Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

First, to all of the buyers of the Baofeng radios that are also hams, none of the cheaper Chinese radios (including many that cost far more than the Baofeng UV-5R series of radios) program the same way (from the keypad or from the programming software) as their more expensive Japanese counterparts. Simply seeing the "+-" sign on the Baofeng radio, for example, DOES NOT mean that the radio has automatically programmed the correct offset for the band you are on. Baofeng radios have to be programmed with both the complete receive frequency AND the transmit frequency to correctly access any repeaters in Channel (memory) Mode. Since most hams pride themselves on not reading manuals, (if you are a ham) you may have to re-read this paragraph several times. Second, for all of the buyers of the Baofeng radios that think FCC Part 90 acceptance also means that you can have two frequencies 12.5kHz apart (or less) on your two VFO's (and not hear any other noise or interference on the other frequency), you will need to purchase a different radio than the UV-5R. If you are looking at the UV-5R as a way to reduce expenses but still want a better receiver (and want to stay in the Baofeng radio line), I would suggest either of the Baofeng B5 or the B6 series, which don't cost much more and have a far better receiver. Some folks feel the UV-82 series has a slightly better receiver, but to me it's simply a repackaged UV-5R radio without many of the accessories available to the UV-5R family (like an extended battery, or a "AA" or "AAA" shell pack), so although it does fix a few of the UV-5R's shortcomings, it also adds some new ones (IMHO). If you truly want "more" features (like more memories, a better receiver, 2 tone/5 tone support, audio scrambling, compandered audio, more power, MotoTrbo digital capability, etc.) take a look at various models within the TYT product family, but be prepared to pay more for those features. Third, understand that the Twin Dual Receive (TDR) function on the UV-5R is NOT the same as having the ability to receive two conversations at the same time. The radio simply scans back and forth between the two VFO's (think about counting 1001 and 1002 and you get the idea of it's scanning speed), so you may very well miss a short conversation or comment on one VFO from time to time. If this is totally unacceptable to you, purchase a more expensive radio (or carry two UV-5R radios) as this feature is NOT available (nor can it be re-programmed or hacked into existence) on either the UV-5R or B5/B6 series of radios. Forth, if you insist on buying the cheapest USB programming cable available, expect that you will have issues getting the programming software (either VIP or Chirp) to work properly, since the majority of folks simply either fail to read or follow the detailed instructions on the Yahoo UV-5R forum (on how to overcome the cheap cable issues and/or don't understand how to properly turn off the Windows 7/8 auto update feature on their program drivers for the cable). To avoid this cable issue completely, either purchase the actual Prolific or FTDI Kenwood 2-prong style programming cables or go First Class and get the RT Systems cable/software kit (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QUOH6RK or search for B00QUOH6RK if Amazon removes that link). Since Amazon will not allow any outside links to be published, you'll have to search the internet for yourself (or call a local radio dealer). Buying a real (not cloned or fake) cable and following the instructions on the Yahoo forum will eliminate 99% of the programming issues you hear folks complain about, or upgrade to First Class and get an RT Systems cable and software kit (as they are now available on Amazon). Fifth, the majority of issues you hear about from this brand of radios (and Chinese radios in general) will come from the older hams or engineers, as they will constantly insist that "they" should be able to do things with it (using some other method) and will drive themselves crazy trying to figure out why their $60 radio doesn't work like their $300 to $600 dollar Japanese radios from Alinco, Kenwood, Icom, or Yaesu. Those folks, in turn, bash the radios on various forums or e-commerce sites (primarily because they won't follow directions and/or the radio doesn't work the way they feel it "should"). Six, understand that if you really know very little about radios in general and you insist on ignoring instructions given to you on various Baofeng forums or user-groups, and you don't even try to read the manual, you will probably (at some point) have an issue with these radios. It normally won't be the radio's fault, of course, as you won't change the frequency step correctly or will program both the PL tone on encode and decode (thereby blocking the repeater audio from coming through to your receiver), but you'll blame the radio nonetheless. My suggestion at that point is to purchase one that's pre-programmed for you (already setup with the frequencies in your area). I've sent several folks like that to RF Gear 2 Go in AZ (google them for the contact info) for just that purpose. They now offer their radio programming service through Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00I95HXK8 or search B00I95HXK8). Lastly, all of the UV-5R radio family will transmit and receive from 136-174 MHz on VHF, and from 400-520 MHz on UHF (even if the seller says otherwise), but they only work on analog, not digital. So if you're looking for a radio to work on frequencies above or below this limit, or use the radio within a digital trunking environment, you'll need to look for another radio, as this one won't work. In addition, occasionally you'll see (or read) about someone that claims to have a mod to allow the radio even more extended frequency coverage - it doesn't work. The "mod" will allow you to enter just about any frequency on the display, but the radio doesn't actually go there. So you end up with a modified radio, for example, that will show 800 MHz on the display but the limit for transmit and receive is still 520 MHz (on the high end) and 136 MHz (on the low end) within the radio. The "mod" doesn't add AM capability either, so forget trying to listen to aircraft or working CB radio (both of which are also outside the frequency range of the radio as well).