When out hiking in the mountains, weather can change in an instant. While I have expensive radios I use on a daily basis, I wanted something rugged, water resistant, and inexpensive to use when hiking. These fit the bill well. They are much more rugged than the typical Chinese radio, can get rained on without worrying about water damage, and are inexpensive enough that if they're lost of damaged, I won't worry about it. The lack of a VFO/Memory key makes it harder to knock the radio off frequency. I also like the standard keypad with the zero at the bottom. The shielded volume knob makes it harder to accidentally change the volume setting, expecially when using an external microphone. Unlike bubble pack GMRS radios, these are dual band and full power. There are times when UHF has better reliability and times when VHF has better reliability. With this radio, you can choose the frequency to suit the conditions. What I don't like about it are: 1) the new speaker-mic connector is a pain to use. You pretty much have to use a screwdriver to take the cover off and mount a speaker-mic. The screw is not captive, so it's easy to drop and lose. Other radios with IP67 ratings use the Kenwood standard connector, so I don't know why they chose to change for this one. 2) the firmware does not report it's revision number, so programming software can't determine the radio model number. This keeps Chirp from supporting this radio. The altered cable stops RT Systems from supporting it. If you only program in a handful of channels, the programming software issue may not be a concern, but I tend to customize my radios for the area we're hiking in, adding repeaters along the way and around the hiking area. A number of our hiking spots are outside of cell phone coverage, so amateur radio repeaters offer us additional safety and I like to program in those which cover the area. Manually entering and checking the frequencies, offsets, and tones is tedius and error-prone, so is not ideal when you can't check the programing before leaving on your trip. Even with the negatives, I do like these radios and, in fact, just returned from a hiking trip where they performed well. If you're looking for a rugged, water-resistant, affordable radio, check out the GT3WP by Baofeng.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
I plugged cigarette adapter in the car to charge unit and it started to melt plastic holder that charges unit. After getting everything cooled down, I noticed one of the contacts inside the plastic charger is not in 100% placement like the other side. I already thru boxes away so I have a radio that I can't charge. So not real happy.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
There are videos out there that explain manual programing. There is a vox also in this radio! FM radio is on left side below PTT, switch. Below the FM switch, is the led light switch. Very pleased with radio TX, RX. Hitting repeater, line of sight @ 35 miles on both 2meter/70centimenter. Impressive. IMO, as good as the "Y" brand and "I" brand. I'll have to buy a second one, just in case.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
electronics work well. 8W power output is true. battery function time acceptable. case is plastic ( could be improved). display needs improvement. light weight. excellent for hang gliding.power on off knob too cheap looking. if you are looking for functionality go for it.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
Overall this is a good radio, and I only have one thing I am not happy with. The LCD screen doesn't have the white on black screen, and the writing is missing some pixel not so bad you can still read it. Over all it is a good ham radio, also a good hiking radio.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
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