My review of the Baofeng UV-5S

[radiosification]

This is a relatively new radio as far as I can tell, that I bought to review. It is waterproof and dual band and claims to have a power output of 8W, all for around $40.
See my review here: https://youtu.be/Dtp5FoSpjGM

 

[KK4JUG]

That was not a review of the radio as much as it was an enumeration of the controls and features.. The only testing was dunking it in water, not a concern for me.

 

[radiosification]

That was not a review of the radio as much as it was an enumeration of the controls and features.. The only testing was dunking it in water, not a concern for me.

Thanks for the feedback. What would you like to see in a review, so I know what to include in future reviews?

 

[KK4JUG]

Quality of signal, ease of programming, reception quality, cross-band repeater?, etc.

 

[KC4RAF]

Agree with KK4JUG on what should be tested. The vid you uploaded was good, but lacked what really is important. The CCRs have been around now for a while and some of what you showed in your vid was interesting but not what we really want to know.

Have they come out with a better lay out of the keypad? Some what better manuals that us English speaking/reading people can understand.
Have they improved their reception problem with desense?
How accurate is the low, medium, high power transmit?

What KK4JUG suggested and these would be in the right direction for a really good review.
And there will be others who will make suggestions also.
You did a good job and it serves a purpose, but add the more important tests too.

 

[KD8DVR]

Also, is it just another UV-5R in a different case, like most of their "new" models?

 

[KK4JUG]

Also, is it just another UV-5R in a different case, like most of their "new" models?

They're good at that, aren't they? Change the number of bars on the speaker grill, change the model number and sell another radio.

 

[radiosification]

Thanks, I'll keep those things in mind next time I make a review.

It is similar to the UV-5R in terms of the user interface, but some things are certainly different. I think that the speaker on this radio is much better sounding than on the UV-5R. Also it is better sounding on transmit. The UV-5R was always too quiet, as if its microphone was not sensitive enough. This radio doesn't have that problem. So yes, there are definitely some improvements.

 

[M6TTZ]

Updated Review

My Baofeng UV-5S has arrived in the UK from China (7 days), and I have had a quick look at it. The main differences to my UV5-R+ are:

1) 2800mah Battery vs 1800mah (different charger size)
2) IP67 water resistant case (so needs the AF-58 style connector rather than the twin prong Kenwood plug)
3) Tripower (H/M/L) vs H/L
4) Additional menu item 41 "R-Tone (1000/1450/1750/2100hz)" used for opening older-style repeaters.
5) VFO/Frequency mode is achieved by holding the menu key whilst powering on.
6) it is about 50% heavier.
7) The Nagoya 771 antenna is a VERY tight fit
8) The radio attaches to the belt clip in a similar way that Yaesu and other microphones clip into a holder.
9) The buttons are larger and are slightly more recessed which should reduce the wear to their corners.

The power is listed as 1W/5W in the manual (but there are many mistakes in the manual!) and 8W on the inside of the radio behind the battery. Testing High Power into a dummy load I got 5.07W on VHF (145.5) and 3.47W on UHF (433.5)

In other words, the U5-VS appears to be a UV-82 with different badges on. Note that the box has no branding on at all.

It only cost £27, so it will get some use when I am out hiking!

 

[M6TTZ]

Update: it is more like the GT-3WP handset, with a slightly different case.

Steve

 

[Para078]

They're good at that, aren't they? Change the number of bars on the speaker grill, change the model number and sell another radio.

I have a UV-5R and 5T. only difference is the bezel around the screen and speaker color. Same radio.

 

[M6TTZ]

I took the UV-5S out with me on a walk round the Lake District in the UK. It rained hard for 4 hours with high winds. I left the radio on my shoulder strap, exposed to the weather, as it is supposed to be IP67 water resistant.

It worked fine until the end of the walk when I got reports of poor audio from the chasers who had followed my summit activations. It turned out that water had got into the hole where the mic is. A couple of hard slaps got the water out and the audio back to normal.

I was impressed how well a £20 piece of Chinese junk survived the elements!

Steve