BAOFENG
Apache
Just bought this kit, radios look great, less programable than your uv5rs but solid. It feels just about as plasticity as it looks. Feels solid however like a small drop wont kill it. Doesnt work with chirp natively which makes it a little hard to recommend to a beginner.
Output far closer to 12watt on most vhf uhf, this can be a good or bad thing.
Jhon
I got a ham radio license many years ago that I have not put to good use. This Baofeng was available, so I thought I'd pick it up. It's a good upgrade from my older, smaller walkie talkie (also a Baofeng, it's a very common brand) that I've misplaced somewhere. This is a bit bulky with some weight to it, but it feels rugged and should be able to handle some rough handling while out in the field. The full-sized, long antenna with the extension is quite large--great range, but a bit of a hassle carrying it around.
Theoretically it can be manually programmed, but doing so takes too much effort. It's easier to hook it up and to CHIRP and do it from your computer. Use the UV-5R on CHIRP and things should go smoothly.
Good radio range, battery lasts a while and it's easy to use. Definitely a nice piece of equipment for ham radio enthusiasts.
Patrick
Wow! This is MUCH better value than I anticipated. The new menu based interface is very intuitive and easy to use. The group function is an awesome addition. GPS and multiband rx/tx really builds value into this radio. The reception is great. I was able to use the included folding antenna to have clear simplex conversations over about 3 miles in the mountains while inside a vehicle. The screen is bright and easy to ready in all but direct sunlight. The scan feature is very slow, as all these radios are, but is easy to start and stop. Lastly, the value offer is the expanded battery life and weather resistance. It really does appear to be great in these areas. Highly recommended.
Olivia Pasquarelli
Solid little handheld radio with great features for the price. The AR-152 PRO arrived with all accessories and the Li-ion battery charged without any issues using the included USB charging system. Receiver sensitivity is better than expected. we were able to pick up NOAA Weather Radio immediately on 162.400 MHz, along with several local VHF/UHF channels. The built-in flashlight is surprisingly bright and genuinely useful. Programming frequencies in VFO mode was straightforward, and the unit feels durable enough for outdoor use. Haven’t tested the GPS or app programming yet, but overall this is a reliable entry-level two-way radio with a strong feature set.
Bernard K. Skoch
I really wanted to like this transceiver. It is chock full of features, and its price is SO low! It looked like a real bargain.
It charged up just fine, and it puts out a lot of power. The quality looks good. Switches and the volume control knob are crisp and smooth. The fit and finish are excellent, including the sometimes-tricky mating of the battery and the radio. On some transceivers the battery doesn't quite fit or needs help to snap into place. On this one the battery and radio snap together very well.
The radio is clearly intended to look military. It is finished in "army green," and that's fine. The finish is a little too smooth to my taste, as it looks like it might be slippery if it came in contact with moisture.
The menu is a bit difficult to work through, but the instructions are easy to follow, and the radio is easy to program after an initial learning period.
Receive performance was fine, though it suffered close-channel interference when other handheld radios (Yaesu VX-6R and Kenwood TH-D74A) did not.
But there was a BIG problem in transmit performance.
If you will look at the attached still image, you can see a spectrum analysis of a Yaesu VX-6R. Note the single yellow vertical bar along the left edge of the screen of a spectrum analyzer. That's a representation of the transmitted signal received by the spectrum analyzer.
Now look at the attached video. Note the TWO vertical bars, one along the left edge of the screen, and another at mid screen that appeared when I briefly transmitted. That represents the TWO signals emitted by the radio under test. And note that the unintended signal (the vertical bar at mid-screen, representing a frequency twice the intended frequency) is actually stronger than the intended frequency. This is a HUGE problem, as it might earn the radio's operator an FCC citation for transmitting a signal outside the authorized band.
(I should point out that this issue is consistent with other radios I have tested from this same manufacturer.)
For that reason, I cannot recommend this radio.
User
This ham radio has good power output and amazing battery life. The size is of this radio is larger than most. The screen is clear and easy to read. I was able to program it using Bluetooth on my phone. This unit is very rugged. It comes with a large rubber antenna. Audio is clear, and range is above average. It is easy to use. I feel this radio is a good value. I was able to program this radio quickly, and received good audio reports from other stations. I would say the number one feature of this radio is long standby and usage times to to the high amperage of the battery. The color reminds me of army radios.
Phillip
This is easily one of the coolest videos I've owned. First off the thing you'll notice is this thing is absolutely ginormous and that is on account of the rechargeable battery that ships with this device. Honestly one of the only gripe side do have about this is that it does not feature USB C charging, it uses one of those roundDC 9v plugs, but on the plus side they do give you a USB a to 9v adapter.
The radio also ships with a larger folding antenna and the more standard sized 9 in antenna. Two stand out features for me are the color LCD screen, it's bright enough to work with and direct sunlight. And the other send a future is the Bluetooth compatibility right out of the box, no need to mess with a Bluetooth dongle, just download the app and you are ready to go when it comes to programming the radio itself no extra fuss needed.
The UI is fantastic and relatively intuitive, meaning you can figure out how to program this on the fly out in the field, should you happen to lose the manual.
I'm able to get the NOAA stations without issue (press and hold the 0 button and then scroll through the different preloaded channels) the FM radio works fairly well too. The NOAA plus the huge battery should make this a decent emergency radio.
