Quansheng UV-K5 Dual Band Radio 5 Watts Output with NOAA Weather Alert Type C Charge

Great radio

In the $30 radio category you don't expect a whole lot. And that is to be expected. You want great audio, spend $100, want super clear menus and instructions, spend $100 or more. Want a cheap radio to monitor the bands, to include airband in this case, something the Feng doesn't do. Then this might be it. Right now you have to wait the two weeks for it to arrive from China, but it's worth it. I downloaded the programming software from the anysecu website and got it up and running in Windows and in Linux. Listened today to the local airport freqs and compared the audio to my Yaesu FT-70dr, and while the FT-70 sounds a little bit better, the UV-K5 pulled more signals. This is a great entry radio that has more features than the BaoFeng UV-5R and has a better screen and menu.The radio feels lighter than the Feng and the buttons are a little mushy. But again, you want quality, you aren't getting it at $30. So, if you have a UV-5R and $30 to spend, get the K5, or don't up to you. I am glad I got one and I will be ordering another soon. (Since you can clone them OTA, I can program it quickly)

The boxes were opened on both radios we received. The battery was installed, the plastic was missing from the radios displays. The lanyard has snags in the fabric and they were all twisted as a result. The biggest complaint for me on these and the Quansheng UV-K5 (same radio, different name). When you scan, the backlight remains ON the entire time you are scanning. The entire time you are scanning, the backlight remains ON which kills the battery, over and over, more charges, which shortens battery life. The smaller display on the Baofeng UV-5R is the downside but, at least when you scan the back light turns off automatically after a few seconds, and until the scan stops on an active frequency as it should be. The only plus feature is the larger display.Update: AM Aircraft is almost unreadable audio wise, really poor audio. I did some testing. The radio is great 400-512 MHz. It is barely out of spec on 2 meters 144-148, -13db down instead of -16db down as it should be. Splatters all over on 220-225 MHz but only puts out 1/4 of a watt, or 250 milliwatts, and you will need a 220 rubber duck, or an adapter for an external antenna before transmitting on the 1.25cm (220 MHz) band. System on a chip radios are inexpensive, this one is $29.99 at the time of this writing. I do like the radios a lot. Easy to program both PC and manually with the keypad. There is a learning curve for newbies. At this price point you can buy 2 so you have a backup radio on the shelf. 73'

I know this is a cheap radio, but my one star review is for the seller. When they respond with a cut and paste from the manual after I sent a detailed request for help. I am still waiting on response for some questions.Some of my problems with the radio are the same as others in the reviews so the seller must know its not just one or two buyers. I am not new to the radio hobby hold a amateur radio license and retired from tech industry. AM air band receive is very poor, manual states SCAN button starts and stops scan, it only starts on my radio. Does not scan on Weather Band as stated in manual.

The interface is decent on the radio. Controls feel decent, and easy to read display. Antenna is okay, but feels cheap, same reverse sma style and the baofeng. I like the knob guard, but dislike the wobbly clip. Radio fits into charger in a solid satisfying way, unlike the sloppy baofengs. For what it's worth, I got the correct US plug unlinke another reviewer. Shipping was a bit slow from China. Manual was okay, but poorly formatted, and barely passible english, just enough to figure it out. F-key shortcuts work well and are nice, but don't use them too fast, the UI is a little slow sometimes.Reception on Air bands was derided in a few video reviews, but was suprisingly good for me, however I found interference in the AM band a bit worse near or in homes. Once I was away from interference I was happy with the performance.Tip: Holding the PTT and upper side function button while turning the device on will get you to the "secret" menu for unlocking other bands and transmit abilities. Use at your own risk, fcc fines are not cheap. There are some other startup modes, one that lets you copy, via rf, settings from one radio to another, and one that sets a lock code. tapping the second side button gets a dim flashlight, handy at times, clicking the top one defeats the squelch for monitoring faint broadcasts at the price of static.Frequency scanning is a bit faster than the baofeng, but transmit quality is a tad worse than my uv5r, and much worse tha nmy uv5r. Have not tested fm recieve much as that is not my use case for this radio, but strong local signals, like my local repeater, came in fine.Rating takes into account price. It's not an amazing radio, just one with a passable party trick for a good price. For this price range, a gt5r is better for transmit duty, and a uv5r seems to do better but has less freq range and no AM. For nearby local air traffic this is a bargain, but only for that, with gmrs as a backup function after unlocking.

Batteries lasted all day and thy are easy to program. Thy have presets that can be used out of the box also.

For advanced users who know what they have and like to tinker to get the best results. Requires ability to do basic troubleshooting on your own. Great device if you dont expect a 30$ chinese radio to come pre configured with a special little system to enter a zip code. Superior receive and quality for the price.

I picked up this radio for a couple reasons. The tone/DCS search which works fantastic and a low power 220Mhz transceiver. Put this little guy on the frequency and when someone transmit hit Tone Scan and within seconds you have the PL tone. Very helpful with GMRS to find the Tone on unlisted repeaters. 73's