Top 5 Handheld Ham Radios 2025 : Best Picks for Every Operator

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  • Опубликовано: 14 янв 2025
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Комментарии • 81

  • @joedonnelly9487
    @joedonnelly9487 27 дней назад +7

    The Ham Radio Prep folks are exceptional - always informative and helpful

    • @HamRadioPrep
      @HamRadioPrep  27 дней назад +1

      Thank you so much Joe! 🙏 we just shared that comment with our whole team here, and it really made our day.
      Merry Christmas and 73!

  • @wundercurio
    @wundercurio 27 дней назад +3

    Thank you for the video! I’m VERY new to all this & just order the BF-F8HP Pro! 🤓

    • @HamRadioPrep
      @HamRadioPrep  27 дней назад

      Great choice! You will be really happy with it!

  • @704Productions
    @704Productions Месяц назад +1

    Thanks Jim! Great review, gives me lots to think about as I begin this process.

  • @KE8ODY-WV-Ares-Ham-Dad-3O4
    @KE8ODY-WV-Ares-Ham-Dad-3O4 Месяц назад +4

    The 878 and the 168 have become my go to HT'S I don't even mess with any other companies

  • @ragheadand420roll
    @ragheadand420roll 29 дней назад +6

    My $26 quangsheng is my love 😂

    • @HamRadioPrep
      @HamRadioPrep  27 дней назад

      Haha! At that price, you can't beat it!

  • @briangrove597
    @briangrove597 27 дней назад +3

    Great video, thanks for the info. Almost thru with my studying on ham radio prep. Hope to take my test soon. Really thinking about the Anytone, as it can be used analog, and like the DMR function. As I think this would be good while traveling the US to keep in touch with my wife, may need a hotspot but that is fine. My wife is also going to get her license as well. Thanks again.

    • @HamRadioPrep
      @HamRadioPrep  27 дней назад +1

      Thanks so much for studying with us! 🙏

    • @briangrove597
      @briangrove597 27 дней назад

      @ of course. thanks for providing great material, I really enjoy how each lesson is set up.

  • @reloadnorth7722
    @reloadnorth7722 15 дней назад +1

    Last year I bought a UV-5R as my first radio, to learn on. It was faulty and was returned, but because of no stock availability, a UV82 was sent to replace it. I actually like the UV82 better.

  • @nickl3872
    @nickl3872 28 дней назад +1

    Thanks Jim

    • @HamRadioPrep
      @HamRadioPrep  27 дней назад +1

      You're very welcome! We're here to help anytime.

  • @ChatGPT1111
    @ChatGPT1111 28 дней назад +5

    While you get decent value with the Baofengs, the Japanese radios are far superior. You get what you pay for. Also BTech is the American version of the Baofeng, with much better specs like much less spurious emissions on unwanted bands.

  • @jtwrightjr
    @jtwrightjr 29 дней назад +2

    The BF-F8HP Pro is a tri-band. It can transmit on 1.25 meters. The screenshot of the BTech webpage shows that, but you only mention dual band frequencies.

  • @michaelstora70
    @michaelstora70 4 часа назад

    Will any of these do 1.25m?

  • @KE8ODY-WV-Ares-Ham-Dad-3O4
    @KE8ODY-WV-Ares-Ham-Dad-3O4 Месяц назад +11

    Thise Kenwood are absolutely stupidly overpriced

    • @HamRadioPrep
      @HamRadioPrep  Месяц назад +2

      They seem to have come down in price a bit. We saw them under $600 during a Black Friday sale, so shop around!

    • @RhettSparrow
      @RhettSparrow 27 дней назад +1

      Actually i saw them for as low as 575. And regularly on sale for about 625 now in few sites

    • @KD9ZHF
      @KD9ZHF 19 дней назад

      @@RhettSparrowI worry kenwood will go out of business.

    • @RhettSparrow
      @RhettSparrow 19 дней назад

      @@KD9ZHF ya nobody can stop it from happening, if a company is not transforming fast enough. Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi are going for a merger, who would have thought that will happen! Honda showed the humanoid looking asimo decades back, but it remains a gimmick today. Companies that stop innovating will bite the dust one day or the other!

  • @Hook-N-Ladder
    @Hook-N-Ladder 7 дней назад

    I'm studying up for my exams now and bought a Baofeng AR-5RM to learn on. It's advertised for 10w, though I don't have the tools to test it, has the full color screen, receives FM radio broadcasts on local stations, handles 70cm/1.2m/2m bands, GMRS/FRS, and everything else the one chosen here does, and they're about 30 bucks. I assume the cost difference is in the quality of the internals, but if you're new like me, you can get enough of what the number 5 radio offers for a third of the price.

    • @HamRadioPrep
      @HamRadioPrep  5 дней назад +1

      That's a great value and a good way to get started!

  • @johnk23705
    @johnk23705 Месяц назад +1

    Good review. I think you missed on the Alternate Mentions in not recommending the Yaesu FT-60R as a tough and very feature rich radio. It's been the gold standard analog FM radio for years. Also in DMR, a super rugged, IP 67 rated radio for basic use would be the TYT UV- 390 plus. At $120.00, it is a great basic DMR radio. No APRS, but if your looking for a great field radio, it's hard to beat, especially at it's price point. It punches well above it's price and will hold up to rough use and water intrusion far better than the others (all depends on your intended use). Thanks for the review, I think many will benefit from it.

    • @HamRadioPrep
      @HamRadioPrep  Месяц назад +1

      Thanks for the thoughts. The FT-60R seems good as well. Will consider it for future reviews.

  • @raymundomarroquin7105
    @raymundomarroquin7105 Месяц назад

    Thank you!

  • @MarkHawthorne976
    @MarkHawthorne976 Месяц назад +2

    I was surprised you didn't mention the VGC N-76. Any thoughts?

    • @HamRadioPrep
      @HamRadioPrep  Месяц назад +1

      Our team has not seen that one. Thanks for the tip. We'll consider it for future updates.

    • @briankendall1978
      @briankendall1978 29 дней назад

      @@HamRadioPrep I would bet if you contacted VGC, they would probably send you one free for review. They gave a half a dozen of them to Steve from Temporarily Offline Ham Radio RUclips Channel. The VR-N76 now offers a Bluetooth KISS TNC so you can do aprs and winlink email radio with app on your phone.

  • @ScanFan_Ed
    @ScanFan_Ed 3 дня назад

    Maybe I misunderstood, but did the video state that the BF-F8HP PRO is a dual band? I believe it is a Tri-band, covering 1.25 as well. 👍

    • @HamRadioPrep
      @HamRadioPrep  День назад +1

      Thanks for pointing that out - We'll double check on that!

  • @ronestes667
    @ronestes667 27 дней назад +1

    Tidradio TD-H3 is probably the best first radio. For the price and features. I have the TD-H8 and it’s now my daily carry.

    • @HamRadioPrep
      @HamRadioPrep  27 дней назад

      This is also a great option, thanks for sharing this!!

    • @arthurmctaggart
      @arthurmctaggart 26 дней назад +1

      Agree. Especially when you update the firmware on the TD-H3 with nicFW.

    • @daytona1212
      @daytona1212 22 дня назад

      And almost zero harmonics. Can't say that of the Quangsheng.

  • @J4ckieD
    @J4ckieD 27 дней назад +1

    I just want something better than my baofeng uv5r but usually talk myself out of it. Seems to still get the job done, I don't have to worry about damaging it knocking around the yard.

  • @trickvro
    @trickvro 27 дней назад +3

    A couple pronunciation notes:
    "Baofeng" can be most faithfully rendered in English phonetics as "bow" (as in "take a bow") + "fung" (rhyming with "young").
    "Quansheng" is a bit difficult, but the best way is "ch-when" (that is, the word "when" but with a "ch" sound at the beginning) + "shung" (also rhymes with "young").
    It's true that Chinese pinyin is unintuitive if you aren't familiar with it-but that means you should rely LESS on your intuitions, not MORE.

    • @HamRadioPrep
      @HamRadioPrep  27 дней назад

      We went with the classic American pronunciation LOL! Not correct, but common. Thanks for the tip though, this is good to know!

  • @nateitkin8279
    @nateitkin8279 27 дней назад +2

    The Chinese radios are a compelling value, but they usually lack FCC certification. They should be tested for emissions outside the authorized spectrum allocated to amateur operators prior to using one. There must be a thousand videos on youtube where people have found illegal emissions from Baofeng and others. I vaguely remember the ARRL doing some testing as well. This could have changed, but last I knew the Baofeng GT-5R was the only FCC certified amateur radio in the Baofeng line-up. Maybe the BF-F8HP is better, but the transceiver in my GT-5R is awful compared to my Yaesu radios. Of course the latter costs 10x - 20x more, depending on the model.
    Regarding the FT-70DR, the transceiver is second to none, but I suggest prospective buyers try the volume control at a retail outlet before buying one. Simultaneously holding down a button and rotating the multifunction knob to adjust the volume has to be the single biggest UI failure of all time. Try doing that with one hand. Yaesu has been manufacturing HTs for time immemorial so this almost had to be a Machiavellian move by them to force buyers into the more expensive FT5DR while still having a $200 dollar ICOM competitor in their line-up. Even if Yaesu offered a firmware update to allow switching the multifunction knob between volume control and menu selection, they could redeem themselves. I had no problem buying Yaesu sight unseen until this move. Now I feel like I better go to a retailer to look over any prospective Yaesu purchase to see if they crippled the product.

    • @HamRadioPrep
      @HamRadioPrep  12 дней назад

      We appreciate your feedback on the user interface and other comments. Definitely something to consider.

  • @troubleintrouble
    @troubleintrouble 14 дней назад

    What about the Anytone D168 ?

    • @HamRadioPrep
      @HamRadioPrep  12 дней назад

      We did not have that radio to review this round. We'll look into it for future updates.

  • @troyparker4523
    @troyparker4523 23 дня назад

    Baofeng BF-F8HP Pro was designed by B-Tech and built for B-Tech by Baofeng and it is a Tri-band radio it also does 1.25 meter as well. Which means it is the only radio on your list that can also do 220 was well.
    The Anytone 878UVII Plus is good. But the B-Tech DMR 6X2 Pro (is basically the same radio) but has a few extra features and is about $20 cheaper. Its built by Anytone (so no a real clone) but has a few B-Tech chips in it. It has the same quality, and functionality, but has a couple extra menu option. It will even take an Anytone code plug. That's why I went with the B-Tech instead of the Anytone, it was cheaper ($20 is still $20), and the extra features that the Anytone didn't have, and also U.S. based customer support.

    • @HamRadioPrep
      @HamRadioPrep  22 дня назад

      Great information! Thanks for sharing that.

  • @CharlieDeltaSeis
    @CharlieDeltaSeis 9 дней назад

    D75 review?? Greetings from Chile

    • @HamRadioPrep
      @HamRadioPrep  8 дней назад +1

      Not one in the works, thanks for the suggestion. We'll consider it.

    • @CharlieDeltaSeis
      @CharlieDeltaSeis 8 дней назад

      @ thanks

  • @rowdyron4111
    @rowdyron4111 Месяц назад +4

    FT5D

  • @jnhgfdhgf
    @jnhgfdhgf 17 дней назад

    I have both the FT5DR and FT-70DR and they both came with the USB cable. For the FT5 the cable just makes it more complicated though, just use a micro sd card. It's probably easier to just hand program the FT-70 unless you use RT Systems software. The ADMS software Yaesu offers for free for all their radios is pretty useless as you can't import any info (RepeaterBook/RadioReference and the others) to the software. Basically, when you buy a radio, add $25 for the RT Systems software and another $25 for a Signal Stick antenna if you buy a handheld.

    • @HamRadioPrep
      @HamRadioPrep  12 дней назад

      It's funny how we all find our own preferred methods of programming!

  • @tedmichas7709
    @tedmichas7709 9 дней назад

    Ar152 baofeng

  • @W5KJD
    @W5KJD Месяц назад

    What’s the difference between the Baofeng BF F8 HP
    Pro 8 watt and the Baofeng AR-5RM 10watt radios both have the same features?

    • @semsemsalabim
      @semsemsalabim Месяц назад +1

      The BF HP Pro has on board GPS, that's the biggest difference I am aware of.

    • @MattCoversTech
      @MattCoversTech 28 дней назад +2

      The BFF8HP Pro is a tri-band radio and has GPS location sharing. Like the 5RM series it has 999/1000 channels of memory, but the BFF8HP also incorporates zones. BTECH has also promised future firmware upgrades for the BFF8HP Pro. I’m sure someone out there has done a thorough review of it. 😉

    • @nickl3872
      @nickl3872 28 дней назад +1

      Price

  • @llagos
    @llagos 7 дней назад

    I don't trust reviews that don't contains a "Cons" section. What's the catch here? None of the radios have nothing wrong with them? I'd prefer this review to include Pros and Cons for each alternativa (besides the obvious one, price)... it's a technical review after all... For instance, the Baofeng are, yes, good for the price, but on the "Cons" side, I've read and heard that the real output power is much less than advertised, so an antena change is a must-do. True? False? Thanks

    • @HamRadioPrep
      @HamRadioPrep  5 дней назад

      Thanks for the suggestion. We'll consider this for future videos.

  • @Codyjrt
    @Codyjrt 5 дней назад

    UVK5(8) all day.

  • @moparman8254
    @moparman8254 29 дней назад

    y doe every one get a ht for their first radio? while a mobile has higher power & wih a 5/8h wave antenna can talk farther ?

    • @HamRadioPrep
      @HamRadioPrep  27 дней назад

      Most people go with an HT first. But, if you want to go for a mobile radio, it's not a bad option.

    • @ricdonato4328
      @ricdonato4328 27 дней назад

      Oops, check your grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

  • @KE8ODY-WV-Ares-Ham-Dad-3O4
    @KE8ODY-WV-Ares-Ham-Dad-3O4 Месяц назад +1

    There's a difference between Btech and baofeng

    • @ChatGPT1111
      @ChatGPT1111 28 дней назад +1

      BTech is the American version of the Baofeng, with much better specs.

  • @Deano_K5MPG
    @Deano_K5MPG 27 дней назад

    The Kenwood is the first radio that would be cut from my list. It’s ridiculously overpriced and you can get the same features and a better built cheaper radio.

  • @CatDaddySteve
    @CatDaddySteve Месяц назад +1

    thereis NO fair price with Japanese radios

    • @HamRadioPrep
      @HamRadioPrep  27 дней назад +1

      I guess it's all a matter of perspective haha! Thanks for the comment.

  • @mbloof1
    @mbloof1 День назад

    I'm sorry but it is simply irresponsible at best to recommend the purchase of DIRTY RADIOS!!
    Please actually test+measure (spectral purity not just power output) of the radios before recommending them!

  • @camrodger8638
    @camrodger8638 4 дня назад

    When the end of the world arrives there will be three things left…..cockroaches, lawyers, and the Yeasu VX-6R.

  • @bulldogbrower6732
    @bulldogbrower6732 Месяц назад

    Thanks for all that work. I hope you consider the BTech UV-Pro in your next listing. VHF-UHF, GPS, APRS, Bluetooth map integration, Photo sharing by transmission, all for $160.00.

    • @HamRadioPrep
      @HamRadioPrep  Месяц назад

      We will look at that one for future reviews. Thanks for the tip.

    • @davemichaeli5339
      @davemichaeli5339 27 дней назад +1

      APRS with a Bluetooth TNC too. I love mine.

  • @raymondmartin6737
    @raymondmartin6737 27 дней назад

    My Kenwood D74 from 2017 had awful battery life.
    I sold it for $300.00 in 2018
    at Orlando Hamcation. W2CH.😊

    • @johnkieffer5854
      @johnkieffer5854 27 дней назад +1

      There are reports that D75 has battery problems also.

  • @HamRadioN0CKL
    @HamRadioN0CKL День назад

    Nobody should ever recommend one of the cheap Chinese HT's.
    ruclips.net/video/sGq3jow1UKY/видео.htmlsi=HjH8APBWvTT2yt7_