For all those concerned about unlocking the UV-9R Pro, yes you can do that. Hold PTT, button 2, and # on the keypad when you power it on. If you do it right it will say FACTORY, and you have successfully unlocked the radio. This is the same process used on the UV-82.
@@MattCoversTech The UV-25 seems like a good option too; I SOMEWHAT recently decided to get the UV-21R BAOFENG radio, I also got an after market Nagoya NA-320A Triband 27inch or so antenna. It has FM/AM and Weather band as well. I don't know if it was a good pick, but I haven't had any problems with the radio.
DONT BUY THESE!! I just wanted a radio for camping and road trips one day so I bought 2 UV5Rs. Flash forward to today….. I have 48 different radios and both my GMRS and ham licenses. It’s a trap! At least my girlfriend hasn’t left me. Yet. In all seriousness, I totally recommend the UV5R as someone’s first radio. Either in ham or GMRS flavored. Great way to learn how to program, tones, offsets, and such.
I would get a good GMRS radio that you know works in the cold and rain. But keep those baofengs as backup and for other members on your trip. And get good antennas.
The UV-5R has been overtaken by technology. Modern radios have tri-band capabilities, airline radio RX, NOAA reception and a secret decoder rings. Okay, so they don't have secret decoder rings, but the rest is true.
The UV-5R is the reason that I got my ham license. I always thought of it as a prohibitively expensive hobby, but wound up running into these cheap little handheld transceivers and decided to give it a go. Haven't looked back. I recently got a Yaesu FTM-500DR too. Never would have happened if not for that little UV-5R.
@@kirkwalsh1932 I’m also a big fan of Tidradio, both the H3 and the H8, though neither one is water resistant. I did run into an issue when unlocking a GMRS H3 for use on ham bands. You can check out my other video for that.
Agreed. I have both a UV-5R and a TID-H3. The H3 display and user interface is far better and easier to use. And yes, I had the UV-5R first and am comfortable with that UI. The TID is better.
Quansheng > Baofeng. With aftermarket firmware, I now have a shortwave/HF receiver with spectrum analyzer. I bought another Baoefeng literally the day before I realized the Quanshengs existed. xD
The Quansheng UV-K5 is definitely my favorite HT! Running Egzumer 0.22, I also run a 51" telescopic antenna when listening to 10m, 11m, 12m, 6m, etc. We started with a bunch of Baofeng UV-5R 8w with extended batteries. I do think that the 5R transmits a little better than the K5.
@@MVBriscoVolante Yaesu is also a junk nowadays. Sadly. I miss the old days of great Yaesu handhelds like VX-8. It's sadly all crap (with half the functionality old VX-8 had) nowadays.
Plus the Quansheng has that voice inversion scrambler. Plenty useful enough to keep Bubba with his HT understanding what you’re saying. Much better front end than the UV5R too.
I've had my UV-5R since 2019. I'm still using the stock antenna. I bought it because I wasn't sure if I wanted to stay in the hobby and didn't want to invest too much money in it. I'm happy to report it still works. I did have to buy the interface cable to use it with CHIRP. I can reach all the local nets just fine. If it finally breaks I may buy the 9R. Thanks for making the video.
I wish I would have seen your video two weeks ago! I have 2 UV5Rs and sunk money into the extended batteries and Nagoya antenna. The UV9R would have been a much smarter move. Thanks for sharing and ruining my day. LOL
Your antennas can be ported to other radios that use the same SMA connector, so no worries there. Personally I would say your upgrade if you are looking for a great cheapo radio is the Quansheng K5 radio - a webpage can flash it and make it comparable to a much pricier analog radio via custom firmware. Its quite hard to tell the difference once price is considered going with a .... Anytone 878 if you are doing analog only over a K5, the K5 has everything except APRS (which can be done with APRSDroid or the iOS equivalent) and of course digital (DMR/DStar/C4FM). I _was_ carrying a rather nice Wouxun as my at work radio until the K5. Now and then I take something else if I plan on hopping on a digital net while at work, but frankly stomaching a potential $30 loss is easier than the other options if it gets damaged/stolen. Plus if you are good with the soldering iron, you can install a $10 addon board that adds in HF. On mine I use it to monitor only, but it can transmit down to 15Mhz with an appropriate antenna. So I have a CB, 2M/70cm ham, MURS, GMRS/FRS radio all in one ... finally! If interested look up EGZumer firmware, theres stuff on YT that I watched and got learned up on prior to ordering 6mo back or so.
Buy a TIDRadio H8, ten watts. Great radio. Usb Charging. Bluetooth programming. Some amazing features. Great radio for $40. Some even come with a TIDRadio 771 antenna in the kit. Awesome radio
I agree. I have owned several radios over my 65 years as a ham radio operator. I have owned an Icom Yaesu Kenwood and a UV5R. I recently bought a TID H8 and it is a very good radio for the money.
@@robertyoung9589I just bought an h3 pack for my first radios. GMRS versions. I also want a couple HAMS as well and I’m between the UV 9R pro and the H8. Everyone says get the h3 over the 8. If I were to get the 8 what am I missing out on exactly? Is it that big of a difference?
This video is 100% spot on. I have juiced up several uv5r’s for over a decade and have found my favorite add ons. This is good advice. BUT I have my own advice which is not to discredit Matt. Personally I would go for TD-H3’s for the bluetooth programming and the ability to modify your program channel without completely deleting the channel manually or having to go into chirp or whatever program software of your choice to change a parameter to a channel. The bluetooth software is a bit clunky but I’m no genius and with the help of YT I figured it out. There are some audio improvements with the TD-H3 I’m my opinion. Also one of the coolest features is the wireless cloning feature on the TD-H3. One accessory I do recommend and it’s appx $55 but I feel it’s with every penny and extremely durable( I used them in the mining industry for years!) is the Kenwood KMC-21 Compact Speaker Microphone. This is all just my $.02. Great video Matt! This is a very helpful video and it would benefit anyone to heed your advice.
I would just add, that you need to be careful when buying a TD-H3, they have two different versions available that I discovered through testing. Check out my video on the channel on it for more details.
I just want to tell you that you're doing a good job. Nice delivery of facts and i liked how you arranged the case against the 5R vs other radios. You earned a subscription and hope to watch you grow. Cheers
I've picked these up over the uv5r for the same reasons. As an emergency radio, i wanted something that uses common equipment for charging. Not a cradle i have to carry around or a non-common usb cable. A couple comments though. First, they are supposed to be 8w, but we never see a Boafeng put out the full wattage advertised. 2nd, the one difference that may affect someone is the inability to change from channel mode to frequencies on the fly. This can only be selected at power on. Not a big deal to me and gives a newbie less to get confused with if you hand them a radio to use, especially if you have programmed the memory channels.
Quansheng with ezgummer is my favorite "cheap" radio. I am disappointed in the TD3 because several frequencies won't program, keeps saying in out of frequency spec. But these same frequencies easily can be programmed in UV5r and my Quanshengs.
Problem using radios so far out in the spectrum for on example GMRS is that the filters inside can get warm. And the output stafe can be weaker at that frequency. In example my unlocked Yaesu VX-8DR. I get lower power output so high on example Maritime UHF (onboard use) that is around GMRS frequency.
As someone who knew and still knows very little about ham radio and anything related, I bought these as part of the 2020 events just in case. I slowly started gaining interest and ended up with a bunch of SDL dongles and like 4/5 radios. Maybe it was user error but I just could not get any frequencies to work. I've moved since 2020 but the closest I ever got was being able to listen to a repeater somewhat near me but I could not hear everyone speaking on it. Only some people. I tried to have a mess with phase 2 or w/e it is that pd's use and again just couldn't get anything happening. At some point I'm going to buy a big antenna to stick on my roof and see if that changes anything.
AR-5RM Plus (bigger chassis, larger screen, air and marine band capable). Comes with 2800mah battery and the aftermarket batteries are 6800mah, both usb-c. Lasts 2-3 days of light use or 5 of just monitoring. (and gmrs locked UV-5G plus in same larger chassis is available) Worth looking into.
you can get the UV-5R witht the Nogoya/Abree 771 antenna, extended 3600 battery, external Speaker/Mic, and programming cable for about $40, though you can get it on sale for around 35. All this plus the typical UV-5R radio items of the 1800 battery, the rubber duck antenna, wrist strap, belt clip and so on. Not bad mouthing the UV-9R Pro (like you shown and I have 2 of), When I got my UV-9R Pro, it was 2022/23, a time when Boafeng ran into a shortage of a certain chip that gives the UV-9R Broadcast FM Reception. Therefore for a while the UV-9Rs were being made without FM Public Radio. On both my UV-9R Pros, you can press the button to ger FM, it will light up the screen with FM, but you would get dead air. - nada, zelch, zero, the Big Goose Egg. Another problem, is the UV-9R Battery is expensive - around $25. I say that because one of the batteries of the UV-9Rs that I have died, and refuses to recharge. Going through the forums that are out there, not much can be done but to buy a new battery. In my view, the UV-9R is an excellent radio for what it is - a UV-5R repacked in a UV-9R "Waterproof" case. But issues I have with it does not make it as that Be-all and End-all radio that the UV-5R is. Remember, you can but the UV-5R with all the trimmings for $40 or less on Amazon, Aliexpress, so on, just a few dollars more than a UV-9R. Furthermore, you can get (or make by 3D Print) items for the UV-5R that you can't for the UV-9R. This makes the UV-5R more versatile for the cost that it is worth. This is a matter of personal preference. UV-9R or UV-5R. For somebody starting out in Ham Radion the UV-5R would be better to have and then expand on it. If you get the UV-9R, you are stuck with what you get. It is like a PC, you can get a big box PC you can throw in all the cards you want into it, of you can buy a little mini PC to save room on your desk and are stuck with what you got. The choice is yours. These two radios, are great as is. Only preference makes one more valued than the other, despite all things being equal.
I appreciate your thoughts. One thing, the battery for the UV-9R is $13.99 which is not more expensive than the battery for the UV-5R. Check the link in my video description.
I would recommend the Retevis RT85 even though it has been around a while. The RT85 is the same radio as the Gigaparts Explorer QRZ-1, Radioddity GM-30/GA-5E/MU-5, TYT UV88, and Baofeng UV13 Pro and they use the same battery which you can get in different capacities and some even have USB-C charging ports. The radios are very clean as far as spurious emissions and if they are locked when you get them they are very easy to unlock to be able to use them for ham, MURS, FRS/GMRS, or whatever in the VHF/UHF bands. They use the K style connector that you already have a ton of. They are a true 5w or more on all the different bands, and I haven't seen it go less than 5.5w or so anywhere on any band unless I put them on low power. And yeah they are only dual band VHF/UHF but that's pretty much all you need. NO bells and whistles, just plain old simple to operate and program, which after you get used to it it's easier than Baofengs are. And right now on Amazon you can get a set of 2 for $19 with free shipping for orders over $35, and for now they have a $10 off coupon that makes them virtually impossible to pass up. They would be great for Christmas for the kids or family use.I am thinking about getting more of them for both of my sons' families. 73s and take care.
Thank you i have a similar farm of Hts recently got a uv9r for waterproof or resistant reasons lol i could have saved a lot of money if i seen this video awhile ago. Thank you.
I have an AR-5RM as my first radio, but ended up buying a UV-5R8W just because it was $15. The AR-5RM is a much nicer radio, and has many of the same features as the one you’re showing.
I chose the 5rm as my first as well. I’ll have it in a few days. I also ordered a Nagoya retractable 771 because I heard they were better than the stock. How has yours been?
i have a Baofeng uv5s its a superb radio i still use it often after 8 years cheers matt there are good ones and even better ones i watched a youtube video about the uv5s and got one its a keeper and that was 8 years ago now
@@m3hnl The only BaoFeng I ever got rid of was a UV-82HP because I just didn’t like it that much. It was actually the first HT I ever bought. I still have all my UV5R models.
good points! nice video. I feel like the greatest improvement in the last 10 years has been the USBC charge ports. Cheap air band and cheap tri-band are neat, but not huge for most
The UV-9R PRO is a great bargain. Thanks for an outstanding review. The UV-5R has stood its place as the utility radio of the decade. Thanks Baofeng for keeping it relevant with accessories and upgrades. Glad to see that their are economical alternatives that make sense. Dear sir, you should be paid for this great review. You save us money !
I bought a UV-5R that was defective. The vendor didn't nave another to replace it so he gave me a UV82. I used chirp and loaded all the channels I needed. It seems to be a good radio, but where I live in northern Canada, there isn't much radio traffic.
I bought my baofeng on amazon last year, listed as a UV-5R8W and it came eith the AR-771 antenna aswell. Only addition ive bought for it was the extended battery. I havent really felt the need to get anything else for it yet because it runs perfectly fine. Even without the USB-C port on the battery, i haven't had to charge it in like 3 months, but im not constantly on it either
I'm just falling down the rabbit hole... My SiL told me I should get a "radio"; he has a UV-5R, but I've been digging deeper into the different types. The -9R looks like the way to go, for a first radio. Subscribed, for more learnin'
I have the gmrs version of this radio. Two of them actually. Very very nice radios for the money. They are pretty good at being waterproof. I got them for off roading on atv's and even have external mics from Abbree on them. Mine came with extra batteries too.
My every day chat is a 12 year old Wouxun VHF and 220. We have a morning 220 BS session most mornings. Yes, I have many Baofengs and they are solid but also picked up Quansheng. I like that one too. So many HTs so little space!
I don't think the UV-13 Pro claims any kind of IP rating at all, at least none that I see from the BaoFeng documentation. At least one listing says the battery is 1500 mAh just like the UV-5R, while the UV-9 Pro comes with the 2500 mAh which seems to be taking shape as the industry standard this year.
Can this UV-9R be "unlocked" to obtain access to ALL frequencies in the same manner as the UV-5R? (3 button power-on factory reset method). Good video! (Sorry, saw the pinned comment after I wrote the comment... Duh..)
Your Abbree antenna also is a tri-bander. The Abbree AR-771 is sold as a dual-band and a tri-band (more expensive). But they're both the same antenna (AR-771). And yes, mine works very well. The Nagoya antennas are vastly over-rated, but if I were going to buy a Nagoya, it would be a 24J. But it's about the same price as Signal.Stick, which is better. The Signal.Stick also does GMRS.
Great information, thank you! I have several Signal Sticks from Signal Stuff and I love them all. I did have one go bad on me (it was several years old), but they replaced it without issue.
I'm not familiar with this model. Does it provide access to a band for which license-free transmission is legal? I am on the West Coast and so I used a WebSDR to monitor the Hurricane Net. I was distressed to hear apparently unlicensed users whistling over the top of net transmissions and generally trying to make nuisances of themselves by disrupting the disaster communications. I would very much like to see their equipment confiscated. And, I would like to see any of these miscreants who are age 18 or older spend some time in lockup so they have opportunity to reflect on the consequences of lawless behavior. I'd also like such penalties to extend to any person or persons who provided the irresponsible parties with their radio equipment.
@hagiasmos314 yes, in my country, it is legal for the kids to transmit on any frequency in an emergency. No one can understand what they are saying, but the Roger beeps are the main sound they like making. Fortunately, the radio cops and radio snitches don't scare kids so we don't see any developmental issues at this time. As sarcastic license go, when they turn 16 in my country the can get one to drive, until then they stick to driving without one.
Good review, would be better outdoors and radio check. Just bought a NA-771 for my UV-5R and not happy with the fit. Normally run portable with vehicle mounted. 2M0GWQ.
Just get an AR-5RM for the same price and you have everything (tri-band, AM, 2500 mAh battery, USB-C charging, the longer antenna and a better belt clip. Plus it's unlocked from the factory and it's 10-watts.
My hesitation in recommending the 5RM series is that I haven’t heard of a single one passing the spurious emissions test. That may not matter to everyone, but I tend to steer clear of dirty HTs. Just my opinion.
I have the RD-5R and after I purchased them they seemed to have disappeared. I cannot find one anywhere. They have been great radios for my small business.
Yeah that happens with Radioddity as well. They just stop producing radios after a time. Same thing happened to the GD-77 which is a phenomenal radio when loaded with the Open GD77 firmware. In your case they probably replaced it with an "updated" model.
Take the radio apart, spray protection coat on the circuits and connections, apt electric grease on it and you pretty much have a decently rugged radio.
Any idea why a Baofeng uv-5r will not transmit?. My brother has his radio license so I was going to buy him a used one but it only beeps when trying to transmit which I find odd, it will receive.
That can happen if duplex was turned off in Chirp, or if you are trying to transmit on bands that the radio has locked out from the factory. That’s just off the top of my head.
Not necessarily, but anything beyond 5 watts really isn't going to help much with range (you'll get half an S unit at 8 or 10 watts which is nothing), but will DEFINITELY, without a doubt, you can bet on it, drain your battery faster. I have a couple 8 and 10 watt radios. I run them all at the Mid setting for 5 watts. You're better off investing in good antennas like the Nagoya 771 or the mighty Signal Stick from Signalstuff.com.
Could be so many things. Bad antenna, poorly tuned antenna for GMRS, lemon unit, transmit power being set too low. Part of being an amateur operator is troubleshooting your equipment. See if you can find a local Elmer to help you out or buy some testing equipment to troubleshoot this one and any other radio you purchase in the future. 73
There are people selling add on boards for the Quansheng, should one purchase those as well? I wish I would have bought the Quansheng before it was known, I was looking at it.
Last I checked some circuit modifications were necessary for the boards to function. Some techs offer to make these modifications for prices in the neighborhood of $25.
with 20-30 bucks per piece, it would be crime NOT to buy more than you'll ever need it :D . although i dont have UV5, i do have couple of UV82's and few of UV21 V2 and love all of em. i'll most likely buy a few more too LOL .
I used to be UV5R fan but two of them I have that are over a year old have bricked themselves. Won't boot up. No water dmg, no abuse. Just crapped out after a year or two. My 20 year old Yaesu handheld on the other hand... won't die
That stinks! I guess I’m fortunate in that none of mine have done that, two of them came from Radioddity and they seem to have a decent track record. One was from a seller on Amazon, but was the GT-5R Pro. I’m going to post a review on that soon.
@@obsever97 A lot depends on environment and conditions. It's basically line of sight. Being out on the water, there's almost nothing that would block or attenuate your signal. You would definitely be able to go 5+ miles in those conditions, hence the contact you made by accident (a lot of businesses use Motorola radios). I am able to hit a repeater from my house that's about 30 miles away on my UV-5RTP running 5 watts, IF I go up to my second floor and transmit from there.
No, this is a ham or amateur radio. To call normal phone numbers when the grid is down, you'd be looking at a satellite phone. They aren't cheap. 911 local service probably wouldn't work on that.
@@MattCoversTech i live in italy and i need emergancy comunication but i dont know what to buy can you help me out. I live in the mountains and need to be able to contact normal walkie talkies like the motorola t92 h2o and with normal cb-radios and it would be nice if i could reach emergancy services (112) but not necesary
@@raphaelvongelmini8112 Ciao! Buongirono! Dove abiti en Italia? Studiato Italiano per due anni en liceo. Mi piace ma no consoco bene. PMR446 (the service for the Motorola you mentioned) and CB are on two vastly different bands. CB is 11M (in the U.S.), the various radios in this video can only transmit and receive on 2M and 70cm bands. A Baofeng UV-5R or UV-9R Pro can both be programmed to work on PMR446 which is just above the 70cm band. In order to get on CB (at least in the US) you'd be looking for a radio that is only CB. In the U.S. CB is limited to only 4 watts of power, which is less than what these handheld radios put out. I'm not familiar with the regulations in Italy or the EU in general, or what frequencies the emergency services use, limitations on transmit power etc. It varies from country to country. So keep safe and out of trouble with whatever you decide to do, but always have fun and learn something new!
@@MattCoversTech im from southtyrol so my primary language is german ma parlo anche italiano lo impariamo a scuola e 30% degli abitanti sono italiani. Thanks for the advice if i understoud that right the best civilian option would be a boafeng UV-9R is that right
@@raphaelvongelmini8112 Yes, in my opinion it is the best option because it can be unlocked and has a few advantage over the UV-5R. You will need to unlock it in order to program it for PMR446. You do that via the pinned comment at the top.
It has a big battery, and it may transmit at 10 watts, but I haven’t tested that personally. It doesn’t claim to be water resistant, and the batteries for it can’t be charged via USB C. Also, replacement batteries are pricey at about $30 a piece. I’m not interested in it for those reasons, but I can see the appeal of the old school look. I have a UV-25 that actually does transmit at 10 watts, charges via USB C, and is pretty rugged though not water resistant, so I can’t see a role that the AR-152 would fill for me. I hope to do a video on the UV-25 soon.
I think the UV-9R Pro, or the GT-5R Pro would fill that role. Either can be unlocked via key press. As for transmit power, 10 watts will give you an imperceptible gain over 5 watts, about half an S meter and will only drain the battery faster, so stick with HTs that put out a solid 5 watts. Besides, best practices say to use the least amount of power necessary, which will also preserve battery life. The GT-5R Pro can host a 3200 mAh aftermarket battery, while the UV9R Pro comes with a 2800 mAh battery. Neither is as large as the 12000 mAh battery that comes with the AR-152, but in my opinion it doesn’t matter. Both will run for more than a day on standby, less if you’re transmitting a lot. My advice would be to get the UV9R Pro and pick up one or two extra batteries to keep with you. You’ll spend less money and have a more versatile package in the end that’s also a bit more rugged than your run of the mill BaoFeng. It’s available in green if that’s important to you.
Great question, yes it can using the same method used for the UV-82. Hold PTT, Button 2, and # on the keypad when powering on. It will say FACTORY on the screen if you did it right.
I would agree unless you care about spurious emissions. I don't think I've seen a Quansheng pass when tested on a spectrum analyzer. I know not everyone cares about that, but for me it ruled out what could have been a really cool HT.
Had one UV5R for a short amount of time , promptly got rid of it , as it was overcomplicated , and poorly thought out . Chinese really dont understand " plug and play " or ease of function . Overcomplicating things that should be fast , and simple . To the point where you hate it , every time you even play with it .
You did a great job of not understanding the tool. It is suppose to be more complicated than a simple 2 way walkie. If that is all you want, that is what you should buy. This is for a more complicated job.
Correct, I was trying to cover a bunch of information and ended up jumbling my numbers. I added an update in the video description after I realized my mistake. At best it could be a 66, but I think you’re right, closer to 44.
There is another reason why you shouldn’t buy Chinese. Remember 💥 the pages. And other devices that like to explode. Check your lithium batteries, people. Be safe.
The pagers literally had one of the batteries replaced with high-exp losives, last I heard. A lithium ion battery does not do that. In addition, _every phone_ has a battery that will at least combust when punctured.
So they should drop hundreds or thousands of dollars on a mobile or base unit for a hobby they may end up not having an interest in? I and many others got started with an HT and went from there.
@@MattCoversTech The UV-25 seems like a good option too; I SOMEWHAT recently decided to get the UV-21R BAOFENG radio, I also got an after market Nagoya NA-320A Triband 27inch or so antenna. It has FM/AM and Weather band as well. I don't know if it was a good pick, but I haven't had any problems with the radio.
