Last Updated: November 24, 2018 (Refresh Now)
BaoFeng UV 5R Dual Band Two Way Radio Black
Last Updated: November 24, 2018 (Refresh Now)
8.4
SCORE
/10
Total Reviews
995
Old Reviews
391
Unverified
44
Spam Test
!
Yes
FM RADIO
1500 mAh
BATTERY CAPACITY
Review Analysis - 560 recent, verified reviews
Detailed Mode
Price
111beat, little radio, radios, buck, 25
+92%
-8%
" ... Impressive little radio for the price. ... "
" ... It beats the crappy Motorola walkie that I bought for the same price. ... "
" ... Great little radio for the price. ... "
" ... For the money paid and to get started in Ham radio, there is no better deal. ... I'm in everything for 120.00 total. ... "
" ... Great range for the price. ... "
" ... Can't be beat for the price. ... "
" ... a great ham radio for the price wa3kkm ka3kdr ... "
" ... They can't be beat for the price. ... "
FM
89fm, ham, radios, great little radio, amateur
+89%
-11%
" ... This Damn radio is just awesome. ... "
" ... This radio is perfect for anyone wanting to get into ham radios. ... "
" ... local stations come in clear as well . ... "
" ... Like using the fm tuner to listen to music and also receive frequencies. ... "
" ... Great bargain radio. ... "
" ... For the price it is a nice radio. ... "
" ... My sister loves this radio ... "
" ... Great 2 way radios plus fm station ... "
Ease of Use
49program, programming, easy to program, difficult, easy to use
+78%
-22%
" ... Took some time to understand how to use but it’s very easy at this point. ... "
" ... Take a little time to learn to navigate through the functions and you'll be very satisfied. ... "
" ... Makes it so much easier to program stations into the radio otherwise you have to hand key everything in. ... "
" ... I program by keypad. ... "
" ... Ill make this review simple . ... "
" ... easy to use and seems to work fine. ... "
" ... Very simple to program using Chirp. ... "
" ... Easy to use. ... "
Network
35range, radio, repeater, antennas, signals
+80%
-20%
" ... I use them with my local repeater as well as talk around. ... "
" ... great sound and was able to communicate from around 2 miles distance with the original antenna ... "
" ... I built two outdoor antennas ran cable and can hit every repeater around. ... "
" ... Range is amazing an clarity is clean. ... "
" ... I've had great range with repeaters while traveling all across the U.S. ... "
" ... All in all its amazing for the money and I pick up radio calls well over 2 miles away which is hard to do with any handheld radio of this price range. ... "
" ... To aid with this I purchased separately, from another source, two Nagoya UT72 antennas to help increase my transmission/reception range. ... Using those two antennas with these radios I was able to communicate clearly over a distance of 10km with topography consisting of gentle rolling hills. ... "
" ... im picking up police around 10 miles away going to order the whip antenna next . ... "
Battery Life
32radio, life, lasts, fully, charge
+66%
-34%
" ... This radio battery lasts forever and can withstand a pretty good drop. ... "
" ... The antenna is decent but I'll be getting a more advanced one soon as well as an extended battery. ... "
" ... I got the bigger antenna and the huge Lithuim battery pack and a AA battery pack for SHTF. ... "
" ... Easy to use and battery lasts quiet awhile. ... "
" ... Excellent communication, clarity, distance and battery endurance. ... "
" ... Would be nice if the batteries could be recharged via USB, but otherwise great. ... "
" ... I would recommend buying a spare battery if you are like me and use it 14 hours at a time. ... "
" ... Battery life is long on a single charge. ... "
Build Quality
29well made, clip, rugged, radios, radio
+66%
-34%
" ... They are very strong plastic and high quality build. ... "
" ... And it's durability. ... "
" ... All I ever heard was (Cheap). ... "
" ... Comes with a clip belt, charger, product itself,and a wrist strap. ... "
" ... it is very well made. ... "
" ... Love the durability. ... "
" ... For safety, you just cant beet it and its rugged too. ... "
" ... Even tho this is older than the others but also the King of them all, it's a perfect well made rugged device more rugged than the other models as the GT and the rest. ... "
Product Reliability
26ago, years ago, years, working, stopped working
+38%
-62%
" ... I don't know if I received a defective radio since there are so many positive reviews and I know other people who have some version of this BioFeng radio and are not having any issues. ... "
" ... The charger broke in 3 months ... "
" ... However, at about the 30 day mark, it suddenly stopped receiving. ... "
" ... So far, 2 out of 3 of these radios have been defective. ... "
" ... Fresh out of the box and one is Broken. ... "
" ... In less than a year 6 of the chargers have stopped working. ... "
" ... I have had this radio for about 4 months and it will no longer program. ... "
" ... In hindsight, I obviously should've checked it not long after I got it and sent it back for a new unit, however I did not. ... "
Charging
23radio, charge, charging, charged, battery
+39%
-61%
" ... Seems to be OK but the charger is junk . ... smelt something weird while charging so I took the radio off was real hot. ... "
" ... The charger those the same blinking pattern and doesn’t not fully charge the battery. ... "
" ... Charger base did not work ... "
" ... The charger broke in 3 months ... "
" ... Radio functions fine other than the battery won't charge right out of the box. ... "
" ... It will not charge!!! ... "
" ... One downside is you can only charge the radio with the charging base. ... And the supplied 10 VDC wall charger for the charging base is about as nasty piece of Chinese junk as any charger you'll find. ... "
" ... The firmware is fake I can't program it manually or by computer, the battery icon says low even after a full night of charging!, and to top it off every time I shut it off and back on it does a complete factory reset on all my settings making it a total waste of time. ... "
Marketplace
19item, advertised, works, thanks, seller
+58%
-42%
" ... Will buy again! ... "
" ... That is how this (Real) buyer will start the review. ... At $24.99 including shipping. ... Amazon is practically giving these things away. ... "
" ... I promise to who ever buys this product is one of the best product on amazon. ... "
" ... works as advertised ... "
" ... Shipped promptly and item exactly as described. ... "
" ... The item is as advertised. ... "
" ... Amazon has never let me down,allway's a pleasant buying experience!!! ... "
" ... Go to item number 25. ... "
Controls
16press menu, menu item, frequency, volume control, press exit
+69%
-31%
" ... Makes it so much easier to program stations into the radio otherwise you have to hand key everything in. ... "
" ... I program by keypad. ... "
" ... Radio button makes it easy to relax or listen while you work. ... "
" ... To the good, It's light, standby battery life is excellent, the buttons are not mushy, easy to program with Chirp, best of all is the price. ... "
" ... Thus, once your favorite police frequency is stored as a RX value, set the TX value to something "safe" in case the PTT (talk) button is accidentally pressed . ... "
" ... The display is very big, and the major buttons are colored and easy to see. ... "
" ... Most buttons serve dual functions, helping keep the radio small. ... "
" ... I feel like quality assurance or quality control should have spotted this. ... "
Sound Quality
15static, transmit, listen, noise, well
+60%
-40%
" ... Love this little radio, seems like good quality and functions as advertised. ... "
" ... really cool ham radio for the price, could be clearer with speaker. ... "
" ... I love it, i like listening to aviation, and the local police/firemen and listen to whats going on around town ... "
" ... frequencies can be programmed for listening enjoyment, but be careful not to transmit!! ... "
" ... There are some really fun things on this, like I can get NOAA weather radio real good on it, FM radio so I can listen to the local AIR-1 station, a light, a panic alarm button. ... "
" ... Sound is clear as long as you are in range of a repeater or simplex ... "
" ... A little quiet on the receive speaker but other than that, no real complaints! ... "
Features
13frequency mode, channel, transmit, touch, radios
+100%
" ... Little features on it is very accomodating as well. ... "
" ... I love the flashlight feature. ... There are 2 settings. ... "
" ... if it cost me more money I would have returned it, but it’s super nice, build is great, so many features. ... "
" ... The million features this product has is amazing . ... "
" ... I ordered two of these radios they have amazing range and great features. ... "
" ... Great features for price. ... "
" ... Function has been great, and using is pretty straightforward once you figure it out. ... "
" ... It has probably too many features, to be honest. ... "
Setup
12programming, program, software, chirp, programming cable
+67%
-33%
" ... If you have trouble figuring it out, there are some great videos available to walk you through setup. ... "
" ... Very compact radio with complicated instructions . ... "
" ... i bought it to program as a scanner with the chirp software it was pretty easy, kind of hard to figure out how to program the channel names but eventually i figured it out . ... "
" ... If you do have multiple versions of BaoFeng radios, follow the Chirp/Miklor instructions for sharing programming between them. ... "
" ... Programming manually has a steep learning curve but with computer software and programming cable it is a breeze. ... "
" ... Works great, easy to program with programming cable and Chirp software. ... "
" ... I'll try to come back for a follow-up to this review. ... "
" ... I purchased 2 of these radios for my son and I after receiving our HAM technician cert. ... "
Band
12dual band, band, uv 5r, transceiver, marine
+75%
-25%
" ... This review is for the Baofeng UV-5R Dual Band Two Way Radio. ... "
" ... A fun little full function dual band HT. ... "
" ... Comes with a clip belt, charger, product itself,and a wrist strap. ... "
" ... This is a quality dual band Transceiver sold at a dirt cheap price. ... "
" ... It will also work with the US Marine band radio, and can receive the NOAA weather channels, once you program them in. ... "
" ... for what this is (a very small, dual band transciever) it has surprisingly good range. ... "
" ... Get the connector kit as well and use chirp to program it with the civilian bands. ... "
" ... Great dual band radio! ... "
Delivery
12arrived, radio, box, item, fast shipping
+92%
-8%
" ... item as described and fast shipping ... "
" ... All items that were supposed to arrive, did. ... "
" ... Certainly worth the money and arrived in a timely manor intact. ... "
" ... Oh yes - very good packaging and prompt shipping. ... "
" ... Fast shipping too!! ... "
" ... At $24.99 including shipping. ... "
" ... What do you expect for 28 bucks delivered? ... "
" ... Shipped promptly and item exactly as described. ... "
Cables
11programming, radio, program, chirp, software
+64%
-36%
" ... It did come with a programming cord, but that wouldn't work. ... "
" ... Easy to program (using chirp, not the supplied software) with the programing cable sold separtaly. ... "
" ... They programmed through the use of CHIRP once I got the the right driver for the programming cord I purchased. ... "
" ... Get the $20 (FTDI dual pin) programming cable and PLEASE don't waste your time with the cheaper cable versions. ... "
" ... After rerouting the wires, and soldered them correctly, the radio charges just fine and works great. ... "
" ... Was able to program it, with a friends cable and software. ... "
Returns
11replacement, sent, return, replace, past
+18%
-82%
" ... Unfortunately, by the time I realized this was not working properly it was well past the return date and I am stuck with it. ... "
" ... So I decided it was time to replace it. ... I sent it back and bought yet another new one. ... "
" ... I want my money back!!!!! ... "
" ... It will not work at all and it's too late to return at just 8 days past the return date. ... "
" ... The US distributor for the item was not helpful, at all with setting up a replacement. ... "
" ... In hindsight, I obviously should've checked it not long after I got it and sent it back for a new unit, however I did not. ... "
" ... I'm returning the radio for a replacement today. ... "
" ... Now I have to waste my time to take to ship it back to get my refund. ... "
Overall performance
10rig, works very well, works, thanks, little
+100%
" ... Got it fast. ... "
" ... Works like a champ. ... "
" ... Works very well ... "
" ... Does an excellent job, very happy with my purchase! ... "
" ... I am still in awe at the speed. ... For $26 it is a very adequate rig. ... "
" ... The price is right and it does a reasonable job. ... "
" ... Great little rig. ... "
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Specifications
Battery
Battery Capacity: 1500 mAh
Connectivity
FM Radio: Yes
Recommendations
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