Worst radio you own?

[AndyOnTheRadio]

Just for fun, what is the worst radio that you have? Maybe it's to hard to program, perhaps it had a manufacturer defect, or you just didn't like it. What radio would you tell someone to avoid? I'm not trying to start fights, just curious. 

I would tell people to avoid the Baofeng UV-5RPro. 

[WSJW650]

It was 2014; and I had visions of easy 20 mile radio communications.  They were very underwhelming and not nearly as good as my Uniden MHS75 VHF marine radio I also had at the time….and still use to this day (yes, not an apples to apples comparison)
 

The MH230Rs saw very little use and have stayed in a closet collecting dust once the kiddos stopped using them years ago. 
 

[WRUE951]

BTech GMRS V2...  It refuses to talk over 10 miles if even that..  

[UncleYoda]

1 hour ago, AndyOnTheRadio said:

I would tell people to avoid the Baofeng UV-5RPro. 

There are so many UV-5R models, I can't remember them all.  And I don't know what the Pro version is, but what was so bad about it?

My worst was little bitty FRS radios (circa 2002).  I don't remember brand or model.  Can't remember if I threw them away or just hid them where I can't find them.

By the way, have you noticed almost all the repeaters are gone around here.

[LeoG]

Baofeng UV26.  Hard to program compared to the TD-H3.  Works good once I figured it out and is almost 10 watts.

[nokones]

I really don't have a worst radio because I buy radios for specific needs and the capabilities they have, and I've been happy with them. I have only bought one cheap POS Pandaland radio (Wouxun KG1000G Plus) to see what they were all cracked up to be and I sold the radio immediately within a week to someone that needed more than I do. I guess that would be my worst radio.

I rate my Motorola CT250 and Visar 16 channel radios better than the Wouxun KG1000G Plus radio I once owned and I will never have any of the other Pandaland radios.

[MarkInTampa]

Wally World FRS bubble pack. Picked up a few of these for a project. I put in parking availability detectors for the truck lot in multiple rest areas around the state. Two miles before the rest area there is a digital sign that shows how many slots are open and also online. I had to prove the system by having a person count and document times every truck that came in, another person to count when they left and me in the middle to verify the numbers every 15 minutes for a week or so. The radios couldn't make it from one end of a rest area to the other, I had to sit in the middle and relay.

One of the guys left his radio powered on when he threw it in the back of my truck with a bunch of other crap. A couple times I heard a voice for a second or two and it went away when driving, had no idea where it was coming from. A week later I got a low battery chirp on the radio and tracked it down. At least the batteries last well over two weeks.

 

[WRYZ926]

Pretty much any and all bubble pack FRS or GMRS radios from Wally World. They have all been junk.

[GreggInFL]

A Uniden FRS bubble pack. They "worked", but barely.

[Northcutt114]

Wouxun KG-S72C

The purchase of this ^ radio is ultimately what catapulted me into the GMRS radio world. It's a CB HT and when I say that I can shout further than this thing can TX, I am absolutely not kidding. The $30 Midland 75-785 that I replaced it with far outperforms it and was $70 less expensive. I have Motorola blisterpack FRS radios that could TX further than the Wouxun KG-S72C. Garbage radio.

 

[Lscott]

Right now it's the Anytone D878UV's I own. The hardware is sort of OK. What kills it is the software.

The Chinese programmers tried adding in a satellite tracking feature to the radio's firmware, didn't have the memory for it so tried to compress the existing firmware to make room. They F'ed it up which resulted in people experiencing various frequency of radio lockups. Then they removed it. Managed to F-up other stuff in the process of doing that. Then the radio programming software has inconsistent programing behavior, some screens you can move entries up and down or cut and paste, others nope. Some stuff plainly just doesn't work. I've given up using the radios and software until they get their heads out of their smelly backside hole and clean up the software mess. 

[radioruck]

2 hours ago, Lscott said:

Right now it's the Anytone D878UV's I own. The hardware is sort of OK. What kills it is the software.

That's a shame. I've been thinking about getting a D578UV.

Seems like there aren't a lot of options for dual band 50w DMR mobiles out there.

[Lscott]

21 minutes ago, radioruck said:

Seems like there aren't a lot of options for dual band 50w DMR mobiles out there.

No there really isn't. But almost all of the digital voice mode activity is on UHF anyway. So finding a good single band UHF FM/DMR radio likely would work just fine. If you don't want to spend big bucks on a mobile then an HT running through an external amp is another option. BTECH sells several types. 

This one will do ALL the popular digital voice modes and analog FM on UHF. Be careful there is a cheaper version that WON'T do any digital mode using TDMA like DMR.

https://baofengtech.com/product/amp-u25d/

[radioruck]

1 hour ago, Lscott said:

No there really isn't. But almost all of the digital voice mode activity is on UHF anyway. So finding a good single band UHF FM/DMR radio likely would work just fine. If you don't want to spend big bucks on a mobile then an HT running through an external amp is another option. BTECH sells several types. 

This one will do ALL the popular digital voice modes and analog FM on UHF. Be careful there is a cheaper version that WON'T do any digital mode using TDMA like DMR.

https://baofengtech.com/product/amp-u25d/

I have thought about the amp route. It seems like most analog activity around me is UHF as well so going single band would probably be fine. There are a couple 2m repeaters I’m interested in connecting to (which don’t seem to be linked to a 70cm alternate) but there might not be enough activity there to bother with a dual band setup.

[WSEZ864]

Your area seems different than most places. In the several states I've operated, 2m was the primary traffic band (repeaters and simplex) and the 70cm repeaters were relatively unused. When I think of a single band rig, I think of 2 meters for both popularity and range. My suggestion is to get a dual band if you need UHF. You can get dual band antennas and having the extra capability is well worth it IMO.

[radioruck]

39 minutes ago, WSEZ864 said:

Your area seems different than most places. In the several states I've operated, 2m was the primary traffic band (repeaters and simplex) and the 70cm repeaters were relatively unused. When I think of a single band rig, I think of 2 meters for both popularity and range. My suggestion is to get a dual band if you need UHF. You can get dual band antennas and having the extra capability is well worth it IMO.

To be more specific, the high traffic linked networks in my area have a 70cm repeater I can access. 3/4 repeaters in this regional system are 2m.

It does seem like dual band would be worth it, but on topic to this thread, I’m having trouble finding a dual band + DMR mobile with good reviews.

Why does so much of what’s on the market suck?

[WSJX263]

The worst radio I've owned was 2 Baofeng GM21 GMRS handhelds. Those radio were all but deaf. 

[Lscott]

9 hours ago, radioruck said:

It does seem like dual band would be worth it, but on topic to this thread, I’m having trouble finding a dual band + DMR mobile with good reviews.

Why does so much of what’s on the market suck?

The Chinese seem to be the main ones interested in the consumer market. The main guys, Motorola, Kenwood, Icom, Yaesu etc. are into the commercial end with some of that spilling over in the armature market.

When you aim for the lowest price point something else has to go. Usually quality and or performance, maybe both. Everyone loves the CCR's, cheap Chinese radios, until they discover later the limitations that don't plague more expensive higher quality radios. I'm not knocking all CCR's, some really like them, but do your research first, read the reviews.

For a more complicated setup a few people here have used a "dual head" setup for mobile work. That's where they use two, or more, single band mobile radios controlled by a single remote radio head. The main body of the radio(s) where installed under the seat, or else where there was room, and the small head was mounted on the dash or up by the head liner front windshield area.

If you have the room you might just install two complete radios, VHF and UHF. Seen lots of these kind of setups.The advantage if one fails at least you have the other one. A dual band dies, well you have nothing.

The choice is up to you.

[AndyOnTheRadio]

On 9/17/2025 at 10:15 PM, UncleYoda said:

There are so many UV-5R models, I can't remember them all.  And I don't know what the Pro version is, but what was so bad about it?

My worst was little bitty FRS radios (circa 2002).  I don't remember brand or model.  Can't remember if I threw them away or just hid them where I can't find them.

By the way, have you noticed almost all the repeaters are gone around here.

The UV-5RPro is the 5R with 3 more watts. But not really. 

As for the repeaters I think the 725 should be up and running soon. I keep calling out on the Gilbert 700 and Columbia 650 and will get folks from time to time. But yes, traffic is way down.

[UncleYoda]

I got a BFF9 that was said to be an updated/improved BFF8, both models supposedly being 8 watt (and they are UV5Rs with a different label).  Mine sucked on 440 (~<=1 watt on high) and was same as 5W models on 2m.  That has been true of most 8 watt UV5R types that I've looked at.  I could have chose that BFF9 as worse than the itty-bitty FRS toys but it does receive and transmit OK on 2m, so 2nd worst.

[TNFrank]

Anything that doesn't work for me gets sent back so I don't own anything that's bad. I do have some that I prefer over others though. I really like the BF-F8HP Pro and for a more budget radio my Radtel RT-900 gets the nod. For just straight up power the AR-5RM get my vote but they all work well enough to hit repeaters 16 miles away, even the K61 with IMHO is a Budget Champ at $16 bucks.

[jwilkers]

BTech GMRS V2...  It refuses to talk over 10 miles if even that..  

No ht will go that far unless it goes thru a repeater

Sent from my SM-S911U1 using Tapatalk

[LeoG]

Unless you live in So Cal, then you need to throw them away if they don't go at least 20.

[WRUE951]

2 hours ago, jwilkers said:

No ht will go that far unless it goes thru a repeater

Sent from my SM-S911U1 using Tapatalk
 

funny, my baofengs will talk 30+ every day.. In fact, i have talked to hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail and even at Mount Whitney off my repeater..   Obvisouly they are on HT's hitting my repeater at 30-65 miles..   Mt. Whitney is a 65 miles line of site to my repeater.   I can hit the El Paso Repeateer from Acton with my Hytera HT, thats probaly close to 80 miles..   So when you say "No ht will go that far unless it goes thru a repeater"  Remember, if an HT can hit a repeater 65 miles away, then yes an HT can go that far..  

[WSJX263]

6 hours ago, TNFrank said:

Anything that doesn't work for me gets sent back so I don't own anything that's bad. I do have some that I prefer over others though. I really like the BF-F8HP Pro and for a more budget radio my Radtel RT-900 gets the nod. For just straight up power the AR-5RM get my vote but they all work well enough to hit repeaters 16 miles away, even the K61 with IMHO is a Budget Champ at $16 bucks.

That's what I did with those Baofeng GM21's. Sent them back and got a pair of Ailunce HA1G's, they work great.