First Impressions and Quick Review of the Baofeng BF-F8HP

Off-topic Chatter
1

Hey all,

A couple of weeks ago I got my HAM radio license. Since the license test is sampled from a question pool, it wasn’t too hard to study for.

When the license arrived, I ordered a Baofeng BF-F8HP handheld transceiver from Amazon.

At the same time, I borrowed the famous Baofeng UV-5R from the Radio Club so I had a well known benchmark to compare it with.

The Amazon box it came in had a lithium-ion battery warning sticker, saying that it should be handled with care. It was good to see that Amazon was properly labeling boxes with li-ion batteries and taking precautionary measures.

The F8HP is on the left, the UV-5R on the right.

Both were shaped quite similarly, although the 5R had a rounder aesthetics to it. The F8HP was more rectangular with well defined edges. I think I liked the design of the F8HP slightly more, although the 5R wasn’t bad.

The HP stands for high power, and is rated for 8W transmit, although others have measured it as around 7W VHF and slightly lower for UHF.

I discovered some bugs in the firmware. Since the F8HP lacked a band button that would allow me to swap UHF and VHF channels, I had to go to the menu (#33) to switch modes. However, the menu actually didn’t change the frequencies; they stayed the same. The UV-5R had a band button on the right that worked just fine and the switching from the menu worked as expected.

The only way I could change the frequency was to manually type it in. One thing I didn’t like about that was I couldn’t quickly go back and forth, as the VHF/UHF frequencies are remembered when I switch them on the 5R at a click of a button. Unfortunately, Baofeng radios’ firmware can’t be upgraded (marketing ploy), so there was no way to fix this bug via an update.


From www.hamgear.wordpress.com, a great HAM radio blog.

The MCU can be written to only once. So although we could use PC software such as CHIRP to interface with the radio and program Rx/Tx frequencies, we couldn’t update the firmware. Again, this a marketing ploy forcing customers to purchase new radios even for a firmware update. That way, Baofeng doesn’t have to try hard to make radical hardware improvements to incorporate into new products.

The UV-5R itself has multiple of cosmetic variants (UV-5RA, 5RB, 5B V2, 5Re, 5RAX, 5R Plus, etc.), newer models having newer firmware with bug fixes. Baofeng is taking advantage of these bugs rather than focusing on the hardware… because it’s cheaper! :party:

As a flashaholic, I naturally measured the voltages of the battery and realized that the polarity identifications were swapped.

F8HP on the left, UV-5R on the right. Let’s play the I spy game!
Hint: The batteries are designed to be interchangeable.

Here’s a photo of the internals of the charger:

Since the battery pack seems to be protected, having a shoddy charger wouldn’t be too bad for the battery, but nevertheless is expected from a cheap budget radio. I don’t trust the stock charger so I think I’ll use a hobby charger to charge the 2S li-ion battery pack.

Three improvements I’ve noticed while comparing the F8HP to the UV-5R:

1. The Rx side of the radio switches on much quickly than the 5R. On the 5R, I would miss about half a second of each transmission, and if the transmission is only a word long (ok, copy, etc), I would miss it entirely. However, the F8HP seems to pick up conversations right away.

2. The menu is more responsive. I could scroll through the items very quickly, where as the 5R had a delay (100ms) after I pressed the up/down button so that fast scrolling was not possible.

3. The squelch setting actually changes the signal levels threshold levels. On the 5R, I didn’t notice a difference between a level 1 (almost open) and a 9 (only strong signals should come through).

Summary:

Pros:
-Higher output power. (Although other factors, such as antenna (SWR) quality and location, are more important)
-More responsive
-Squelch setting really works
-Better stock antenna

Cons:
-VHF/UHF button has been removed
-VHF/UHF setting doesn’t work
-Firmware can’t be upgraded
-Mushy buttons (Feels like a mushy flashlight switch with a gap of air between the rubber tailcap and the switch)
-Did I mention that the firmware can’t be upgraded?
-Twice the price of an UV-5R, not really worth it.

Features: 3.5/5
Well rounded functionality, but not much improvement over the UV-5R, except the boosted power.
Plagued by the non-updatable firmware.

Performance: 4.5/5
The antenna is a nice upgrade over the UV-5R as well as the power. Gets the job done well and responds quickly too.

Price: 3/5
The F8HP retails for $62.85. The UV-5R retails for $29.15.
Does it offer twice the performance over the 5R? No, having two UV-5Rs would be more useful.

Weighted average: 3.8/5
Overall thoughts: I’ve tried out the UV-5R for a week before the BF-F8HP arrived, but I was a little disappointed by the unpolished firmware and the lackluster set of improvements. I won’t be rewarding Baofeng for its sly business model, so I’ll be returning this unit. I’ve ordered the Baofeng GT-3 Mk. II to see if it’s any better and will write up a review soon.

2

Nice review, Ryan! I had no ideas radios like this were so affordable!

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If the UV-5R does what you need a radio to do, it is still unbeatable value for money. Old and clunky, but still very useful, provided it is legal where you live.

The GT-3 also lack rewritable firmware, as does all (as far as I know) all Baofeng radios.

I programmed my radios with free channels using chirp. And they just work. I have not experienced any need or desire to reprogram the firmware.

4

Yup, Baofengs, especially the UV-5R, are incredible for the money. Compared to Motorola (top of the line) and other Chinese brands, Baofengs offer a lot of bang for the buck.

None of the Baofengs have upgradable firmware, but generally the newer the model is, the more polished the firmware. Not sure how the F8HP’s firmware slipped through QC, but I’m hoping the more seasoned GT-3 Mk. II has most of the bugs ironed out.

5

For those in the US curious about what it takes to become ham operators, look nearby:

https://www.google.com/search?q=“ham+cram”

Getting the first level license — sufficient, for many purposes — will take you about a day.

6

Thanks for the link.

I studied using the ARRL handbook and focused on the exam pool. It’s a quick and fast way to study, and many of the Technician Class questions are based on common sense. (Don’t cause intentional interference, be courteous over the air, identify yourself with your call sign, etc.)

The General Class is a little bit more technical but is still based on 300 possible exam questions so it was relatively easy to digest.

The nice thing when taking the license test if for $15 you have an opportunity to take all three tests, and if you pass all of them, you can walk out with an Extra License.

7

What do you guys use HAM radios for? is it just an powerful walkie talkie? Do you use them instead of a mobile phone?

Sorry if these are stupid question but besides on various LEO’s here in Sweden, i have never seen or heard about anyone using HAM’s.

8

25+ years ago I had a Yaesu 290R, and had many happy hours chatting away on the local repeaters and using Packet radio with a very primative pc. Happy days :slight_smile:

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Yeah, unfortunately (or fortunately) with the advent of the internet ham radios aren’t as attractive as they were before.

There was a funny list of why the number of new hams were declining… I’ll link it if I can find it.

10

Back in the day, I got a class B licence that enabled me to use frequencies above 144Mhz (I think) my Morse code was not fast enough to gain a class A licence!

11

For those looking to take and pass the first level Tech, you don’t need to know Morse Code. They dropped the requirement. BTW: It is actually called CW, for Continuous Wave by Hams.

Live in the US and don’t think you may need any other forum of communication than Cell phone??

http://www.hackersnewsbulletin.com/2013/11/government-secret-plan-shut-cellphones-internet.html

Also during natural or manmade disasters cell phones are notoriously unreliable. Look at 911, not very many cells worked on the East Coast, Look at Hurricane Katrina, NONE worked in South La.

12

There are a lot of Baofeng radios in use as VHF (155 MHz) hunting radios in Sweden. Works very well for that purpose.

I have a couple for fun. Nice if you are a group working in the woods or picking berrys. Kids can have a lot of fun with them.

13

Good point :slight_smile: and they are quite cheap also.

14

I got an old 2m/70cm Kenwood TH78A and no battery to run it. A 2m/70cm Alinco mobile. A Kenwood TS60 6m all mode. A Kenwood TS-440S/AT 10m - 160m with the dreaded display. A few Uniden HR2510 all mode 10m. Some modded old Cop and business band radios.

15

In an emergency situation…HAM operators come out of the woodwork, just having the ability to scan these two bands an listening to what is going on around you could help you get out of the way of something…

Transmitting takes a license…receiving no problems at all…and in emergencies…is the FCC really going to come swooping in and arrest you if you use your Handy Talky for communications (not advisable…but VERY unlikely!)

I have several handy talkies….the UV-5R and an older UV-X4

I use CHIRP to program frequencies and use this list programmed for emergencies

Here I am 5 years ago tweaking a radio unit in the TXSG (Texas State Guard) on a field exercise, to the left of the box is my personal build fantenna with a handytalky and this thing up on a carport I could talk well over 30 miles on 2 meter…closer to 50 miles and that was at the 5 watt power of the UV-5R

16

How well does your fantenna hold up to an old fashioned J-Pole?

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I can’t speak to that particular antenna, but in general 1/4 wave ground plane antennas (what that antenna is) give the same performance as a Jpole, but are far less fussy about tuning and placement.

Also a note to anyone considering getting licensed, it is very easy. If you are in a rush you can go to hamstudy.org and simply memorize the questions/answers. The tests are easy. When I took mine, a boy that must of been about 12 passed the technician exam (all you need to use these baofengs) with a 100%.

18

Thank you Ryansoh3 for this very informative review. That FW situation is an eye opener.

19

Quite the opposite, they’re very much hands-off, because the amateur radio operators have been well organized since radio first came into use.
For the fairly short range bands, the FCC acts on complaints from local operators. Those happen when someone starts operating out of band, too much power, or otherwise screwing up to the point of being annoying. Or of course complaints can come from others — screwing up with any transmitting radio can interfere with business radio bands, cell, television, remote control signals being used for machinery — etcetera.

The people to talk to are your neighbors, who will hear you — and they’ll be the people you want to be in touch with, when everything else stops working.

The FCC’s license renewal time limits routinely get extended in areas hit by disasters where people are operating too.

I first got my ham license while I was spending a lot of time hang gliding. I’m now spending more time on the ground but often fairly far back in the mountains where there’s either no cell coverage, or no cell tower close enough to accept my phone’s attempts to make a call.

I live in earthquake country. Every local fire station has a ham radio antenna on its radio mast and a standard connection cable. Any local ham operator can go to the station with his or her radio and set up as a communications relay point there, to coordinate with the emergency radio system.

Fortunately for everyone, the amateur radio system is pretty well controlled — licenses mean some competence and you’re expected to give your call sign fairly often, and to know your local area’s “band plan” for sharing the available bandwidth. Band Plan

People who use ham radios without licenses usually get tracked down fairly fast because they don’t understand how to use them so they interfere needlessly, and blatantly, with other users.
A “radio direction finder” exercise tracks them down.

The first level license in the US is all you need to use radios like the Baofeng radios mentioned in the original post above.
2-meter is the most readily available band and all you need for local communications. Other bands can get you further, solar weather depending.

I can’t speak for other countries but so many people are active in ham radio worldwide that you will easily find that information almost anywhere.

In the US, another option that’s less restricted (and somewhat less powerful) is inexpensive “walkie talkie” radios.
http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/family-radio-service-frs
We have those to hand out to neighbors when the earthquake happens for very local communication, a block or two. The emergency planning system counts on both local walkie-talkies and local ham operators to pull together when the rest of the system goes down.

(Cell systems will last hours or a day or two before their batteries die and generators fail, even if they survive the earthquake and subsequent fires)

20

Note that each local area may have modified this general band plan — that’s why you need to know your neighbors.

My area for example has agreed on a 15-mhz separation for the 2-meter band. As far as I know that’s a local band plan, I don’t know what it would be in another area.
That means if I’m talkng with someone on 147.495 (an accepted “simplex” frequency in our area) and there’s interference, we’d go up one step, to 147.510 (a 15-mhz step)
EDIT
d’oh, kHz, corrected, thanks Sandanbob
EDIT

rather than using a frequency in between or something elsewhere in the 2-meter band.

You have to know your band plan to avoid stepping on other people.
That’s because all radios bleed over a bit above and below the frequency selected.

A handheld radio can select any frequency and if people fiddle with them they can transmit outside the limits — the band plan is how we share access.

Page down to the 2-meter section there under the heading “2 Meters (144-148 MHz)”
See where it says “Simplex”? Those are the frequencies for simple direct communication between two ham operators.
There are several chunks of that band reserved for simplex (my example above is within one of them)

You’d have cause to complain if someone overrode your repeater or OSCAR or other equipment signal while you were operating, with a signal from a simplex voice operation)