# Review: BTech UV-50X2



## bkt

Please note this is an amateur radio requiring a license to operate legally. This radio will transmit on FRS, GMRS and MURS frequencies but it is technically illegal to do so.

My objective is to reliably communicate, point-to-point and requiring no infrastructure outside my control, with family and friends in my local area (county-wide).

Requirements:

Usable as a mobile or base station
Power sufficient to be able to reach 40+ miles without using repeaters
Dual-band - VHF/UHF - simultaneous receive across bands (VHF/UHF, VHF/VHF, UHF/UHF)
Easy to program
Clear, bright display
Inexpensive

*Equipment*

Radio: Btech UV-50X2









High/Low Power Settings: 50W, 10W
Frequency Range: 65-108 MHz (commercial FM radio receive)
VHF: 136-174 MHz (Rx/Tx)
UHF: 400-520 MHz (Rx/Tx)
Wide/Narrow Selectable
Programmable with Chirp
*$169.89*

Note: Amateur radio FCC frequency allocation is 144.0-148.0 and 420.0-450.0. This radio can transmit well outside those ranges.

PC04 FTDI Cable is for easy computer programming
*$20.46*

Programming software: Chirp (http://chirp.danplanet.com/)
*$0.00*

Power Supply: TekPower TP30SWII









9-15V adjustable
30A peak output
*$119.95*

Antenna: KB9VBR copper J-Pole - http://www.jpole-antenna.com/shop/2-meter-amateur-radio-j-pole-antenna/ - 2M/70cm








Mine's mounted in the attic at ~28' (8.5m) above ground.
*$34.99*

25' RG8 PL-259 coax cable
*$31.42*

*Total cost: $376.71*

(Alleged) Coverage/propagation map for 146.0MHz - Rochester, New York area:








Green is strong coverage, yellow is weak coverage. I should easily be able to reach throughout my county and well into neighboring counties. Calculations were made assuming an antenna height at my base station of 28' and antenna height at mobile or remote locations of 6'.

UHF is similar but doesn't extend nearly as far.

Coverage map was created with Roger Coudé's excellent website: http://www.cplus.org/rmw/rmonline.html

*Programming*:
Plugged in the programming cable, turned on the radio, fired up Chirp, and it was able to access my radio without any issues. I'm using Ubuntu Linux (Mint) and the latest version of Chirp.

Opened a saved memory configuration file from a Kenwood HT and copied/pasted it into the Btech's memories, then wrote it to the Btech. Trivial.

The Btech has some neat features. It displays up to four frequencies at a time. You can link two lines together so you can view the name and the frequency at the same time. So line A shows the name, line B the frequency. Line C another name and D its frequency. It looks like it'll be convenient.

*Results*:
So far, I'm extremely pleased. The audio quality of the speaker on the radio is really great. Reports say I sound very good.

Display is both good and bad. First, the bad. It's unnecessarily small - only about 2". Also, the number of characters it can display is limited to 7. With memory being as inexpensive as it is, this is really unfortunate. It would be nice to be able to view the call sign and its location on one line. Now the good: it's very bright and crisp. My eyes are not what they used to be, but even I can read this display with no problem.

The display consists of six lines. The top line shows the radio status. Lines 2-5 show up to four frequencies/memory locations/names. Line 6 is dynamic and shows receive and transmit strength.

There are several functions available on this radio I haven't yet tried out. As I explore those and do some real-world range tests updates will follow.


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## Pessimistic2

BKT.....was your decision based on the price of the radio? With the same accessories you have, the 50x3 would have brought the total cost to about $170 more. The 50x2 is a very nice unit....I'm just curious as to why you didn't go with the 50x3.

https://baofengtech.com/uv-50x3


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## bkt

Cost was it, really. The cross-band repeater capability is really the only feature I wish the UV-50X2 had. The 1.25 meter is nice but it's only 5W on the 50x3.


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## Maxxdad

Max here, K4MUF.
I just ordered the 50 to give it a go.

A friend reports only one issue. Excessive transmit time results in heat up and power drop especially on high power. As he's a real mic hog I don't doubt it. Lol.

I'll report back.


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## bkt

The SWR meter I have shows 78W or thereabouts on high power (should be 50W) and about 30W on low power. I haven't needed to use high power much at all so I can't speak to a decrease in power or overheating. In fact, my rig has remained cool to the touch after use.

Let us know what your experience is with it.


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## Maxxdad

Mine shows 72W out on high power, 33 on low. So they are running pretty hard.
Easily hit the Grangeville repeater from my cabin. It's a two hour drive through the Clearwater mountains and as the crow flies easily 50 miles. Of course my cabin is a 6000 feet, so that helps.

I intentionally pushed the unit with a long transmit and saw no power drop. And yes it remains cool. SWR is clean. Audio sounds good.
I'm pretty happy with it.


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## Maxxdad

Sadly I can not recommend this radio.
Less than a month of sporadic use and it failed to turn on today.

Checked the in line fuse. All good. Swapped the fuse just in case. Nope. Powered on my Ic7200 which is connected to the same power supply. Yep, all good. Double checked connections at both ends. Good.

So I'm returning it to Btech for a replacement which I will wrap in foil and store as a back up.


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## bountyhunter26

I recommend to always buy quality. For the price of that radio you could buy a YAESU FT2900R. Unfortunately it is only 2m. If you open the radio you can get MURS. I just bought the YAESU FT8900R. It cost a little more, $330 plus tax. It is a 50w it is tuned for 2,6,10m and 70cm. Or you could buy most any handheld for about $160 even tri/quad. Buy Quality!!


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## bkt

bountyhunter26 said:


> I recommend to always buy quality. For the price of that radio you could buy a YAESU FT2900R. Unfortunately it is only 2m. If you open the radio you can get MURS. I just bought the YAESU FT8900R. It cost a little more, $330 plus tax. It is a 50w it is tuned for 2,6,10m and 70cm. Or you could buy most any handheld for about $160 even tri/quad. Buy Quality!!


The FT8900 is an FM-only rig. It's certainly not a bad radio at not an awful price, but realistically you're not talking to many folks on FM on 10M. And as you say, the FT2900R is 2M only. Again, not bad, but it is limiting.

The BTech UV-50x2 is 2M and 70cm and costs half what the FT8900 costs and substantially less than the FT2900. The BTech works, it works well, and it has been reliable.

If you have a legit concern about inexpensive radios, that's cool. Let's hear your concerns.

If you're like me and are OK reading manuals and using programs like Chirp to program your radios, the less-expensive models may serve you as well as they have served me.


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## kd4ulw

I have had the UV-50X3 tri-band with 220 MHz for over a year, so far so good.


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## Maxxdad

bkt said:


> The FT8900 is an FM-only rig. It's certainly not a bad radio at not an awful price, but realistically you're not talking to many folks on FM on 10M. And as you say, the FT2900R is 2M only. Again, not bad, but it is limiting.
> 
> The BTech UV-50x2 is 2M and 70cm and costs half what the FT8900 costs and substantially less than the FT2900. The BTech works, it works well, and it has been reliable.
> 
> If you have a legit concern about inexpensive radios, that's cool. Let's hear your concerns.
> 
> If you're like me and are OK reading manuals and using programs like Chirp to program your radios, the less-expensive models may serve you as well as they have served me.


Maybe I just got a lemon. 25 days of service? Even with just sporadic occasional use. I'm sending it in and maybe I'll give it a go. But...does not bode well. I do not have a problem with 8nexpensive Yes and transceivers that work. I have your around 40 B, uv5s and issued them to members of my little mountain community. They are great for what they are. 
The 50? Better be great the second go round.


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## bkt

Please let us know how the second radio works for you. If it's bad, too, then maybe I just got lucky. Consistent quality is a must-have, of course, and that's what you were getting at earlier.


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## bountyhunter26

@bkt....OK here is my opinion. Me and a friend of mine bought 3 BAOFENG UV-B5 radios. They are a 5w handheld radio. we used these radios for training, on a 4wheeler and just about everything else. These radios worked so well we put our YAESU FT60R radios in semi storage and used the BF radios. After about a year we were have trouble either TX or RX on the BF. Some of our guys were using the UV-5R radios and they also started having issues with them as well. So we dug out our FT60Rs and started using them again. To this day they will not either TX or RX, but what do you expect for $35.
They will not stand up to the rigors of training and riding on the 4wheelers. Not everyone will agree with me I am sure, nor do I care. That has been my experience with the BF radio.
The FT8900R is UHF on 70cm. Look it up.


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## bkt

No, I get what you're saying. The inexpensive HTs didn't hold up to the rigors of training but the more expensive ones did. That's not really surprising. The question is whether or not some folks can benefit from the less-expensive ones for less-rigorous activities.

People who plan to use their radios under somewhat harsh conditions are advised to get radios that are less likely to have issues.

I didn't say the FT8900 didn't do UHF. I said it did FM only, which on 10M is largely pointless. I said the FT2900 was VHF only, which it is.


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## sgtusmc98

I have had 3 tyt 9800, loved them. Have one in the truck and had one as a base station, ordered a third because I thought the base station one wet the bed but I was wrong, kept the third tyt in the box for nearly a year. The base station tyt did wet the bed so I pulled the one out of the box, it had a blown speaker and the same problem the one I was replacing, low output. It’s my fault I didn’t take it out of the box, missing a mike too, but I had hoped to sell it for what I had in it. Really couldn’t do anything with it.

Part of the problem with the cheaper radios is inconsistency, it is possible a cheapo will work better than one of the big three, like more power than it’s supposed to have but it may not work at all. I ended up replacing it with an ICOM. The tyt 9800 is modeled after the Yaesu 8900, the 8900 has dropped about $400 probably because of the competition it was receiving from the tyt.

Also with the chepos there probably isn’t any support, the big dealers may tell you there is nothing they can do but at least there is someone to talk to.


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## Maxxdad

Ok friends let's keep it civil.
Yes.. The B radios are cheap. They work. They don't hold up to the rigors of field use.
My plan was simple. I wanted to put as many radios as possible 8nto the hands of as many people as possible. I chose the the UV5 for that purpose. My little mountain town of 30 or so is remote. Arguably the most remote town in the lower 48. To date I have 40 or so uv5s in circulation. They are great little radios. My plan was that if I you offer an affordable radio, that I could program and sell at cost, we would be prepared for any emergency. It's worked out. Is it a good tactical radio? No. It's basic comm. I myself have a stock of Y radios for tactical comms.
Now the Btech 50x2. Great radio but... Not reliable at this point. It's the mobile version of the UV 5s. Cheap, useful and at this point less than reliable.
I'll keep my Icom and Y units in plastic and stored. I'll use the B units in the meantime. If the SHTF I have comms. Tactical, short range and HF. But for now, my little town has emergency comms. Fire, SAR, or collapse. We will be able to coordinate our efforts and hopefully save some lives.


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## sgtusmc98

bkt said:


> No, I get what you're saying. The inexpensive HTs didn't hold up to the rigors of training but the more expensive ones did. That's not really surprising. The question is whether or not some folks can benefit from the less-expensive ones for less-rigorous activities.
> 
> People who plan to use their radios under somewhat harsh conditions are advised to get radios that are less likely to have issues.
> 
> I didn't say the FT8900 didn't do UHF. I said it did FM only, which on 10M is largely pointless. I said the FT2900 was VHF only, which it is.


For long distance transmission I would agree that 10 m FM is nearly useless but there can be uses for it.

After the Joplin tornado of 2011 I found out the ARES groups there used 6 m FM primarily, they had 6 m repeaters which were FM so the just kept their simplex 6m FM to keep it simple and it worked well. 10 m would be similar as far as repeaters if you had them.

I haven't tried 10 m FM but did try 6 comparing it with 2 m simplex while driving through my county talking with another station monitoring both 2 and 6 m, 6m was more effective than 2.

I need to try 10m in comparison to 2m.

Nobody is really using 10m right now because the propagation is so bad but if you had several local people using it, it could still be more effective than 2 m.


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## bkt

It would be interesting to try that out and see how 10M works compared to 2M. 11M (CB) didn't seem to have any better propagation/range than 2M, but my tests years ago were far from scientific.


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## bountyhunter26

Man, did this thread die quickly!....LOL


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## kd4ulw

bountyhunter26 said:


> Man, did this thread die quickly!....LOL


Must be bad propagation, maybe a Solar Flare.


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