BaoFeng UV-5RE Plus Dual-Band 136-174/400-480 MHz FM Ham Two-way Radio, Improved Stronger Case, More Rich and Enhanced Features (2013 Enhanced Version)..
Grab Now BaoFeng UV-5RE Plus Dual-Band 136-174/400-480 MHz FM Ham Two-way Radio, Improved Stronger Case, More Rich and Enhanced Features (2013 Enhanced Version) By BaoFengMost helpful customer reviews
110 of 114 people found the following review helpful.
So-Called "Newer 2013 Model" Baofeng UV-5RA Models
By CDC
As a buyer of well-over 300 Baofeng radios (and counting) for the group I belong to (not all of which were purchased through Amazon but many were), I'm always amazed at the lengths some sellers go to to hype their products as being "newer" or "better" than other models, or perhaps (to give them the benefit of the doubt) they just don't know any better.
First, the Baofeng UV-5R series (including the original and still extremely popular UV-5R, I'll explain why in a minute) is what is normally referred to by many as a SDR radio (or software defined radio). While not a true SDR product (you can't use it with your computer to control the radio's functions or scan a wide amount of VHF/UHF frequencies with it), none the less a large chip is programmed on the circuit board built inside each radio. That chip determines what capability the radio itself can perform.
Every UV-5R series radio has the ability to transmit from 136-174 MHz on VHF and from 400-520 MHz on UHF in both narrow-band and wide-band modes (very useful for the occasional FRS or MURS use, which requires narrow-band mode to work correctly).
Every model does "at least" 4W on VHF/UHF from the factory, but occasionally you'll get a batch that does 4.5W or even 5W out, but the difference between 4W and 5W is minimal at best. A 4W radio with a better antenna will easily outperform a 5W radio with the standard crappy antenna that Baofeng ships on ALL (including the UV-5RA, -5RAX, and -5RAX+) models.
Baofeng DOES NOT program those chips any differently for the UV-5R vs. any other UV-5R series (including the UV-5RA). Version 307 of the firmware (which is the most current release I have in any of my radios) works EXACTLY the same way as previous older releases of firmware at least back to the 295 release (over a year ago), so any claim from a seller that this release provides additional features (at least from a user's perspective) is simply BOGUS, since the firmware inside both radios have the same features. In fact, my UV-5R radios with the 307 firmware release is EXACTLY the same radio (inside and within the firmware) as my UV-5RA radios with the 307 firmware release.
Second, you CANNOT in any way upgrade the firmware (unless you count buying a different radio and it comes with a different firmware release), so again the claim in the listing from some sellers that you can is simply BOGUS.
Third, you can believe that two thinner pieces (glued or screwed together on the faceplate of the UV-5RA) is somehow stronger than one thicker piece of plastic (on the original UV-5R series) if you like (and maybe it is), but I haven't seen that in real-world use from my own UV-5RA units. The standard UV-5R units that we use seem to hold up just as well (when dropped in the desert dirt or rolling down a hill) as any other Baofeng radio we own and use.
Fourth, and my biggest issue with all of the non-standard UV-5RA, UV-5RAX and UV-5RAX+ units, is that NONE of the Baofeng battery accessories (except the little 1800 mAh standard battery) work WITHOUT modification (unless you use a Dremel tool to grind or cut off part of your extended battery that works on the standard UV-5R - but won't work on your UV-5RA, UV-5RAX or UV-5RAX+).
Getting new UV-5RA units that don't work with Extended 3800 mAh batteries (without modification) doesn't make my group happy. That may not bother you, but NONE of the sellers of the non-standard UV-5RA, UV-5RAX, and UV-5RAX+ units ever seem to mention that lack of hardware compatibility in their listings, so buyer beware!
BTW, NONE of the "AA" or "AAA" battery shell packs work on the UV-5RA, UV-5RAX, or UV-5RAX+ units either, so that's 3 different battery accessories (including the 3800 mAh extended battery) that you can't use on these radios without hacking them with a Dremel tool (but they all work without modification on the original UV-5R units).
So "if" you want a "pretty" radio (as my wife calls it), buy one of the various versions of the UV-5RA (or -5RAX, or -5RAX+) with the shiny face plate and live with the fact that you'll be modifying ALL of the battery accessories you buy later in order to get them to work. Oh, you should see how well that shiny faceplate lights up when a flashlight hits it in the dark, just the thing you don't want for night use.
Virtually every guy in our group ends up carrying a standard UV-5R and giving the UV-5RA, -5RAX, or -5RAX+ to the wife or kids, since the wife and/or kids rarely care about the other accessories working and they (the wife and kids) tend to like the "pretty" radios, but again there is NO INTERNAL difference and NO EXTRA FEATURES in the UV-5RA, -5RAX, or -5RAX+ units (other than a different looking shiny faceplate) vs. the original and still wildly popular UV-5R (which I refer to as the M16 of radios, as all the accessories you match it up with just plain work).
Now you know the real background on these radios.
72 of 73 people found the following review helpful.
Great Radio...Great Price.
By Ice
Been a ham operator for 36 years and have seen and used all sorts of radios. This one is really good for the price.
Really can not believe they are so cheap in price.
Radio has some of the loudest receive audio in an HT then I have ever heard. Audio output is 1000mW which equals 1 watt. Transmit audio is clear and crisp. Radio for me was easy to program, granted you should do some reading in advance and use appropriate cable drivers and software. I preferred to use "Chirp" software as it is less troublesome then BaoFengs own software.
I had ready programmed by second day of use. Programmed in many ham repeaters and local fire and police frequencies. Through the software, I was able to program alpha tags for each frequency in memory. You can program up to seven alphanumeric names per memory channel. Through software, I programmed all ham repeaters to be skipped when I am in scan mode. This enabled me to only scan my local police and fire frequencies. My computer is using Windows 7 Professional software.
The cable I used was Baofeng Programming Cable for BAOFENG UV-5R/5RA/5R Plus/5RE, UV3R Plus, BF-888S (Newest Version, Support WIN7,64 Bit). B00CP0I474
This one is the one made by BaeFeng with proper Prolific chip in cable. Others might have issues with counterfeit Prolific chip in cable. I did not want to take a chance with cheaper cable, so I bought the one I just mentioned.
Make sure you use correct Prolific chip driver. I used Prolific PL-2303 Drivers 3.2.0.0
System Requires 32 / 64 bit Windows Vista / 7 / 8. Check out [...]
These sites have lots of great info:
[...]
[...]
[...]
Hope this helps all who are thinking about this radio. It has exceeded my expectations.
PS. Also has FM radio built in....works well.
24 of 26 people found the following review helpful.
More than you expect for $50, but not perfect
By William R. Sweeney
The UV5R is a miracle. How can so many features be sold for so little?
What you get is a pretty decent in-town repeater radio.
It's no Kenwood or ICOM, but it does work.
It's tiny antenna isn't so great for rural repeater or simplex use.
Pro:
Decent sound/transmit audio.
Seems well made, good guality feel transceiver.
Talking prompts for buttons for night.
Good battery life
Uses Kenwood HT accessories
Can actually hit the satellites with dual band
Works with CHIRP shareware programming software(still in beta only)
FM radio and light can be useful
Con:
Low gain OEM duck, reverse SMA connector limits replacements
Cheap charger has easily bent/broken contacts. No car charger available.
Incredibly bad manual, complex to program manually
Poor included software
Transmit for more than a few minutes, and the screen goes dark (LCD temperature issue)
USB programming cable is often made with counterfeit chips, may have issues with Win7 driver install
USB response does not always work, buggy upload/download, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't
Seems a bit sensitive to impulse noise.
Firmware not upgradable, new firmware is already out but older radios may not have it
But hey, its a knock around who cares about it radio for $50. REALLY
See all 412 customer reviews...More...
