Friends don?t give friends a Baofeng UV-5R.
I do acknowledge that UV-5Rs have usefulness, but would I trust my life to one? No way! I do have some, but they?re relegated to third level status. I use to work with them on a professional basis, and typically we had a 10% failure rate per year.
My biggest problem with prepper comms is that folks will spend lots of money on firearms and other gear, but they tend to not want to spend for decent radio equipment. I hear the argument that a Baofeng UV-5R works as well as an Icom ID-52. Well, a Saturday night special can kill you just as well as a tricked out Kimber. So, do people readily carry a Saturday night special , when better firearms are available? The same applies to the lower end Baofengs, why rely on a radio that does marginally work? Have you ever looked at the specteral quality of their transmitters? In the new generation of warfare, radio transmissions are like a beacon, and the Baofengs more or less shout, hey I?m here!
If you?re going to buy a Baofeng, buy one of their better radios. I use to work with some law enforcement guys on a regular basis, and they usually carried high end radios with brands like Motorola and Harris, most of the radios cost several thousand dollars. Well, several of them also carried Baofengs for a back-up. I never understood why they would carry a radio that wasn?t waterproof nor impact resistant. Better than nothing, I suppose. But a few of them learned the hard way that Baofengs don?t cut it when in rough environmental conditions. I guess I prefer to give myself the best chance at success, when the SHTF, I won?t be carrying a Baofeng as my primary nor secondary source of communications.
