First Impressions: BAOFENG GM-15PRO Two Way Radio

Introduction

This is an unusual purchase, one not for my radio listening and testing hobby, but for practical purposes. It’s for two-way communications in an area with poor cell coverage. XHDATA was kind enough to send me an E100 for testing, but it’s really a ham radio and not legal for GMRS because it is not locked down for GRMS frequencies, the only license I have.

The BAOFENG GM-15PRO replaces a pair of really antique Cobra PR255 MicroTalk walkie talkies with broken non-replaceable antennas.

At $50 for the pair, it’s a surprisingly low-cost solution.

The box is attractive with a molded plastic insert to compartmentalize all the accessories (see product photo):

• 2 Radios
• 4 Antennas
• 2 Batteries
• 2 Battery chargers
• 2 USB charging cables
• 2 Belt clips
• 2 Hand straps
• 2 Headphone assemblies
• 1 User Manual (the Amazon listing says it comes with 2)

Look and Feel

The radios feel solid to the hand. I like the forest green color. The flashlight is always a handy feature to have on any battery-powered device.

I had some trouble connecting the battery, probably all my fault, although it’s not discussed in the manual. Position the battery against the unit about half an inch down and press it firmly to the unit; then slide up. There is an “OPEN” button on the bottom of the unit to release the battery.

Charging

The manual says to fully charge the battery before use. I turned the radio on briefly and observed that the battery indicator said it was fully charged, but when I plugged in the charger, it indicated it was not fully charged, and getting the full charge took a little over an hour. The manual says a full charge takes 4 hours. The manual said to use only the charger that came with the unit, specifically:

Please use the specified charger supplied by POFUNG/Baofeng. Other models may cause explosion and personal injury.

Amazon product photos show it being charged from an automobile USB accessory jack, a power bank and a laptop computer. The supplied charger is rated at 5V, 1A.

I used another USB charger with a Type A to Type C cable, to remove any risk with issues related to Type C Power Distribution protocols.

The Manual

I had some experience with the BAOFENG K6 Tri-Band manual, and found it overly complicated, sometimes incomplete and poorly translated.

This one doesn’t look too bad, but what is “ling of sight”? It says the LED indicator flashing alternately red and green indicates “no battery,” which is strange since the LED is part of the battery assembly, not on the radio.

The good news is that the print is of a reasonable size. The bad news is that the radio has 41 menus.

Here is the manual.

Features

FM broadcast reception, plus NOAA weather reception is a plus in the outdoors. It adds the ability to get emergency information. It can work with repeaters, and as a scanner for VHF/UHF frequencies in receive mode. It has the flashlight I mentioned before, and an earphone jack.

It receives 11 weather frequencies, the first 7 the US frequencies and the last 4 are some sort of Canadian service. The channels are identified only by number on the radio although there is a chart showing the frequencies in the manual.

I attempted to plug in some 3.5mm stereo headphones. On one radio, nothing happened; on the other the sound went off for a few seconds and came back on, from the radio speaker. I got nothing on the headphones. The radio comes with a combination microphone/headphone accessory that does work. The accessory uses what is called a Kenwood connector, consisting of a 2.5mm microphone plug and a 3.5mm speaker plug. It is also used for data.

Legal?

In addition to the GMRS frequencies, the radio can be programmed to receive additional VHF/UHF channels or scan a range of frequencies.

I am told that this radio is not CHIRP compatible, that referring to a programming protocol using a computer connection, but I also read that there is some other software that can perhaps program it. The question is whether it can be set up to transmit outside the GMRS band, and I am going to arbitrarily assume that the answer is no. My only pause is a warning in the manual:

Just because you can program in a channel does not mean you’re automatically authorized to use that frequency. Transmitting on frequencies you’re not authorized to operate on is illegal, and in most jurisdictions a serious offense.

Quick Test

My first test was weather band. It picked up the local station OK, but none of the other more distant ones.

It seemed only reasonable to put the longer of the two antennas on for the FM test. I’ll call it about 38 cm (15″) long.

61 FM stations is respectable.

Questions

It looks like my first question is answered: No air band. The frequencies align, but there appears to be no AM setting.

Will I catch anything on VHF/UHF scans? I’ve had no luck with other radios.

What is the range like? Two miles is about all I need.