Mirkit Baofeng Radio UV-5R MK3X Legal Power Tri-Band Radio 2026 VHF/UHF 144-148/222-225/420-450 MHz - Walkie Talkie with 2100mAh Li-ion Baofeng Battery, Neck Strap Lanyard Mirkit Ham Radio Operator

This is my second UV-5R. I opted for the UV-5R MK3X tri-band model so I could use more of the Technician class frequency range. I really like this model! In the photos I've attached, you can see this model on the left and the older base UV-5R model on the right. Noticeable differences in the build quality: 1. The buttons are much better. They have a more positive click v.s. the mush of the older base model. 2. The flatter face plate feels better in the hand, like it's a more expensive plastic, and a better shape. 3. The metal mesh speaker looks cooler. I'm not sure if it's functionally better. 4. The larger battery makes the unit easier to hold in the hand. the soft of ledge that protrudes is perfect for the index finger to grab onto. 5. The "Upgraded" antenna looks fancier, and does seem to work better. 6. The tiny little faceplate screws are cool looking. Not sure if it's functionally better, but it's a nice touch. 7. The "Moni" and "Call" buttons are larger and easier to push. So overall, the unit feels better in the hand, and the button presses are much nicer. Functionally: 1. The 220/1.25m band works great. I can get these frequencies with the dual band (70cm/2m) antenna as well as the included 1.25m antenna. 2. The larger battery makes the unit slide into the charger easier. 3. The battery included with this UV-5R MK3X model is a 2100 mAh battery. It's physically larger than the standard battery, and 300 mAh more energy capacity. 4. The more powerful speaker (1w v.s. .5w of the base UV-5R) is noticeable at high volumes. 5. I've been able to hit all the local repeaters with this unit, both with the stock antenna, and an upgraded antenna. Negatives: 1. Its more expensive than the $20-25 UV-5R (base) models floating around from other sellers. I'm happy to spend the extra dollars for the tri-band functionality, and better build. Although, next time I might opt for one of the other Mirkit UV-5R's (8 watt, or just the base) because of negative #2, although I don't have one to tell if they don't also suffer from this observation in #2. 2. For some reason, with upgraded antennas (SignalStick / Nagoya NA-771) the receiver seems to struggle at times where the base UV-5R doesn't. I'm new to HAM tech, and from my brief searching, it sounds like this is common to see on these units (UV-5R variants) - the receiver being overloaded by too much signal. I think this is an issue with "selectivity". The fix for this is to use the "Narrow" setting (menu option 5) in cases where the signal isn't coming through as you'd hope. My guess is that the tri-band receiver might sacrifice some selectivity to get the third band? Maybe, but I don't have any real knowledge about this. Lastly: Customer support Regarding the selectivity, I contacted customer support because i was not happy with the reception, and they were very responsive, gave me things to try and ultimately followed through until it was resolved to my satisfaction. I applaud the seller - Mirkit for this. Bottom line: worth it for the extra band, more premium build, and great customer support.

When buying uv-5r type radios all depends on luck, so far this UV-5R MK3 works good for me, it has good range (3miles), It has a larger capacity battery, battery fits perfectly, speaker sounds good, radio looks really nice, feels solid in hand, very quality compare to 2X expensive junk BF-F8HP.

Seems like a nice enough radio. I bought two of these to give away to new hams that pass their Technician test at our local hamfest. The only downside I have figured out is that you have to use the Radioddity tri-band software to program them. Using CHIRP will erase the 1.25 meter band from the radio. CHIRP also does that on the Radioddity version of this radio.

I got a HAM license recently and purchased this transceiver, tri band UV-5R MK3X. I didn't really expect the quality because its price is much cheaper than other similar ones, but I'm pretty impressed by its capability and durable case. It came with 2100mAh battery and it lasts more than a day just for scanning and listening. Only issue I have is that I couldn't program the 1.25m (220MHz) band channels using Chirp. I believe there must be a way, but I couldn't figure it out yet. VHF/UHF and other settings works fine with the Chirp. I'd like to thank the seller for their quick responses for my questions regarding settings and channel lists.

These are pretty great radios for not a lot of money which is wonderful if you are starting out in HAM or GMRS. I have my Tech ticket and have not used them but a handful of times. They have great range and I can use them in a pinch when hiking in remote areas or I just want to monitor local traffic or nets in my area when I'm not close to by base station. I never have an issue with connecting to my local repeaters and once you get the hang of them, they are pretty easy to manually program on the fly or use CHIRP. I like the build quality but I can't say much about the battery life. I purchased a larger 3800mAh battery and stashed the stock ones in my camping gear as backups. All praise aside, I have recently been having one issue. One of the HT's is starting to have an audio problem. The Speaker volume has been fading over the last couple of months. It's finally gotten to the point where I have to hold the radio close to my ear to hear any sort of transmission. Granted these are cheap throw-away radios but it failing in just over a year and a half is a bit disappointing. I've had them for a total of 522 days (7/18/24) and I would have expected this to last longer than that. This is why I'm currently giving it a 3-star rating as this time. I have contacted them regarding warranty info. I am not sure about the length of the warranty on them. I've looked over the seller's Amazon page and can't find anything. I 've contacted the seller today and we will see what they say. 73's to everyone!

I am in no way, shape, or form experienced with radios at all. I have owned a walkie-talkie when I was younger, but that's the extend of my "radio" experience. I wanted to buy this radio to listen to my local police dispatch. I usually use an app on my iPhone for this, but I could not stand the poor audio quality anymore which brings me to this radio. The audio quality is crisp! I am able to understand exactly what they are saying (finally!!). I was a bit intimidated when first setting it up. It is not very easy to do, but that's where YouTube comes into play! I watched a few YouTube videos and eventually got it all set up in about 5 or so minutes (the manual is not much help). I would absolutely recommend this radio to a new user (such as myself).

I've been using it mainly as a scanner until I get my Tech ticket (this is to help push me into it,) but I've been using it as a scanner in the 440 band to monitor police/fire, and it's working quite well for that. I can also pick up aero traffic from our local airports (SJC, RHV, PAO, SFO.) There's some small complexity in usage, probably as much due to my own memory dysfunction as the radio itself - I can't blame it too much! But, it's a good, solid little radio that's been working quite well for me.

I really enjoyed this radio while it worked. Solidly built and easy to program with CHIRP and a USB programming cable. But after roughly 5 hours of use it will no longer turn on. I have another model of the UV5R and have confirmed it is not the battery. The hardware has failed. Great radio for the price if you get a good one, worthless doorstop if you lose the gamble.