• You can now help support WorldwideDX when you shop on Amazon at no additional cost to you! Simply follow this Shop on Amazon link first and a portion of any purchase is sent to WorldwideDX to help with site costs.

New Chinese HT approved by FCC - Vero UV-3R

Moleculo

Ham Radio Nerd
Apr 14, 2002
9,194
1,674
283
There is a new Chinese radio maker that is about to hit the market: VeroTelecom. The FCC has approved their first 2m/440 HT, the Vero UV-3R.

UV-3R.jpg


This 2 watt 2m/440 radio features:

  • Dual-Band,Dual Frequency
    136-174 & 400-470 MHz (TX/RX)
  • 2 W Output Power
  • 99 Memory Channels
  • Dual Display .Dual Standby
  • High/Low Power Switchable
  • 25KHz/12.5KHz Switchable
  • Channel steps (5K/6.25K/10K/12.5K/25K)
  • Key Pad Operation
  • CTCSS / CDCSS
  • FM radio
  • PC Programming
  • Channel Scan
  • Scan Channel Delete
  • Low Battery Alert
  • Battery Saver
  • Time-out Timer
  • Keypad Lock
  • Monitor Channel
  • Drop-In Charge Capable
  • Audio Accessory Connector
  • One Year Manufacturer Warranty
It will come with the following accessories:

  • Dual Band Antenna
  • Lithium Rechargeable Battery Pack 1200mAh
  • Free Earpiece HS-0403
  • Rapid Drop-In Charger
  • AC Charging Adapter
  • Belt Clip
  • User's Manual

Pricing and availability coming soon!
 

A quick follow-up note. This radio is currently being marketed in the U.S. under the brand name Baofeng. The Baofeng version retails for about $55.
 
So we're about to see the market flooded by these Chinese copies of copies of HT's with different brand names and slightly different case, getting cheaper and cheaper. No doubt all based on the same IC chip from whereever they are being mass produced. Hope ya get whatcha pay for with these little oriental wonders.

Makes me wonder if the traditional makers like Yaesu, Kenwood and Icom will cry uncle at some point and stop manufacturing 2m and 70 sm ht's. I 'm stil leary of buying one. Can't seem to convice myself that these things are anything but junk. Ahhhh sooooo...I should just buy one and see. I don't really use HT's though and I already have a yaesu VX-170 and a Knwd dual band mobile. I'm conflicted.
 
Last edited:
A quick follow-up note. This radio is currently being marketed in the U.S. under the brand name Baofeng. The Baofeng version retails for about $55.

I purchased one of the Baofeng UV-3Rs a few months ago. For $55 its a lot of bang for the buck. However, the one I have does have a few issues. They may have fixed the bugs in the "Mark II."

The UV3R works OK, but appears to have a cheap feel to it and the volume is too loud at its lowest volume setting. I would not recommend this radio to anyone who would plan to use it everyday, I just don't see it being rugged enough to survive long term use for more than a few years.

However, it is an economical choice for a back up radio that offers a lot of features (CTCSS,DCS,VOX,DUAL WATCH,FM RADIO RECEPTION, NARROW AND WIDE BAND RECEIVE). IMO it is a good backup to keep at your vacation home, in the glove box of your second car, or at your place of employment, keeping in mind that you should pre-program the frequency offsets of your local repeater, as automatic offsets (+/-) are not included on this one.

I purchased this radio to keep in my go bag I take to work each day. Working just across the river from D.C., I remember on 9/11 cell phones and other communication devices were useless. I don't believe that things have gotten any better in that regard. Therefore, I've picked up one of these just in case I need to get on one of the local repeaters. The manufacturer claims long battery life of 6 months at 50% charge on the supplied Li-Ion battery, a plus.
 
Chinese H/Ts

Yeah, prob'ly makes sense to try one before we get too critical. I've been using a Chinee H/T - Wouxun KG-UV1D - as my exlusive H/T for quite a while, daily, and it does more than okay.

The big names are for the most part labeled as "Made in Japan" and back in the '80s to maybe 2000 that was alright because of "Kaizen" and a national adherence to Demming's QC laws. But now the Japanese manufacturers are more into profitability and Keynes and they sub out one heck of a lot of sub-assemblies and components to - - oh yeah, CHINA! Or maybe Korea or Vietnam. (No love at all between Japan and China, or Korea or Vietnam for that matter - an historic racial thing, but money is money.)

Largely, the quality of all Asian goods is very, very good. Final assembly can be an issue in China as there is no real emphasis on training of assemblers. It is important for China to employ millions of people to assemble millions of parts and OJT can go something like: "Here are the parts and there is where they go." Also, a lot of the price advabtage of China and some other Asian countries is from their government ownership or subsidies keeping the prices low to dominate markets. The quality can be deceptively good even when the price is low. Our depreciating dollar is going to add price USD globally, though, and we'll feel that big time very soon.

Yes, I do have extensive experience dealing with Asian suppliers for a large US manufacturer. Retired engineer for a major US mega-business. We "branded" a heck of a lot of Asian products and used even more Asian components and sub-assemblies. You would not want to pay for our stuff if it was all made here, and even Japan has pretty much priced itself even with domestic manufacturers. (Notice how much stuff is now made in China and labelled "Hecho En China"? That's to tell the Mexicans they, too, have priced themselves out of the market!)

I do have criticisms of Wouxun but they're minor. Programing issues and some minor design changes they might have made for very little cost. I've even bounce-tested mine off various surfaces and it came through fine except the time I dropped it on the rubber ducky thing and made that "horizontal" until the $14 replacement came in. That goofy antenna socket is one of my gripes!

The Baofengs I tried I like but they have that low power issue of only 2W output. That's probably okay in a city like where I live with a triple handful of local repeaters within 5 miles. But for reaching out it isn't good. The low 70cm power is probably okay (2W same as early Wouxun) since 70cm just seems to penetrate buildings and plow dirt a little better than 2m. Sometimes higher power on 70cm can cause some bothersome reflectence. Low TX power does help battery life some and in an H/T that's critical.

They probably will be great for the "s--t 'n' git" bag or the car trunk, being better than yelling loudly. Nice dual-channel FRS-like walkies with just enough power and the right frequencies to be fun and useful.

If I get one to seriously wring out I'll report on it from a non-EE perspective. Hopefully, Moleculo will get to that first 'cause he actually knows things and that makes for a better review!
 
Last edited:
I have 2 of the UV-3R II and they are great radios....for $48 shipped....I use a 7 inch and a 17 inch after market antenna on them and they do well...Black, blue, red, yellow and camo colors if you like...Woxoun.us has the shells with new face plate and volume button for $6 shipped....The 409 shop units come with 1500 Mah battery that last for good amount of time....you can get the batteries for $9 at the most and they are readily available from a few places for $3.50 shipped....NP-60 camera battery...
 
Vero has a model they call the UV-X4. I plan to get one with in the coming month to try it out, along with the VR-U200.
 
I's another copy the Baofeng UV-3R...or is the Baofeng the copy??? I'm sure there are others.

Not sure but the last time I searched for the Baofeng web site I couldn't find one. But the FCC database lists a form from them declaring the Vero version the same as the Baofeng.
 

dxChat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
  • dxBot:
    Tucker442 has left the room.
  • @ BJ radionut:
    LIVE 10:00 AM EST :cool:
  • @ Charles Edwards:
    I'm looking for factory settings 1 through 59 for a AT 5555 n2 or AT500 M2 I only wrote down half the values feel like a idiot I need help will be appreciated