Cheap Vs Expensive - what do you really get?

[Tiercel]

I have bought 2 of the cheapest ($20) HTs made Baofeng UV-5R.  I bought 2 UV-9G ($43).  I am not totally cheap.  I think I bought about the best GMRS mobile units made ($400).  I did so in part because I wanted the detachable face option.

Here I see a GMRS HT for $170.00.  What in the name of Zeus does the extra $130 get you that the UV-9G does not provide.  I read the description and much of it read like nonsense. Such as:
"The KG-935G Plus transmits on all 15 high powered GMRS simplex channels, 8 low powered simplex channels and all 8 GMRS repeater channels at up to 5.5 watts of power, with no special programming needed. It has dual receive capability on both UHF and VHF bands, ..."
My $20 HT does that.  Why bother to mention it?????

I listed a every thing I cold find where it might excel ( and a couple where it does not measure up to the $43 UV-9G

Please tell me why I would want a more expensive HT.  Don't tell me because Baofeng is crap.  Back it up with proof.  Keep in mind a guy can go through four UV-9Gs before he pays $170.00.  Don't give me vague sales jargon. Don't tell me that it has a stop watch.  That is something you would tell a 8 yr old.  My phone has every clock and timer known to man (on and off the grid).  I am not being obstinate or combative here.  I actually want you to convince me to buy something in this price range because I want to have $130 more awesomeness than I have.  I want to be able to bounce signals over mountains and have rare practical, useful features if they exist.  I just don't see it in the description below.  
Thanks for indulging me.

If you have owned $40 HTs and this or another $170 GMRS HT I would like to hear from you
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

a built-in stopwatch is included with the KG-935G Plus. So what's new? How about Favorite Channels, a customizable Area Message, improved text entry via the keypad and PF Key Quick Guide so you can view a list of all the active PF key assignments at a glance. Each of those is definitely a plus!

plus incoming caller ID. It has four display color themes, plus 6 additional themes for even more customization, for a total of 10 themes!
a brighter built-in flashlight (Wow)
It has complete protection against contact with dust, and can take water projected from any direction in powerful jets  (So what?  The $43 UV-9G is totally submersible )
As for programmability, the KG-935G Plus introduces the Channel Wizard, a revolutionary feature that allows you to quickly program a simplex or repeater channel into the radio directly from the keypad with amazing ease! 
The Wouxun KG-935G Plus includes a 2600mAh rechargeable Li-Ion battery pack with a USB-C charging port,

[OffRoaderX]

Both the $26 radios and the $226 radios have the exact same farz and there is not a huge difference between them. For most people the value boils down to build-quality, features and customer support.   If you dont care about those things thing stick with the less expensive radios or whichever radio has the features you care about.

[WRYZ926]

I can say that there is a difference when it comes to HT radios. The Baofeng's are more sensitive and more susceptible to noise/interference when two radios are in close proximity (50-100 feet). I have noticed it with my dual band 2m/70cm Baofeng GT-5R  and my Baofeng UV-5R GMRS. More expensive radios won't have that issue. 

I will keep my Baofeng radios around but they will get replaced with better radios. I find it hard to justify HT radios that cost $175 or more but am willing to spend $100-$125 for a good HT.

Sound quality can be subjective depending on the individual's hearing. I can also say that others can hear me better on my more expensive HT's versus my Baofeng HT's. It is also easier to access the 2m repeater that is 21 miles away with my better radios versus my Baofeng radios.

Only you can justify if a more expensive radio is better for you versus a cheaper radio.

[WRHS218]

What is the difference between a 2023 Kia Rio @ $17K and a 2023 Camaro SS @ $50K. They will both get you to the grocery store. The will both get you across the country. Why would anyone pay $50K+ for a new car when they can get one that will do the same thing for $17K?

Yeah, it is kind of like that.

I have had both the cheap radios and a couple of the more expensive radios. The build quality,  the ease of programming, IP rating, and a lot of other things make the more expensive radios I have worth it for me.

It comes down to personal choice. If you have to be talked into buying something, you probably won't be satisfied with it.

[Guest]

Just to pile on and add to it all..

(and this coming from a guy who has NEVER ran ‘the expensive stuff’ personally, and owns many CCRs for GMRS)

With some (not all) of the cheap vs expensive argument:

 As mentioned already - front end filtering is better (the interference factor)

Receive sensitivity is better (hear more fars, break squelch sooner, etc)

Transmission quality is better (better electrical design and quality = less RF leakage, better harmonics management, etc)

Audio in/Audio out is better (they sound better to you, you sound better to them) 

Electrical component quality is better (lasts longer, degrades slower, etc)

Now, while all that can be true in many scenarios, my take is this: all the radios, cheap or not, that I am willing to run carry FCC type acceptance certificates, and have been evaluated for the parts that matter(cross frequency filtering, interference, etc)… so that reduces the decision down to “do I really need the super heterodyne level receive sensitivity and quality when my 6 year old throws this thing into the river”? 

[tweiss3]

Front end overload is a thing. Unless you have experienced it, and observed it side by side with different radios, you likely won't understand or care. The better radios have much better filtering to prevent this. Also, along side better filters, it also creates better selectivity. Also better accessories are available, and audio quality. These are just a few. 

[Lscott]

Most of the comments are about the radio's electrical performance. The second factor is the mechanical durability. 

In particular the commercial radios have to survive a lot of accidental, and deliberate, abuse by users. One used radio I purchased off of eBay the user super-glued the channel selector knob so it wouldn't move! WTF? I had to use a small channel lock wrench to break it free. Reading the radio with the programming software it turned out the channel it was stuck on wasn't even programmed. Hummm... I guess someone had a bad day and was trying to make a point.

The same would apply to the higher end consumer grade radios. I've seen commercial radios where the cases have been grossly destroyed, then after swapping the guts into a new case the radio still works. In contrast my cheap BTECH tri-band, I use at work for a quick and dirty scanner, I had in my shirt pocket at a local restaurant. It fell out and hit the concrete floor. No apparent external physical damage. However that drop was enough to screw up the audio, it was distorted. The radio was still under warranty so I sent it back for replacement. A high quality commercial radio the case might have gotten dinged up a bit or cracked but it would still work OK.

[WRYZ926]

33 minutes ago, tweiss3 said:

Front end overload is a thing. Unless you have experienced it, and observed it side by side with different radios, you likely won't understand or care. The better radios have much better filtering to prevent this. Also, along side better filters, it also creates better selectivity. Also better accessories are available, and audio quality. These are just a few. 

That is what I was trying to explain in my earlier reply but was drawing a blank on proper terms. Even the Explorer QRZ-1/TYT YV88 while still direct conversion are both better than the Baofeng radios when it comes to front end overloading.

Yesterday was a prime example with traveling in a convoy with others and also doing tower work. The BaoFeng GT-5R and UV-5R GMRS both suffered from front end overload while my Explorer QRZ-1 and the other higher end radios did not have issues.

[WRQC527]

This subject has literally been beaten to death on this site and many others. But since you asked, I'll compare my favorite two HTs, my Baofeng UV5R and my Yaesu FT-70, both of which will do GMRS if the situation allows it. Cost. $20 vs $170. Baofeng wins. Printing rubbing off the keys in 6 months. Yaesu wins. Keypad programming. Yaesu wins. CHIRP programming. Baofeng wins. Receiver sensitivity. Yaesu wins. Battery life. Baofeng wins. Durability. Yaesu wins. Transmit audio. Tie. Receive audio. Tie. Flashlight. Baofeng wins. User manual. Yaesu wins. Worrying if it falls in a lake. Baofeng wins. I'm sure there's more, but you get the picture. I think the Yaesu is the better radio, but the Yaesu is certainly not 9 times better than the Yaeasu, and the Baofeng is not 9 times worse than the Yaesu. Or however that math works. I hope I answered your question without violating your rather numerous demands.

 

[WRWE456]

If your life or the lives of loved ones depended on having a working radio for whatever reason which would you chose? One made to the absolute lowest price point as its primary goal or one that was designed to be a truly good performing and durable radio as its goal?

Just like with most anything else it depends what you are using it for. Is it just a toy or are you needing it for important serious work?

[WRWE456]

This report should help reinforce the point.

https://rumble.com/v3nhca7-the-wouxun-kg-935g-still-the-best-gmrs-ht.html

[WRUU653]

11 hours ago, Tiercel said:

If you have owned $40 HTs and this or another $170 GMRS HT I would like to hear from you

I have both the radios you mentioned. The Baofeng UV-9G and the Wouxun KG-935G Plus. KG-935G Plus hands down is my favorite GMRS Radio. If you gotta have quality and waterproof as well as even more frequencies to receive you could spend even more and get the Wouxun KG-Q10G, then you can jump in the hot tub and with quality. The ladies can see a cheap radio a mile away.  In all seriousness I like the Baofeng and if I am worried about damaging a radio that's the one I'll grab but I've bounced my KG-935 off the pavement and not a scratch. 

I started to do a list of the differences but the most important difference is this. Which one do I grab when I want to use a GMRS radio? KG-935G Plus at least 99 out of 100 times. Ask anyone who has both and I'll bet that's their answer. 

[Tiercel]

Thanks to everyone.  Those were great, straight-to-the-point answers that put it in perspective.

[AdmiralCochrane]

I think the previous answers have been accurate.  I would add, reception of weaker stations (regardless of whether the other party was farther away, using less power or a poorer antenna) is CLEARER on radios with better and more expensive receiver components. 

My experience is based on Kenwood vs Baofeng.  I still use the Baofeng on occaison, as many posted above, it has its place. 

[gortex2]

Many items pointed out above are accurate. I'll add my experience. One of my GMRS repeaters is at a great location. Prior to being a GMRS repeater it was used by a public safety agency on public safety frequencies. The agency had portable coverage over a large area. When it was transferred to our SAR team all I did was change frequency and retune the cavities on the combiner. The old frequency was not far from the GMRS channel I chose. We used it with our LMR radios with no issues. I had other ask about using it and over time finally opened the repeater. One month later all I had was complaints that it didn't work at all or horrible receive reports. Every complaint I went and tested and never saw the issues that were reported on my LMR gear. Many of the complaints were from the same locations the agency used this repeater. Digging in more all the users complaining were using CCR stuff. Those using LMR gear had no issues. In the end I just closed it and removed it from all listings. This is just my experience with true LMR gear and not cheap stuff. As reference when that repeater went into the site it was in the $15,000 range and all our portables were in the $2500 range so none of it was cheap. Can stuff be done cheap, sure and in some applications it can work just fine. As I say to everyone it depends on your application, location and available resources. 

[jas]

I think I have a better answer for you. Navy Seals have a saying: "Two is one and one is none"

One expensive HT is useless out in the woods or dessert canyons if it stops working for whatever reason. Two less expensive ones is a much better bet.

Differences are small between the two. They both work. The cheap ones might have a bit less wattage but it's an insignificant amount. Oh, and for cheap HTs get a GOOD antenna. Makes a big tested (by me) difference. I have a 30-inch Nagoya folding whip antenna on one of my Baofengs. No comparison on SWR with the standard antenna, It shows in both RX (especially) and TX.

You can by a $200 dollar superheterodyne HT radio, which will sound clearer on RX depending on range. But, you can buy eight Baofeng UV-5R GMRS radios for that. Cheap and work very well.  (two is one...)

And after all they are just HTs. Quality high power mobiles blow all of them away... 

All the more expensive radios tend to have more (listening) bands hence more frequencies, and better user interfaces and that is a big plus. The better interface of some of the expensive ones IS a big deal...  If you can afford one then definitely go for it! But by all means get two! $400... (two is one)

[JoCoBrian]

I'd rather have TWO good well engineered working radios than a sack full of junk handies. 

[SteveShannon]

21 hours ago, jas said:

I think I have a better answer for you. Navy Seals have a saying: "Two is one and one is none"

One expensive HT is useless out in the woods or dessert canyons if it stops working for whatever reason. Two less expensive ones is a much better bet.

Differences are small between the two. They both work. The cheap ones might have a bit less wattage but it's an insignificant amount. Oh, and for cheap HTs get a GOOD antenna. Makes a big tested (by me) difference. I have a 30-inch Nagoya folding whip antenna on one of my Baofengs. No comparison on SWR with the standard antenna, It shows in both RX (especially) and TX.

You can by a $200 dollar superheterodyne HT radio, which will sound clearer on RX depending on range. But, you can buy eight Baofeng UV-5R GMRS radios for that. Cheap and work very well.  (two is one...)

And after all they are just HTs. Quality high power mobiles blow all of them away... 

All the more expensive radios tend to have more (listening) bands hence more frequencies, and better user interfaces and that is a big plus. The better interface of some of the expensive ones IS a big deal...  If you can afford one then definitely go for it! But by all means get two! $400... (two is one)

How many SEALs are carrying two Palmetto State carbines rather than a single M4A1?

[jas]

3 hours ago, Sshannon said:

How many SEALs are carrying two Palmetto State carbines rather than a single M4A1?

LOL! The quote was in reference to explosives, detonators and wiring mainly, diving gear essentials, AND radios, both satellite and individual comms. For weapons, they carry more than one, sometimes three, depending on duties (team sniper etc.).

[AdmiralCochrane]

On 11/16/2023 at 7:04 PM, jas said:

LOL! The quote was in reference to explosives, detonators and wiring mainly, diving gear essentials, AND radios, both satellite and individual comms. For weapons, they carry more than one, sometimes three, depending on duties (team sniper etc.).

But no Jennings or Lorcins