BF-F8HP (UV-5R 3rd Gen) 8-Watt Dual Band Two-Way Radio (136-174MHz VHF & 400-520MHz UHF) Includes Full Kit with Large Battery

Suer cool device for a great value. Has good range and many frequencies to use. Comes in clear and is easy to program if need be.

It was easy to load all of my local ham repeater channels using Chirp and RepeaterBook.com. The radio is of fine quality and is a great value.

Could not find my fancy radio, so I bought this one and it exceeded my expectations. Easy to use and it works. It's hard to complain at this price point.

Being part of the HAM community is fun. It is a practical skill as well. These things will work when other forms of communication won't work. It is nice to have and the science behind it is very intriguing to me. I'm 26 and I just got my license last month. Had I known ham radios were so affordable I would have started much sooner. Had I known you can even become a licensed ham technician as a kid I would have done it years ago. I was often too intimidated to try, but it isn't too hard of a process if you do a little studying and have a little money. I bought this radio and I am amazed at the quality for the price. Crappy walkie talkies from Costco cost about the same, but with ham radios you can do so many things walkies can't. You can tune into thousands of frequencies. Receive local FM radio, and transmit much further than any walkie. Especially if you use a repeater. I want my family to all get licensed for HAM radio so that in case of an earthquake or other natural disaster we can check in with each other since phone lines and cell phones will likely be down. I was in the 2010 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Concepcion, Chile. Cell phones were down for a couple days, power was out even longer, and there was no running water for a couple weeks. Thankfully there is a big Coca Cola factory there you could buy soda most anywhere there, so we lived off of soda during that time. We just couldn't shower for a couple weeks :( Anyways back to the communication aspect of the earthquake. Right after the earthquake the first thing you think about is if everyone you know is okay. All my family was in the US at the time, so they obviously weren't affected, but I had many friends there and we had no way to find out if they were okay. The only way we could find out is by walking miles to where they lived. What could make things worse is if they are doing the same thing trying to find you and you can't find them. Not having communication after a disaster like that makes things very stressful. My family now lives within a 10 mile radius of each other, so under most conditions we are within range of each other via ham radio. If a disaster happens where I live I want to be able to check in with all my family to make sure they are all right. That way I can have peace of mind and don't have to walk or drive to them assuming roads are usable. After knowing my family is safe I will be able to help my neighbors if needed. This is just one idea of why you should have one of these. I could name many more from hiking to zombies, but you get the idea. I'm not sure if every state does this, but Utah has a designated repeater frequency to forward you directly to 911. So you can make 911 calls from wherever you are with a HAM if cellphone service is not available. At least that is what I read online. I haven't tested it so I don't know for sure, but you can't really do a test 911 call. :( The Utah frequency is 448.350 for the 911 forwarding repeater. I think it is linked to multiple receivers throughout the state as well, so you don't have to be in the Salt Lake City to do it. I recommend a couple accessories for this radio. Get the 15.6" whip antenna for $17. It will improve your receiving and transmitting ability. It fits this radio perfectly. Also get the BaoFeng USB adapter cable for $5. Then download the "CHIRP" software online for free. This allows you to use a computer to program all the channels and repeaters you want without doing the long manual process on the radio itself. It saves a lot of time, plus you can save all the settings you make onto a file, so if you break your radio you can restore the same settings onto a new one with one click. Or you can also clone settings from one radio to another. The one downside to this radio is that it isn't waterproof. You can't expect it to be for the price, but when I think of HAM radio I think of being in the backcountry where other forms of communication aren't available. This is good for practice and it is nice to have for emergencies. In fact at this price I am considering keeping a spare in both of my cars. If I were a hunter or frequent hiker or camper I would probably get the Yaesu Quad Band handheld radio since it is fully waterproof submersible and can communicate on many more frequencies that this one can't do. It's probably a lot more rugged too. Of course you would need a General License to legally utilize the other bands. That one goes for about $350 on Amazon, but i'll probably buy that one in the future as my all-purpose ham.

I purchased this radio, and then purchased another almost two month's later. I have found it to be a good, reliable radio transceiver with pretty good function sets, as well as excellent frequency ranges for the various U S radio services bands. It has capability to receive all the Personal Radio Service (PRS) bands (GMRS, FRS, MURS and some Ham frequencies), and transmission is excellent too for a handheld. Radio programming is fairly easy using CHIRP program (easily found on the web), but you WILL need the USB Programming Cable for Two-way Radio to connect to your computer (available here for $11 or so) for programming. You don't need name brand, as connection is a standard one: two-pin to USB. I also bought and use extension microphone/speaker, which I recommend too (Baofeng BF-S112 for $6.00); although again no brand name is necessary as it will accept standard two-pin connection. Extension mike is both speaker and mike, so it can be clipped to shoulder level, requiring much less volume to hear (many cops are so outfitted), while radio is clipped to belt or waste band. You will need a license from FCC to use GMRS at full power, and you MUST adjust settings to low power to lawfully use unlicensed FRS and MURS bands. There are big fines and penalties for not following regulations, so you need to pay attention to that!! License is easy to apply for at FCC webpage. Radio holds 127 memory locations for user-defined frequency, power, friendly name and other settings, and licensed GMRS users can take advantage of the many repeaters available, which can theoretically give 50-mile range in ideal settings, while radio alone can transmit from 5-20 miles, depending on conditions and terrain. I installed a 6 foot antenna on top of my roof for use at home, and it adds a remarkable amount of additional transmit and reception capability. People buying this sort of radio will do well to understand it IS a powerful radio with a vary wide range of frequency capabilities, and some are highly restricted; meaning you can get into a world of trouble for transmitting on them, even by mistake!!! The FCC isn't too understanding nor indulgent for users offering "I didn't know!" They can give you little memory aids to help you, by means of fines up to $75,000 and a year in jail...So DO NOT screw around! But those things show you what this is: A radio that means business! You can listen to any channel without any license, but don't exceed power allowed for FRS and MURS and get a license for full-power (this radio's full power) GMRS usage! FCC Part 95 regulations are available on their website (FCC.gov), which will explain all of your abilities and responsibilities for GMRS, FRS, MURS and other designated PRS frequencies. I would recommend thinking about a longer portable antenna for carrying this around to enhance user capabilities, but the stock antenna is still a good one, so you don't have to. Battery holds a good charge so far and gives a long cycle of use, and radio comes to clip to secure it to your belt, coat, purse, whatever. All in, I am very happy with this radio (rather both of them!), and I recommend it without reservation; BUT buyers have to use it lawfully and with license for anything beyond FRS or MURS; using low power settings for those unlicensed bands!

There is virtually nothing that this radio cannot do, in terms of useful communication. It is well made and the handbook needs to be studied well before use. Accessories are easily available online and the range of the radios is very good. The frequency range is extensive and will hold the required frequency accurately. Given that the price makes the radio excellent value for money, I can recommend this unit. Note, however that it is not waterproof.

Producto de acuerdo a lo publicado.

Brilliant customer service, and a fantastic radio, can't wait to use the radio and see whats possible with it. :)

Practico, anteriormente tenía un UV-5R, por lo que no me fue difícil programarlo. Lo utilizare cuando salga de senderismo, en moto o en bici a lugares donde no hay celular. No pesa ni es estorboso.

Al principio dudaba por la marca pero son realmente increíbles, nos dió un alcance en montaña superior a los 7km. Realmente buenos