BTECH UV-25X2 (Second Gen.) Mini Mobile 25 Watt Dual Band Base, Mobile Radio: VHF, UHF Amateur (Ham)

As a very newly licensed ham, I'm starting to build my equipment. For the home station HF gear, I went with equipment made by the time-honored manufacturers in amateur radio. For mobile, though, I decided that economy was an important factor on par with performance. I decided to try the BTech Mini UV-25X2 for my mobile 2 meter / 70 cm needs. So far, I am very glad that I did. I ordered the radio with the programming cable and was able to quickly load up all of the local repeaters using CHIRP. Do be sure to get the latest version of CHIRP though so that this radio is supported. The version I was using for my BTECH HT did need to be updated. Once I did that, the radio was set and ready for use. I'll likely take some of the repeaters out of rotation as I get more experience with where the traffic is in my area. I also included the antenna in my order and I found, using my VNA, that it was well tuned to the bands of interest. Put it all together and was up and running in a very short time. I also want to complement the folks at BTECH. They've been very proactive in reaching out to me with offers of assistance should the need arise. So far, I've not had any need to contact them but the proactive touch is much appreciated. I'm glad I decided to get this radio and glad that I bought it through BTECH. If you are looking for a decent radio at a decent price, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend that you consider this radio.

Great little radio for the money. I have two of them. One in my vehicle, one as a base and I would buy another to make a radio box.

Great little mobile unit. Easily programmed with CHIRP software, although I did program initially through the keypad until I received my cable and it wasn't difficult but a bit time consuming. You cannot program channel NAMES via the keypad. It can be quirky when first programmed. Simply turn it off and back on and it should behave from then on.I have not yet figured out how to turn off the dual/quad scan though. I simply tune second (or tri/quad) channel to an unused one if I don't want to scan.For those who see a need, this radio came "unlocked". ;-)May at some point buy another to build a mobile/base ammo can type radio.

The Bfeng radios are great. They're well made and now made in the USA. The frequency coverage is excellent, radio is compact, has a rear cooling fan and somewhat easy to program using CHIRP. The few negatives are the knobs were very soft rubber that couldn't turn the volume or channel without slipping. I don't understand why they'd use a knob so 'soft'that it couldn't perform it's important function. These radios do quite a bit and are an excellent value. With that, amateurs or idiots can violate and interfere with public safety units. Not good, especially when public safety is involved. While the CHIRP software is not really associated with this review, MANY will use it to program these radios. The radios can perform many functions that one may not know or understand when programming. If I were an amateur or new to programming I'd go to a 'radio guy' that understands the great features CHIRP offers and will guide you. Lastly, if you program public safety bands and transmit on them these radios can be 'recognized', remotely shut off or located so please play within your boundaries.

The mic was selling point. Wanted to set up in truck, hook portable up to it and go. Couldn’t tell any real difference with or without. Never could get the mic to work.

For the price this unit is hard to beat. It is small enough to fit in any glove compartment for secure (out of sight) storage. My signal reports are all positive. I highly recommend getting the programming cable and Nagoya antenna that is suggested in the product details. Remember that a good antenna is probably the most important part of any radio system. One thing I have not tested is the actual range of this unit. I will probably do that when I get a chance to travel out into the countryside again. I was using a Beofeng handy talkie in my car before and I can say that this clearly outperforms that even with the same antenna. Having 5x the power of a handheld is obviously going to improve your range and clarity. Another important thing to remember is that for a unit with more power than this one you will probably need a dedicated power line going to your car's battery. This one is able to run off my Aux power plug and therefore is super easy to setup and remove as needed. That is not possible with a 50w or more unit.