Hey all,

Been out of the loop for a while; I hope everyone is doing well. Are Baofengs still the best bang for your buck? or are there any new options worth considering? What can you tell me?

Thanks!

They're great for a "disposable" radio. If you're serious about it and want to do more than line of sight or repeater work, there are better ones in slightly more expensive ranges.

This. Baofengs will get you in the air, and if you drop or break it, you won’t cry. I opted for the Yaesu FT3DR because I knew I’d be in the hobby for awhile and would use it often. I may buy a couple Baofengs and keep them on the shelf for emergencies.

Thank you @4banger and @Caniac_Nation

The next question is: Is the uv-5r the one to go or is there another model worth considering; I see the f8+, the f8hp, and others.

Thanks again

The basic answer is yes. Now there are getting to be a lot of radio's just a little more expensive than the uv5r that seem to offer better performance?*

But people are still buying uv5r's quite a bit. I thought I heard baofeng officially stopped building UV5r's a few years ago, and everything you find to buy now days are cheaper knockoffs.

I believe I heard the F8 and 82 were the same internally, but the F8 follows the same pattern as the uv5r so it'll share at lot of the cheap accessories.

Depends on your commo objectives, OP.  Baos are fine for what they are, decent 2m/70cm hts that work well for simplex and repeaters.

My UV-82s are good radios.  

That said, I rarely use mine, been using my TYTs alot more lately, because they do so much more, and my MD-UV390 is tough, and waterproof.

For me, the TYT MD-UV390 is the best bang for the buck, because it does everything the Baos do, and so much more.

I have some of the 8W versions, and usually never run them on high power.  I program all the channels for mid or low power.... only bump it up to high if I really need to, but I'll swap on a longer 1/4 wave antenna first.

They aren't as friendly to field program as the "real" radios, but in a pinch, you can.  Used to be advantageous to have a bunch of the same model, but now with Chrip, as long as you have the programming cables, and they're supported, it's easy to move memory channels from one to another.

I have owned/still own the UV-5R (several versions/firmwares), UV-5R Tri-Band, BF-F9V2+ (BF-F8 with a different model number), UV-82.  I also have some Wouxun HT's, Puxing, Wierwei, and then some Yaesu and Kenwood HT's.

The Yaesu and Kenwoods are better for using with a sound card interface or TNC, as the chinese ones switch between TX/RX slower, and their squelch is laggy.

I find the Baos menu extremely easy to program with, once mastered.  You can do everything except name channels, from front.

I've never used chirp, only used CPS with my TYTs.

One of my 82s is an hp, 8 watt.  Only makes a difference when hooked up to a bigger antenna, and it is noticeable at that point.

For repeaters, I generally use low power, for simplex, 5 watt.  Same with my TYTs.  Hell, I regularly talk on a repeater 40 miles away on 2.5 watts, albeit with a 1/4 wave whip.  Amazing what can be done 9n lower power.

I doubt it makes any difference, I own and have used both.  The main thing is don't expect a $25 antenna on a $40 or $50 radio.

Of crucial importance is what you want the radio to do.

If it's strictly amateur radio, then there are other options in radios that have nicer user interface and features for amateur radio etc.

But if you want something for non-amateur operating (GMRS, MURS, LMR etc) then the Part 97 amateur specific products are unsuitable, so you want to stick with Baofeng or other chinesium radio, or a ($) Part 90 LMR radio.

I have UV9rs and UV82s. They're alright with better antennas. I wish I had Yaesu VX-6Rs or Anytone D878UVs.

Soon.

The UV-B5 or UV-B6 is the best of the Baofengs. Better receiver and come with a good antenna.

throw away radio. Buy a Icom or a Yeasu. My FT-65 is a better radio in every way than any of the many baofengs I loan out.

I agree on the radio; the UV-82/UV-9R models come with the same antenna which is identical in performance to the Nagoya that people buy as an accessory. The 82/9R seem to be a little better performing than the 5R types.

Great info. Can you attach a larger battery to these?

I really don't know. There are not as many accessories for these as the UV5R. The battery lasts so long I never even thought about a larger one.

For about the same money, you can buy a TYT TH-UV88. I picked one up for $30. Quality, reception and interface are significantly above a UV-5r. It doesn't do what my VX-6 does, but it's a solid basic HT that can be expanded with a button push.

About a year and a half ago I bought Baofeng bf-f8hp radio and nagoya antenna. It was fun to play with but i wanted to get a second radio so I could actually talk to someone if needed like my wife. I decided not to buy another cheap radio and bought a VX-6R because of it's wide range RX and durability. I put on a dual band "super elastic signal stick" antenna on it which in itself was a big upgrade over the stock rubber duck. Just the RX performance alone of the Yaesu there is no comparison to the Baofeng. Ive tried them both with swapping the signal stick and the nagoya and both those antennas are comparable but with both radios side by side on the same freq. I can be RX transmissions clearly with the Yaesu that the Baofeng is not even picking up at all.

I now wish I never even bought the stupid baofeng and wasted the money on it. There are other Yaesu radio's in practically the same price range as that baofeng, I havent tested them but I would guess my money would have been better spent on one of them.

I haven't tried TX with either yet. Not even sure if I can hit the repeaters near me that I can listen to or not. I had a tech license 16 years ago but was never into the hobby and let it expire so now i'm refreshing myself to get the tech and the general license with my renewed interest in the hobby.

I agree with the Baofengs sucking at rx. I tried to use one for portable packet station and the other station couldnt break the squelch, even turning it off completely didn't work. Swapping the HT to an 878 with the same antenna, cables, and at the same location and it immediate started to decode and flawlessly sends packet.

The 5R and derivatives thereof like the F8 suck at being radios, but people insist on buying them.

The B5/B6 are much better radios in multiple respects, but harder to find. My B5 almost equals my Icom F50 LMR radio in receiver performance.

Buy once, cry once.  Baefengs, from everything I've researched, work, but are fickle and picky. Mileage seems to vary greatly from user to user and locale to locale. They're great if you want to dip your toes in the water, for the money... but it might leave you feeling there's no one in the pool with you.  If you want something more reliable, with range, go a little better.
I bought a Yaesu FT-60.  Every ham I've met said, "Good choice!"  It's best to program with a computer though, I'd have to say the keypad is not exactly intuitive.

Last but not least, I'd rather support the Japanese than the Chinese.

HA! I guess I got lucky with my two, they work well.

Very likely a QC issue, often is with lesser brands, they put out more lemons than higher tier.

That said, I do get alot more use out of my TYTs these days, as they do more of what I need.

I think its more of a suitablity of location rather than a luck of the draw on quality.  If you are in a repeater dense area, every BF out there is a winner, and if there are that many repeaters, there are likely that many other hams around and you have a high likelihood of making simplex contacts with the BF as well.