Baofeng UV-5r VHF/UHF HT Review

[Robb]

Been using this radio for close to two months - daily. Still works fine. Considering getting a spare battery and the 12v cigarette lighter plug power pack - now that I know this radio is still working OK.

Just remove the battery and snap this power supply on to the radio and plug it in the vehicle's cigarette lighter plug. You probably will get a bit more power output from the radio using this. Didn't even know they made this 12v supply for the UV-5R until now. It's around $17/shipped from the 409shop BTW. I'll report back when it gets here.

1pc x Car Battery Eliminator for BAOFENG UV-5R WACCOM UV-5R - 409Shopwww.409shop.com

 

[Moleculo]

Update:

A little problem has arisen with the radio: The battery is dead and will not charge. I'm not sure why or how this happened, but I suspect that the battery got completely discharged which ruined it. I emailed 409shop.com to inquire about the warranty and they informed me that the battery was considered an "accessory" and is only covered for 3 months. After a little haggling, they offered to have me send the whole radio back, paying shipping both ways. Obviously it's cheaper to just buy a new battery for $13.

 

[Se7en]

Update:

A little problem has arisen with the radio: The battery is dead and will not charge. I'm not sure why or how this happened, but I suspect that the battery got completely discharged which ruined it. I emailed 409shop.com to inquire about the warranty and they informed me that the battery was considered an "accessory" and is only covered for 3 months. After a little haggling, they offered to have me send the whole radio back, paying shipping both ways. Obviously it's cheaper to just buy a new battery for $13.

Well that sucks. This is why I bought a kenwood. I am sure there is folks who just cant spend a lot on a HT.

Is there a Japanese made battery you could purchase for the ht rather then buying a toy battery for $13.00 from China ? Its rather confusing how a sort of new battery could just junk out for no reason... maybe there is a short on the circuit board which caused battery to drainage ?

 

[Moleculo]

Well that sucks. This is why I bought a kenwood. I am sure there is folks who just cant spend a lot on a HT.

Is there a Japanese made battery you could purchase for the ht rather then buying a toy battery for $13.00 from China ? Its rather confusing how a sort of new battery could just junk out for no reason... maybe there is a short on the circuit board which caused battery to drainage ?

Stuff like this happens even with expensive radios. Sometimes you just get a bad battery. Usually it's covered as part of the main radio warranty, though.

A lot of the other Chinese radios use standard digital camera batteries, which are cheap and plentiful. This UV-5R has some odd-ball battery, so you will have to buy one designed for the radio.

 

[FatHam]

Ya think it had anything to do with my immersion test?

 

[Se7en]

I made my order for one as i made a new thread on this rig.

Do the buttons light up?
I read somewhere the THF6 programming cable will work with the UV5r?
Where to download the XP software for programming the radio?
Lastly, Antenna is weird! What adapter is needed to run Standard SMA antenna on UV5r?

 

[Mudfoot]

Join the UV-5R Yahoo group.

Adapter: go to Rat Shack and ask/look for an SMA barrel connector.

The Kenwood cable will work.

 

[Se7en]

Join the UV-5R Yahoo group.

Adapter: go to Rat Shack and ask/look for an SMA barrel connector.

The Kenwood cable will work.

Yea I most be odd cause I cant ever follow along with those blasted yahoo groups. It seems like the reply's aren't linear fashion...messages are scattered when I get a reply.

 

[Mudfoot]

I mostly join to look at the files that are posted.

 

[Se7en]

Nice chart of menu numbers and its settings:
Baofeng UV5R Programming UV-5R

 

[N8QWS]

I was looking for something better than FRS radios to use as tactical coms.. These seem far better than those blister pack toys.. Am I correct that the programming software lets you set GMRS channels and multi use channels as well as amateur freq.. Low TX audio could be a problem, maybe a solutin other than modding the circuit board will appear some day..

 

[Mudfoot]

Yes, very handy for FRS, GMRS and MURS.

CHIRP software will program the frequencies for you automatically with a couple clicks. CHIRP will also load frequency data from subscription accounts such as: radioReference.com and others. I use Rfinder with CHIRP, it will load all repeaters within my exact location.

Pretty darn handy.

What has low audio that you are referring to.

 

[Se7en]

Yes, very handy for FRS, GMRS and MURS.

CHIRP software will program the frequencies for you automatically with a couple clicks. CHIRP will also load frequency data from subscription accounts such as: radioReference.com and others. I use Rfinder with CHIRP, it will load all repeaters within my exact location.

Pretty darn handy.

What has low audio that you are referring to.

I have become acustom to CHIRP and auctually like it ! Didn't know that the app can get freq's for u with in a radius. Cool !

Slight issue here is the scanner mode sometimes makes this static noise and cuts out half the transmission.

 

[vagrant]

Ahh...thanks for reminding me about CHIRP pulling down the local repeaters. I was about to do it the hard way. My licensed showed up in the database 7/5/12 and I've yet to program them in. Fortunately I passed the General today. Unfortunately, I can now spend more money on gear that covers the additional frequencies.

I'm going to warn everyone right here and now. That Chinese Baofeng radio is a gateway drug! They got me! Next thing you know I'll have an A prefix in my call sign and I'll be out another $15!

 

[Se7en]

Inside photos of uv5r. The date on circuit board.tells me this HT is an older one ???

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