Last Updated: November 24, 2018 (Refresh Now)
Baofeng Black UV 5R V2 Plus USA Warranty Dual Band 136 174 400 480 MHz FM Ham Two way Radio Improved Stronger Case Enhanced Features
Last Updated: November 24, 2018 (Refresh Now)
8.5
SCORE
/10
Total Reviews
999
Old Reviews
373
Unverified
36
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LED
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Review Analysis - 590 recent, verified reviews
Detailed Mode
Price
99money, radios, beat, buck, baofeng
+100%
" ... solid construction and a bargain for the price. ... "
" ... Nice product for price. ... "
" ... If you want great radio's without a huge price tag, buy these. ... "
" ... Great little radio at an excellent price. ... "
" ... Other than that, you can't beat the value. ... "
" ... As a result I think that you get a high degree of value for money and I would recommend this to anyone especially those who may be on a tight budget. ... "
" ... But I do like it for the price. ... "
" ... I think this radio is known as one of the best bang for buck radios out there. ... "
FM
94ham, fm, great little radio, radios, baofeng
+86%
-14%
" ... I'm glad I did, this little radio works great!. ... "
" ... Goog device to learn radio communication principles in your area. ... "
" ... Nice cheap radio. ... "
" ... This is my 4th Baofeng radio. ... "
" ... Great radio, multi use for HAM and first responders. ... "
" ... Like that it also has FM radio and a bright LED light. ... "
" ... Radio looks good and tuned easily. ... "
" ... Doesn't get much better than this for an inexpensive radio. ... "
Ease of Use
67programming, easy to use, chirp, easy to program, difficult
+82%
-18%
" ... I programmed mine through CHIRP, makes it super simple. ... "
" ... For the price its darn good.tad tricky to program manually but a day later its easy ... "
" ... Small, easy to use, and gets the job done. ... "
" ... Pretty confusing at first to get the settings right, but once you figure it out, works perfectly. ... "
" ... Easy to use. ... Easy to program. ... "
" ... Have it all set up the programming is easy to do even with out the chirp software. ... "
" ... Easy to program memories with chirp. ... "
" ... It was easy to tune to the group frequency and worked immediately. ... "
Network
39range, repeater, miles, radios, nagoya
+85%
-15%
" ... I don't know what the maximum range is. ... You can use this radio with repeaters for almost unlimited range. ... I purchased an optional Nagoya antenna which increased the range/clarity of my signal. ... "
" ... I don't know much about radios, this one works well and transmits over several miles with out the use of a repeater. ... "
" ... Cannot speak on range etc . ... "
" ... Long range clarity that you can count on. ... "
" ... The radio seems to work well and I've gotten good signal reports. ... "
" ... at 4 watts I triggered and operated on a repeater that is 43 miles away line of sight . ... I bought a 15" antenna and a Mic which both add to the ease of use and reception. ... "
" ... Still going strong ... "
" ... Get rid of the rubber ducky and buy a whip antenna. ... "
Build Quality
35radio, construction, belt clip, uv, metal
+80%
-20%
" ... solid construction and a bargain for the price. ... "
" ... Although it's low cost I would not say that it's cheaply built, it is compact and it does the job. ... "
" ... I believe they have metal clips. ... "
" ... Still going strong ... "
" ... Solid made unit and I just got it to listen and it work great! ... "
" ... The belt clip screw holes are electrically continuous with the antenna just like the UV-5 series. ... "
" ... Cheap and take a beating. ... "
" ... The radio feels solid. ... "
Battery Life
35charge, life, radio, hours, lasts
+71%
-29%
" ... battery life is fantastic ... "
" ... Mine lasts more than a day (I charge it nightly) and it's on 12-14 hours a day). ... "
" ... Battery life is weirdly excellent too. ... "
" ... Good battery life too. ... "
" ... I did upgrade mine with Nagoya antenna and extended battery. ... "
" ... I like the fact that it has the larger battery availability and it seems to work better than the previous ones I have had. ... "
" ... Also purchase the larger battery pack it's worth the $10 for the extreme longevity that the battery pack will supply. ... "
" ... Long battery life. ... "
Delivery
34fast, shipping, delivery, radio, arrived on time
+97%
-3%
" ... What I ordered. ... "
" ... Description and delivery were great ... "
" ... Received on date stated. ... "
" ... No issues, arrived quickly, exactly as advertised ... "
" ... shipping was quick .works good ... "
" ... As advertised with quick shipping. ... "
" ... Arrived on time. ... "
" ... Shipping was fast and it was well packaged! ... "
Marketplace
33works as advertised, expected, shipped, response, promptly
+82%
-18%
" ... I intend to order another very soon ... "
" ... Works as described. ... "
" ... No issues, arrived quickly, exactly as advertised ... "
" ... Radioresource.com had a wealth of info. ... "
" ... It works as advertised. ... "
" ... The product came in god shape and had that new sparkle on it. ... "
" ... If the new one dies I'll write Amazon directly ... "
" ... Excellent little radios from an easy to deal with seller! ... "
Product Reliability
26radio, working, years, worked great, stopped working
+50%
-50%
" ... Tonight this radio stopped working, and I am just a couple days past the "return window". ... "
" ... Worked with vendor and even they are not able to program it. ... "
" ... It doesn't work a month after I bought it, my colleagues all have the same issue. ... "
" ... Worked for about 6 weeks and the volume control started shorting out . ... "
" ... Cannot for the life of me get this to work. ... "
" ... As received #6 button wasn't working. ... "
" ... Don't buy this thing unless you want to spend a few hours working out how to set it up. ... "
" ... IT's an okay product, but there is a constant static issue I get with it. ... "
Sound Quality
25radio, static, speaker, sound quality, hear
+80%
-20%
" ... So far so good, the radio seems pretty solid to me. ... "
" ... Great audio on both transmit and receive. ... "
" ... The audio fidelity was clear and noiseless through the mountains and when other radios were out of sight. ... "
" ... works as it should and no issues, love the flashlight and built in radio, good audio as well. ... "
" ... I didn't expect much so I was pleasantly surprised once I got into this little radio. ... "
" ... Transmits and receives great sounding audio as noted by other hams. ... "
" ... Worth every penny very good construction, and works good, right size very loud speaker and above all very good price ... "
" ... I haven't tested the range but the audio sounds good. ... "
Controls
24menu, ptt, button, call button, 82
+50%
-50%
" ... Worked for about 6 weeks and the volume control started shorting out . ... "
" ... the toggled PTT takes a while to get used to ... No more red VFO/MR button -- have to turn off and back on while holding the MENU button (instructions provided are wrong on that). ... "
" ... Would get stuck in transmit when ptt button was pressed and even a reset would help very very little. ... "
" ... The only thing "Chinese" about it, is the menu ... "
" ... As received #6 button wasn't working. ... "
" ... In the manual for this radio they tell you not to use the generic chirp programming software. ... "
" ... The only issue is the power/volume knob falls off easily. ... "
" ... Quality control needs improvement. ... "
Features
21light, flashlight, functions, radios, many features
+100%
" ... Several handy added features flashlight, flashing beacon alarm etc. ... "
" ... Had many features that the higher priced named products don’t offer. ... "
" ... allows to change the power settings. ... "
" ... Great radio with excellent features for way cheap. ... "
" ... Finally, another highlight feature it comes with is a flashlight/S.O.S beacon light that helps at night or injured and lost in the woods. ... "
" ... It will scan but very slowly and doesn't have all the features that some radios have but the price benefit is such if it works for you, it worked for me. ... "
" ... The keypad and menu functions work correctly. ... "
" ... After many attempts to perform certain functions, i.e. ... "
Charging
21radio, charge, battery, charging, charging station
+52%
-48%
" ... Both handhelds, both charging receptacles, and one plug in power module worked great. ... "
" ... I contacted FirstVision and they immediately replaced the charging station at no cost. ... "
" ... Also recommended are the external mic and 12v power adaptor. ... "
" ... The battery came fully charged for me but your mileage may vary. ... "
" ... On the plus side, the lithium battery charges quickly and seems to stand the test of time ... "
" ... The 82's charging base (included) is nearly weightless, just like the 5R's, but it doesn't have room inside to insert a roll of pennies for adding appropriate weight. ... And the 82's charger has the *asinine* status LED that stupidly flashes red/green when you don't have the radio in the cradle. ... The 5R's charging cradle glows a pleasant, solid green when the radio isn't present (but the cradle that came with the BF-F9V2+ does the stupid flash thing). ... Other power options (cigarette lighter battery eliminator, AAA battery pack) are available for both. ... "
" ... The battery held its charge all day. ... "
" ... Holds a charge a looooooong time. ... "
Setup
19easy to program, chirp software, software, programming, included
+89%
-11%
" ... Pretty confusing at first to get the settings right, but once you figure it out, works perfectly. ... "
" ... Easy to program manually or with cable and software. ... "
" ... The CHIP software is fairly straightforward. ... "
" ... Easy to program using CHiRP software and easy to use. ... "
" ... I was able to program FRS/GMRS Frequencies by reading the enclosed instructions. ... "
" ... Programming this is a breeze. ... "
" ... Great product, received it in a timely matter ... "
" ... Still patiently waiting . ... "
Cables
19programming, software, usb, program, radios
+74%
-26%
" ... I recommend that you download the free software called CHIRP and purchase a programing cable. ... "
" ... Longer antenna strongly recommended for best distance transmitting and receiving, and the BTECH USB cable to program it. ... "
" ... I was able to do get a couple of channels in manually before the programming cable arrived so it can be done. ... "
" ... However, I would suggest getting the USB cable and programming it with Chirp because it's so easy that "a caveman can do it". ... "
" ... The CHIRP programming software is free for downloading so you're only out about 8 bucks for the cable. ... "
" ... The list is easy to upload to the radios using CHIRP software and the Baofeng programming cable. ... "
" ... This radio can do almost everything the name brand units can do with the extra USB cable. ... "
" ... Thankfully I got it right the first time going with the $20 programming cable. ... "
Product As Described
17expected, product, exactly as described, exactly as advertised, described
+88%
-12%
" ... Works as described. ... "
" ... No issues, arrived quickly, exactly as advertised ... "
" ... It works as advertised. ... "
" ... Exactly what was expected. ... "
" ... Works as advertised. ... "
" ... Would do again.the unit works as advertised. ... "
" ... exactly as described ... "
" ... It works as advertised. ... "
User Manual
16instructions, radio, programming, radios, owners
+31%
-69%
" ... This instructions are useless. ... "
" ... The operation manual was riddled with errors including diagrams that made no sense. ... "
" ... The manual is useless. ... "
" ... In the manual for this radio they tell you not to use the generic chirp programming software. ... "
" ... Only complaint is lack of documentation. ... "
" ... I charged the battery according to instructions. ... "
Design
16well made, feels, branding, blue, weight
+88%
-13%
" ... I got the blue to make a fashion statement. ... "
" ... Love how well made it is, doesn't feel cheap like I expected it to. ... "
" ... Looks like it's very well made and what I have heard has been very satisfactory. ... "
" ... The radios work great, look great, are very rugged, and powerful. ... "
" ... The radio feels solid. ... "
" ... And it's a pretty blue. ... "
" ... To me, the appropriately-sized (and rubberized) controls and generally better shell design make the UV-82 the better choice. ... "
" ... I loved being able to order a color other than black. ... "
Fit
15belt clip, hand held, snugly, antenna, 82
+73%
-27%
" ... I believe they have metal clips. ... "
" ... Good little radio, however I dropped it ONCE and the belt clip snapped off. ... "
" ... Fits all my accessories from the 5 watt I used to use. ... "
" ... The belt clip screw holes are electrically continuous with the antenna just like the UV-5 series. ... "
" ... It's generally a good hand-held radio. ... "
" ... The 82 fits *very* snugly into the cradle. ... The OEM battery on the 82 fits extremely snugly--again, too snugly, IMO. ... "
" ... Held up for a full day of usage. ... "
" ... This was my first time ever with a hand held and I was able to get it all set up for scanning and to use 4 different repeater without any trouble at all . ... "
Comfort
15hand held, mics, human, well made, strap
+73%
-27%
" ... Love how well made it is, doesn't feel cheap like I expected it to. ... "
" ... But there were enough good reviews on the $7 hand mics that I grabbed five of those when I got the five 5Rs. ... "
" ... I'm a working man with human life in the palm of my hands ever day. ... "
" ... He is also studying to get his license. ... "
" ... Small, lightweight and with the extra 3800ma extended battery they fit much better in your hand, plus give you extended talk time. ... "
" ... This was my first time ever with a hand held and I was able to get it all set up for scanning and to use 4 different repeater without any trouble at all . ... "
" ... Not only does this add quite a bit of power, it also makes this HT "feel better in the hand". ... "
" ... This is the best hand held ham radio I own. ... "
Returns
14return, returned, sent, replacement, refund
+21%
-79%
" ... I returned this because it felt SO cheap and toyish. ... "
" ... Will hopefully be returning it for a replacement. ... "
" ... Device arrived DOA, had to return it. ... "
" ... I returned mine. ... "
" ... The other, however, I am returning as of now because the squelch doesn't even work on any level. ... Don't send me defective stuff next time. ... "
" ... I sent this thing back. ... "
" ... returning for my money back. ... "
" ... I returned it. ... "
Capacity
13family, wattage, property, buildings, acres
+92%
-8%
" ... I use them on my 150 acres of property in the mountains of NH. ... "
" ... I just have no repeaters here in the Florida ourback. ... "
" ... The reception is good throughout the multiple block and steel buildings. ... "
" ... OR If the grid goes down and you need comms on your property. ... "
" ... Now that is a very different story. ... "
" ... I bought 4 more walkie talkies from this company to use around the house. ... "
" ... May have to get another for family. ... "
" ... I'll probably end up buying a few more of these for the family. ... "
Band
12bands, radio, transmit, wrist strap, strap
+92%
-8%
" ... This is not a true dual band radio. ... "
" ... Good little radio, however I dropped it ONCE and the belt clip snapped off. ... "
" ... The belt clip screw holes are electrically continuous with the antenna just like the UV-5 series. ... "
" ... The Baofeng Duel Band FM Transceiver is great to listen to till one gets their ham License in order to transmit, but it pulls in good transmission from all within 200 miles by a repeater,,, will update when I get my Technician license for Amateur Operation,,, 😎 ... "
" ... It has a nice, sturdy case, a belt clip, and a wrist strap. ... "
" ... Works fine on both bands. ... "
" ... Works well with my Diamond SG7500A mobile mount or a 15.6 inch dual band whip. ... "
" ... The belt clip looks thinner and cheaper than original. ... "
Overall performance
11work, performance, job, well, use
+100%
" ... You'll be much happier with the performance. ... "
" ... GREAT AT THE JOB ... "
" ... They have a work wonderfully for my tasks. ... "
" ... Small, easy to use, and gets the job done. ... "
" ... I am very satisfied with the radio's performance. ... "
" ... Works very well. ... "
" ... The product works exceptionally well! ... "
" ... This rido is good for on the job. ... "
Size
11carry, compact, radio, pocket, job
+91%
-9%
" ... Small and compact. ... "
" ... Small, easy to use, and gets the job done. ... "
" ... A good solid radio that is light and compact to carry. ... "
" ... Transmits and receives great, better than my Kenwood handheld I carry. ... "
" ... We carried some big Motorolas at times but this one reminds me of the small Icoms that we carried. ... "
" ... Just for small communication. ... "
" ... Therefore, a pouch is recommended over pocket carry. ... "
" ... small, compact, easy to carry ... "
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Type: LED
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