Baofeng 5rm ar-5rm difference?

[Guest Top]

Totally Newb, but thinking about buying my first HAM/GMRS radio.  I *think* I've narrowed it down to the 5rm or ar-5rm but I'm not sure the differences.

 

Best I can tell the ar-5rm can Tx on low/med/high whereas the 5rm can not.

 

Any help much appreciated.

[WRZF838]

The 5RM also does low/med/hi TX.

[WRXP381]

Other then the obvious ar=assult radio.   Hahaha

i believe the ar is a tri and with air band? Maybe?  

[WRZF838]

The 5RM also does air band and is a triband.

 

My 5RM came unlocked fresh out of the box, plug in freqs and you're off.

 

I've found 1 discussion alluding that the AR-5RM is firmware locked to ham freqs and can't be opened up. Otherwise I'm pretty sure they're the exact same radio.

[WSAW746]

Out of curiosity, what firmware is it running? I’ve got a 5RM and I was thinking maybe different firmware. Mine is running firmware v0.14 hardware v01.

[Guest Newby]

Just got my uv-5rm plus running .14 and it appears locked. I can't transmit on FRS, GMRS channels nor above 450. And the unlock key-press while powering up that I've found for 5R and uv-82 do not work.

[WSDC258]

Just picked up an AR-5RM for 20$ on sale runs firmware v0.14 and hardware v0.1

Seems to transmit on anything but 500mhz and up transmits on anything down as well

[Guest I am New to Ham/GMRS]

I am looking for help in deciding between the Baofeng AR-5RM and TidRadio H8.  What recommendations do you have?  

[WRXP381]

So one of those radios every one will hate on.
 

 One of those radios every one will love on, but that same radio has post after post over the last few months of major issues.  
 

only you can make that choice.  

[SteveShannon]

29 minutes ago, Guest I am New to Ham/GMRS said:

I am looking for help in deciding between the Baofeng AR-5RM and TidRadio H8.  What recommendations do you have?  

Don’t overthink it.  Buy one and use it.  Your hands-on use will tell you more than our analysis ever could.

[WRXB215]

1 minute ago, SteveShannon said:

Your hands-on use will tell you more than our analysis ever could.

Possibly the wisest thing ever said on any radio forum. 

[Guest UV-5RM question]

Question about the UV-5RM radio, does it allow for GMRS transmition?

I have been looking and can't figure out if it is GMRS and HAM?  Need help    I am trying to decide which would be the best choice for my first GMRS/HAM radio

 

I appreciate each and every recommendation.

[WRXR255]

41 minutes ago, Guest UV-5RM question said:

Question about the UV-5RM radio, does it allow for GMRS transmition?

 

It should do so just fine.  Just program the freqs. in and your set.  If your going to GMRS with it the most however, I suggest getting a GMRS tuned antenna like a 701G.

[Guest thank you]

I want to thank everyone for their insight and words.  I really appreciate it.

[Guest AR-5RM]

Seems that the UV5-RM and the AR5-RM are programmed differently. 
The UV is programmed “legally” and thr AR is same, but with additional TX capability into MARS and GMRS bands. In fact, from the 467 upper GMRS freqs all the way through 520.  Just taken note. I got mine from Amazon. Power meter shows a firm 10 watts plus except 12 watts at 144 and 440.

[WRXR255]

4 hours ago, Guest AR-5RM said:

Seems that the UV5-RM and the AR5-RM are programmed differently. 
The UV is programmed “legally” and thr AR is same, but with additional TX capability into MARS and GMRS bands. In fact, from the 467 upper GMRS freqs all the way through 520.  Just taken note. I got mine from Amazon. Power meter shows a firm 10 watts plus except 12 watts at 144 and 440.

Not sure about the UV-5RM, but the AR-5RM will also RX/TX the 220 and RX the Air Bands.

[LeeBo]

I just received my AR-5RM yesterday.  I can confirm it works on HAM and GMRS frequencies.  It also received air / police bands and works with Chirp.

What I can't believe is that this a 10W radio. The reason I say that is because all I did was add a Nagoya 771 antenna to it and I was hitting a repeater some 25-ish miles away (I was told my transmissions were crystal clear) but with a couple other 10W radios with the same antenna I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. I was sitting on my front porch in a neighborhood surrounded by oak trees.

[dosw]

3 hours ago, LeeBo said:

I just received my AR-5RM yesterday.  I can confirm it works on HAM and GMRS frequencies.  It also received air / police bands and works with Chirp.

What I can't believe is that this a 10W radio. The reason I say that is because all I did was add a Nagoya 771 antenna to it and I was hitting a repeater some 25-ish miles away (I was told my transmissions were crystal clear) but with a couple other 10W radios with the same antenna I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. I was sitting on my front porch in a neighborhood surrounded by oak trees.

As you saw in my writeup on the radio, I did test it at its various power levels, and at various regions within the RF spectrum. It's not exactly 10w; usually a few percent low, occasionally a percent or two high. But it is so close it doesn't matter.

 

I can hit a repeater 64 miles away with the 771 and this radio. I think I've hit that same repeater with the UV-5G (old <5w model), with a 771 antenna. Your amazement should really be about the repeater you're hitting's quality setup. I don't know what hardware they're using for some of the repeaters in my area, but if I'm hitting one 64 miles away, and coming through legibly, it's because the repeater is amazing, and the radio is good enough.

 

Not hitting the broadside of a barn, so to speak, is all about line of sight, and path loss (through trees in your case).

[LeeBo]

I can hit a repeater 64 miles away with the 771 and this radio. I think I've hit that same repeater with the UV-5G (old

Excellent point, thanks for the explanation. I guess not all repeaters are “created equal” which would explain why I can hit that one so far away but can’t get a decent signal on one only a few miles down the road from the same radio (either 10w ht or 50w mobile).

But for now I think this AR-5RM is going to be my daily ht. It just feels good in my hand and has performed well so far.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[WRXP381]

7 minutes ago, LeeBo said:

 

Excellent point, thanks for the explanation. I guess not all repeaters are “created equal” which would explain why I can hit that one so far away but can’t get a decent signal on one only a few miles down the road from the same radio (either 10w ht or 50w mobile).

But for now I think this AR-5RM is going to be my daily ht. It just feels good in my hand and has performed well so far.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

90plus % of gmrs is line of sight.    Slime times you don’t have good line of sight 1 mile down the road, but can hit a repeater 50 miles away crystal clear.    Line of sight is key.   

[Guest Guest Seis]

For those of you who own and have tested the H8, 5rm, and ar-5rm; is the ar-5rm the clear winner here? I have a handful of h3’s, which I like, and love the Bluetooth connectivity, but I also have a couple of the tidradio bt programmers. I have more baofeng’s than I can count and was just about to buy a set of h8’s but the ar-5rm’s are a little over half the price of the h8’s. 

[LeeBo]

On 9/8/2024 at 12:47 PM, Guest Guest Seis said:

For those of you who own and have tested the H8, 5rm, and ar-5rm; is the ar-5rm the clear winner here? I have a handful of h3’s, which I like, and love the Bluetooth connectivity, but I also have a couple of the tidradio bt programmers. I have more baofeng’s than I can count and was just about to buy a set of h8’s but the ar-5rm’s are a little over half the price of the h8’s. 

I have the H3, H8 and AR-5M.  I like the feel of the H8 and the air band on the H3, and that they are both Bluetooth to OD Master. The AR-5RM is slightly larger than the H8 and has air band (and police / fire) like the H3. No Bluetooth connection by itself but does work with OD Master and the B/T adapter.  Works great with Chirp also.

It's safe to say I'll probably stop using the Tid radios.