 watts could even reach my repeater that is 6 miles from me was just wondering if I would be heard with this radio was wondering because I wanted to get this radio when after I pass my tech class license just wanted to know before I go buy this radio thanks

 

[sallen07]

The short answer is, "No".

UV-5Rs are cheap. That is their one "plus".

You would be much better off spending more and getting a better radio. Next step up in price would probably be a Yaesu FT-4XR. There are some others in between UV-5R and FT-4XR but they may not be much better than a Baofeng.

 

[W8HDU]

I just gave away several UV-5X versions. They are an OK radio for entry, but not for results. You'd be better off saving up for something that is decent.

 

[nd5y]

I wanted to know if 8 watts could even reach my repeater that is 6 miles from me

There is no way to tell without trying it yourself or have somebody try it at your location. It should be possible to work a repeater with a hand held 6 miles away but range depends on the terrain between the two stations and the antenna height at each station. It also depends on the quality of the repeater and user radio installations.

 

[KE2BJW]

I may just save and get the anytone 878 that should be way better then the baofeng and it's in mid range of what I can afford and it probably would sound better and it would not have a problem hiting my repeater

 

[paulears]

Ah - come on guys. The 5R is cheap and pretty well specified and has lots of pro points. It is not the brand of a radio that helps 'hitting' a repeater. I can access one 25 miles away on a few Watts, but another 8 miles away cannot hear me - this is about geography, specifically topography. A Baofeng will do the same job as a really high quality, very expensive radio of the same power.

If we are honest, the radios are complicated, but functional, not the easiest thing in the world to program, and have many layers of menus and too fiddly for many. They're likely to break if you drop them on concrete, but what do you want for the money? I've got a few brand new ones in stock. I don't sell them, but they can be occasionally handy. So many hams buy them as first radios, and in many parts of the country, the rural areas with little radio activity of any kind, they work OK. In a city, with string signals everywhere, they seem to pick up signals that really are not there. Poor filtering. Even worse when you connect an external antenna. They are, however, dirt cheap!

If you have no money and don't wish to wait and save up for a better one - they're perfectly functional, just a bit compromised.

 

[W8HDU]

If we are honest, the radios are complicated, but functional, not the easiest thing in the world to program, and have many layers of menus and too fiddly for many. They're likely to break if you drop them on concrete, but what do you want for the money?

I would have to agree with the propagation factor. On the programming side, I would really not recommend programming by hand unless you're 100% frustration free, or drink heavily. A programming cable and the UV-5 software is helpful, but I noticed the last version on the net does have some "quirks". But when programming in 30+ presets, it's the only way to go.

 

[KE2BJW]

Idk all I can do is buy it and try it for my self it's cheap but worth a try

 

[dkcorlfla]

Idk all I can do is buy it and try it for my self it's cheap but worth a try

Maybe consider a mobile rig instead. The Anytone 778 or the Retevis RT-95 (same radio) One of these, a mag mount on your car or a outdoor antenna at your house will give you a lot of bang for the buck. If you decided to go with the home base install you would need to add the cost of a power supply. Even so you would still be under the cost of the 878 DMR HT. You would not have DMR with the above rig but to me DMR sounds like crap.

 

[mass-man]

Buy one, try it! You can always hold onto it and then loan, sell, give another new ham! Handhelds are a new hams first choice, I guess cuz of price! But odds are good performance will leave you wanting more! And/or when you can’t figure out the programming and can’t hit repeaters you’ll get frustrated with the hobby!
All this does not apply if you are are in/near a small town with only a couple of well maintained, quality repeaters!

 

[W8HDU]

Maybe consider a mobile rig instead. The Anytone 778 or the Retevis RT-95 (same radio)

Just curious, does the Anytone 778 have voice scrambling in it, like the RT-95?

 

[Bob1955]

Are Boefeng uv-5r good ham radio's because I wanted to know if 8 watts could even reach my repeater that is 6 miles from me was just wondering if I would be heard with this radio was wondering because I wanted to get this radio when after I pass my tech class license just wanted to know before I go buy this radio thanks

Jason-Purchase the Yaesu FT-65R from Ham Radio Outlet for $99.95 and its a dual band VHF/UHF handheld transceiver and this has great reviews. Amazon carries it too but uses a third-party vendor so hence, more money but the BEST return policy and NO re-stocking fee.
Hope I helped you out.

Bob (KB2GQK)

 

[merlin]

They are OK for the price but only order one from Baofeng official site or distributors.
You get the cheap Chinese knockoff, it is a total POS.
BTW, no such thing as 8 watt output, 4.5 is about max.

Maybe consider a mobile rig instead. The Anytone 778 or the Retevis RT-95 (same radio) One of these, a mag mount on your car or a outdoor antenna at your house will give you a lot of bang for the buck. If you decided to go with the home base install you would need to add the cost of a power supply. Even so you would still be under the cost of the 878 DMR HT. You would not have DMR with the above rig but to me DMR sounds like crap.

The Anytone or Retrevis, is a far better radio you can't compare to Baofeng.

 

[BMDaug]

Comments about a 5R ‘reaching the same distance’ as a high end radio are a bit misleading… if you happen to get a good one, maybe, but with over 80% of them failing to meet FCC specifications for spurious emissions (based on ARRL testing), I would say that a 5R could do the same job as a higher end radio, but most probably do not. that’s the thing with cheap products… some of them work better than others simply due to component tolerances and quality control standards.

Reminds me of an old video talking about Behringer pro audio equipment… “This here is the Behringer ADA8000. You gotta buy three or four to get one that works right, but once you have a good one, it’s the best converter for the money!”

-B

 

[kny2xb]

If you're on a Baofeng budget, skip the UV5R & get a TYT UV88 instead

The UV88 has more channels [199 vs 128], a larger display, a better display [dot matrix], 10 character alpha tag vs 7 character
AFAIK the UV88 doesn't have the receiver overload & spurious emission problems that the UV5R's have a reputation for
If I'm wrong on that, someone please update me

If you can spend towards $100.00, go for one of the Yaesu models that were recommended, either the FT4XR or the FT65R

I'm an Alinco aficionado, so I would aim you at the DJ-VX50

Both the Yaesu & the Alinco would be a definite step up in quality from Baofeng

No matter what radio you have, no matter how much wattage you're putting out, your antenna will make you or break you

Your antenna pulls in the signals to you, & gets your signal out there

If you have a lousy antenna setup [the antenna itself, its height or lack of, if it's mounted in a bad spot, mediocre coax if you're running a base or mobile antenna], you may not hear the other ops or you could hear them better, & your signal won't go as far as it could or should & be wasted

73

 

[dkcorlfla]

Just curious, does the Anytone 778 have voice scrambling in it, like the RT-95?

I did not know the RT-95 had voice scrambling. Is that legal for ham radio? I know encryption is not. You made me curious about the voice scrambling and I will review the manual for my RT-95.

 

[KE2BJW]

only issue with the yaesu they do not come with programing cables and there way over my budget so I made up my mind a baofeng will have to do i can't afford much and i watch many youtube videos on them they work well so thats what i am gonna go with i am not gonna listen to anyone telling me they are not good radios when they are fine for getting started with and long as i can talk on it to hit my 6 mile repeater thats all it matters and when i was watching a youtube video they was about 6 miles from there repeater and it pick up just fine
so I ain't gonna wanna spend high price for a radio when it can do the same thing and besides it isn't the radio that matters its the location and antenna and my repeater is direct sight of it so thats it I made my mind up case closed on this subject.

 

[nd5y]

I did not know the RT-95 had voice scrambling. Is that legal for ham radio? I know encryption is not.

It's the same thing and it's not legal.

Federal Register :: Request Access

§ 97.113 Prohibited transmissions.
(a) No amateur station shall transmit:
(4) ... messages encoded for the purpose of obscuring their meaning, except as otherwise provided herein ...

 

[W8HDU]

I did not know the RT-95 had voice scrambling. Is that legal for ham radio? I know encryption is not. You made me curious about the voice scrambling and I will review the manual for my RT-95.

I'm sure the Ham Lawyers can rule on the legality question. But both the RT-95 and RT-29 have the scrambling. I use it.

It may be only available in the Mobile Radio config. It's simple voice inversion. I find it handy on our comms. In the menu for setup, you have to specify one of 10 types, and all radios have to match the same type. (Think of it as a key).

Then in the programming software you have to enable it for the channel, or set it so a function key turns it on/off, which is what I do.

And before someone weighs in, no, I don't use it on the ham bands. No need to admonish me.

 

[BMDaug]

only issue with the yaesu they do not come with programing cables and there way over my budget so I made up my mind a baofeng will have to do i can't afford much and i watch many youtube videos on them they work well so thats what i am gonna go with i am not gonna listen to anyone telling me they are not good radios when they are fine for getting started with and long as i can talk on it to hit my 6 mile repeater thats all it matters and when i was watching a youtube video they was about 6 miles from there repeater and it pick up just fine
so I ain't gonna wanna spend high price for a radio when it can do the same thing and besides it isn't the radio that matters its the location and antenna and my repeater is direct sight of it so thats it I made my mind up case closed on this subject.

First off… punctuation. Second, like several people have said, it MAY work depending on the terrain (and on the quality of the specific unit you happen to acquire…) but they are not objectively quality or well made radios. They are fine for starting out when you’re on a budget.

As you said, adding a better antenna will likely help if the radio doesn’t achieve your goal right out of the box. Once again, terrain plays a huge role here. If you are on the top of a hill and have direct line of sight to the repeater, as you say you are, it will work almost definitely. If you are in a valley and the repeater is on the other side of a mountain, most radios, regardless of cost, will struggle.

I’m not trying to beat a dead horse, I’m trying to give you some real perspective and set your expectations. Ham radio is all about experimenting and sometimes it is worth it to learn for yourself, for better or worse. But please don’t be discouraged to the point of giving up this great hobby if the 5R doesn’t get the job done. It’s a fine starting point!

@W8HDU It’s not legal on ham bands, but it’s not legal on gmrs, frs, or murs either. So unless you’re using it on IG pool, you’re risking a fine. If you are using it on commercial channels, great, just not very secure compared to real encryption. Just providing information, not admonishing…

-B