Baofeng BF-9500 UHF 400-470MHz 200CH CTCSS/DCS/DTMF Transceiver, 50W/25W/10W Car Mobile Vehicle Radio

Purchased 2 radios for GMRS use and the 50 watt power rating. I live in a hilly area where the high peaks are 1000 - 1200 feet and most roadways and towns are 500 - 700 feet in elevation. With no repeaters for 50+ miles these are just used for my wife and I where cell coverage is minimal. With one at home which is at 1050 ft on a 19in ant the other mounted mobile on the same Nagoya antenna we have been able to communicate 8 miles while driving on the high ridges and 5 miles while in the lower elevations with some dead spots. Am looking to get a higher gain base antenna on a high mast soon. As for the radios well built handset seems a little on the light duty side, manual is easy to understand, programming is tricky but not impossible, speaker is very clear and loud, no problem hearing in a vehicle, scan works very good , display is easy to read, really will take no time to learn and understand even if someone has little experience with radios, has a nice mounting bracket pleanty of hardware options. For the money and performance I am very pleased, other family members are going to be purchasing as well. Will followup as we use these more.

Very nice radio. Power output is as good or better than advertised.solid construction.

So I have bought two from this company, just this company. The radio is solid and feels like it can withstand the years of constant use. But both radios I have gotten the screens light up and I can tell I am switching channels and everything but nothing appears on the screen. Nothing but a light up blank view. I have gotten two of these in a row. I'm not going to eat time on a third one.

I was a little disappointed that the radio came with a worn spot where the mounting bracket was obviously attached before. So, I got a recycled radio and not one straight from the factory. However, the radio was easy to program (I have programmed Yaesu radios for the past 20 years so deciphering the directions for some of these unique radios has become easy for me.) I programmed my local repeaters and then installed it in my truck. It works well. I have not used the max power as the mid level works just fine for all the local repeaters. For me, a quality,well tuned antenna makes a radio preform well. Put a little extra in your antenna and this radio will work just fine. Note, you must have an amateur radio license to transmit on this unit.

Wit no English programming software, this unit is almos not worh buying, The unit I received will not transmit on high power no matter where teh power setting is at. Will wait a little longer to see if I can find software, But definately considering returning this unit, I like the operation of teh Micraphone, and options on it. But untill English software is available I would not suggest purchasing this one.

UHF only If that is all you need then it IS ok. User Manual is really good. Programming is fair from radio slightly better than BaoFeng handheld, but not intuitive. You have to buttons on radio face to set what to program then use mike for numbers (or dial if close). Mike does have up and down buttons on top. Switch for mike lock seemed backward. Mike needs a Function button. you get 4 programmable buttons preset for things like 1. Call, 2. VFO/Memory, 3. FM radio listen (like 88-108), 4. Battery voltage display. they can be changed to almost anything but a function key. Unless you reprogram one of the mike buttons you must hold down V/M button on radio face, It would have been nice if I could hold down up or down button on mike, but no.Audio seem good until it quit a month after buying it. (It was a Amazon Warehouse purchase so it could have been a return).I plan to return it and look for a VHF/UHF dual band. But it was an excellent price for what it did.

Awesome what can I say. They make an affordable radio for new hams to get into the hobby. Basically when you buy name brand, you are paying for that exactly, the name. This radio does exactly what most of the big names do.

It's working fine. I would've liked a programming disk. If one becomes available I'll buy it. I hope Chirp writes it into their BaoFeng list of models.