Has anyone bought the NEW Baofeng GRMS UV-5R?

[Lscott]

8 hours ago, WRYC330 said:

My point is that nobody knows what they are getting when they buy one... its like the scene in the Forrest Gump movie where he describes a box of chocolates as never knowing what's inside.

Another reason why many of the CCR’s, cheap Chinese radios, get a bad reputation.

[SteveShannon]

35 minutes ago, Lscott said:

Another reason why many of the CCR’s, cheap Chinese radios, get a bad reputation.

Why? Because features that are not supposed to be there are sometimes not there? 

[DarrylLicht]

RUT ROH --

Just noticed that when I plug my Baofeng UV-5R GRMS radio into Chirp it identifies as a Radioddity UV-5R?

Is that expected? Or is this an indication I have a knock-off?

[OffRoaderX]

1 minute ago, DarrylLicht said:

Is that expected?

Yes..

Select Radioddity UV-5R (or whatever its showing) from the list and carry on.

[jsneezy]

11 minutes ago, OffRoaderX said:

Yes..

Select Radioddity UV-5R (or whatever its showing) from the list and carry on.

Exactly what El Rando said. This is something that happens with quite a few different radios. Chirp documentation probably also mentions it for a few. 

[WRYC330]

No. It's features that are supposed to be there that AREN'T there. 

Example: When was the last time somebody bought a "5 watt" Chinese HT and got anything even close to 5 watts... or an "8 watt" HT that got close to 8 watts... or a "25 watt" mobile that got close to 25 watts, etc, etc. (Sorry but minus 20% from advertised power is not "close"). I understand that the difference in db may be negligible, but that's not the point. The point is that many of these radios are being falsely represented to do things that they simply do not do. This BS is all brushed aside because of the low price point of these units. It's pretty basic stuff... you tell your customers that you are going to do something... and then you just DO it!

(In defense of the Tidradio TD-H8 (version 2) which is marketed as a 10 watt HT... it does indeed measure 10 watts on my meter. Wow... honesty in advertising... what a novel concept)!!!

 

 

[WRWB851]

23 hours ago, WRYC330 said:

I'd be very interested in HOW you programmed your GMRS UV-5R unit to TX on an "emergency" frequency using CHIRP.

I entered all the channels I wanted by copying and pasting the ham channels from a stock UV-5R configuration. I manually added the calling frequency I wanted to use for emergency contact. Upon entering these channels they were all TX enabled, as tested into a dummy load. I disabled TX via the "DUPLEX" option in CHIRP. The ham channels imported with that field cleared, which appears to enable TX. Setting the field to "off" disabled TX.

Oddly enough, this worked on the NOAA channels as well, and the radio as delivered was TX enabled on NOAA (yeah, I turned that off!)

My radios identify to CHIRP as Radioddity UV-5G, and I bought them in February 2023. I wouldn't be surprised if newer radios have TX tied up a little tighter in firmware. 

[WRWV516]

I used the UV-5R for a while. It's an OKAY radio in my opinion, there's nothing that good about it. And there is nothing that bad about it, it is just okay. There's really nothing more to say about it in my opinion. 

I recently started getting into Motorola's that are tuned down to GMRS Frequencies, I use them often while working, and while doing shifts as a security officer, I found to my personal preference the baofengs just aren't big enough for me. I like larger radios that have a little weight in your hands but that's just personal preference

[Lscott]

19 hours ago, Sshannon said:

Why? Because features that are not supposed to be there are sometimes not there? 

Or are, but just don’t work.

[JamesBrox]

 

I guess the GMRS version I bought...isn't legit.  

[SteveShannon]

9 minutes ago, JamesBrox said:

 

I guess the GMRS version I bought...isn't legit.  

That sometimes happens (at least I recall it happening once before.)  It doesn't necessarily mean it's not legit.  Might just be a lag.

[JamesBrox]

5 minutes ago, Sshannon said:

Might just be a lag.

This radio jargon throws me again. Explain what lag means. 

[SteveShannon]

24 minutes ago, JamesBrox said:

This radio jargon throws me again. Explain what lag means. 

Elapsed time between when something was certified by FCC and the time it shows up in the list you looked at. 

[DarrylLicht]

11 hours ago, Sshannon said:

Elapsed time between when something was certified by FCC and the time it shows up in the list you looked at. 

I'd go even more basic as lag is not a "radio" specific term and is used in many forms of communication like computer networking

A lag is simply a delay in transmission or reception of a communications signal.

As we all know whenever a federal entity is involved the lag time increases dramatically!

[WRUU653]

1 hour ago, DarrylLicht said:

I'd go even more basic as lag is not a "radio" specific term and is used in many forms of communication like computer networking

A lag is simply a delay in transmission or reception of a communications signal.

As we all know whenever a federal entity is involved the lag time increases dramatically!

Jet lag, I'm lagging today, come on kids don't lag behind... 

[DarrylLicht]

5 hours ago, WRUU653 said:

Jet lag, I'm lagging today, come on kids don't lag behind... 

Dammit I lagged that putt!

On a more back to topic subject...

I'm curious why when Programming the UV-5R GMRS radios with Chirp that the NOAA stations do not appear anywhere in Chirp?  Apparently they are hard coded into these HTs?  Can anyone confirm?

[WRXB215]

1 hour ago, DarrylLicht said:

Can anyone confirm?

I can confirm that they are hard coded into my MP31s but I had to add them in my UV-5R GMRS.

[SteveShannon]

On 9/22/2023 at 6:10 AM, WRYC330 said:

No. It's features that are supposed to be there that AREN'T there. 

Example: When was the last time somebody bought a "5 watt" Chinese HT and got anything even close to 5 watts... or an "8 watt" HT that got close to 8 watts... or a "25 watt" mobile that got close to 25 watts, etc, etc. (Sorry but minus 20% from advertised power is not "close"). I understand that the difference in db may be negligible, but that's not the point. The point is that many of these radios are being falsely represented to do things that they simply do not do. This BS is all brushed aside because of the low price point of these units. It's pretty basic stuff... you tell your customers that you are going to do something... and then you just DO it!

(In defense of the Tidradio TD-H8 (version 2) which is marketed as a 10 watt HT... it does indeed measure 10 watts on my meter. Wow... honesty in advertising... what a novel concept)!!!

 

 

My friend’s Baofeng UV5R transmits at just slightly more than 5 watts as measured by an MFJ UHF power meter. 

[muggz]

On 9/22/2023 at 8:13 PM, JamesBrox said:

 

I guess the GMRS version I bought...isn't legit.  

Is this what you were looking for?

https://fccid.io/2AJGM-P51UV

[JamesBrox]

19 hours ago, DarrylLicht said:

Dammit I lagged that putt!

On a more back to topic subject...

I'm curious why when Programming the UV-5R GMRS radios with Chirp that the NOAA stations do not appear anywhere in Chirp?  Apparently they are hard coded into these HTs?  Can anyone confirm?

I can confirm that and it sucks. I don't want NOAA on there. 

[WRWB851]

20 hours ago, DarrylLicht said:

I'm curious why when Programming the UV-5R GMRS radios with Chirp that the NOAA stations do not appear anywhere in Chirp?  Apparently they are hard coded into these HTs?  Can anyone confirm?

The configuration in mine as delivered list 11 NOAA frequencies in channels 117 to 127. I can receive 2 of them, and I easily deleted the other 9 in CHIRP.

[dogboy]

I purchased one of the UV-5R GMRS radios from Amazon. It was from the Amazon store that came up when clicking on notarubicon's affiliate link. It would not transmit on Ch 15, nor 462.550 programmed into  one of the higher channels (while trying to transmit in channel  mode). They won't transmit in frequency mode,  at least according to  notarubicon, and that seemed to be the case with that first radio. It WOULD transmit on both Ch 15 or a higher channel if I programmed the channel to any frequency 462.560 or higher.  All programming on it was done on the face of the radio.

I ended up sending it back for exchange. Second one was the exact same way. In the meantime, I had ordered a programming cord, and downloaded CHIRP. I attached the radio to the computer (a MacBook, but I was using the compatible CHIRP, so I think it should have worked?). I could not get CHIRP to talk to the radio. Tried numerous times, no joy. So, I sent that second radio back to Amazon as well, for a full refund. I've given up on the UV-5R GMRS, as it seems that everywhere it is available lately, it is disabled for Tx below 462.560. And yes, I know that 462.560 isn't a GMRS frequency. But it would Tx on that frequency, when programmed into any channel, and operated in channel mode. 

[WRYC330]

I have FOUR uv-5r GMRS units with that same exact problem. I bought the first 2 on eBay and found they would not TX on Ch15. I emailed the seller who said "just keep them" and sent me 2 more. And the second pair do the same thing... and likewise cannot be fixed with CHIRP. OK radios that are functional but with defects of one sort or another...  typical quality control issues. I paid peanuts for them and got what I paid for

[Lscott]

1 hour ago, WRYC330 said:

I paid peanuts for them

If you kept your peanuts at least you can eat those.

[WRYS366]

Mine has worked well for far for me.

I'm new to radios and so far I'm finding it a great radio to 'toy with'.

I like that it's pre-programmed to the GMRS channels and has the power output set for each channel and changes for me as I change channels.

It's inexpensive and I'm sure I'll replace it someday.  Not being afraid of breaking it is nice though, I think I'm using it more because of that.  Tossing it in my vehicle and not afraid to leave it there.  Putting it in the tractor cupholder etc.

I have a UV-5R that's a non GMRS radio as well and they seem almost identical.