Two UV-5R Minis, because that is what the carton is. He has watched the same radio take over his feed for a couple of weeks. The changes are real enough that he is willing to do another one. Radioddity sent them. He says they get no edit on whether he likes the radio. They told him to make as many videos as he wants.
He had already put the batteries and antennas on. The loose parts in the box were two radios, two USB cords, two lanyards, and a manual. The names on them are Thunder and Lightning. The app makes you name a radio. Leave the default and you cannot tell which one you programmed.
Smaller Than the Brick
Gray is the face he has. Other colors exist. There is a ham version and a GMRS version. The GMRS review he points at is Mike’s channel. Mike got 52 miles into a repeater on the GMRS mini. Kevin adds the caveats Mike’s contact needed: elevation, and whatever that repeater was running. He is not sure he believes 52 miles until he says it out loud and leaves it there.
Voice prompts announce the mode. Next to the K5 Plus, the mini is a lot smaller, and he says that is a bad comparison. The original UV-5R on the bench has an extended pack, so it is longer than a stock one. Even against that, the mini is a bit shorter. A normal pack on the old radio would end higher than the extended pack makes it look. The thickness, belt clip off, is the part he keeps coming back to.
USB-C is on the battery. No brick, no cradle. The pack charges alone, off the radio, which means a spare charges the same way. Chuck, a friend, did a video of one from Banggood. Kevin describes Banggood as the sort of place people mean when they say Alibaba. Chuck’s radio had no FCC ID and no logo. The Radioddity ones do. He jokes about flipping the voice prompts to Chinese. It is lighter. A hoodie pocket or a shorts pocket would take it. He does not wear long pants, and he is not carrying it in a pocket all day anyway.
Two PTTs, Bluetooth, and a Menu That Lies a Little
A and B each have a push-to-talk, so you choose the VFO from the side. The third side button is programmable and arrives as the FM broadcast button. Change it. The menu is longer than the old radio: scan, radio settings, program a channel, and wireless computer programming. Bluetooth is built in. He knows more expensive radios that do not have it. The app is Ola Radio, the same one their other Bluetooth radios use, and the same one the add-on module uses. If a radio is already in the app, you can pull its channels down. If it is not, you type them. A hundred channels on the keypad or on the phone is a bad afternoon. There is no import unless the file came from another Baofeng. There is a copy button. Program one mini, mirror it to the other.
His real path is CHIRP. The Kenwood-style cable from the other Baofengs fits. RepeaterBook, or a file he already saved, goes into CHIRP, into one radio, then across to the second. After that, small changes can live on the phone. On the Pixel 9 he thinks he is holding, Ola Radio draws buttons where the Android clock and the navigation bar cover them. Other apps do the same thing. He does not want the video to become a phone review.
The belt clip screws to the battery, not the body. A spare pack needs a spare clip, or you move one clip forever and it breaks. Flashlight is the usual one. He strobes himself in the face. A and B, and memory against VFO, are on the front.
The on-screen OK and back are not the keys you would guess. Menu is OK. Exit is back. The settings list is the usual handheld list, plus the side key, which the menu calls SK1. The choices he finds are FM radio, scan, search, VOX, the lamp, and SOS. Not a blank button. He has already set one of his to scan. He will give the radio the size, the programming, the Bluetooth, and the USB-C. The display is the part Baofeng still has not fixed. This screen is bigger than the old UV-5R. Indoors he can read it. Outside he cannot. He wanted that changed. It is not. The K5 Plus, which he liked, is a brick next to this. This one is a wallet, he says, after a few radios have emptied the actual wallet.
Scan is there once the channels are loaded. He is working from notes so he does not skip a point.
Forty-Seven Dollars for Two
The price is the part he knows people will argue about. You get two. A little over $45. He says $47, then $46.99, at Radioddity. The description link is a discount, and he says that is also how they know to send him more radios.
He is not putting it on a tiny spectrum analyzer. Spurious emissions, bleed, the usual bench plot. A hundred videos in a few weeks, and he thinks 99 percent of them are that test. His test is later. Simplex, these two radios, no repeater. How far they talk to each other. Probably the next week, if the weather allows. It snowed. The link to buy a pair is in the description. He thanks Radioddity. The original UV-5R is still the spare he would throw in a pack. These fit in a smaller space. Hiking, a family camp, a pair for emergencies. The reason he would carry one is the size.
Thunder and Lightning stay as the names. Without them, the app shows two identical radios and he will not know which write succeeded. Battery life and durability are later videos, with the distance test.
Transcript
The UV-5R Mini is the radio filling his recommendations, and he thinks the feature changes are why. The box is two radios, two USB cords, two lanyards, and a manual. Batteries and antennas were separate. He assembled them and named them Thunder and Lightning. Baofeng, he says, is finally changing things people asked for. He also has complaints.
Radioddity sent them. No input on the opinion. Make two videos or twenty-five. Several colors. These are gray. Ham version or GMRS. The GMRS review is on Mike’s channel. Mike’s GMRS mini made 52 miles to a repeater. Elevation and the repeater’s power were part of it. Kevin is impressed and not quite sure he believes it.
They are small. Voice prompts tell you the mode. Next to the K5 Plus they look tiny, and he says that is apples to oranges. The original UV-5R on the bench has an extended battery, so it is longer. Antenna off, the mini is still a little shorter, and a normal pack on the old radio would make the height gap smaller. The thickness, without the belt clip, is what surprises him. USB-C is on the battery. No brick, no charger base. The pack charges by itself, so a spare does too. Chuck reviewed one from Banggood that had no FCC ID or logo. These, from Radioddity, have it. He jokes about Chinese voice prompts. It is light enough for a hoodie pocket or shorts. He is not keeping it in a pocket all day.
A and B each have a PTT. The third side key is programmable and defaults to FM radio. Change it. The menu adds scan, radio settings, channel programming, and wireless programming. Bluetooth is built in. Some expensive radios do not have that. The app is the same one for their other Bluetooth radios and for the side module. Channels already in the app can come down. Typing a hundred channels on the keypad or the phone is miserable, because there is no import unless they came off another Baofeng. Copy will mirror one radio to the other. His workaround is CHIRP, the same Kenwood-style cable, RepeaterBook or a saved file, then a copy to the second radio. Edits after that can be the phone.
Ola Radio, which is the app, draws buttons outside the easy reach on his Pixel 9. The Android bars cover the top and bottom. Other apps do it. He pulls the video back to the radio. The belt clip is on the battery. Spare packs need spare clips, or the clip comes off and on until it breaks. Flashlight, and he strobes himself. A and B, memory and VFO.
In the menu, the key you think is OK is not. Menu confirms. Exit goes back. The side key is SK1. Options include FM radio, scan, search, VOX, the lamp, and SOS. He set one to scan. You pick from the list. He credits the size, the programming, Bluetooth, and USB-C. The display is still the old problem. Bigger than the UV-5R screen, readable indoors, gone in daylight. The K5 Plus screen is the one he liked. That radio is a brick. This one is a wallet. He is reading from notes. Scan works once channels are in.
Two radios, a little over $45, $46.99 at Radioddity. The description link saves money and tells them he reviewed it. He will not do the spectrum-analyzer video. Too many of those already. Next is simplex range between Thunder and Lightning, no repeater, probably next week. It snowed. He thanks Radioddity. The old UV-5R remains a good spare for a pack. These are smaller. Hiking, camping, an emergency pair. The size is why he would carry it. The names exist so the app can tell the radios apart. Distance, battery, and durability are the follow-ups.
Frequently Asked Questions
What came in the box, and who sent it?
Two radios, two USB cords, two lanyards, and a manual. He put the batteries and antennas on before the tour. Radioddity sent them and, he says, has no say in the opinion. He named them Thunder and Lightning because the app needs a name or you cannot tell which radio you just wrote. Gray face. Other colors exist. Ham or GMRS. For the GMRS review he points at Mike's channel. Mike's GMRS contact was 52 miles to a repeater, and Kevin says elevation and the repeater's power were part of that.
How does it compare with the UV-5R and the K5 Plus?
Much smaller than the K5 Plus, and he says that comparison is unfair. Next to an original UV-5R with an extended pack, the mini is shorter, and without the belt clip it is much thinner. A standard pack on the old radio would close some of the height gap. USB-C is the change he likes most. No brick and no drop-in charger. The pack charges by itself. A buddy named Chuck reviewed a Banggood unit that had no FCC ID or logo. These Radioddity radios have the marking. It will sit in a hoodie pocket. He would not carry it in a pocket all day.
How do you program it?
The app, over Bluetooth, or CHIRP on the Kenwood-style cable that fits the other Baofengs. The menu has wireless CPS. If another of their Bluetooth radios is already in Ola Radio, you can pull those channels down. Typing 100 channels on the keypad or in the phone is the painful path, because there is no general import. Copy sends one mini's programming to the other. His CHIRP path is download from the radio, load RepeaterBook or a saved file, write it, then copy to the second radio. Small edits after that can stay on the phone. On his Pixel 9, Ola Radio puts buttons under the Android status bar and the navigation bar, so some of them are hard to hit. The side key is only the options in the list. He set one to scan.
What does he dislike, and what did it cost?
Daylight. The screen is larger than the old UV-5R and he still cannot read it outside. Indoors it is fine. He had hoped this model would fix that. The K5 Plus screen is the one he liked, and that radio feels like a brick next to this one. The clip mounts on the battery, so swapping packs means swapping the clip, and clips break. $46.99 for the pair at Radioddity, which he also calls a little over $45. The description link is a discount. He is skipping the spectrum-analyzer videos. The next test is simplex, the two radios to each other, no repeater, probably the following week if the snow lets up. Later he wants battery life and durability. Hiking, camping, and a pair for emergencies are the uses he names. The size is the reason he would actually carry it.