Ham Radio Baofeng Radio 5RM 10W Long Range Handheld AR-5RM Two Way Radio NOAA Weather Receiver Rechargeable Walkie Talkies Longe Range DTMF Copy Frequency 999CH with Type C Charging 2500mAh Battery

I've had this radio for some time and the longer I have it, the more I appreciate it. Like just about everyone new to this, I started with a UV-5R and it's variants including the UV-5R GMRS, UV-5G Pro, and M-5R. If you're looking for a HAM radio, don't waste your time with those. I've seen people write that this is just a UV-5R or M-5R in a larger case with a better display. No it isn't. It is a totally unlocked HAM radio and better in every way. I don't have a HAM license (I'm GMRS licensed) so I'm using it for listening and I can pick up Airband, 2 Meter, 1.25 Meter, 70 Centimeter but also frequencies in between and up to around 519Mhz. So, you want to listen railroad frequencies between 160-161Mhz or Marine frequencies between 156 and 174Mhz? You can. Military aircraft on 225-399.95Mhz? You can. It's incredibly versatile and it achieves the promised 10 watts on some bands. It's more durable, the speaker is more intelligible, it receives better, transmits clearly, it's USB-C rechargeable out of the box, Chirp compatible. Just be aware you need a HAM license to transmit with this, especially because of the higher power. Some GMRS/FRS shared channels are limited to .5 watt. MURS is limited to 2 watts. I've read the lowest power this radio is capable of is around 2.5 watts. At 10 this would seriously overpower them. I know people are dropping GMRS channels into this with Chirp but in doing so, the 5Mhz repeater offsets don't save correctly and you have to manually set them every in VFO mode every time. Also, because it is so unlocked, it would be very easy to step on EMS or other critical or licensed business services so you need to know what you're doing. I've had my eye on the new BTech UV-Pro HAM HTT for some time (about $165 on Amazon). I have two BTech GMRS Pro's and they're awesome. But I'm starting to think I'll buy a second AR-5RM at $28, because I can't imagine a totally unlocked radio like this will be permitted forever. It does have an FCC ID on the back, surprisingly. Then to advance my knowledge of HAM, I'll get a RTL-SDR USB software defined radio for my laptop... for listening and learning. That'll give me more functionality than any HTT. Note: An inexpensive radio at around $30, there are a couple cons. Like most HTT's with color screens, this is incredibly difficult to read in bright sunlight so be ready for that. And, like most inexpensive SOC homodyne receivers (especially the UV-5R's, it is very susceptible to front end overload. Using the stock antenna and/or if you live away from AM/FM broadcast sources, this isn't a problem. But I live two miles from two FM radio towers and 4 miles from Sky Harbor airport in Phoenix. When I add an upgraded Radtel Airband or any other upgraded antenna, all my Boafeng's go totally deaf. All that adjacent FM RF energy is too much. So for $20 I bought an Airband band pass filter and it works great. You can also buy an FM band rejection filter - for listening. But seriously, the UV-5R radios are popular but their audio quality is awful. Every time I go back to using any of mine, they comparatively feel like toys. So all but my UV-5G Pro, I'm giving them away. This AR-5RM feels more rugged, looks better. It's just a really cool little radio for anyone looking to learn.

The 5RM/AR-5RM, K5PLUS, and (fat boi) UV-25 share the same guts and they're all great. I live in a very forested city and the extra wattage (seeing 9-10W on my wattmeter on 70cm and 2m) really helps to punch through the foliage between me and my friends or me and simplex. These are the best handhelds I've owned and I've had a bunch. Any of the above will serve you well whether you are a HAM or have a GMRS license because they are unlocked out of the box. They can also receive and transmit on the marine VHF band so they would work well as HT backup boat radios (not waterproof though). They can also receive airband if you're into that. Functionality is similar to the class-leading cheapo UV-5R but these have bigger color screens, bigger batteries, and output a little more wattage. They're worth the upgrade. They are also capable of triband on 1.25 but they only put out 3-4W for some reason (that's okay because nobody uses 1.25m anyway). Buy half a dozen of them, program them with CHIRP with the repeaters in your area, and never look back. Nobody will know that you're on a Baofeng. WJ4CFW

Here is the skinny on this new radioIt is basically an Upgraded Version of the UV-5R. Where it is different is in that it brings you expanded receiving frequency covering the aviation band, a larger battery 2500mAh compared to the UV-5R which comes with a 1800mAh battery. One of the best upgrades is it has USB-C charging(car, solar bank and more). BaoFeng has added their new one-key copy frequency function, making it easier to add new frequencies and for the Hams DTMF manual dial function. This new radio version boasts a larger 1.77’’ color display.The Good and The BadThere are several models being sold on Amazon this is a AR-5RM modelI really liked the Type-C Rechargeable port it is designed on the back of the battery and has a dust cover over it, making it convenient for you to charge anytime and anywhere. When you go out, you can charge in the car, power bank, laptop, or any USB interface device, no longer worrying about low battery issues.Easy to program using Chirp programming software: UV-17Pro.I really like when the weather starts to look rough that this radio has the ten NOAA weather channels preprogrammed. . This function allows you to stay updated with the latest weather forecasts and alerts, helping you make informed decisions. No more trying to remember the frequencies.The ONLY UV-5 accessories that will work on the AR-5RM are the antennas and speaker microphones and programing cable! This means the UV-5R batteries WILL NOT work on the 5RM series radios!The Belt clip is made of thicker material than the UV-5 style however one flaw I dislike is they no longer have the inner lip to help hold it tight. RED MENU HARD TO SEE IN SUNLIGHT!The AR-5RM has the ability to monitor the aircraft band: (108.0000 - 135.99875MHz) I've listened to air band with this radio. When you set it into the air band it automatically switches to AM, and will not transmit.Lastly it has Voice inversion scrambling an analog method of obscuring the content of a transmission. It is sometimes used in public service radio Without a descrambler, the transmission makes the speaker sound like Charlie Brown’s teacher. So you want 2 radios to use it.So I tested two radios and here are the findings.Battery life testing:On scanning mode, power saver off, TDR (dual scan) on, squelch set at 6 and High power with some transmitting it lasted 28 hours.Turning the TDR off, not scanning, some transmitting, squelch at 6, Transmit set to high and the power saver set at 1.4 it lasted 36 hours.Power output: High Medium Low2 meter VHF144Mhz-148Mhz 7.1 5.1 1.6 watts1.25 meter 220Mhz-225Mhz 4.0 1.7 1.6 watts70 meter 420Mhz-450Mhz 7.9 5.3 2.2 wattsCombined testing of two radios in the GMRS frequencies 462Mhz-467Mhz gave an averaged of 7.5 high power 4.8 medium power 2.07 low power.On the 2 meter band VHF144Mhz-148Mhz 9 high; 5.7 med; 2 low power.My two cents is yes it is worth the upgrade. My SHTF supply is being upgrade!

I know a lot of amateur radio operators throw a lot of shade at baofeng radios, but this one is a good radio. I like it better than the uv-5r which I’ve had for at least 10 years. The 5RM feels good in the hand, I get good reports for sound. The only thing that didn’t work well was the earpiece and mic that came with it. I recommend getting a better earpiece/mic but other than that it’s a great HT for the price.