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BaoFeng (Pofung) UV-82

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Old January 18th, 2015, 01:39   #1
GR
 
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BaoFeng (Pofung) UV-82

After a year playing airsoft, I decided it is time to get proper communication gear, thus I started with the the radio. After reading some reviews, my choice fell on BaoFeng UV-82. I liked it more than the famous UV-5R due to it being a bit larger (bigger over all - more comfortable to hold; bigger buttons, etc..), having a few extras on top (powerful transmitter, longer antenna, bigger battery), and aesthetics.

BaoFeng UV-82 (right) w/ its famous cousin, UV-5R (left):



Some specs (for those who understand):


Frequency Range: 65-108MHz (FM),136-174MHZ and 400-520MHZ (TX/RX)
Channel #: 128
Frequency Stability: ±2.5ppm
Antenna: High gain 7" Dual-band antenna
Antenna Impedance: 50Ω
Operating Voltage: DC 7.4V
Earpiece: Standard Kenwood 8mm Plug
Dimensions (W x H x D): 132 x 60 x 35 mm
Weight: 238 g (including battery, antenna)
Output power: 5W / 1W (Max 5W)
Battery: 7.4V - 1800/2800 mAh - I'll mention this again...


Unboxing:

Here's the initial box. Looks very neat and professional compared to other gear I bought from China...


First 2 things you see when you open the box:


Little pamphlet about re-branding of BaoFeng to Pofung. Goes straight to recycling...


User manual. Surprisingly, written in actual and not "Chinese" English. Full
of useful information (even includes a section on advanced operation)...


Earphone PTT with a standard Kenwood connector. Nice that they included it, but I would not count on it to be very reliable (for obvious reasons), but again, I could be wrong...


7" antenna. Not much to say here...


Belt clip. Made of plastic, but with a metal attachment point (?). Useful for some, useless for others...


Battery charging nest...


Hand strap...


Charger itself...


...aaand the radio itself (with the battery)...


Here's everything that comes in the package...


Close up of the battery. Here's where some things don't add up: according to the specification from the manufacturer and the values written in the manual, the radio comes with a 7.4V 1800 mAh battery, however, on the battery itself, it mentions values of 7.4V 2800 mAh. I'm personally very skeptical of the 2800 mAh, buuut...


Radio put together...


Size comparison with a WE Glock 17 magazine (I was too lazy to get a ruler )...


From this photo, I concluded that UV-82 is 1 GM17 (Glock 17 Mag) long (+- 5 mm)...


Radio also includes a relatively powerful for its size flashlight, functioning in ON and Strobe modes...


Turned on. Keys are also back-lit...




To recap the contents:


- 7.4V/1800mAh (or 2800?) BL-8 Battery
- 7" Antenna
- AC/DC Power Adapter
- Belt Clip
- Hand Strap
- Battery Charging Nest
- User Manual
- (Useless) Re-branding Pamphlet
- BaoFeng/Pofung XS-UV-82-V2 5W Radio


Total cost of purchase (w/ shipping and tax): ~$40 CAD

This is it. Hope my first review/unboxing wasn't too bad.

P.S.: Meanwhile, I would highly recommend reading this thread on basics of telecommunications for anyone unfamiliar with radio operations (also my reading material for the next while).
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Old January 22nd, 2015, 12:59   #2
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Where did you purchase from?
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Old January 22nd, 2015, 13:52   #3
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BaoFeng (Pofung) UV-82

Looks ideal. I really appreciate the size of it. My lil BF-777S is almost lost in my hand, being about the size of an iPhone IV. When I upgrade, this may very well be my purchase now.


Location: YYZ VOR 062 radial, 17.5 DME FL5280
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Old January 22nd, 2015, 14:03   #4
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Battery misinfo doesn't surprise me - even with Cr123A and 18650 batteries they are often labelled "optimistically" and then, attempting to be honest (?) you'll be told the more accurate value by the seller...

Not saying for sure that's what happened here, but wouldn't surprise me.

Any idea if the programming / operation is an improvement on the UV-5R? Most find it a little un-friendly... just curious.
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Old January 22nd, 2015, 16:42   #5
EastCoastShooter
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I love mine. Best radio I've had yet. The antenna is a possible weak point. It feels like it may break if hit hard and isn't flexible enough to graze off an impact. A friend who also bought one, had his in-ear PTT fail out of the box(only transmits on 1 channel). Once you get a handle on the programming its pretty easy. Lots of great info on miklor

http://www.miklor.com/UV82/
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Old January 22nd, 2015, 17:41   #6
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Antennas that'd fit are a dime a dozen on eBay, in a number of configs.


Location: YYZ VOR 062 radial, 17.5 DME FL5280
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Old January 26th, 2015, 01:03   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AnthonyG View Post
Where did you purchase from?
AliExpress. Came from an official distributor in China (w/ free shipping). There was also an option to have the programming cable with it for extra $5, however, I decided not to.

I find it funny how many Canadian retailers advertise such radios for almost twice the price you can find it online...

Quote:
Originally Posted by DipTwit View Post
Any idea if the programming / operation is an improvement on the UV-5R? Most find it a little un-friendly... just curious.
Sadly, I didn't order the cable with it, so I would not know, however, I'm sure there are tons of tuts and reviews on the net.

In my case, I still have to figure out how to even properly operate this thing.
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Old January 26th, 2015, 10:53   #8
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It's a good radio, not the best but cannot complain at this price point. (still better than some high priced units)
I believe the battery is 7.4v/1800mHa Li-ion regardless what label says.
It's recommended to program the radio with the USB cable + CHIRP, otherwise, it's really user-unfriendly to program by key pad.
As EastCoastShooter mentioned miklor.com is really a good website for info.
I got few antennas for different use cases. Nagoya NA-773,Nagoya NA-771,Nagoya NA-701, DIAMOND SRH805S. (Just remember you need SMA-Female antenna when ordering.)

Last edited by GoSkyLine; January 26th, 2015 at 11:23..
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Old January 26th, 2015, 12:35   #9
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BaoFeng (Pofung) UV-82

The fact that it's programmable doesn't mean it needs to be programmed before use.
Before programming, consider that it likely comes with default factory settings that will let it function perfectly with other Baofeng radios. My BF-777S talks to a few of my other radios (Baofeng, Sylvania and Motorolla) just peachy, outa the box.


Location: YYZ VOR 062 radial, 17.5 DME FL5280
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Old January 26th, 2015, 13:00   #10
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I guess I wasn't clear - I really meant that I'd heard 'programming' via the keypad was unfriendly on many models, I've always wondered which, if any, are actually easy to use without hooking up to a computer...

That said, I have no qualms programming from a computer, but I always imagine getting to a game and find that someone wants to use some odd combination of frequency / etc. and having to use the keypad to get hooked up.
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Old January 26th, 2015, 13:39   #11
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I hear ya. Honestly, with the sixteen perfectly functioning default freqs, I can't imagine why someone would want to fiddle.


Location: YYZ VOR 062 radial, 17.5 DME FL5280
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Old January 26th, 2015, 14:38   #12
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Keypad programming of UV-5R/UV-82

I found a tutorial on a keypad programming of UV-5R. Tried it on the UV-82, and is basically the same thing.

The only problem with the UV-82 is that they removed the button to switch from VFO (Frequency) to Channel Mode, and vice versa. So now, instead of simply pushing a button, you would need to turn of the radio, and turn it back on while holding the MENU button, and then it will switch. A step back from UV-5R if you ask me. So if anyone wonders how, this is the answer (praise the power of youtube!).

Nothing too hard and steps make sense: set frequency, offset, then save to channel if you want to. It will take some time to memorize the process, however, not as complicated as I thought it would be.

Last edited by GR; January 26th, 2015 at 14:52..
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Old January 26th, 2015, 18:31   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by siggypoo View Post
I hear ya. Honestly, with the sixteen perfectly functioning default freqs, I can't imagine why someone would want to fiddle.
Because those frequencies are not FRS and as such are illegal for anyone to be transmitting on without correct licensing?

As for hand programming: The UV-B5 that I have can be programmed including a 5-digit alphanumeric name in less than 2 minutes per channel. Realistically 1 minute once you get the rythm right.

-Grant
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Old January 26th, 2015, 21:55   #14
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Don't quote me on this, however, technically speaking, there's no need to use only FRS channels. Most blister pack radio's today use both FRS and GMRS frequencies (for exception of emergency channels), and operate in 1.5 - 2W range. Also, compared to USA, we do not have to acquire licensing to use publicly available GMRS channels, thus, any of the blister pack radio's GMRS channels can be used (exception for emergency and private freq.), with the power set at 2W or lower (5W would simply over power them and Canadian law limits radios at 2W anyway).

Then there's also CTSS which can technically be used, so everyone only uses only 1 frequency, but that's the whole other topic..

By no means I am an expert (as most of this stuff was learned today from the net), so I'll just put some sources where I found the info:

Source 1
Source 2
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Old February 8th, 2015, 23:59   #15
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Thanks for the review. Just placed an order for one. This will be my first radio.
With the exchange the best price I could find was ~$48
Also got a programming cable from Amazon for about $5.
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