What one would be better for the money

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KF0AWL

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I'm trying to upgrade to something better then the Baofeng UV-82L that I first bought trying to be cheap....
I'm wondering if y'all had your choice between a Baofeng UV-5R at $47.99 or a Wouxun KG-UV9D Plus U.S. Version 7-Band 999 Channel Dual-Band Handheld Amateur Radio at $170 dollars
what would you chose and why? Or not chose and why not?
I'm looking to buy something that wont break the bank but also I wont want to replace in a couple years as it will be a hobby and not sure I'll get real technical into Ham but I'm not sure how deep I'll go...
thanks for any opinions
Hobo
 
K4EET

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KF0AWL

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Ok... now what would be the pluses of this over the other two?
Remember I'm still new so layman's terms please lol
 
prcguy

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Baofeng UV-5Rs typically go for about $25 on Amazon and elsewhere. the Wouxun is a much better radio but overall its not that great. There are a lot of dual band radios that compete with the Wouxun and are less $$ like the Anytone AT-3318 U/V series which has cross band repeat like the Wouxun but works much better. The FT-60R as mentioned is a better radio than the Wouxun although with a few less features.
 
prcguy

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The Baofeng UV-5R is the bottom of the barrel, most basic POS radio you can buy. Its well worth the $25 retail price but you get what you pay for, an entire radio on a single chip with an RF power amp hooked to it. They are prone to intermod and interference and will sit there either squaking out noise from other nearby out of band transmitters while your better radios sit quite not getting the same interference, or they will sit quite while your Icom, Yaesu, Kenwood, etc, hears signals loud and clear because they are not being bothered by strong out of band signals.

The Wouxun was an ok radio when it came out but there have been many radios brought out since then that are better and probably cheaper. You can't go wrong with something like the tried and true Yaesu FT-60R or some other radios by the major amateur mfrs like Yaesu, Kenwood and Icom.


mtand73 said:
Ok... now what would be the pluses of this over the other two?
Remember I'm still new so layman's terms please lol
Click to expand...
 
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KF0AWL

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Ok so I am wondering is the repeater function on the Woxon even a selling point or is it just fluff?
 
K4EET

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mtand73, my main point was that you wanted something fairly inexpensive that you would not be replacing in 6 months time. Call the Amateur Radio dealerships and tell them what your budget is. If it is under $200, that defines the playing field. Just stay away from eBay and Amazon. Most importantly, talk to us or your local club members for advice. Don't buy something blindly and then regret it. Baofeng is definitely a non-starter. I bought one for $26 delivered and I am told the transmit audio sounds like crap. The receive audio is not much better. I was just curious what you get for $26. But I'll stick with my Alinco, Icom and Kenwood HT radios. No more CCC (Cheap Chinese Crap). And for the record, I would have no problem with a Chinese manufactured radio IF it were made to meet all FCC Rules & Regulations ($$$), had good audio characteristics all around ($$$), had quality parts ($$$), had speakers that wouldn't come loose and rattle inside the case ($$$), etc. which all would made it comparable to Japanese, Korean and radios made in other countries. Even the AnyTone brand from China comes somewhat close but really falls short in the programming terminology. A lot was lost in the translation and some parameters are a trial and error approach to see what they really do. Programming is also not for the faint of heart. It's late out here on the East Coast so please don't get me started. LOL! :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:
 
AK9R

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Having a cross-band repeater function on a handheld radio is, to me, silly.

The idea behind a cross-band repeater is to have a dual-band radio set up such that it can extend the range of a handheld radio. The cross-band repeater:
  • needs to have reliable long-term power, not a handheld battery pack
  • needs to have an antenna with sufficient efficiency and coverage, not a handheld rubber-duck antenna with poor efficiency and poor coverage
  • needs to be designed using reliable RF practices, not an inexpensive radio-on-a-chip with minimal heat sinking
My idea of a cross-band repeater is a mobile radio with proper RF filtering and thermal performance using, at a minimum, a mobile antenna and a hefty deep-cycle battery.

When I hear someone bragging that their handheld can cross-band repeat, my reaction is "so what". In a handheld, cross-band repeat is a novelty feature that really isn't very practical as a range extending tool.
 
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k6cpo

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Another vote for the FT-60R. I bought mine in 2012 and it's still going strong.

DON'T BUY THAT ANTENNA FROM AMAZON! It's highly overpriced for what you're getting. You can buy an N9TAX Slim Jim antenna for about half that price and you will be getting a quality product.

 
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jaspence

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The FT-60R is time proven and neither of those mentioned come close to the quality. Mine is at least 10 years old and works great. They are still available around $160 and have many satisfied users. They are easy to program from the keyboard (FPP) and there is free (FT-60 Commander) software or the more powerful RT Systems software. If I had to have only one HT, the FT-60 would be it.
 
prcguy

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When I use cross band repeat in a hand held, which is not often, its to extend range from down in a valley or the back side of a hill back to civilization. I sometimes go hiking in areas where radio coverage disappears and as I hike to the top of a hill and just before going down the back side I'll stick the hand held with cross band repeat in a bush or tree or whatever so it will extend my range from the backside of the hill from a good advantage point being on top of the hill. The radio will not be used very long in this mode and its internal battery is fine for an hour or two of operation while I'm otherwise out of radio contact without it.

Not everyone needs this but if you do its a great feature and can save your life.

W9BU said:
Having a cross-band repeater function on a handheld radio is, to me, silly.

The idea behind a cross-band repeater is to have a dual-band radio set up such that it can extend the range of a handheld radio. The cross-band repeater:
  • needs to have reliable long-term power, not a handheld battery pack
  • needs to have an antenna with sufficient efficiency and coverage, not a handheld rubber-duck antenna with poor efficiency and poor coverage
  • needs to be designed using reliable RF practices, not an inexpensive radio-on-a-chip with minimal heat sinking
My idea of a cross-band repeater is a mobile radio with proper RF filtering and thermal performance using, at a minimum, a mobile antenna and a hefty deep-cycle battery.

When I hear someone bragging that their handheld can cross-band repeat, my reaction is "so what". In a handheld, cross-band repeat is a novelty feature that really isn't very practical as a range extending tool.
Click to expand...
 
W5GX

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You'll like the FT-60. One of the better features over the other Chinese radios is the available power adapter so you can run the radio straight off of 12V car power. Now, it won't charge the battery, but it's at least of better quality than some of the "battery eliminators" I've seen available for the Chinese radios.

You'll like the quicker squelch adjustment, and the dial for memory channels (I think) is much better than buttons. Menu navigation is better, and you can still make a programming cable on the cheap and use Chirp.

If you have an assortment of antennas for the Baofeng, you'll need to get some adapters to use them on the FT-60. Some simple F/F SMA fittings will suffice.

If you're in the market for another HT - and who isn't? - consider the FT-65R. People call it a "better Baofeng", and they're not far off. It uses the same chip, but quality control and build are better.
 
W5GX

W5GX

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Sorry - I'm not in the business. You can check out my thread on QRZ for tips on making your own. Only issue I see is that shipping for USB-TTL adapters has been pushed out past August.

forums.qrz.com

Homebrew Programing Cables - FT-60, UV-5R, IC-2730A

I've been wanting to work on rev 2 of several programming cables. The first rounds were clunky and the cables were too stiff to my liking. So, I have...
forums.qrz.com forums.qrz.com
 
AK9R

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