BAOFENG UV-5R

Baofeng UV-5R is an inexpensive two-band miniature handheld station, which is popular not only among radio amateurs, but also between different professional groups, such as firefighters, paramedics and police officers. In this article, we will look at its features, the pros and cons.

It works in the range of 136-174MHZ and 400-480HZ (TX/RX) plus 65-108MHz (other RX). Power is 4W / 1W (max 5W). Channel step 2.5/5/6.25/10/12.5/25 kHz.

Advantages of UV-5R Baofeng

One of the main advantages of the Baofeng UV-5R is its price. It is one of the cheapest dual band radios on the market, which makes it very accessible to radio amateurs on a limited budget. Despite its low price, the UV-5R has a lot of features, which are useful for radio amateurs, including CTCSS / DCS encoding and decoding, Without a subton, its sensitivity is about, VOX, LED light and transmitter with high performance or frequency display of both bands at once.

Another advantage of the UV-5R is its portability and compactness. It has a small size, so it fits easily in a pocket or backpack, which makes it ideal for trips to nature or for quick deployment in case of emergency. The front panel is dominated by a display with good readability, which enables quick setting of all necessary parameters.

Disadvantages of UV-5R Baofeng

The Baofeng UV-5R also has several disadvantages. The first of them is its sensitivity to interference. It can happen, that reception will be disturbed or impossible when used near other electronic devices. Also, the transmitter is not characterized by the cleanest signal and therefore the sale of this radio station is prohibited in some countries (for example, in Germany due to failure of the radio station to comply with the EN standard 62209-2:2010 to IN 60950-1:2006-1).

Recently, several newer models of radio transmitters have appeared on the market, which have some advantages over UV-5R. For example, models with support for digital communication have greater sound quality and better resistance to interference, but they are also a bit more expensive.

Overall, the Baofeng UV-5R is a good choice for beginners and those, who are looking for an inexpensive dual-band radio.

The price of the Baofeng UV-5R is currently approx 30 €.