Retevis RA79 (UV-K5) Multiband Ham Radio with Scanner & Frequency Counter

This is a fun radio to use, it's buil like a tank. Pretty heavy duty and when you pick it up you know it's not a toy. Came with everything you need to make it work...programming cable charging craddle, usb-c cable, antenna. It's not super hard to figure it out how to use it or program it from the panel. I love the feauture that turns off the background noise, works wonders. Be carefull with the alarm mode, you can't change that on the radio or in the CPS, no option to make the alarm local, it will broadcast all over. I like that you can charge it via USB-C. Easy to program and re-program if you need a wider range of frequencies. Photos state works with chirp and when you look closely it says in the future...we shall see about that, lots of nice radios are still not in chirp and they been on the market very long time. CPS program is horrible, worst I ever used, it will work in a pinch but it's bad really bad. So far I like that radio, pretty powerfull for a HT. I'll be waiting for more firmwre updates to make this radio great.

So far so good

Fast order, staff spotted an ordering mistake i made and saved me a bunch of self inflicted problems by fixing it. 👍🏻

Merci

The Retevis RA79 is an excellent entry-level ham radio that delivers solid performance at a great price point. As an upgrade to the popular UV-5R, it offers noticeable improvements while remaining beginner-friendly.The radio is surprisingly easy to program and use right out of the box. The menu system is intuitive, and the display is clear and readable. Reception quality is strong, and transmission audio is crisp and clear according to other operators I’ve communicated with.Build quality feels solid for the price range - it doesn’t feel cheap or flimsy. Battery life has been impressive during my regular use, easily lasting through extended operating sessions.For anyone just getting their ham license or looking for an affordable backup radio, the RA79 hits the sweet spot. It has all the features you need without overwhelming complexity, and it’s reliable for everyday use. Highly recommended for new hams or anyone wanting a dependable handheld without breaking the bank.

Works very well for me at work

great radio that can have firmware updated to access added features.

This is the same inside as the quansheng uvk5. Comes with extra accessories. Definitely worth it.

Great little radio that can fairly easily have its firmware updated. Everyone who hikes should have one in their backpack and keep one in the car. Cell phones don't always work, and your phone may not be new enough to send a satellite text message. It works great as a scanner for local aircraft and VHF/UHF amateur radio. You do not need a license to listen, only to transmit. Also receives VHF marine radio and NOAA broadcasts. You can listen to FM broadcast radio as well, but not AM broadcast radio. It even has a built-in flashlight and is rechargeable, and the battery lasts a long time.

I like this radio as it is in beta version of Chrip and I used it to program the Xindalong ;which chrip didn't support.Using the same antenta on both radios I was able to hit my farest expected repeater only with the Xindalong.

It is an amazing radio, I love messing around with this thing. The only 1 complaint I have is that the voice is kind of annoying when you click around so I just disabled it. Other than that, it meets my expectations and I would recommend this for someone who is in the market for a great radio. Also for the price it has great build quality, and also has very good range. The air band also works great for tower communication to listen to atc. It is also very durable and the screen is very bright. The radio also Is kind of small but not too small and is very compact. The radio also has great battery life. I would definitely recommend this.

Got this for the aircraft band reception feature, not available in some other little cheap radios. Have not succeeded in forcing it on FRS, but a bargain at the price. Will program with CHIRP

Radio is great. No problems with it. Had to return as it is a little to small and need bigger screen.

GMRS with effort and luck using Chirp and manual radio menu options. Managed to finally transmit on a repeater.

I have several friends and acquaintances with this radio, and I was impressed, so I picked one up. This review is after 1 week of use and the initial learning curve.User Interface = ***Operation = ****Value= ***Quality = ****If you already know what you're doing, you'll be fine, once you figure out a few secret handshakes. If this is your first ham radio, you'll have a steep learning curve, and the manual won't help much. One week ago it came with the programming cable. This week it doesn't??? But, hey if you already have one you can use it for multiple radios.HITS: Solid. Feels good in the hand. I don't completely trust IP ratings in general, but if not waterproof, it at least appears weatherproof with a modicum of care. USB-C and cradle charging. Decent battery size, use lower power if you can. FM broadcast radio reception with memories! I have limited used on repeaters, but my friends have no problem. Selectable dual watch (D.Wait) for the VFO and selectable DW for when using the FM receiver (kudos). CHIRP programming (more on that later), but you can use CHIRP to program the side buttons and the power on screen to your liking.MEH: The charging cradle requires perfect alignment and a bit of force. It NOT a drop-in cradle like most, but if you knock it over it will keep charging. Com si com sa. Headset connector cover sealed well but you need a dime and a pry tool to remove it. Your fingernail won't work for either. Available headset to mate and seal. So good and bad. It's there if you need it but not 100% convenient to switch back and forth. CHIRP programming yielded garbled signals all the CHIRP programmed frequencies and repeaters -- and maybe I can save you a day or week, or a returned radio... It took me all evening and past midnight last night to figure out what was going on - all the CHIRP programmed channels were garbled. The manually programmed ones were not. Reading hand programmed channels into CHIRP showed the programming was "identical". I finally found that if I selected a CHIRP programmed channel on the radio, then went into the menu, the Scramble setting was on. I turn it off manually and everything is fine! After a long time searching in CHIRP I found a setting that expands the view of all columns to make them visible, and there it was... a column that had all the channels set to scramble enabled. Fixed that and now the programmed channels work fine.MISSES: The USB-C charger cover WILL eventually get lost. They should throw a few more in the box, or make it so you can't lose it. The manual is hot garbage. All of the Chinese radio companies need to spend $2500 and get an actual native-speaking ham radio operator as technical writer for these manuals, but this one in particular might be the worst one I've seen so far. Like I said, if you already know what you're doing, you can struggle your way through it... but there are still a couple of menu items that I have no clue what they do. Apparently, a few YouTubers who make a living doing this don't know either. @Retevis - please do NOT put "Alarm" as the default for a side button long press. I was in the middle of a net and my typical radio does a monitor while you press and hold, and I set off the siren during the net. Fortunately that's programmable, but not in the menus, so yeah, you need a programming cable. That's the first think I fixed in CHIRP. Button labels are missing a few key items - those secret handshakes I referred to earlier - like what button to press at the end when storing a channel in memory. And what button to press to change from channel to frequency mode. frequency mode - channel mode. The order of the menu items is haphazard. Plus there are more menu items in my radio than are in the menu, so that thing about not knowing what some functions do... yeah, it's a problem... I'll have to see if there is an update on their website. Also, I just thought of this... I want a side button to press and hold to open the squelch - I don't think that was one of the options, but I think I'll look for it now.

Part of this 5-star rating is for exceptional customer service. Item received did not include the USB power adapter, just the charging base. Contacted the seller. Seller replied within an hour or two requesting additional information to ship a replacement. Replacement was shipped within two days from US warehouse, with follow-up emails with shipping and tracking information.As to the radio, I now own five of these, two as the Quansheng UV-K5 from another seller and three of the Retevis RA-79 from this seller. With the Egzumer firmware upgrade and CHIRP programmability they are an excellent radio for the price-with features not found on the Baofeng variants. Good starting radio for a new Ham. One of our clubs bought a dozen to give to new operators when they pass the Tech exam.A couple of notes:--the Retevis battery is listed as either 1400 or 1600 mAh. My tester shows them as 2500 mAH. You will get around 24 hours of RX tuned to NOAA weather radio. A full recharge from 0% to 100% is about 4 hours with the charging base. Plugging directly into the USB charging port on the radio is slower and variable.--the Retevis includes a Windows 11-compatible programming cable. Some of the Quansheng models do not. As noted above, it is compatible with CHIRP programming software (use the Quansheng)--without the Egzumer or similar firmware upgrade and factory programming software this is probably more of a 3-star radio for the price.

If you have and/or like the Quansheng UV-K5, you're likely to like this radio as well. It might be my imagination, but I think this radio is (slightly) smaller, it seems to fit in my hand slightly differently. The important thing for me (since I'm a blind ham) is that the menus talk, (well, most of them), but if it's truly compatible with a k5, then that means the softcon firmware will work on it to expand it's speech capabilities. I've not tried flashing the radio with that firmware just yet, but do plan to do so, just to get the maximum use out of the radio. I do like the radio though, just like the Quansheng UV-K5, since they're basically the same radio, and having both will allow me to validate testing between units. Very happy with this purchase.Would really like for the manufacturer to make more options speak, but that's not a show stopper.

If you're looking for a Quansheng UV-K5, this is it. A few things you should be aware of:1. This comes with a programming cable (making this an even better bargain) but, the cable will need to be modified to make it work. The plugs for the radio don't seat properly, to make it work you'll need to trim about 1/16" from the plastic, allowing the plugs to enter a bit deeper and seat.2. The NOAA weather channels aren't programmed properly. I just looked up the channels on Google and programmed them myself in CHIRP (or, even easier, CHIRP has them already in their optional channels).3. Although it will receive on 50-600 Mhz it will only transmit on the 2m and 70cm ham bands.Overall, it's a fantastic bargain. And if you can live with the minor issues you have a very nice hand held that's comparable to big name radios for many times more money.

After looking at reviews of this radio on here and on YouTube.. I chose this HT after doing my research.Honestly, it’s great!It’s basic, has great power, easy to program with the keypad, and on the computer, the signal output is pretty darn good, and the receiver seems to perform better in this radio better than other radios I have.I hit a repeater from 93.5miles away so far!I’m thoroughly impressed by this, and I definitely recommend this HTLike I said it’s basic, but has great features.10 watts, usb-c charging, great antenna out of the box, lots of battery life, waterproof(resistance), easy to operate.Speaking of which, get a 5/8 wave whip antenna paired with this, and you’re going to LOVE the performance you get out of it.

Lots of features that I don’t know how to use. A good handheld but not great reception

Heck of a deal for 19 bucks. This is a rebadged Quansheng UV-5k. With a readily available firmware upgrade this radio will do some really neat things. I have mine to do receive on aircraft and multiband scanner receive. The radio also does well as a 2 meter and 440 as a transceiver. The radio came with a programming cable, but I used another that featured an FTDI chip, that I highly recommend. The current $18 radio does not come with the programming cable. If you don't have one I recommend the $12 FTDI cable. I wrote a review on this cable recently. One other nit is it comes with a 5 volt wall wart charger, usb cord and drop in charger. I prefer the actual Quansheng for a few bucks more with a 110 plug in, drop in charger. Fun, useful, versatile radio at a very cheap price.

this tank of a radio is perfect. with GMRS firmware I finally have the one i can take anywhere. It has excellent reception. the display is great in direct sunlight and veryuch bright enough in the dark. it is chirp compatible. you can drive over this thing and take it to the beach. its affordable. i put a smiley super stick IV on it. I get NOAA channels and commercial radio great with it. USB C and loud speak with the noise cancelling output which cleans up fuzzy signals so well. it can be programmed without a computer easily enough. the screw on the mic/speaker door can be used with a coin or even just fingers.two thingsthe belt clip could be improved. I havent been too worried because i have a holster if im ever going to be doing summersalts.I wish holding the up and down arrows would fast scroll....but you have to press. this is mostly an issue when naming channels. if you just use channel numbers or you use chirp for programming, it wont be an issue.it feels good in hand. sturdy like a commercial radio. talkaround and reversal. it doesnt look too flashy and has an old school vibe. you can save a channel from VFO mode without even going into the menu. just two buttons! custom startup and simple firmware updates. i hope they continue to support this radio and maybe add the hold to speed scroll navigation.

I already have four Yaesu handhelds, several other Beofeng radios, so I'm well aware of how to program these radios and also know how similar they all are, so when one stands out its worth mentioning and to me this one is worth a positive review. First, I like the large volume knob that is well-marked and highlighted so that it's easy to find and grab. It feels good and is a positive, smooth, feel. The menu function is easy to access and once you are in the menu/setup screen the way it displays the menu item is unique to the other radios I have and is much more intuitive and easy to understand. You have the menu item selection on the left of the display and the value on the right side of the display.Another feature worth mentioning is that when you go to store the frequency from the VFO mode into the Channel mode (of which there are 200 memories) you don't have to go through multiple saving of the frequency and values like you do on many of the Baofeng models. With this radio, as long as you have your offset information correct and CTCSS tone programmed correctly, you only have to enter/define the channel number once. You are not required to delete the memory position (if there is a value in it) first because the menu now ask whether you want to overwrite the memory, if there is already a value in it. Programming is a bit more simple with this model. Otherwise, the menu/setup system is very similar to all the other radios.The price is/was affordable, and the sound/audio quality from this radio is very good as well. I also like the way that the radio provides several functions from the front DTMF pad using a function (F) button to enable you simple yet fast operation and access to many of the feature of the radio. The manual that is included is also very much improved over many of the other manuals, but it's nowhere near what you get with Yaesu and nowhere near perfect. All in all, though, this radio is worth consideration and provides good value for the person looking for a non-Baofeng Chinese radio that is affordable as well.