UV-25X2 (Second Gen.) Mini Mobile 25 Watt Dual Band Base, Mobile Radio: VHF, UHF Amateur (Ham)

The Bfeng radios are great. They're well made and now made in the USA. The frequency coverage is excellent, radio is compact, has a rear cooling fan and somewhat easy to program using CHIRP. The few negatives are the knobs were very soft rubber that couldn't turn the volume or channel without slipping. I don't understand why they'd use a knob so 'soft'that it couldn't perform it's important function. These radios do quite a bit and are an excellent value. With that, amateurs or idiots can violate and interfere with public safety units. Not good, especially when public safety is involved. While the CHIRP software is not really associated with this review, MANY will use it to program these radios. The radios can perform many functions that one may not know or understand when programming. If I were an amateur or new to programming I'd go to a 'radio guy' that understands the great features CHIRP offers and will guide you. Lastly, if you program public safety bands and transmit on them these radios can be 'recognized', remotely shut off or located so please play within your boundaries.

I have gone through 3 of these radios. The only word of caution is make sure your voltage supply does not exceed 13.8v. Also the Quad watch is a bit confusing and doesn't work as well as I would like. It is a solid radio and works well as you would expect. The size is perfect for a cup holder installation.

Purchased a QYT KT-8900D and found I couldn't live with the firmware issues such as display channels C & D resetting to default after shut down. This and other issues were fixed with the BTECH UV-25X2. Returned the KT-8900 and never looked back. Radio works as expected, and has an owners manual in English. I haven't experienced any desensitisation in my semi-rural location. Using a Mag mount antenna ( Browning WSPBR10353 5/8 NMO Mount Magnet + TRAM 140MHz-170MHz + 430MHz-470MHz Dual Band NMO Antenna ) on the roof of the truck, I've gotten good signal reports when using the local repeaters. 200 memories are adequate for all my local repeaters plus a few for travel destinations and the NOAA weather stations. Easily programmed with CHIRP, or manually for a new repeater or to change a setting such as the PL tone. IMHO worth the extra $$ for a radio that works.

I've used this UV-25X2 for several months now. The instruction manual is easy to follow and It's relatively easy to program. I have gotten good signal reports on both 2 meters and 70 centimeters. The transmit and received audio is good. I was pleasantly surprised at how small this transceiver is. The only improvement I would like to see is in the knobs. They are made of soft rubber and are easy to fall off and lose. Sometimes they come off in my fingers while making adjustments. I'd suggest that they should be made of hard rubber or plastic. The price is great for a dual band 25W vhf/UHF transceiver.

This unit will make a nice little mobile radio with decent power. It is lacking the sophistication and refinement of higher end units. But for the price it is about right. Pros: 1. Very compact 2. Easy to program through the unit or with oem software or chirp 3. Clear audio with the speaker and clear reports from my transmission 4. Nice bright display 5. Nice set of features Cons: 1. Doesn't produce advertised power. My measurements are about 21w on vhf and 18w on uhf. Not enough to be a deal breaker for me but they should advertise it correctly. 2. The audio port is very nonstandard. It is a trrs plug with the audio on the sleeve and first ring which is not compatible with any known speaker wiring. I needed to make my own adapter for use with my mono speaker. At least they show you the pin out in the manual. 3. Terrible technical support. I emailed them asking for an adapter for the above listed plug issue, they emailed me two very wrong links to Amazon plugs, one of which was a 1/4" plug that obviously wouldn't even fit in the unit. When I called them out the second time they just quit responding. So good luck getting them to help you with anything. 4. Buttons on the mic are a bit small and I need to use my fingernail to push them in since they are flush to the face. 5. Super slow scanning. Don't even bother trying to use it as a scanner. I picked it up for $94 on black Friday sale and I'd say it is a decent value. Good for mobile unit with small footprint and good sound. But don't expect much more.

i bought this in august 2020, i just recently had the time to install it and it never worked. i programmed it using chirp with the cable from Btech. i used the Nagoya ut-72 antenna, also from Btech. i installed this unit and went to check the SWR and it would not register at all on my SWR meter. i then tried the antenna on a handheld and the SWR was 1.05, almost perfect. i hooked the antenna back up the this unit with the SWR meter and tried to broadcast again, and again...nothing. i contacted Btech and they told me because it was more than 30 days after purchases i had to fill out an RGA request, which i did and i sent the unit back. also worth noting is that i have an inline volt meter. here is Btech's response to my RGA "Your previous unit had short damage which resulted from high SWR or transmitting at low voltage, this would be caused by your set up and use. SWR and voltage damage is not covered under warranty. Either your standing wave ratio did not match the radio while transmitting - or your radio received a power surge or were supplying low voltage while transmitting (15% tolerance of 13.8V) SWR tips: You will need to inspect your coax connectors, antennas, or feed line and identify your SWR issue SWR can vary depending on weather - to even a slit cable being bent, so it is crucial to identify the issue. Voltage tips: Ensure your power supply - is rated at a minimum of 7A constant (10A peak); and supplies 13.8V An out of warranty repair is assessed at $45 - to complete an out of warranty repair you will need to submit the payment at: ***** Greg Wilson" i find this extremely hard to believe considering i only transmitted long enough to check the SWR, and it was only installed for 3 days. so i have to pay another $45 to get a faulty unit fixed before i can even use it. Again please note that the unit, programing cable and the antenna were all purchased the Btech's amazon store.....BEWARE

Had it for quite some time, and honestly, this is one of the best radios I’ve bought! It’s small, and has more than enough channels to customize (you just need chirp and a certain cable for it to program)! Had no issues at all so far! Highly recommend!

As a very newly licensed ham, I'm starting to build my equipment. For the home station HF gear, I went with equipment made by the time-honored manufacturers in amateur radio. For mobile, though, I decided that economy was an important factor on par with performance. I decided to try the BTech Mini UV-25X2 for my mobile 2 meter / 70 cm needs. So far, I am very glad that I did. I ordered the radio with the programming cable and was able to quickly load up all of the local repeaters using CHIRP. Do be sure to get the latest version of CHIRP though so that this radio is supported. The version I was using for my BTECH HT did need to be updated. Once I did that, the radio was set and ready for use. I'll likely take some of the repeaters out of rotation as I get more experience with where the traffic is in my area. I also included the antenna in my order and I found, using my VNA, that it was well tuned to the bands of interest. Put it all together and was up and running in a very short time. I also want to complement the folks at BTECH. They've been very proactive in reaching out to me with offers of assistance should the need arise. So far, I've not had any need to contact them but the proactive touch is much appreciated. I'm glad I decided to get this radio and glad that I bought it through BTECH. If you are looking for a decent radio at a decent price, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend that you consider this radio.