gaberelli Posted July 17, 2023 Report Posted July 17, 2023 Well, with my freshly printed GMRS FCC license in hand, I took receipt of my brand new Baofeng starter radios yesterday. One of them seems to work fine but one of them was completely DOA. Now I am starting to understand why the warnings about how expensive this hobby can be. I have a feeling an upgrade will be in my future… Quote
Lscott Posted July 17, 2023 Report Posted July 17, 2023 You get what you pay for, and sometimes not even that much. gortex2 and gaberelli 2 Quote
pcradio Posted July 18, 2023 Report Posted July 18, 2023 The UV-5R is uber low cost. I have one and it is neat. Play around with it, send back the bad one and order a new one. If you like radio and or have a good utility use for it (I use it while hiking), then there are some cool tech out there. I'm enjoying my Yaesu and I appreciate the features it has. Quote
gaberelli Posted July 18, 2023 Author Report Posted July 18, 2023 25 minutes ago, pcradio said: The UV-5R is uber low cost. I have one and it is neat. Play around with it, send back the bad one and order a new one. If you like radio and or have a good utility use for it (I use it while hiking), then there are some cool tech out there. I'm enjoying my Yaesu and I appreciate the features it has. Yes, to Amazon’s and Baofeng’s credit, replacement radio in hand two days later. IF this is a pattern, I’ll be all ears for something a step up. Points of diminishing returns considered. Quote
OffRoaderX Posted July 18, 2023 Report Posted July 18, 2023 This is literally the first time I have ever heard of a UV-5R that was DOA.. I've purchased over a dozen, and know probably 100+ people that have also purchased them, so it is likely not a pattern. That said, virtually anything is a step up. gaberelli, WRQC527, SteveShannon and 2 others 5 Quote
SteveShannon Posted July 18, 2023 Report Posted July 18, 2023 2 hours ago, OffRoaderX said: This is literally the first time I have ever heard of a UV-5R that was DOA.. I've purchased over a dozen, and know probably 100+ people that have also purchased them, so it is likely not a pattern. That said, virtually anything is a step up. A lot of my friends have purchased UV5R radios. I’ve only seen one part failure, a microphone jack that no longer connects the built in microphone when the plug is removed. I’ve not seen one DOA. WRUU653 1 Quote
OffRoaderX Posted July 18, 2023 Report Posted July 18, 2023 Like it or not, you have to admit the threat of beating or death keeps the child-labor QC results very high on these things! WRXX938, jsneezy, WRUU653 and 3 others 4 2 Quote
WRXW945 Posted July 18, 2023 Report Posted July 18, 2023 I have bought several of them over the years and all surviving ones still work fine. The UV-5R is my go-to if there is a good chance the radio may not return in one piece (or at all). They're cheap and they work. Good stocking stuffers too. I need a big UV-5R PEZ dispenser. fe2o3, SteveShannon, pcradio and 1 other 1 3 Quote
gaberelli Posted July 18, 2023 Author Report Posted July 18, 2023 16 hours ago, OffRoaderX said: This is literally the first time I have ever heard of a UV-5R that was DOA.. I've purchased over a dozen, and know probably 100+ people that have also purchased them, so it is likely not a pattern. That said, virtually anything is a step up. Good to know as I know it’s super popular considering price point. Would love to know what’s considered the sweet spot step up for casual use. BTW, been consuming many of your vids and found the latest on the GMRS UV-5R interesting. Keep up the solid vids and humor. Quote
gaberelli Posted July 18, 2023 Author Report Posted July 18, 2023 14 hours ago, Sshannon said: A lot of my friends have purchased UV5R radios. I’ve only seen one part failure, a microphone jack that no longer connects the built in microphone when the plug is removed. I’ve not seen one DOA. Mine seemed to be software. Buttons didn’t work, reset didn’t work, randomly it moved between functions. Very weird. I loaded same Chirp file that worked on other one and still no go. Quote
pcradio Posted July 18, 2023 Report Posted July 18, 2023 20 minutes ago, gaberelli said: Would love to know what’s considered the sweet spot step up for casual use. Hard to say. Would depend on usage I suppose. Wouxun is well liked. Retevis are well packaged. Then there is Anytone. Then the Big Three. Others might have a different view of the landscape. What's casual to you and how that matches up with a feature set might take you a while to sort all that out. gaberelli 1 Quote
gaberelli Posted July 19, 2023 Author Report Posted July 19, 2023 Much success!! All programmed and good to go for weeklong camping trip. Quote
SteveShannon Posted July 19, 2023 Report Posted July 19, 2023 8 hours ago, gaberelli said: Mine seemed to be software. Buttons didn’t work, reset didn’t work, randomly it moved between functions. Very weird. I loaded same Chirp file that worked on other one and still no go. That actually sounds like a hardware problem affecting the interface software. Quote
WRXW945 Posted July 19, 2023 Report Posted July 19, 2023 13 hours ago, gaberelli said: Much success!! All programmed and good to go for weeklong camping trip. Make sure you turn the auto lock feature on, and turn off the reset menu with CHIRP. We were on the trails one day and wife some how managed to reset her radio attempting to do who knows what. While I did enjoy the silence, trail reprogramming sucks! gaberelli 1 Quote
back4more70 Posted July 19, 2023 Report Posted July 19, 2023 On 7/17/2023 at 9:18 PM, OffRoaderX said: Like it or not, you have to admit the threat of beating or death keeps the child-labor QC results very high on these things! I like it. Quote
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