QUANSHENGK6 UVK5(8)AM/FM/DTMF walkie Talkie 200Three Frequency Receiving walkie Talkie NOAA Weather Forecast, with Flash Replication Frequency Tpye-C LCD Display for Hiking Camping Trip Two-way radio

I'm an old ham whose first 2m HT was a crystal-controlled Wilson 1402 circa 1974. So, the current crop of miniature multiband HT's are pretty amazing, in features, size, and price. In recent years I've bought a Baofeng and then this Quansheng, both for around $30 each. The Quansheng's unique feature is the ability to download a completely new firmware for the radio, giving it new capabilities beyond those included in the original firmware provided by Quansheng. Firmware update is very easy, and can be done in many cases within a web browser session. Trying and comparing the various firmware releases is a hobby by itself! You can use CHIRP to program the radio's memories, and entering a new repeater from the keypad is possible if there's no PC handy. The UV-K6 performs adequately for local repeater use, and I'd consult the online tech reviews to see if its power output and receiver sensitivity/selectivity are sufficient for your needs. It has an SMA antenna connector, so you'll have to purchase an adapter if you have a drawer full of BNC antennas from older HT's. This radio is not the last word in 2m performance, and can be bested by traditional radios from Yaesu, Icom, and Kenwood. But as an inexpensive "toss it in you pocket" radio, with lots of free custom firmware, it represents an excellent value.

I bought this for the express purpose of "unlocking" it. It works fine with the same cable as my Baofengs. It's nice to have a good dual-band tranceiver BUT also a multi-band receive-only/scanner.I use it on two 2-meter repeators. One 30+ miles to my South. Another 27 miles to my West. Excellent reports from fellow ham operators.Wonderful to be able to program in 6 meter (50-54mhz) repeators as well for listening purposes although that band is kinda' sparse "traffic-wise" these days.WELL-BUILT radio....Great volume. AND ofcourse, in addition to the charging dock (included), the ablity to charge with USB-C. Like the big ole' volume knob...Might try some other firmware packages....BTW, talking charging, it held a charge for months when I sorta' forgot it and left it on the table.The Big 4 "Name Brands" need to take notice and start offering "Open Source" monitoring radios of their own.

Bought this because...well, for $30, can't really go wrong lol. And I have to admit, for the price...its a pretty decent radio. I don't like the display, it doesn't stay lit long enough (not using the precanned settings). In terms of operation, it does okay with the stock antenna, programming is...challenging, but not the worst I've seen if you want to program it manually and not via app/computer. Haven't tested the extended scan capabilities yet, but will soon. My biggest beef is that the NOAA channel doesn't have an easy access, you have to Function key, then hit one of the keypad buttons, THEN hit the un-squelch button on the side...in the U.S., with our reliance on NOAA, it really should have a dedicated button. And I know you can re-program the side buttons, but it should already have that. The Scan mode isn't intuitive either. Still though...for $30, you can't really go wrong, and it is indeed slightly higher-power rated than the standard Baofeng radios that are hot now lol.

I can't say that this radio is the best in terms of RX sensitivity and selectivity. But it works reasonably well. What it is good for is scanning CTCSS and DCS tones. It will get the tone and keep it on the screen until you need it. Interestingly, two of three of these radios turned out to be pretty weather resistant. I forgot them on the patio, and they got rained on pretty bad. I just took off the battery, shook out the wanter, and let them dry for a couple days. They were as good as new. The third one kicked the bucket, though. But it's still impressive.

I'm sure lots of people can write a longer review, but here's the deal- This radio has a modified frequency range that makes you wish you had never bought that Beofeng. If you want a CRAZY good radio at a CRAZY good price, you won't regret buying this. You can flash it with one of the Beofeng to USB cables no problem. I'm gonna buy about 30 of these and sit in my bunker.

A very good radio does what they claim. The signal is pretty clean, not too many spurs.

Great radio for beginner. You can alter the firmware to receive a very wide spectrum. Couldn't tell you specifically the effectiveness of those ranges but as the firmware is open source and people continue to work on the firmware I can see them fine-tuning it further. This would be a radio I would 100% recommend getting first if you're new to the radio game it will be one of your favorite amateur radios.

Nice little pocket radio, modifiable firmware for customization