Baofeng GT3tp ( Tri Power )

Not sure when last I was so underwhelmed by a product ! But never the less the GT3tp did not fail in disappointing me .
Last time I purchased a Baofeng was the first model of the GT3 . At first I was not impressed , but with a larger battery and a aftermarket antenna I grew to like the GT3 . And it was my Fav Baofeng .

So at last I get around to getting a GT3tp . I just dont know what to say , but Baofengs were so much better 2 years ago if this one is any indication of recent trends .

About 2 years ago ? Cant really remember !
Anyhow what do I like about this new GT3tp ( Tripower )
Wow ! , I can’t believe I am saying this , but nothing ! I really don’t like it at all … My much older GT3 and my UV-5r ’s simply kick this new GT3tp to the curb .

Ok ! , there is really nothing I like about the new GT3tp ! ( Lets get over that for the moment )

So the first thing I wanted to try was that famous ( infamous ? ) tri power goodness (?)
So hooking the GT3tp to my external ( base ) antenna ( I have 2 ) it was time to try hitting some repeaters …
2m repeaters - Victoria Australia - Google My Maps Link is a map of 2 meter repeaters in my state …

Anyhow one of my fav repeaters to hit is the Mount Macedon Repeater 147.250 / 147.850 … Its a reasonable distance from me …
And with my Ed Fong antenna all the way down I can just manage it with a UV5r on low power …
So with my GT3tp hooked up and my other radio listening I was not able to activate the Macedon Repeater … Not on low power , not on medium power and not on High power !
What the parking lot ?
I quickly put the UV5r back and hit the repeater on low power ( ? )

OK!

I put the GT3tp back and tried again = nothing !
Ok so how sensitive is the receiver ( not ) …
Using my other transmitter to activate the Macedon Repeater the GT3tp heard nothing , deaf as a fence post …

So thats were I am at ! The GT3tp is a pile of something !
It simply can not compete with much older transmitters from the same company …

Not only that but the receiver is noisy as all heck … While the UV5r listening to much closer repeaters offer nice clear audio , the GT3tp is as scratchy as a chalk board …
So color me not impressed , and in no shape or form can I recommend a GT3tp ( Tri power ) …

In all likelihood this is and was and will be the last Baofeng I buy …
I was thinking of parting with one of my UV5r , but seeing how rubbish this GT3tp was , I don’t think so …
I will keep those early ( at least 2 years old ) Baofengs …

( It does cross my mind - the possibility this could be a fake GT3tp - If such things exist - maybe another reason to avoid )

Battery Warning !
I purchased a UV5r battery some time ago …
Looked genuine …
But the polarity on the battery was reversed … + was - and neg was + ( reversed )
Something else to watch for now , badly made batteries from the Baofeng Factory …
Like I said , the battery looks exactly like the genuine item - So either a brilliant fake , or a lousy factory item .

So ? for me , Baofeng is nada zip nothing - wont be spending money on that brand of product .

I have the GT3 MkIII (orange) with tripower, the UV5R TP (also 8W) and the E51 (odd model). I also noticed that, while all models came with affordable prices, the quality was significantly different between the models. So far they are all working and holding up.

I have been using three UV5R’s with the long antennas, extend battery packs, mics, etc on our canoe trips and they work great. Much better than any of the GMRS/FRS only radios we tried. ( here in Canada there is no license required to use GMRS frequencies.) The Baofeng radios are the best bang-for-buck radios we ever used.

i got one of this gt3 tp and it was garbage, mine got fried on the transmitting transistor less than a month on low use.
Even my puxing px888k last more than 4 years

Thanks for the honest report old4570. :+1:

Thanks guys !

Maybe should have got one of the earlier production GT3tp when they came out …
I have been playing with it , and I don’t know why , but all of a sudden it is running better (?) Well actually I know why …
If you go into the menu , I enabled TDR ( Dual watch - Dual reception ) , and the receiver suddenly works ok … ( Still not as good as a UV5r - not mine at least )
The other thing I did , was get into CHIRP , and change the squelch settings …
0 squelch is 0 and 1 is set to like 12 or something and then the settings go higher …

I used CHIRP to change them to

0=0

1=1 Was 12 or something

2=2 Was 14 or something

3=3 Was 16 or something

So the squelch settings are whack in the GT3tp , the Rx is better now but still not flash …
There definitely are 3 power settings ( so it is a TP ) put it thru the SWR - PWR meter …
Unfortunately the GT3tp I got is some what NQR .
I will keep playing with it , and see what happens .

Overall, all the Chinese radios are crappy, but in my experience the Wouxun or Puxing are excellent compared to the Baofeng.

Which models are you talking about. Looked Wouxun and Puxing up and it looks like they cost about 4 times what the Baofengs cost.