Baofeng UV-5R Poor RX

[mmckenna]

Licensing is still a requirement.
Type acceptance is still required.
"Throw away" technology isn't good planning.
Support is still a requirement.
Suitable/quality radios are not expensive when looking at the bigger picture, are more reliable and don't have crappy performance.

FRS radios are still a real thing and totally suitable for a DMV office.

Random DMV IT guy should not be programming radios to random frequencies.

 

[buddy119911]

I'll reply to this one from a practical stand point and not with a stick up my ass because it's stupid if you know the law!
For one.....Licensing is NOT a requirement if you know what ERP is. Also....let's not forget what they did to the radio spectrum to make room for private carriers with big bucks. There are options now and all the radio guys are gone or are still around making nothing because communist china killed em with user programmable radios and they never saw it coming.

 

[Bob1955]

Its a CCR. Get what you get. I'd just ship them back. Find a better unit. Giving a unit like that to a prospective ham just tarnishes the expectations.

I agree, ship it back before it's too late. He can go with a Yaesu FT-65R for around $65.00 or so to get his feet wet in the hobby. It is 2m/70cm so perfect. Ham Radio Outlet carries it, but it may be more on Amazon.

 

[Bob1955]

I’m a Ham General and have used high quality radios for years. I picked up a kit pair of TIDRADIO UV-5R radios - chargers, extended batteries, programming cable, etc., for $80. I bought them thinking to program for a few people I’m trying to entice into radios for RX-only use, then get them to a weekend Tech licensing/testing class.

From my front window, I can easily hit our local club 2m repeater, which is line-of-sight with no intervening structures, ~5mi away and 1000ft above me, using an bit better Radioddity GS-5B $80 HT. But I got sparse & very sporadic RX from our evening 7pm net on the UV5Rs. I discovered that if I press my thumb into the metal grate over the speaker to contact some bare metal, RX is good, if scratchy.

Is this the best that can be expected from UV5Rs? If so, I can live with it and put counterpoise wires on to help RX. If these are abnormally poor, even for cheap UV-5Rs, I can return to Amazon.

Thanks for the help!

Bret/N4SRN

Bret-RETURN it to Amazon-CCR.

 

[buddy119911]

Licensing is still a requirement.
Type acceptance is still required.
"Throw away" technology isn't good planning.
Support is still a requirement.
Suitable/quality radios are not expensive when looking at the bigger picture, are more reliable and don't have crappy performance.

FRS radios are still a real thing and totally suitable for a DMV office.

Random DMV IT guy should not be programming radios to random fr

Licensing is still a requirement.
Type acceptance is still required.
"Throw away" technology isn't good planning.
Support is still a requirement.
Suitable/quality radios are not expensive when looking at the bigger picture, are more reliable and don't have crappy performance.

FRS radios are still a real thing and totally suitable for a DMV office.

Random DMV IT guy should not be programming radios to random frequenci

 

[mmckenna]

I'll reply to this one from a practical stand point and not with a stick up my ass because it's stupid if you know the law!
For one.....Licensing is NOT a requirement if you know what ERP is. Also....let's not forget what they did to the radio spectrum to make room for private carriers with big bucks. There are options now and all the radio guys are gone or are still around making nothing because communist china killed em with user programmable radios and they never saw it coming.

ERP or not, laws are laws, and not optional.

As a radio guy for a long time (professional, not just hobbyist), I've had to put my foot down on random users at work showing up with their $20 specials and figuring that it "didn't matter, I just bought it off Amazon".

 

[dwhit29689]

At least we're all in agreement...it's a $20 gamble to determine whether there's any interest before spending the usual $2500 for radios, cabling, towers, beams. Flame me if you like. I'm 73...I've worked in heated environments all my life.

 

[dwhit29689]

Addt'l experement with a UV5R. Years ago I attached the little beggar to my antenna array thinking I'll get distant stations with it. Nope. The antenna greatly overpowered the front end desensing it entirely. I heard nothing. Heh heh...$20.

 

[buddy119911]

ERP or not, laws are laws, and not optional.

As a radio guy for a long time (professional, not just hobbyist), I've had to put my foot down on random users at work showing up with their $20 specials and figuring that it "didn't matter, I just bought it off Amazon".

Addt'l experement with a UV5R. Years ago I attached the little beggar to my antenna array thinking I'll get distant stations with it. Nope. The antenna greatly overpowered the front end desensing it entirely. I heard nothing. Heh heh...$20.

 

[buddy119911]

Also....let's not forget what they (FCC) did to the radio spectrum to make room for private carriers with big bucks. And they are jamming here on frequencies that could be utilized until their contract requires use of the air for a skinny digital signal which could be um like NEVER!

 

[mmckenna]

Two wrongs never make a right.
(but three lefts do.)

 

[buddy119911]

LOL....quite right

 

[WRQS621]

My UV5RA picked up more distant stations than my FT5D. Yep, with a stock antenna. The FT5D was horrible with SW, talk about no front end, all I heard was local AM on SW. I eventually got rid of the FT5D and kept the Baofeng. I have TP8 Plus now with USB-C charging. Love the price and love the radio. Couldnt be happier with a $30 radio.

 

[alcahuete]

The FT5D was horrible with SW, talk about no front end, all I heard was local AM on SW.

Probably more to do with using a VHF/UHF antenna for short wave, than the front end of the radio.

My UV5RA picked up more distant stations than my FT5D. Yep, with a stock antenna.

Pretty normal. That's one of the reasons it is so easily overloaded. The receiver on my Anytone 878 is almost as hot as my XPR7550e, which has arguably the hottest receiver out of any radio on the market. The 878 also gets overloaded where there is no chance of that happening on the 7550.

 

[WRQS621]

Probably more to do with using a VHF/UHF antenna for short wave, than the front end of the radio.


Pretty normal. That's one of the reasons it is so easily overloaded. The receiver on my Anytone 878 is almost as hot as my XPR7550e, which has arguably the hottest receiver out of any radio on the market. The 878 also gets overloaded where there is no chance of that happening on the 7550.

I was using a multiband hf antenna. It didn’t matter what I did. Anyone putting down a UV5R typically has no idea what they are talking about. I think it became L33t speak a long time ago and was passed down by generations of new folks. Paying a lot for a HT radio that does less than a Baofeng isnt what I consider smart. USB-C charging on the TP8/GM-15 type radios should be standard on all new radios. Unfortunately it is not.

 

[mmckenna]

I was using a multiband hf antenna. It didn’t matter what I did. Anyone putting down a UV5R typically has no idea what they are talking about. I think it became L33t speak a long time ago and was passed down by generations of new folks.

That may be.
However, some of us have actually worked with them and had the opportunity to compare them to higher cost radios. Baofengs are fine for hobby use, but that's about it. Don't make them out to be something they are not. What they are is a $20 radio with minimal filtering and poor quality control. Good enough for most hobbyists and there's not any shame in that.

Paying a lot for a HT radio that does less than a Baofeng isnt what I consider smart.

Adding lots of features to a radio doesn't make it a better radio.
I don't need a flashlight on my radios. I don't need a mosquito repeller. I don't need FM broadcast reception.
Paying extra for a radio that has filtering so it won't get overloaded in a high RF environment is worth it to those that rely on radios.
Paying extra for the quality control so you can have some level of reliability is well worth it.

USB-C charging on the TP8/GM-15 type radios should be standard on all new radios. Unfortunately it is not.

Taking 5 volts DC and bucking it up to 7.5 volts isn't an efficient way to charge a battery, especially when there are smart chargers that will do a better job of charing the battery.

But if we must, Baofeng doesn't have the market cornered on this:

Good 2 Go USB Charged Two-Way Radio Batteries

Portable Radio USB Charging – Keep your two-way radios charged with any micro-USB cord OR standard drop-in charger. Designed and patented with the public safety industry in mind Ð ultimate battery for professional radio users. Contact us today at 800-529-1618.

www.powerproducts.com

 

[WRQS621]

That may be.
However, some of us have actually worked with them and had the opportunity to compare them to higher cost radios. Baofengs are fine for hobby use, but that's about it. Don't make them out to be something they are not. What they are is a $20 radio with minimal filtering and poor quality control. Good enough for most hobbyists and there's not any shame in that.



Adding lots of features to a radio doesn't make it a better radio.
I don't need a flashlight on my radios. I don't need a mosquito repeller. I don't need FM broadcast reception.
Paying extra for a radio that has filtering so it won't get overloaded in a high RF environment is worth it to those that rely on radios.
Paying extra for the quality control so you can have some level of reliability is well worth it.



Taking 5 volts DC and bucking it up to 7.5 volts isn't an efficient way to charge a battery, especially when there are smart chargers that will do a better job of charing the battery.

But if we must, Baofeng doesn't have the market cornered on this:

Good 2 Go USB Charged Two-Way Radio Batteries

Portable Radio USB Charging – Keep your two-way radios charged with any micro-USB cord OR standard drop-in charger. Designed and patented with the public safety industry in mind Ð ultimate battery for professional radio users. Contact us today at 800-529-1618.

www.powerproducts.com

I respectfully disagree with your reply and 99% of your posts to this forum. Sorry but you aren’t the authority on all things radio.