Baofeng UV-S9 Plus: Successor to the UV-5R?

My review of the Baofeng UV-S9 Plus (Tri-power) which, according to sales literature, is supposed to be the upgrade to the UV-5R.
Product links:
Specter Gear Baofeng UV-S9 Molle Radio Pouch
www.spectergear.com/ProductDet...
Specter Gear Baofeng UV-S9 Belt Mounted Radio Pouch
www.spectergear.com/ProductDet...

[@N4XTL]

I really liked the UV-S9 until I had two fail on me in exactly the same way. They were being used for rabbit hunting and transmitting for 30-60 seconds repeatedly for several hours. At some point during this, each radio suddenly became extremely hot, drained it's battery flat and turned off. The radios never turned on again, perhaps indicating a short internally. I have used UV-5Rs in the same way for years and never had a problem. Sadly I had to stopped buying the UV-S9s and revert back to the 5Rs. It might not be a problem that most people would encounter with most use cases, but I had no confidence in the model after it happened.

[@KS6DAY]

I'm not too surprised by that. My output power test showed that my UV-S9 Plus puts out some blistering high power levels through a fairly poor antenna. That's a lot of reflected power that could cook a radio after steady use on a warm day. This radio definitely needs to be supplied with a better antenna.

[@thecoolestofthe834s2]

if u use an abree one would i be fine?@@KS6DAY

[@26cb172]

A good review with some good and important points. Seems difficult to get a battery eliminator or replacement battery for the uvs9 here in uk. I guess the uv9r is different again.

[@joeframo3347]

Hey Scott I use my Tidradio little dongle and programmed it from my phone and wrote a bunch of within 50 miles it's so much easier than using the at least to me thank you for sharing it my friend great video 🌞

[@troyanderson8879]

The tactical antenna base is a little too wide to fit nicely on the S9. I had to shave a bit of the base so that it would fit snug on the S9.

[@theflashlightchannel]

Thanks for the review

[@mrrick07]

One word of caution on running 9 or 10 watts on UHF is the RF exposure you will be receiving off the antenna held close to your head. I have a Motorola GP300 running 5 watts and using the radio for a time I seem to get a headache. I haven't had a chance to figure it out but I'm done running anymore than 2 or so watts near my head. Also the FCC has new rules as of May 3, 2023 for non-ionizing exposure and new rules of RF exposure must not be ignored.

[@AdamosDad]

I bought a Baofeng UV-S9X3, the reason was USB charging and triband. My NagoyaNa320A would not fit? But I had a Radioddity RD-301 that works great and better than the provided one.

[@elfenmagix8173]

Like you, I'm a ham who has some expensive and some cheap ones, including the Baofengs. I own several UV-5R Variants and a couple UV-S9X2; the triband version of the UV-S9. It has only low power and high power, there is no Medium Power. Also, the market is flooded for accessories for UV-5R like the extended battery, and nearly none for the UV-S9. The battery for the UV-S9 has a separate charging port to go with the car adaptor; but there is no USB Charging port on the battery or radio. The Belt Clip on the UV-S9 as I have it is rather flimsy and feels it is about to break off. The belt clip on the UV-5R is a lot stronger and firmly held into place. And being able to fit into a pocket on a tight pair of pants, the UV-5R can fit into any pants I wear. The UV-S9 is just a bit thicker, taller and wider; though it is a tiny bit, it will not fit into tight pants that I am wearing. You and I have the same physical radio but have differences of opinions and experiences with it. Price? The UV-5R is going for $22 on their website with free shipping if you do not mind a 4 to 6 week wait from a slow boat from China. They also sell Open Box Specials where they have returned/rebuilt/refurbished radios, and an Open Box UV-5R goes for around $18. That beats any deal that is out there. From what I see, considering the history of the UV-5R, it is not going to go away any time soon; if anything it will be improved. Consider that they have sold 1Billion UV-5Rs since they first came out, that is a large market to support with accessories and even replacement parts. Also in the 3D Printing Community, the UV-5R has a host of various items one can 3D Print including replacement battery clips and a "Tactical protection header" to keep daily bumps to the radio from messing with settings and volume control. The UV-S9 is a good radio, it can be a great radio, but it is not an excellent radio. And in my experience, it is not better than my UV-5R but it is equal to it. As for the UV-9R (I own two UV-9R Pros), its an awful radio in my view. But that would be a review video within itself if I would have to type it all out here. But in short, it is too big and clunky, it is awful to use unless one knows some menu accessing secrets to use it, and I managed to get two that has the FM Radio section missing due to some Chip shortage at the time (circa 2019). As it being a waterproof radio, there is a difference between waterproof and water resistant. But what the UV-9R is remains to be seen.

[@Nebula-qq8sg]

The uv-5r keeps getting cheaper, but now it looks like they’re trying to make the bf-f8hp the new 5r… odd… I’m not sure what baofeng is playing at here. The bf-f8hp is at least $30 more than the 5r even on a good sale

[@DonzLockz]

I can't get myself to buy the UV5R so I bought the UVS9 and the UV9R, can't remember if they are Plus or Pro, they stay in the car, my Wouxun and Anytone stay with me. Thanks for sharing, I need to check which versions I have now. ;)

[@jonathandplayyy]

Is it possible to homologate the s9 plus?

[@milanthemilan5015]

I am really glad that I found your channel,it has nice content. About this radio,it typical chinese radio. UV5R is still king of cheap radios. UV9R if you carry it out in the rain.

[@nimblehealer199]

This radio is compatible with the Tidradio BL1 Bluetooth programmer dongle.

[@enriquediaz7547]

Wondering if you’re going to the Visalia ham-vention this weekend?

[@KS6DAY]

I was there most of the day. Sorry I missed this I was already there when this comment came in.

[@EugeneSan]

FYI, you can buy improved USB-C battery for uv5r

[@josephcampbell1693]

I received a UV-5RA as an update to the UV-5R.

[@Spirit_Of_Prophecy_777]

Exactly as you said, the alternate antenna does fit properly and thus will not make a proper connection to the SMA mount on the radio and could easily cause catastrophic failure for a new radio person who doesn't know any better. The new 2200 mAh battery is an improvement and so is the look of case design, although it is not functional with the antenna connection snafu. Overall I would rate this as a FRS/GMRS radio since the emissions are only within spec in the 420-520 UHF range. Who wants 10 watts UHF right next to their head while transmitting? BaoFeng also firmware "locked out" the extended frequency range from the UV-5R-TP (Triple Power) making this radio less useful for receive functionality. If you want an FRS/GMRS HT for the children, or just radios around the ranch or farm, with an improved battery and little expandability outside what you receive in the package. For 27.oo µ$ you can hand these out to all the ranch hands. But you can do the same thing with the UV-5R for about the same price.

[@TargetAcquisition]

The usb charging is good for people with newer vehicles that have USB sockets. If you have an older vehicle, chances are you have a usb adapter for your phone to charge and that can be used for the UV-S9.

[@notsure7874]

USB charging is great when you're out in the field camping or whatever, and may need to hook up to one of those cell phone recharging power packs. Carrying a charging cradle in a car or out to the sticks isn't ideal. USB C charging is even better, because of the higher charge rates, however - the A to C cables do NOT provide this. C to C cables will, but cheap chinese devices ALWAYS neglect to put in the pulldown resistors to tell a usb-c pd unit that it is a power consumer, and to "give me power" - so they really fail there. Another way they fail, is that there are USB-C interfaces that are IP67 rated, but you'll never find one on an IP67 radio because "the interface will make it not waterproof" - because they want to us cheap ones - but whatever. My Yaesu VX-6 I got a USB power cable for. I'm really disappointed in the battery life of the vx6, and lack of higher capacity batteries. I love almost everything else about it, including the ability to charge via a cable. Considering its from 2006, and there's nothing else quite as tough / /waterproof - I still like it, but it sucks having to bring charging gear for a day trip.

[@flinfaraday1821]

i'm using the uv-9r pro and not sure why everyone is uv-5r crazy.

[@Petertronic]

Good review. I like my UV-S9 plus. I have one extendo-battery for the UV-5R, has the official Baofeng label and name moulded in, but its charge capacity (measured with a USB power analyser) is identical to the standard battery! I have a UV-S9 Pro on its way - one of the few models they make in Blue, which I like (matches with my jackets, backpack etc!)

[@TargetAcquisition]

What’s the link for the S9 extended battery? Please.

[@notsure7874]

Thats strange that UHF puts out more power than vhf. It's usually the other way around.

[@KS6DAY]

I encountered the exact same thing with the AR-152. And, yes, it is indeed odd.

[@Tulerpio]

Sim, vai se popularizar mais que o UV-5R. É mais bonito e faz tudo que o anterior fazia.😊

[@GuilhermeRossi11]

acabei de comprar um

[@desimonevd]

Humans are loaded with ingenuity. I bet someone will develop a thicker battery upgrade instead of a longer battery.

[@GalenA1722]

does the video randomly glitch out at 4:08 or is it just me??????

[@KS6DAY]

I get a flicker every now and again on upload that doesn't exist on the original. KZbin has no explanation and the best answer I found was that it's a small RF data corruption because the upload is handed via Wi-Fi. Given how much RF is blasting around my office I can guess where it's coming from.

[@GalenA1722]

Oh alr np I was just wondering

[@ThePaulobraveheart]

se estao pensando usar o radio,como se usa no cb. entao esqueçam,nao tem nada a ver. sou da opiniao que mais vale juntar um pouco mais,e comprar um walkie talkie a serio. que consiga operar em bandas diferentes do uhf,ou vhf...caso contrario apenas e util em emergencia ... mas vai de cada um,no final o radio vai sempre ser encostado porque nao diverte. excepto em raras ocasioes,eu radios de comunicaçoes terrestres. e porreiro se um gajo se conseguir comunicar sem grandes dificuldades,senao ficas a falar sozinho. e perde a graça,nao digo com isto que os baofeng sao inuteis. mas estamos a falar de uns miseraveis 5 watts. esta muito longe do que se pretende,se o objectivo e conheceres outras estaçoes. e poderes para alem da emergencia,te divertir. mas como disse antes,vai de cada pessoa e seu objectivo. no meu caso o radio foi inutil,para o que pretendia. mas acredito que para outros seja uma mais,valia.