The last unboxing was two boxes. This round is three. One level A, the ultimate handheld, listed up to $219.99. Two level C, the essential handheld, listed up to $199. He introduces himself and the call comes out wrong in the caption. It is KE2DFQ.
What changed is the shipper. The cartons came separately, and both came from Amazon. Radioddity did not ship them from Las Vegas. He wants to know if the radios inside are different because of that.
The Ultimate Box
He puts the A list on screen before the knife. A GD88 at $219.99, the top of the list. A GA-5WB, five watts, dual band, $179.99. An HD1 two-pack, $69.99. A UV-25 Plus, 10-watt tribander, $63.99. A UV-25, 10-watt dual-bander, $56.99. A two-pack of 17R Plus radios with cables. A K6 two-pack. That one is already on the bench, waiting on its own videos. A Baofeng GT-9R, waterproof, dual band, $49.99. A UV-5RM Plus with GPS, 10 watts, triband, $44.99. A GA-510 dual-bander, $39.99. Or a K5 Plus with a mic, $33.99. Sticker on this box is $29.99. He paid less. Radioddity points, a dollar of spending to a point, a gift card from another purchase, points that took the shipping off, and a code he thinks was about 15 percent. He would have to open the order to swear to the stack. He does not remember it cold.
The carton has a batteries sticker. It is not the Las Vegas pack he is used to. He stalls, asks for guesses, then cuts. Blue and white. An FCC mark. A Baofeng. A note in the box that he calls hilarious and does not read. This one is a giveaway. He already owns one. The drawing is 500 subscribers, and he says they are close. People who watch and do not subscribe are out of it.
It is a K5 Plus. He leaves it wrapped at first, then shows the pile: battery, external mic, the charging port, the headset, two antennas, short and long, belt clip. Reviews and the CHIRP video are already up. Getting it back in the box is a fight. He will finish that off camera.
The Next Day
Different shirt. He counts this as round three of mystery boxes on the channel, and round two of this year’s sale. The delivery is two of box C. Essential handhelds, up to a $199 value. Two radios. Each one was $14.99, maybe less after the same coupons. Not gifts. The odd part is still Amazon. Earlier Radioddity boxes came from Radioddity. These came from two distribution centers, two days.
He scrolls the C list. A GD-168 would be the one he wants, two of them if he is greedy. A price he reads as $1.99 is not a price. An AT-10G, and he already has one, so a duplicate is another giveaway. A GT-3TP. A K6. A UV-5RM Plus. A K6 in the other kit, extra antenna, speaker, and cable, instead of an extra battery. A 5R tribander. A 17R Plus. A 15 Pro that is also a GMRS radio. A UV-17R. A K63, which was in the last video. A GT-5R. A model number at the end of the list that does not survive the caption. The page is clear that two boxes can be the same radio. He would not hate a pair. Simplex between two identical radios is a test he wants. He hopes the sale is not a one-time clean-out. Once a quarter, maybe. Inventory on their side, a surprise on his.
Both inner cartons are brown. He thinks that means they might not be Baofeng. Then the label says Baofeng. Brown packaging, same brand.
The heavy one is another K6. He blanks on whether a K6 he already owns is in a blue-and-white box. Traditional Baofeng shape, a heavy battery. The site lists two kits: extra battery and cable, or extra antenna and speaker. In the box: a cable, a charger, a mic, a headset, no second battery. So the antenna kit. He sees one large antenna, then finds the other. Extra antenna, speaker, and cable. The value on the page is $28.99. He calls his cost about $15 and says he doubled it.
The other is a GT-5R. Five watts, dual band. He pulls the page up so the camera can see it. He calls it the upgraded legal version of the UV-5R. He owns a handful of UV-5Rs, so the joke is that those must be the other kind. The Black Friday price he reads is $19.19. Normal is $22.99. It looks like a UV-5R, and this one has the FCC stickers. Battery, manual, antenna, earpiece, belt clip, lanyard, charging block. The USB-C radios from the other boxes are the ones he likes carrying. A cradle is one more thing in the bag.
He has several radios now and several videos to shoot. The giveaway question is whether people want a radio that has been opened and tested, or one that is still sealed. The K5 Plus is already tagged for 500 subscribers. A matched pair would have been the simplex test. He did not get one.
He thinks the mystery boxes end today. The recording clock says 11:29. The mouse crawls whenever he hits record. If the comments say buy more, he might, for more giveaways. Then he is back on POTA Trip. The tool is meant to help an activation. Beta signup is on the POTA Trip site.
Transcript
Three more boxes, after the last pair was fun. One level A, ultimate handheld, up to $219.99. Two level C, essentials, up to $199. The call in the intro is KE2DFQ. These shipped separately, from Amazon, not from Radioddity in Las Vegas. He wonders if the contents change with the shipper.
Box A on the site: GD88 at $219.99, GA-5WB five-watt dual-band at $179.99, HD1 two-pack at $69.99, UV-25 Plus 10-watt tribander at $63.99, UV-25 10-watt dual-bander at $56.99, a 17R Plus two-pack with cables, a K6 two-pack he already has, GT-9R waterproof dual-band at $49.99, UV-5RM Plus GPS 10-watt tribander at $44.99, GA-510 dual-band at $39.99, or a K5 Plus with a mic at $33.99. Sticker $29.99. He paid less. Points, a gift card, shipping covered by points, and he thinks about 15 percent off. He would have to check the order. Not a gift.
Batteries sticker. Not the Las Vegas pack. Blue and white, FCC logo, Baofeng. A note he will not read out loud. Giveaway, because he already owns one, at 500 subscribers. K5 Plus: battery, external mic, charging port, headset, short antenna, longer antenna, belt clip. The reviews and the CHIRP video exist. It will not go back in the box on camera.
Next day, different clothes. He calls it round three overall and round two of this sale. Two of box C, $14.99 each, maybe less. Not gifts. Amazon, two centers, two deliveries. The C list: a GD-168 he wants, an AT-10G he already owns, GT-3TP, K6, UV-5RM Plus, a K6 with extra antenna, speaker, and cable, a 5R tribander, 17R Plus, a 15 Pro that is also GMRS, UV-17R, K63, GT-5R, and one model the caption loses. A GD-168 price that comes out as $1.99 is ignored. Duplicates are a stated risk. He would test a pair simplex. He hopes they do this about once a quarter.
Both cartons brown. Baofeng on the label anyway. A heavy K6. Cable, charger, mic, headset, no extra battery, two antennas. The antenna-speaker-cable kit. $28.99 value. He says about $15 and doubled. Then a GT-5R. Five-watt dual-band. He calls it the legal UV-5R, FCC stickers on it. Sale price $19.19, normally $22.99. Battery, manual, antenna, earpiece, belt clip, lanyard, charging block. He likes the USB-C radios better than a cradle.
Comments: a tested radio, or a sealed one. The K5 Plus is the 500-subscriber giveaway. The sale, he thinks, ends today. It is 11:29. Buy more or not. Then POTA Trip. Beta testers sign up on the POTA Trip site.
Frequently Asked Questions
What could box A have been?
He reads the list with values: a GD88 at $219.99, a GA-5WB five-watt dual-band at $179.99, an HD1 two-pack at $69.99, a UV-25 Plus 10-watt tribander at $63.99, a UV-25 10-watt dual-bander at $56.99, a 17R Plus two-pack with cables, a K6 two-pack he already has on the bench, a waterproof GT-9R at $49.99, a UV-5RM Plus GPS 10-watt tribander at $44.99, a GA-510 dual-bander at $39.99, or a K5 Plus with a mic at $33.99. The 17R two-pack price does not come through cleanly.
What was in the two essential boxes?
Radioddity warns that two of the same box can be the same radio. He would have used a pair for simplex tests. He did not get a pair. The first is a K6. He finds a cable, a charger, a mic, a headset, one large antenna, then the second antenna, and no extra battery, so it is the antenna-speaker-cable kit at $28.99. The second is a GT-5R. Five watts, dual band. He jokes that his pile of UV-5Rs must be the ones without the FCC stickers. Battery, manual, antenna, earpiece, belt clip, lanyard, and a charging block. He prefers the USB-C radios because the cradle stays home. A GD-168 price he reads as $1.99 is left out.
Will he give away a radio he has already opened?
He asks. Sealed, or one they have tested on camera. The K5 Plus from box A is the one he does not need, so that drawing is the 500-subscriber one. The others might be tested first. Comments also on whether to buy more before the mystery-box sale ends. He hopes they run a box once a quarter, as a way to clear inventory and as a surprise, not as a permanent listing.