What is the real difference between cheap radios and expensive radios?

[Widowsson]

I’ve seen numerous videos and articles, posts, etc. saying that the radio itself doesn’t matter all that much. That it is mostly the antenna that matters. I’m speaking of handheld devices. Will a 5watt baofeng uv5g with an upgraded antenna be just as good, as far as range and clarity as a high end 5 watt radio? 

[WRUU653]

Yes. There is something to be said for build quality, functionality and purity but to your question will it be as good as far as range? Yes. and clarity? Probably. In my opinion anyway.

[GP62]

4 hours ago, Widowsson said:

I’ve seen numerous videos and articles, posts, etc. saying that the radio itself doesn’t matter all that much. That it is mostly the antenna that matters. I’m speaking of handheld devices. Will a 5watt baofeng uv5g with an upgraded antenna be just as good, as far as range and clarity as a high end 5 watt radio? 

I've always been of a mind that 'you get what you pay for'. A fair amount of research will help in the decision-making process....

[BoxCar]

The answer is really pretty basic - it's what's inside of the radio. Transistors, chips, capacitors and all the other parts and pieces are all made to operate within an ideal environment. The wider the operating environment, the higher the cost for the component. Then there is the design. The oldest (and one of the best overall) is the heterodyne which mixes a known frequency with the received frequency and the resulting product is processed for the receiver. The newest design is SDR or software design which converts the incoming signal to digital bits and the processes them. The other design has everything inside an IC or chip. The SOC or system on a chip is the least flexible but very good within its specifications. No GMRS radios or handheld models use SDR so they are either heterodyne or SOC. The transmitter portion of the radios is pretty much the same no matter the receive portion of the radio. So, its the components and the care taken in fine tuning them that makes up the real difference.

[Lscott]

What's the difference - money. You can pay a lot of money for a new junky Chinese radio and get a great deal on a nice commercial/industrial grade used radio. It all depends on where you shop.

The real question is what is the difference between a poorly performing radio and a good one? Money isn't always a good indication.

[WRXB215]

An example I have from personal experience.

The two radios:

• I was given an old Kenwood TH-75A. It is old but very well designed. 5 watts max if plugged into a cigarette lighter, maybe 3 watts on battery.
• I bought a new Baofeng UV-5R8W.

The two scenarios:

• When I listen to NOAA Weather Radio, I use the Kenwood. It has much cleaner sound.
• When I'm walking at the park and want to talk, I use the Baofeng. The Kenwood will not reach the repeater.

It all depends on what you want/need and how much money you have and are willing to spend to get it.

[WRKC935]

I am thinking we just talked about this.  And I was right.

 

Go give that a read and it will answer your question.

 

[WSCN901]

It's like a BMW vs KIA... Yeah, there can be differences in features and creature comforts, but often the difference is more about dollars than how far you'll go, and there are laws that limit how fast you'll get there.

[AdmiralCochrane]

On 7/18/2024 at 10:02 AM, WRXB215 said:

An example I have from personal experience.

The two radios:

• I was given an old Kenwood TH-75A. It is old but very well designed. 5 watts max if plugged into a cigarette lighter, maybe 3 watts on battery.
• I bought a new Baofeng UV-5R8W.

The two scenarios:

• When I listen to NOAA Weather Radio, I use the Kenwood. It has much cleaner sound.
• When I'm walking at the park and want to talk, I use the Baofeng. The Kenwood will not reach the repeater.

It all depends on what you want/need and how much money you have and are willing to spend to get it.

Could be the antenna and not the radio

[CALO50]

Depends on the intended use. If the bar is low enough, anything will suffice. What's the intended use?

[mac66]

Sometimes good enough is good enough.

[WRVG829]

On 7/18/2024 at 12:24 AM, Widowsson said:

I’ve seen numerous videos and articles, posts, etc. saying that the radio itself doesn’t matter all that much. That it is mostly the antenna that matters. I’m speaking of handheld devices. Will a 5watt baofeng uv5g with an upgraded antenna be just as good, as far as range and clarity as a high end 5 watt radio? 

In my opinion, it depends on whether or not lives are on the line.  If you're a professional first responder, your HT costs $2500 and up, is practically bulletproof/can go for a swim, etc., has a meshed network of repeaters set up for its use in your jurisdiction, has excellent factory support, programming support, and can be depended on when lives are at risk.  They're not perfect, but really quite good.

For a civilian, you don't need that sort of reliability nor expense.  You can pay less than $30 for a radio that works under most conditions.  Just don't count on it to survive getting wet, and you will be lucky to be able to communicate with someone who can help if you're having an emergency.  The communication will be of very limited range and any repeaters you use will maybe be linked and certainly won't be meshed.  

Or you can pay $200 and up for a superhet receiver that is modestly more capable than the cheapie HT.  The range will still be limited.  It will be more waterproof, perhaps have a better battery and improved sound quality, and be somewhat more reliable than the cheap radio.  If you have the cash to spend and are willing to possibly damage a $200 HT while rock climbing, this might be the way to go for you.  But you still won't want to rely on it as the first responders do.  If you're routinely putting your life on the line, you need the multi-kilobuck radio.

Again, JMHO.  I am certain lives have been saved through the use of the world's cheapest Baofeng, but I wouldn't want to count on one to do so.