Baofeng Radio UV-5R MK3X Legal Power Tri-Band Radio 2026 VHF/UHF 144-148/222-225/420-450 MHz - Walkie Talkie with 2100mAh Li-ion Baofeng Battery, Neck Strap Lanyard Mirkit Ham Radio Operator

This is my second UV-5R. I opted for the UV-5R MK3X tri-band model so I could use more of the Technician class frequency range. I really like this model! In the photos I've attached, you can see this model on the left and the older base UV-5R model on the right. Noticeable differences in the build quality: 1. The buttons are much better. They have a more positive click v.s. the mush of the older base model. 2. The flatter face plate feels better in the hand, like it's a more expensive plastic, and a better shape. 3. The metal mesh speaker looks cooler. I'm not sure if it's functionally better. 4. The larger battery makes the unit easier to hold in the hand. the soft of ledge that protrudes is perfect for the index finger to grab onto. 5. The "Upgraded" antenna looks fancier, and does seem to work better. 6. The tiny little faceplate screws are cool looking. Not sure if it's functionally better, but it's a nice touch. 7. The "Moni" and "Call" buttons are larger and easier to push. So overall, the unit feels better in the hand, and the button presses are much nicer. Functionally: 1. The 220/1.25m band works great. I can get these frequencies with the dual band (70cm/2m) antenna as well as the included 1.25m antenna. 2. The larger battery makes the unit slide into the charger easier. 3. The battery included with this UV-5R MK3X model is a 2100 mAh battery. It's physically larger than the standard battery, and 300 mAh more energy capacity. 4. The more powerful speaker (1w v.s. .5w of the base UV-5R) is noticeable at high volumes. 5. I've been able to hit all the local repeaters with this unit, both with the stock antenna, and an upgraded antenna. Negatives: 1. Its more expensive than the $20-25 UV-5R (base) models floating around from other sellers. I'm happy to spend the extra dollars for the tri-band functionality, and better build. Although, next time I might opt for one of the other Mirkit UV-5R's (8 watt, or just the base) because of negative #2, although I don't have one to tell if they don't also suffer from this observation in #2. 2. For some reason, with upgraded antennas (SignalStick / Nagoya NA-771) the receiver seems to struggle at times where the base UV-5R doesn't. I'm new to HAM tech, and from my brief searching, it sounds like this is common to see on these units (UV-5R variants) - the receiver being overloaded by too much signal. I think this is an issue with "selectivity". The fix for this is to use the "Narrow" setting (menu option 5) in cases where the signal isn't coming through as you'd hope. My guess is that the tri-band receiver might sacrifice some selectivity to get the third band? Maybe, but I don't have any real knowledge about this. Lastly: Customer support Regarding the selectivity, I contacted customer support because i was not happy with the reception, and they were very responsive, gave me things to try and ultimately followed through until it was resolved to my satisfaction. I applaud the seller - Mirkit for this. Bottom line: worth it for the extra band, more premium build, and great customer support.

I originally purchased a UV-5R for like 30 bucks shipped, was entire kit with 2 antennas, 1 normal battery, 1 extended battery - charger etc.. was nice little radio kit - however it was only dual band radio. I upgraded to this triple band radio mostly based on the way the build quality looks better - Once I got the radio in hand I used my existing extended battery with it and it felt solid - buttons was not as mushy to press and volume knob was a nice stiffness (not super loose/easy to bump up or down, like cheaper UV-5R ) Supposedly they say this version is waterproof - however I doubt that - water resistant maybe - proof not so much considering how battery connects thats an entry point for water easily. something I found out after owning - pressing the orange call button with single press enables FM radio for listening to FM music radio stations - so could be listening to tunes while having the radio and it auto switches to UHF or VHF channel when someone transmits - so can listen to music while listening for someone to talk to you or in my case listen in on Ambulance runs and local fire department.. (only reason is because they use non-trunked radio's - unlike police/etc) My only complaint is I bought the normal UV-5R first instead of this version..

When buying uv-5r type radios all depends on luck, so far this UV-5R MK3 works good for me, it has good range (3miles), It has a larger capacity battery, battery fits perfectly, speaker sounds good, radio looks really nice, feels solid in hand, very quality compare to 2X expensive junk BF-F8HP.

Seems like a nice enough radio. I bought two of these to give away to new hams that pass their Technician test at our local hamfest. The only downside I have figured out is that you have to use the Radioddity tri-band software to program them. Using CHIRP will erase the 1.25 meter band from the radio. CHIRP also does that on the Radioddity version of this radio.

These are some pretty decent radios for easy access 2 way short range communication, for the price they are well worth the investment, if they get damaged or broken, they're definitely easier to replace than a more expensive radio

If you are like me, a new HAM trying to figure out which Baofeng would be the right one to get him started and from what seller, then you are probably confused as all get out. I tried my hardest to figure out who was a legitimate Baofeng seller and who sold the real kit. Ultimately I was lured in by the "bundle" of this kit thinking I would get all the things I need in one shot. I had heard good things about Mirkit customer service and was thinking this was a solid play -- even though some of the things like a lanyard and ear piece were completely unnecessary. The hand-mic and extra battery were desirable features. When looking online I kept seeing references to the "band" button on the UV-5R which was suspiciously absent from my UV-5R. Turns out, it is an F8HP and not a UV-5R at all. It has a similar look and feel, but they are different radios. Why Mirkit needs to advertise this as something else? I will never understand. When I tried to program it with Chirp, I used the...you guessed it....UV-5R settings and the repeaters did not load properly. Worse than that, though, the included programming cable appears to be a counterfeit of the real Baofeng cable. I don't know if this is the cause, but the first time I programmed it (really...only for a brief clone / push) the radio almost burned me when I picked it up. The unit was so hot that I thought I had ruined it. I have no idea where that heat came and can only think the cable was inducing some sort of transmit mode while sending / receiving. It was insanely hot. Dangerously hot. Since then, I have been very cautious about using the programming cable and have programmed a number of repeaters by hand. I will say that the radio performs extremely well. I am able to hit repeaters at distances of about 22 miles using my 42inch ABBREE folding tactical antenna which was overwhelming to me. All reports are of full quieting even at that distance. Programming by hand is a bit of a nightmare. I have to check and double check what state the radio is in when doing it, but that is all well covered elsewhere. The included lanyard is nice enough, but completely unnecessary. Earpiece is garbage. The extended battery seems to provide long standby, monitor and transmit usage, but I'm probably not working it out. I don't know if it is real or not. Everything else is standard. Overall recommendation is to just get the real thing from Baofeng Tech which appears to be the legitimate distributor. Piece together your kit with all of the parts you need through them. You'll pay a little more, but these radios are really affordable and knowing you have the real, legit components will serve you well. I'm not sure why Amazon lets so many other people advertise the same kit under so many different names. This really needs to be looked into.

I am in no way, shape, or form experienced with radios at all. I have owned a walkie-talkie when I was younger, but that's the extend of my "radio" experience. I wanted to buy this radio to listen to my local police dispatch. I usually use an app on my iPhone for this, but I could not stand the poor audio quality anymore which brings me to this radio. The audio quality is crisp! I am able to understand exactly what they are saying (finally!!). I was a bit intimidated when first setting it up. It is not very easy to do, but that's where YouTube comes into play! I watched a few YouTube videos and eventually got it all set up in about 5 or so minutes (the manual is not much help). I would absolutely recommend this radio to a new user (such as myself).

OK, there are numerous versions of this same radio, however I've only bought from a single supplier so far so my experiences are limited in that regard. What I can tell you though I was extremely surprised by the quality of customer care. Mine had a very minor issue from the factory but the supplier immediately sent me another one after I've shared the pictures of the minor defect. They are also very pleasant to communicate as in you feel like you are being listened to and you feel like a valuable customer, instead of being treated like dirt as in case with a lot of suppliers here. All in all the radios themselves are more of less what you would expect, they are of good quality, good products for the price but in the end more or less the same product several other suppliers sell in here. But I'm very happy with the choice I've made because of the supplier of this particular one.