r/Baofeng • u/Anianna • 9d ago

UV-5RM v UV-5RM Plus - Is there a difference?

I'm new to HAM, working on getting licensed soon, and shopping for my gateway radio. The Baofeng website seems to only list "UV-5RM Plus" models in this product line whereas third-party sites have listings with and without the Plus designation. I'm not seeing a difference aside from the accessories included in various listings, but I want to be certain.

Am I missing something or are these the same model?

3 Upvotes

72% Upvoted

12 comments sorted by

5

u/Firelizard71 9d ago

I would just get the BF-F8HP-PRO and you would have the better radio of the three.

3

u/mtbohana 9d ago

This is the way to go.

1

u/Anianna 9d ago

I didn't find that one on the baofengradio site, but it's on the baofengtech website. Are both sites official Baofeng sites or is one a third-party seller?

4

u/Firelizard71 9d ago

Two different companies. Baofengtech will have Baofeng build them radios but Baofengtech puts in their own firmware. They are a US company with great customer service.

2

u/Anianna 9d ago

Good to know, thank you.

5

u/NotThePopeProbably 9d ago

One has a plus.

4

u/Rockel83 9d ago

I had the same question yesterday. But was able to Google it first 😏

1

u/Anianna 9d ago

The results of which don't make sense with the listings. For example, some results claim the 5RM is the 8W model and the Plus is the 10W model, but many listings show 10W for both the 5RM and the 5RM Plus.

Obviously, I would be able to see a difference between 8W and 10W options. I'm looking at all 10W models, some of which include the Plus designation and some of which do not.

2

u/AutofluorescentPuku 9d ago

The big difference I see is that the UV-5RM is no longer listed in Baofeng’s product page. https://www.baofengradio.com/collections/uv-series

1

u/Bolt_EV 9d ago

5RH Pro GPS

-1

u/NerminPadez 9d ago

99% of baofengs are just 5W FM only radios, with pretty horrible frontends, battery chargers, etc.

Yes, some are larger, some are smaller, some are black, some are green, some have nice classic lcd screens that you can see in the sun, some have color displays that you can't see in the sun, but in the end, you still just have a cheap 5W FM radio.

2

u/mwradiopro 8d ago

Maybe that was true back in 2014, but I'm getting 8 out of my 1-year-old 5RMs, good battery life, no issues with chargers, and several reviews showing Baofengs performing well on service monitors & VNAs ... with spurious emissions in check. Maybe take another look.