Specs & Ratings
Bottom Line
The Baofeng UV-7B handheld radio is an amazing radio that strikes the perfect balance of size to capability that so many radios miss. The UV-7B comes so close to perfection, but lacks a few of the improvements the other radios Baofeng offers. With a few simple UI improvements already present on other radios such as the UV28+, the UV-7B could be the best all around radio offering from Baofeng!
Pros
- Excellent form factor. Not too small, not too large
- Exceptional rubberized case for protection and durability
- Exceptional TX and RX quality
- Long battery life
- Flashlight feature is excellent for a late night walking camp radio.
- UI is one of the better UI offerings from Baofeng
USB-C Chargeable
Cons
- Missing the last few best UI features Baofeng has on other radios, like allowing dual channel mode to operate each channel in separate zones.
- Unable to name zones.
Who This Is For
This in our opinion is the a great first handheld radio or a modest sized camp radio. While the UV-7B won't quietly tuck away into a glovebox if you outgrow it, it does find it's way into the hands of many of our friends on outdoor adventures or when driving somewhere with multiple cars. This radio is the perfect size for most folks, and where the UV-5R mini may be a bit small, the UV-22 may be a bit outdated, and the UV-28+ is a brick... the UV-7B is the perfect size that most folks expect a radio to be. Everyone from my wife to friends who has taken and operated the radio enjoyed it.
Testing Notes
As with all handheld radios, we judge them on the usefulness in an active environment. From skiing, to walking around large areas, to hiking, to carrying with you into and around the shop, a good handheld radio needs to be capable on the go. While folks may utilize these when stationary in their shack, we don't feel there's much value in comparing solely based on that criteria.
Measured Wattage
Claimed Wattage: 5W
Measuring Device: Inline Surecom SW-102
| Frequency Band | Wattage | SWR* |
|---|---|---|
| National VHF (146.520 MHz) | 5.98 W | 2.05 |
| National UHF (446.000 MHz) | 5.13 | 1.01 |
| GMRS CH 1 (462.5625) | 5.17 | 1.03 |
*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
The UV-7B radio is an exceptional radio. It's not sub-compact like the UV-5R mini, nor is it a brick like the UV-28. The UV-7B radio sits right in that perfect Goldilocks zone of size to functionality that make it a standout radio. Combine that with an exceptional price point, solid RX and TX capabilities, and you've got a winning combination. The UI is also one of the better offerings from Baofeng, having both an easy to work with menu interface, a nice color screen, long channel names and easy to operate buttons. Unfortunately the radio just falls shy of perfection in the sense that it is missing a few features the full fledged UV-28+ radio has, such as being able to name zones and being able to operate channel A and B on different zones instead of having to have both on the same zone at the same time.
We've now utilized this radio in a multitude of situations. The most notable was on a road trip to a race track about 3 and a half hours away. We utilized this radio in one of the cars in our Caravan, and then utilized it for around the track communications and to listen in on how our race team was doing on track. The radio never let us down with it's audio quality, durability, and capabilities. If this radio had just a few more features, it would easily be the best offering from Baofeng.
One feature worth mentioning that we normally could care less about on a handheld is the flashlight feature. The flashlight on this radio is pretty nice, functionally located, and on more than a few occasions while either under a car or out walking the dogs at night in the woods... we found it useful to have a quick to pull up flashlight alongside our comms.
Final Verdict
This radio is close to perfection. If Baofeng can ever bring over the dual channel zone functionality from the UV-28+ along with being able to name zones... this radio will become our #1 most recommended novice radio.