UV-5R Ham Radio Handheld, Dual Band Two Way Radio (Black)

My rating reflects the value for the price and not necessarily a flawless product. At time of purchase in Q4 2025, the cost was ~$16.50. The Baofeng UV-5R is a good entry point into amateur radio. You can fairly easily exchange antennas, and listen to regular broadcast FM with or without headphones/earpiece. It’s both over and under featured and takes some time to get used to. I think I’ll likely purchase an advanced model later that can receive Noaa, aviation bands, etc, but I’m happy with this purchase. UV-5R is compatible with CHIRP, and I have used it successfully with a USB UART to Kinwood style cable to program channels. My only complaint is that this can’t legally be used to broadcast on non Amateur Radio frequencies in the USA, but that’s more of an FCC limitation than a technical one. I have since purchased part 90 radios to use in conjunction with a site license at work and my experience with the Baofeng made setting those up correctly much easier. I like that you can listen to broadcast FM while tuned to other channels and it’ll break away from the broadcast FM to let you hear the transmission, then go back to broadcast FM after a few seconds. You can use this in “channel” or “frequency” mode. I have mostly used it in channel mode as my initial use was just listening to channels at work. Frequency mode is what it says, you can punch in a frequency and it’ll tune to it. Sometimes the best way to learn is hands-on, and for that this won’t disappoint.

TL/DR: GPS works, battery works, antenna works, radio works, buy the radio. 2m, 70cm, FM Broadcast. Starting off, this is a super awesome little radio! I just got my license, so I figured a radio was probably the next step. The user manual was a little confusing at first, but YouTube has you covered as far as programming them goes. I bought a UV-5R for my girlfriend, and this is a huge step up in overall utility but also ease of use which is strange in a good way. Radio: The radio itself is built very well it seems, the screen is nice and bright, the volume is good, it has a full metal chassis and has some form of protection from dust and water compared to the cheaper models. It is heavy to the point of feeling sturdy and as we Americans like to think, good quality. But it’s not so heavy that it’s a burden or gets annoying with long periods in a plate carrier. Comes with some belt clips, I haven’t used them, though they seem like standard plastic clips. Battery: The battery lasts a surprisingly long time. I left it on for hours playing the radio nonstop, after 8 hours of being on I had to go to bed, and when I woke up it was dead. So somewhere between 10-16 hours playing music I’d say. I left it on just on standby all night and woke up to still having 3 bars. I’d estimate a minimum of 2 days just being on per full charge. (Depends on activity on the channel) Antenna: The antennas seem fine, just your standard antennas. I upgraded to a folding antenna, but the normal ones work fine. GPS: The GPS works well enough and is accurate enough. Sadly, there is no active compass which would be cool, but I guess you could figure out which way you were walking with the coordinates. I compared my coordinates with the radio and my Garmin watch, and they were close together. Bands: You get access to the 70cm UHF band, and the 2m VHF band, but there is no access to anything below that. Being new to the radio thing I wasn’t sure how that all worked, but I guess it’s uncommon for handheld units to do all the bands and most only do the 2m, and 70cm. That being said, I was able to reach 3 miles away on the UHF during a torrential downpour in the city which is cool. Overall super cool radio, it’s an amazing entry level radio, and in my limited experience I think it’s more than you really need if you’re not trying to reach super far away without repeaters.

I recently picked up the Baofeng UV-5R two-way radio and I’ve been very impressed with it so far. For the price, it packs a lot of features into a compact handheld radio and performs extremely well. The radio supports both VHF and UHF bands and has plenty of programmable channels, which makes it very versatile whether you’re using it for outdoor activities, emergency communication, or general radio use. The audio quality is clear, the battery life is solid, and the radio feels sturdy in the hand. It’s lightweight and easy to carry, which makes it great for camping, hunting trips, or keeping in a go-bag. Programming it can take a little learning at first, but once you get the hang of it, it’s a very capable radio with a lot of customization options. Overall, the Baofeng UV-5R is a great buy for anyone who is new to two-way radios as well as for more experienced users. It offers excellent performance and features at a price that’s hard to beat. In my opinion, it’s definitely worth the money and a solid addition to anyone’s radio gear.

I would give it five stars, but there’s no charging port. You absolutely have to charge it in the stand that it comes with. You cannot connect a charging cord via charging port with this handheld. Other than that, it’s a rockstar at work. I’ve dropped it multiple times out of trucks onto concrete, asphalt, and off of forklift onto warehouse floors and it just keeps on working. All features are still a GO. From the flashlight, strobe light feature, radio, to volume, and call knobs and buttons. Everything’s all good! I’ve also ordered shorter to stubby antennas for clearance purposes when I put it in my harness… works great.

For the price, the Baofeng 5VR is still one of the cheapest ways to get into listening to scanner traffic and experimenting with radio. I’ve been surprised by how much it can pick up, and in my experience the receive performance is comparable to some much larger and more expensive scanning receivers. It’s obviously not going to replace every dedicated scanner, but for basic monitoring and getting started in the hobby, it’s hard to beat for the money. Definitely recommend it.

So, I own both the UV-5R (the option labeled "radio") and TP5. I think they're both good little devices, but they have some pros and cons: TP5: Pro: This is a pretty nice sounding radio, it looks a little more appealing than the UV-5R with a nicer looking display. Con: Both of these radios are really small, and if you're learning you could hit buttons by accident. I wanted to buy an expanded battery to give it more height and grip, but due to the different casing, it will not fit a BL-5L battery. You'll be stuck with the stock battery for this one unless you dremel it. UV-5R: Pro: Fits the BL-5L perfectly, meaning more ergonomic handling of the device and runtime. Cons: The speaker is certainly tinier compared to it's TP5 breatheren. If I could have best of both worlds, I'd try to switch out the shells so the TP5 could support the BL-5L. But, if I have to choose, I'd pick the UV-5R for the nicer feel.

Conceptually a very cool device. Programmable display, programmable channels/frequencies, and lots of accessories to make it perform better stay on longer when on the move. These should be way more popular than they already are.

Best radio for the price... nothing else even comes close .. came next day...

Excelente opción como primer walkie para adentrarse en el mundo de radioaficionados, muy económico y funcional, aunque transmite con armónicos altos.

Justo lo que ocupaba para el trabajo, ya que son distancias algo largas

Muy buen radio, me ha servido bien

el radio es un equipo muy economico con una excelente cobertura de frecuencias , de facil funcionamiento, en su empaque viene todo lo que debe de traer como : Bateria, clip, cintilla, antena, handsfree manual, garantia y el radio. de ahi en fuera el equipo es de un tipo de plastico que por el terminado se ve economico se ve brilloso es muy sensible a las transmisiones de otros equipos ya que si transmites con un equipo distinto y en distinta frecuencia el Baofeng lo detecta. no he probado la distancia de transmision pero al perecer es muy buena.

Es justo lo que viene en la descripción, lo entregaron exactamente el día que dijeron y llegó en perfecto estado y totalmente nuevo