I also own a Uv5r and it is 4yrs old, it has been submerged in water dropped and run over by a truck, has had antennas broken off and left in the sun for hours. Still works perfectly. I have a friend who also has one, his was flooded by water running down the feedline, still works like new. Output power matches original test no splatter on adjacent channels. just a few days ago, it was dropped at a shell station, we went back and found the 50 dollar BF radio, If it was gone, I have a drawer full of replacements. I can not be trusted with a 400 or 500 dollar HT, some of my friends are even worse. I see no quality issues with BF, just the lack of certification.