UV-5R vs UV-5G

[Guest Guest]

What is the differencr between the two? I see UV-5R mentioned in these forums, but I thought they were ham radios and uv-5g is GMRS? Can they be used interchangeably? I want to make sure I’m getting the correct one. 

[WRYZ926]

You are correct that the standard UV-5R is a ham radio. Most people will unlock them to use on GMRS. Now there is a GMRS only version of the UV-5R called the UV-5R GMRS which is Part 95 certified for GMRS. 

To answer your question, there is no difference between the UV-5r, UV-5G or other radios based on the original UV-5r like the GT-5R other than what frequencies/bands they can operate on. If you want to stay with a Part 95 certified radio then sticks with the UV-5G or the UV-5R GMRS versions.

Here is a link to the UV-5R GMRS radios for those interested https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B18CPDKG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s01?ie=UTF8&th=1

[WSAH999]

Be careful when/if using CHIRP to program the UV5G. I've bricked that radio before using it, I believe there is a specific software that you can download from Baofeng. 

 

Again though that could've been a fluke on my end, but I still warn others. 

[WRYZ926]

11 minutes ago, WSAH999 said:

Be careful when/if using CHIRP to program the UV5G. I've bricked that radio before using it, I believe there is a specific software that you can download from Baofeng. 

 

Again though that could've been a fluke on my end, but I still warn others. 

The Radioddity UV-5G is supported by CHIRP and is what one uses when programming the Baofeng UV-5R GMRS too.  I haven't bricked either of my UV-5R GRMS radios when choosing the Radioddity UV-5G when using CHIRP.

[WSAH999]

Just now, WRYZ926 said:

The Radioddity UV-5G is supported by CHIRP and is what one uses when programming the Baofeng UV-5R GMRS too.  I haven't bricked either of my UV-5R GRMS radios when choosing the Radioddity UV-5G when using CHIRP.

Weird. I know of one other op in the area who also said they had a similar issue with the UV9G. Perhaps a bad one in the batch, or more likely I just did something stupid and didn't realize

 

Well, we call these "learning moments"

[Guest Uv5r ,]

The 5g plus is locked to gmrs and is a waste of money the 5rm can do gmrs and ham frequency why get a locked radio 

[SteveShannon]

3 hours ago, Guest Uv5r , said:

The 5g plus is locked to gmrs and is a waste of money the 5rm can do gmrs and ham frequency why get a locked radio 

Some people like to follow regulations. Using a certified radio makes it easy to select a channel and be sure it’s programmed to the right frequency, with the right offset (if any), at the right output power, and using the right bandwidth to avoid interfering with other channels and services. 

[WSEZ]

3 hours ago, Guest Uv5r , said:

The 5g plus is locked to gmrs and is a waste of money the 5rm can do gmrs and ham frequency why get a locked radio 

I can understand why picking the GMRS over the unlocked HAM radios. It takes away the temptation of transmitting on a frequency that a person isn't licensed to transmit on.

Also i think a GMRS radio can only have TX on GMRS and no other frequency allotment.... or maybe that was MURS.

I'm far from an expert I'm sure someone will both correct me and put in the correct information.  These guys are true GuRu's

[WRXB215]

I'd rather hand my non-amateur licensed family members a locked GMRS radio and not worry about them accidently keying up on an amateur frequency.

[Socalgmrs]

24 minutes ago, WSEZ418 said:

I can understand why picking the GMRS over the unlocked HAM radios. It takes away the temptation of transmitting on a frequency that a person isn't licensed to transmit on.

Also i think a GMRS radio can only have TX on GMRS and no other frequency allotment.... or maybe that was MURS.

I'm far from an expert I'm sure someone will both correct me and put in the correct information.  These guys are true GuRu's

That is correct.   Gmrs radios as already stated can only transmit on Gmrs frequencies.
 

   For new people, people who can’t control them selves, older people that don’t understand, or younger kids that don’t understand, or people that fallow all rules all the time, people that can’t seam to grasp the programming, gmrs locked radios are great.  
 

For some.. dual licensed hams,  people that need to be able to transmit on any frequency in a life or death emergency, people that want gmrs and murs on the same radio ect gmrs locked radios are stupid.  

[Guest Jim]

On 3/18/2024 at 7:19 PM, WSAH999 said:

Be careful when/if using CHIRP to program the UV5G. I've bricked that radio before using it, I believe there is a specific software that you can download from Baofeng. 

 

Again though that could've been a fluke on my end, but I still warn others. 

I thought that I bricked one with chirp, but it turned out that the keypad lock was just on.  Pressing & holding the # key for several seconds brought it back to life.

 

My Baofeng UV-5G pro programs as a Baofeng UV-5X and my Baofeng UV-5R GMRS programs as a Radiodity UV-5G.  I can't explain why, but that is what works for me using chirp.

[Guest Jim]

13 hours ago, Guest Uv5r , said:

The 5g plus is locked to gmrs and is a waste of money the 5rm can do gmrs and ham frequency why get a locked radio 

Compliance is one reason to get a locked radio.  Ease of use is another.  The GMRS version is set up & ready to go right out of the box with no programming needed.  If you get the ham version, you need to learn how to program the radio.

 

The only problem I had with the locked radio is that some of the weather frequencies were not set up correctly.  I got good reception when I punched in the frequency in VFO mode, but in channel mode, reception was poor.  A quick look in chirp indicated that the problem channels were set up for narrow band operation (NFM) rather than wide band (FM) reception.  Changing NFM to FM in chirp, then sending the program back to the radio, solved that problem.  Some channels were set to FM out of the box.  Others were set to NFM.  It was only the weather channels that I changed.  They are receive only.

[WSFP451]

Noob here.  I'll be watching this thread as I just dipped my toe in by buying a pair of UV-5Rs mainly for the dreaded shtf incident.  Unbeknownst to me, the nearest GMRS repeater is about 15 or so miles away.  The ones that I could hit from home with a hand held are not GMRS  No idea exactly how close I'll need to be to use one as I have a lot to learn.  I got my GMRS license, programmed my radios with CHIRP, but left them locked so that's a start.  So, I'm watching and trying to learn from ya'll what I can do with these radios besides taking them with me on my adventure bike to keep comms with my riding partner.  Cheers

 

Edited November 2 by WSFP451
clarity

[WRXB215]

1 hour ago, WSFP451 said:

to learn from ya'll what I can do with these radios besides taking them with me on my adventure bike to keep comms with my riding partner.

That sounds like a perfect use case for GMRS.

[AdmiralCochrane]

3 hours ago, WSFP451 said:

Noob here.  I'll be watching this thread as I just dipped my toe in by buying a pair of UV-5Rs mainly for the dreaded shtf incident.  Unbeknownst to me, the nearest GMRS repeater is about 15 or so miles away.  The ones that I could hit from home with a hand held are not GMRS  No idea exactly how close I'll need to be to use one as I have a lot to learn.  I got my GMRS license, programmed my radios with CHIRP, but left them locked so that's a start.  So, I'm watching and trying to learn from ya'll what I can do with these radios besides taking them with me on my adventure bike to keep comms with my riding partner.  Cheers

 

Distance doesn't matter if there is line of sight.  I hit a repeater 17 miles away as well as one 5 miles away because the 17 mile away antenna has a GREAT location.

[AdmiralCochrane]

Another example of line of sight being more important than distance ... on 70cm (GMRS is the adjacent 65cm band), I have heard a station 250 miles away on a regular basis when I plan on listening.  I don't know exactly what their antenna is, but I know their radio has a maximum of 25 watts transmit output.

[Socalgmrs]

1 minute ago, AdmiralCochrane said:

Another example of line of sight being more important than distance ... on 70cm (GMRS is the adjacent 65cm band), I have heard a station 250 miles away on a regular basis when I plan on listening.  I don't know exactly what their antenna is, but I know their radio has a maximum of 25 watts transmit output.

Yes. My 20w base radio with a 9db antenna radiating 140w  would easily do 200miles on gmrs.  Now with my 50w and 12db antenna radiating almost 700w I’m full quieting to the same repeater. And can get even further and talk with others simplex in that town no problem.  Line of sight and radiated power from the antenna. 

[GMRSJohn]

On 3/14/2024 at 8:37 AM, Guest Guest said:

What is the differencr between the two? I see UV-5R mentioned in these forums, but I thought they were ham radios and uv-5g is GMRS? Can they be used interchangeably? I want to make sure I’m getting the correct one. 

If I can make a recommendation, the UV-5G Plus is a pretty awesome radio. Their range is impressive! I like the dual mode and the sound is impressively clear.

[Socalgmrs]

1 minute ago, GMRSJohn said:

If I can make a recommendation, the UV-5G Plus is a pretty awesome radio. Their range is impressive! I like the dual mode and the sound is impressively clear.

The range is exactly the same as every other 5w radio with equivalent antennas.  Any where from 1/2 mile to 50plus miles.   It doesn’t matter if it’s a $20 radio or a $2000 radio.  All 5ish watt HT radios with the same basic antennas will transmit exact the same distance and no one will have any clue what radio you’re using.  
 

as for the other features…. Those are the only differences and are completely personal preference 

[GMRSJohn]

2 minutes ago, Socalgmrs said:

The range is exactly the same as every other 5w radio with equivalent antennas.  Any where from 1/2 mile to 50plus miles.   It doesn’t matter if it’s a $20 radio or a $2000 radio.  All 5ish watt HT radios with the same basic antennas will transmit exact the same distance and no one will have any clue what radio you’re using.  
 

as for the other features…. Those are the only differences and are completely personal preference 

It’s a good radio. I like it. Personally I find it well worth what I paid for it. I may grow out of it as I get more knowledgeable in radio but as a complete and utter beginner, it’s a good radio.

[WSFP451]

18 hours ago, Socalgmrs said:

The range is exactly the same as every other 5w radio with equivalent antennas.  Any where from 1/2 mile to 50plus miles.   It doesn’t matter if it’s a $20 radio or a $2000 radio.  All 5ish watt HT radios with the same basic antennas will transmit exact the same distance and no one will have any clue what radio you’re using.  
 

as for the other features…. Those are the only differences and are completely personal preference 

That's good to know. I'll have to be sure to be on a hill top if I break down or have an emergency lol. Kidding aside, in a worse case scenario, I could make my way to the top of a hill to catch a repeater if I need help.  There are a couple of pretty powerful repeaters in my area that I hope I could hit from line of sight.

[Socalgmrs]

The point was no radio with all other things equal have any better or worse distance or transmit ability than any other.  No amount of money is going to make 460 MHz go through things or bend around things or bounce off things. Gmrs frequencies rely solely on line of sight.  A 5w ht can and has hit the space station.  Gmrs should not be a primary means if rescue. That is what other ham frequencies are for.  They just work better.  

[AdmiralCochrane]

13 minutes ago, Socalgmrs said:

That is what other ham frequencies are for.  They just work better.  

Can you explain why you say this?

[AdmiralCochrane]

19 hours ago, Socalgmrs said:

The range is exactly the same as every other 5w radio with equivalent antennas.  Any where from 1/2 mile to 50plus miles.   It doesn’t matter if it’s a $20 radio or a $2000 radio.  All 5ish watt HT radios with the same basic antennas will transmit exact the same distance and no one will have any clue what radio you’re using.  
 

as for the other features…. Those are the only differences and are completely personal preference 

Mostly but not completely so.   A radio that wastes a lot of RF on off-frequency harmonics is not putting that energy on the center frequency.  97% of your RF on center frequency or 79% on center frequency?  Granted, 50% is sufficient at normal/close ranges.