[Chirp & APP Programming] Radioddity GS-5B Dual Band Ham Radio Handheld, BT APP Programming Long Range Two Way Radio, Dual PTT, 2000mAh USB Rechargeable Battery & High Gain Antenna

October 14, 2020— Before I start, I am an Extra Class Amateur radio operator.Short summary: This is an industrial-strength quality water-resistant radio, suitable for daily use and rugged use. The GS-5B is the one to buy. I foresee this replacing UV-5R and pretty much becoming the standard for all non-digital HTs. The distance/range is outstanding and beats my well-established Japanese name-brand ham radios. With included antenna: 38 miles low power to a repeater, 7 miles simplex. Save up to buy a second battery once it is offered, not available yet.Long review: First, disregard all the other reviews that are upset about the cell phone programming app that uses Bluetooth because it is still in the beta testing phase. I can attest that with the iPhone, one needs to camera app to have the q- code in the manual in focus, and the phone will do the rest. One has to download the "Test-flight" app from the Apple app store that allows you to beta test programs. Then select "Radioddity Gs-5b", and you are good to go. It is straightforward. The package comes with the serial programming cable, which allows direct programming via computer, and once again, download a program from the radiology website. Very easy. Many people are upset that this radio does not work with CHIRP. Get over it! It might work with CHIRP eventually. Nevertheless, programming is elementary.Power and Range: This is the shining star of this radio. All tests were done with the included rubber duck antenna. My meter tested exactly 4W output on high power on all tested channels and roughly 0.5 W on low power transmission. I was able to talk to repeater 38 miles away on low power. I did a measure of elevation from where I was to the repeater, with only an elevation difference of 100 feet. Simplex: High power =11 miles, clear signal. Low power =7 miles, clear signal! I was blown away by this capability because this is better than my several of my Yeasu HTs.Frequency range: Transmit frequencies of 136-175 MHz and 400-520 Mhz, which spans amateur into commercial bands. Receiver frequency 136-520 Mhz, so you can monitor on the 220 Mhz bandPackage: The back is very sturdy. The accessories included are a stand-alone drop-in charger, antenna, serial programming cable, belt clip, lanyard, and quality radiology clear earpiece and microphone.Unit: The unit is very well constructed, sturdy, and drop resistant. It is Hunter orange, with his very visible, especially in a rugged outdoor situation, very easy to find. I love this! There is a large flashlight on the bottom of the radio that is very visible up to 3 miles away, with a strobe capability. I tested this out on the lake nearby, with my friends on the shore.Battery: The battery is a 7.4 V 2000 MAH battery pack. The package comes with one battery. It is secured to the back of the radio with an attached set screw, so there is the battery is extremely secure. It is a rubbery surrounding edge, which adds to the moisture resistance. The back of the battery has a micro USB port.On, High power, standby: almost 36 hours. Low power, standby: almost two days, more like 48 hrs.High power, talking for in 3-5 minute burst non-stop rag chewing= 4.5 hrsLow power, talking for 3-5 minute rag-chews nonstop= 7 hrsOverall, the battery life could be better, most likely is due to the requirements to power the color screen.Charging: Out of the package, it took about 15 minutes for the radio to charge fully.Fully depleted: Standalone battery charger = average 1 hour & 15-minute. If one charges via the micro USB port, with any generic cord, = 2.5 hours. This is a bonus because one can find these micro USB cords that are standardly used with many portable devices such as Samsung phones and any other devices. This cord can be found just about anywhere or any store's lost-and-found if one is in a situation where one needs to find a cord very quickly.Recommendation: I recommend wholeheartedly for radio newbies and veterans to obtain this radio. This may become the new standard dual-band radio.N4REX

A fantastic, affordable, durable HT which is easy to use. Excellent antenna (I tested it with a VNA)—no need to upgrade. Reception is great (picking up repeaters 35 miles away). Transmit and receive audio is clear (and better than my UV-5R EX HT’s). Solidly built!USB charging is a luxury that I didn’t know I needed until I had it (and spare batteries are now available from Radioditty).The programming cable worked out of the box with Windows 10 but I noticed the radio heating up while programming. I emailed Radioditty and they emailed back in 2 hrs with clear and simple instructions for updating the Windows driver to prevent the issue. Truly exceptional customer service.No CHIRP support but the native app that comes with this radio is simple enough to use and the Bluetooth programming makes complex field programming changes a breeze.The one feature I would like to see is the ability to set scanning lockouts for specific channels from the radio keypad (you can do it via BT or PC, just not from the radio itself).I will be buying more of these radios from Radioditty.

After many hours, I determined that it can be programmed manually and with a Windows laptop - but neither the Radioddity app on my iPhone 11 Pro Max nor my 12.9" 2018 iPad Pro "sees" it as a Bluetooth device (which is why I bought it, because repeaters are dead north of Boston, and I wanted to use it when I travel, using Bluetooth to add new repeaters). I need to see if Radioddity support will help me.UPDATE 5/8/2023I have repeatedly asked Radioddity for step by step instructions on a simple thing like executing the factory reset. They cannot explain it. You can bring up the menu choice — but no button you press can execute the command.I recently noted in QST that FCC has passed the Baofeng GT-5R HT. So many newcomers have bought Baofeng HTs. So I bought a GT-5R here on Amazon.Night and day easier and VASTLY better documentation. I downloaded CHIRP and using the Radioddity cable, i quickly loaded 5 local repeaters. The reports were vastly better than I expected.I then loaded repeaters that cover the many local POTA (parks on the air) state and local parks. I then ordered from Amazon the big battery.$26 for the radioj, $14 for the big battery. A true bargain. W3PYF