Baofeng UV32 Review & quick setup

I ordered two of these radios a few weeks ago, and have to say I am impressed! When I first got started as a technician in ham radio, my first radio was the tri-band version of the UV5R. It was the gateway radio for many operators just entering the hobby.

Options for new hams have multiplied and gotten much better over the last few years. Instead of tiny, 5-watt radios the market now offers better radios with more features, higher power, and better screens. The Baofeng UV-32 is definitely one to be considered.

It has 10 watts of RF output, has tri-band capabilities (VHF/UHF and 1.25 meters), 2" color screen, preset NOAA stations, regular FM commercial radio receive, AM aircraft tower receive, and the latest addition is GPS & Bluetooth.

Range on these is similar to most 10-watt handhelds, but what really got me going is the stock (rubber ducky) antenna. It is comparable to my Nagoya 15" whip antenna, which is impressive to say the least. Until now, most stock antennas I threw in the junk drawer never to be seen again, but with this antenna I'm able to hit a VHF repeater some 45 miles away. No, this ain't your grandma's HT!

The battery screws in from the bottom, which does add to the ruggedness of the unit. At least if I'm hiking and drop it I won't have to be looking for a battery that may have popped off. The unit can be charged by a USB-C cable or just stick in in the provided cradle.

Reception sensitivity performs well on all 3 bands and I've had great signal reports across the board. Almost always get a great signal with full quieting and a little background noise (ie: wind) but in the world of HT's there's no getting around that. 

The sell on these radios is 1) the GPS feature 2) the wireless Bluetooth programming software and 3) the new firmware offering 1,000 channels and can be grouped into actual zones. Because if you travel, it's nice to have your repeaters programmed into different zones! As well, the ability to receive aircraft traffic is a nice addition!

There are two knobs (volume and frequency / channel control) along 4 extra function buttons that work with the GPS and extra features which I'll try to explain.

QUICK SETUP:

For programming repeaters and others, this article explains how to do it through the faceplate. A quick internet search will give a ton of information for using CHIRP or programming via the Bluetooth app, so I won't go into that here.

To turn on, just twist the power / volume control knob on and preferred volume adjustment. It's the knob on the right.

Now the extra buttons can add to a bit of confusion in the beginning. It's a whole lot of new buttons, and the setup doesn't work the same way the old UV5Rs (or even 5RMs and others) work. The manual doesn't do the best job of walking you through it, but I'll do the best I can to get you up and running on a repeater.

The first big shocker: there's no obvious A/B button to switch between top and bottom frequencies. And to add to the confusion, the active frequency appears LARGER on the screen. It's actually a good thing, but if you're new it can seem like a mystery. In any case, to switch the active frequency from top to bottom and back, just press the home button.

The second big shocker: there's no VFO/MR button like there are on many popular handheld radios. And it is the first sign that this handheld is wired a bit different, which is a good thing. The extra features make it worth the effort. And the biggest example I can give is being able to edit saved channels in place through the faceplate. That's right - you no longer have to switch back to VFO mode, punch in all your stuff, delete a channel, then save all that stuff to the channel you just deleted. Instead, you can just edit the channel in channel mode (plus add alphanumerics right from the faceplate) and forget it. But if you're like me and want to dial in a frequency first or switch between VFO/Channel mode, just hold down the OK/Menu button:

And you'll be surprised that the new Baofeng voice is a guy now instead of a YL. He'll announce if you're in frequency or channel mode. If you forget, just look at the screen. When in channel mode you'll see "Zone1" and a channel number under the active frequency. When in VFO mode, it'll say "VFO" under the active frequency. Once you're in VFO mode, you can punch in any frequency you like (145310 will give you 145.310 MHz).

Now once you have your desired repeater frequency dialed in (and can hopefully hear it if someone's transmitting), going through the numbers for P/L Tone and Offset is a breeze. Just press the OK button once to see the menu items and use the arrow buttons to navigate to "Program Channel".

From there, just navigate down to TX CTCSS (#6) to set the P/L tone, offset (#13), and offset direction (#14). After that, you should be off to the races with your local repeater. Optional receive CTCSS and DCS are available to use should you need them, but I have yet to use or need either.

Now if you're like me and want to save the current frequency and related info (CTCSS, offset, etc) into a channel, the radio works similarly to the old UV5Rs and others. You have to delete the channel first, then save the info to the channel you just deleted.

Links:

I am enrolled as an Amazon Associate so I will make a small commission on qualified purchases via these links (at no extra charge to the purchaser). That being said, you are not obligated to purchase from my links to use the information I've given in this blog. 73 de KI5ONA and enjoy the hobby!

Baofeng UV-32 two-pack:

https://amzn.to/44G0BP6 

Baofeng UV-32 single-pack:

https://amzn.to/452eVjX 

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