BaoFeng UV-5R Plus duo-bander

[WX7P]

This is one of the those Chinese 2m/440 radios. I got it from Amazon for $55 shipped.

I have to admit I'm pleasantly surprised. It's a very solid little radio and despite what some of the whiners on eham say, it's not hard to program.

The antenna leaves something to be desired on transmit, but after all, it is a compromise.

This thing comes from the factory fully opened up on its entire frequency range. I know, because I accidentally keyed up on the fire frequency here in two (they are a block away) and they responded on the air. I had the vfo's switched. We won't talk about this. I also tried it on FRS, and it works fine.

It also has a FM broadcast radio receiver installed which works reasonably well.

The HT has nice sounding transmit and receive audio as well.

Hey, for $55 shipped, this is a good deal.

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[W7XF]

I have the Wouxon pair (2/440 and 2/220) and I've been told that they have better audio quality than my VX-6.

[X-Rated]

I have a few Chinese radios now. They work well for what they are. They are very inexpensive and that is their key attraction.

Pro's that I have found...
* Cheap
* Battery life is very good
* Audio Xmit and Rcvr are excellent
* Light weight
* Menus are easy to use
* Programming cables are easy to use with their programs. Can be quirky, but what isn't?

Cons:

* scanning is very slow
* Some use NiMH and I think that sucks. Some use LiIon and that is excellent.
* Fewer bells and whistles than Japanese radios
* No DC to Daylight receiver


These are off the top of my head. I don't have a Baofeng. Each company is a little different though. I have radios from TYT, Feidaxin, Puxing, and Wouxun. Feidaxin is the most basic. Wouxun and TYT have the most bells and whistles.

[W3WN]

Hey, if one of you guys would like to expand your comments into a longer review/evaluation, I'll put it in an upcoming issue of my club newsletter. (Yeah, I'm trolling for articles again... sue me. On second thought, let's say take me to court... never mind)

Doesn't have to be much, a few paragraphs will do nicely.

[KC2UGV]

Not meaning to sidetrack on the review of the Baofeng, but did anyone notice these come out?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wouxun-KG-UV...70860488102%26

[PA5COR]

Wouxun UDV1 or summat like that, mostly used for fairs 1700 mA Lion battery and 1300 mA one the 1700 mA will keep strong all day long.
Kenwood TH F7 and Icom Q7 are the 3 i have, the icom is already quite old all have FM recieve and the Kenwood AM and Short wave SSB all mode recieve as well, reason i bought that one to find plasma's in my neighbourhood etc.

All with speaker mike's the wouxun has the Yaesu speaker mike that also fits the Icom.
The all have their uses, work well, the wouxun has a good modulation ( after a tweak) and good recieve.

[X-Rated]

Not meaning to sidetrack on the review of the Baofeng, but did anyone notice these come out?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wouxun-KG-UV...70860488102%26

Seemed pricy to me. The only advantage I see of this over a Japanese mobile is the out of band transmit and I have no use for that. If it was a half of that price, I would get one. I feel like the "Con's" I mentioned earlier would follow to here except for the battery, so I don't see what the attraction would be to this without the price advantage. At the moment, the Yaesu 8800R is at Universal Radio for $390, and if I was in the market, I would pay for a Japanese radio at that price differential.

[KC2UGV]

Seemed pricy to me. The only advantage I see of this over a Japanese mobile is the out of band transmit and I have no use for that. If it was a half of that price, I would get one. I feel like the "Con's" I mentioned earlier would follow to here except for the battery, so I don't see what the attraction would be to this without the price advantage. At the moment, the Yaesu 8800R is at Universal Radio for $390, and if I was in the market, I would pay for a Japanese radio at that price differential.

You can get them (THe KG-UV920P), as cheap as 350 from what I see. And, it only took a year or two for the Wouxons to drop from $150 a piece to $50 shipped.

[WX7P]

You can get them (THe KG-UV920P), as cheap as 350 from what I see. And, it only took a year or two for the Wouxons to drop from $150 a piece to $50 shipped.

That's the key on the duo-bander. They WILL drop the price at some point. If they don't drop in price, I agree with Jerry.

[X-Rated]

You can get them (THe KG-UV920P), as cheap as 350 from what I see. And, it only took a year or two for the Wouxons to drop from $150 a piece to $50 shipped.

Sure. If they drop below $150, I would no doubt get one.