The Baofeng Radio UV-21R is a low priced dual VFO two-way HAM radio that looks a lot like an old school retro mobile phone. It covers from VHF (136-174 MHz) to UHF (400-520 MHz). But there are reports that it also covers some of the 200MHz range, such as 220MHz. It has just under one thousands channels to save to [999], NOAA Weather Receiving and has USB-C charging. The USB-C port is located on the battery itself, so the battery will have to be removed from the radio in order to charge via USB. There’s also a desktop charger included that the radio scan be slotted into to charge, so no need to remove the battery.

Pictured: The kit bundle of goodies that come with the UV-21R

The UV-21R has a good distance range at between 3 – 5 miles. And the build quality and colour screen are fairly good for the price. Coming with a 771 High Gain Antenna and earpiece headset, the extra accessories are good also.

However, because it falls into a similar price range as the Quansheng UV K5 / K6 and UV-5R Plus radios, I would be ignorant not to compare the models. And in all honesty, while the Baofeng UV-21R looks like it costs more than it does, comes with some nice accessories and is a capable transceiver radio, I would no doubt choose both the Quansheng UV K5 (8) and the K6 over this model.

The reason being is that the Quansheng radios are much more modifiable. And once modified the frequency range on the Quansheng’s @ 18MHz – 1300MHz is huge compared to the Baofeng UV-21R. Battery life on the Quansheng’s is excellent also. And the Quanshengs are smaller radios making them easier to carrying around, good as an everyday day carry [EDC] etc.

OK, the amount of channels on the Baofeng UV-21R [999] is much more than the all the Quansheng models mentioned [200 channels], but will you really need the 999 channels that come with the 21R. Channel amounts, as long as its not tiny, is not a deal breaker for me. I’ve had my K5 and K6’s for well over a year now and I still only have 50 something channels saved so far. Analogue radios have far less to listen to these days, so I’d estimate 100 – 200 channels would be enough for the majority of users.

Something to be aware of with some of the listing descriptions and reviews for the Baofeng UV-21R

They all talk about the radios IP54 rating, using wording that would make it seem as if the radio is waterproof. It isn’t. An IP54 rating only means its protected against limited dust ingress and splash proof against water. It is not waterproof.

There’s also a few users that complain that the screen display is close to unusable in daytime lighting conditions. Some users have had to find shade from the sunlight in order to use the radio.