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

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.

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

Doesn’t even work awful product

The BF‑F8HP is a noticeable step up from the standard UV‑5R. The extra power really does improve range and clarity, especially in open areas. The radio feels solid, the dual‑band functionality works flawlessly, and the menu system is straightforward once you get used to it. Battery life is impressive, and it holds a signal well even in challenging environments. For the price, it’s a fantastic handheld radio — reliable, strong, and versatile for both beginners and experienced users.

Producto de acuerdo a lo publicado.

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.

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 thought for the low price it would be another piece of space junk. But what I found out it is a decent enough radio with a few hitches. First issue is the menu tree and how you have to program the radio. It is confusing to set, offsets, pl, and the repeater information. This was mitigated by purchasing the programming cable and using either their software program or the other program Chirp. The software makes it a snap to program. I was able to hit all my favorite repeaters and listen to the local FM radio station and police, fire, emts, marine, etc. The next hitch is that the squelch adjustment is through the menu tree, rather than a button push or a knob to turn. I find this a bit awkward having to adjust the squelch on each freq by going through min 3 steps to adjust. I had also purchased the dual-band antenna they recommended that worked quite nicely. The other hitch took awhile to find. It has high, medium and low settings that are supposed to equate to 1,4 and 8 watts. The issue here is the low setting produced 5.51w, med produced 5.6w and the high produced 3.76w. This was verified with both analog and digital meters. To be fair 5w is good enough, but 8 is better and the mix of levels and settings being off drove me to exchange the radio to see if the next one delivers the specifications as posted in the manual. I shipped the first one back and ordered a replacement. Still a great buy for the money. But I can't give it 5 stars because the production quality assurance seems to be an issue . Read the follow up below and extrapolate the information on other buyers The replacement unit s/n indicated it was manufactured 11.2k units later than the first one and worked much better in varying the power levels at near their target points. It also made the 8w level on 449mhz. Indicating the power amp isn't linear, and you have to have atleast 8.3v availablee from the battery. To wrap thus up great radio for the price and near perfect....just short of outstanding. But it could be at the time younget yours. 73