I purchased a UV-B5 for my first radio. In general the cheap Chinese hand held radios are incredible value for money. I assume they are selling thousands into the business market in Asia and that’s what’s allowing these prices.
Similar to the best selling UV-5R, the UV-B5 can transmit anywhere in 136 – 174 MHz and 400 – 480 MHz including being field programmable. A result of this, and their lack of certification, they are only legally able to be owned by licensed ham radio operators in most developed countries.
The reason for choosing this model over the ubiquitous UV-5R is a couple of things. One of the common faults of these wide band radios is that the front ends can be easily overloaded. According to Brick O’Lore the UV-B5 handles this better than the other radios in this price range.
