So which radio is right for you…or which radio should you buy?

Well, first thing to do is make sure you have read my reviews on each of the following radios…

• Baofeng UV-5RA
• Baofeng UV-5RMHP
• Baofeng BF-F8HP
• Baofeng/BTECH UV-5X3

I will go through this as if I were doing it for the first time…for myself. You see, we are all different, we all have different situations, needs, issues, missions, restrictions, etc. I can only speak for myself. But, I think going through it will help you, guide you, through the process of figuring it out for yourself.

Background –

Baofeng radios are really the only cost effective and reliable radios that are available. Yup, my opinion. True, Yaesu radios are wonderful! And if you can afford a cache of them and their accessories…great! I can’t. So Yaesu radios are out of the question. Baofeng radios are cost effective, reliable, plenty of accessories, easy to program with software, and flat out…they get the job done.

Assessment –

First thing I would do is figure out exactly what I want to use them for…their mission. For me I want to use them for daily tasks, emergencies, disasters, any security/protection work in my future, and especially for grid-down.

So the radio must be very flexible in its frequency range and ease of use. It also has to be compatible with most public emergency services entities. I run my own repeater so I don’t have a need for a long-range handheld. I have plenty of batteries and recharging capabilities on hand so I am not worried about power consumption.

They need to be tough enough but not military grade. I also need enough of them for let’s say 4 – 8 people to have one. I don’t use, nor intend to use, the 1.25m band. It is a relatively obscure band and not one in general use.

Choices and Why’s –

So here we go…

• UV-5RA:
  • If I had a limited budget for radios and accessories
  • If I needed a large number of radios (4 or more)
• UV-5RMHP
  • Out of the running since they are not available retail.
• BF-F8HP
  • Only if I had a very specific identifiable need for more power for transmission and no worries about ComSec.
• UV-5X3
  • Only if I had a very specific need for using the 1.25m band.
• Yaesu FT-60R
  • No budget limitations of any kind.
  • No need for GMRS, FRS, or MURS frequencies.

Summary –

Sorry, I imagine this was a very anti-climatic article for most of you. But, it turned out that it was easy for me to figure out which radio is best for me. The Boafeng UV-5RA is it…hands down. One possible exception. If I had all the hand held radios I needed (UV-5RA), all the accessories that I needed for all of those radios, and I had no mobile radio…I might buy the BF-F8HP just to have the extra wattage available. But, it would not be a field-going radio…it would stay in the ComShack.

If I was starting out from scratch, had no existing radios, I would look that the BF-F8HP as the standard…but only if I was 95% sure that there would be no ComSec issues…and I could buy enough radios, primary and back-ups, PLUS all of the right accessories to cover my needs within my budget.

Anything else…you better post a reply and ask a question…or use the contact form.

And I bet…this could open up a discussion similar to AR vs AK or Sig vs Glock. But hey…bring it on 😉

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