Specs & Ratings
Bottom Line
Not every car has to be a sport cars. Some cars are giant comfortable cadillacs, and that's just what the Baofeng UV-28+ handheld radio is. It's Baofeng's largest radio offering that we're aware of, and it's got all the best features and functionality. Plus it's 10w operating power make it a killer handheld.
Pros
- 10w of actual real delivered power on VHF and UHF. This thing is a monster for a handheld!
- Baofeng's best most modern UI and menu interface.
- Nameable banks/zones which can be run as separate banks/zones per channel... this is the dream Baofeng!
- Exceptional TX and RX capability
- Large antenna has exceptional TX/RX capabilities.
- CHIRP Programmable
Cons
- Unapologetically chunky.
- Slow scanning functionality means you often miss transmission going out on your local repeaters.
- Included antenna is unreasonably large for utilization in a car.
Who This Is For
This radio is NOT the kind of radio you'd want to take hiking or skiing or any other such activity. It is perfect though to leave at camp, in the car, or in the pits of a race event so as folks can really make sure they get transmissions in and out.
Testing Notes
Generally we rate handhelds on their functionality in an "out and about" situation. This radio is the rare exception though, where it's less of an "out and about" radio and more of a "Nearby and ready to assist" style radio. While mobile base stations can provide this, their form factor is larger, so this is a quick and easy to deploy version.
Measured Wattage and SWR
Claimed Wattage: 10W
Measuring Device: Inline Surecom SW-102
| Frequency Band | Wattage | SWR*** |
|---|---|---|
| National VHF (146.520 MHz) | 7.80 W | 1.88 |
| National UHF (446.000 MHz) | 10.33 W | 1.26 |
| GMRS CH 1 (462.5625) | 9.2 W | 2.56 |
***measuring SWR with an inline device is imperfect, but has some value especially as we test every handheld radio the exact same way.
Detailed Review
So it's been mentioned a few times, but the Baofeng UV-28+ is a big boy of a handheld. It's a 10w handheld though, and per our testing IT DELIVERS! It's TX and RX quality is amazing on both VHF and UHF, and we've had no issues reaching out to far away repeaters.
Adding this radio into our kit we at first struggled to figure out what to do with it. It was too large for taking on adventures outdoors or for movement based activities. We programmed it up with all of our favorite nearby repeaters and some general other repeaters around the region for fun... and then we just started carrying it around with us. We'd leave it in the shop while we were out there, nearby if we were working on a car or other project... slowly the radio just started tagging along with us on more and more, and it became our "daily driver" around the property.
If you're at all vision challenged, this is the radio for you. It's got a far larger display than most other handhelds, and it's menu is quite large as well. The features on it are also very user friendly and intuitive. You can name your banks / zones and you can run A on one bank, B on another. In our case we took he radio up to a ski area near us wanted to hear ski patrol chater on A, but have a nearby repeater on B. We were able to do both with ease, and then just leave the radio in the car when we took off skiing.
Ultimately, we feel this is Baofengs strongest example of what their radios and their UI is capable of... and unfortunately for them now it's the standard by which we judge all of their other radios. Really all that this radio is missing is the ability to temporarily skip a channel while scanning. If Baofeng ever gets that in this radio and then carries that functionality over to the rest of their radios... they're going to put a lot of far bigger brands on notice!
Final Verdict
An exceptional "let it sit and do it's thing" handheld for carrying to and from static positions, such as your shop or a campsite.