First off, I have not used this radio to transmit. I bought it only to receive. And for that it has been great. There’s plenty of information and videos online on the Quansheng UV-K6 [K5-8] being used to transmit. In a nutshell, it’s transmitting abilities are quite good within really small distances. For further distances it really struggles from what I’ve seen due to the low output power on transmit. But technically it is still a Transceiver and can be used as a close range walkie talkie.
But don’t let that put you off. Because if you’re looking to buy this radio to receive signals, that’s where it excels. I have tested all my Quansheng’s [yes, I have more than one] against many “normal” scanners and it has held its own against almost all of them as far as picking up signals is concerned. I use / own a lot of older scanner radios, like Realistic, Uniden, AOR etc. And in terms of features, the Quansheng has a lot more options and features than quite a few of them.
Out the box the Quansheng UV-K6 [K5-8] can receive from 50MHZ -600 MHz. This is great, but there’s a reason why these radios are so loved by many. And this is due to how modifiable they are. With a programming cable and the right software [Egzumer being the most popular], the Quansheng UV-K6 [K5-8 and UV-5R Plus] can be modified / upgraded to open up the frequency range to receive signals from between 18MHz – 1300MHz in AM, WFM, NFM and USB [upper side band].
And its easy to do. With Egzumer the option to flash from browser is available. Just pop in the cable, turn the Quansheng on while holding down a certain a button to get into the required mode, and then flash the radio with new software from your browser. After this it feels almost like a whole new radio.
Whether or not you choose to do this or not is up to you, it’s a great radio regardless of whether you decide to modify it or not. Below I will list some of the key features, good and bad about this radio. My review is based on a Quansheng UV-K6 [K5-8] that’s been modified with Egzumer. You can find the Egzumer firmware at the link below.
This is a Scanner radio
Some people online state that the Quansheng UV K6 [K5-8] is not a scanner. I see it written quite frequently. “It’s not a scanner”. In my opinion this is totally wrong. If a radio can save frequency channels, scan those saved channels, and scan manually within frequencies, then it is a scanner. The Quansheng can do all of the above. I have no idea why some people keep claiming that its not a scanner. Maybe they are not aware that the Quansheng can do all of these things. I’m not sure.
Receiving Signals [RX]
Receiving transmissions on the Quansheng UV-K6 [K5-8] is really good overall. I have put it up against many of my tried and tested older scanners and it has done really well against them. Pulls in basically the same as the older scanners. Although I will say. With the older scanners having a squelch knob, they can be more finely tuned manually to pick up the really weak signals. Whereas with the Quansheng having a digital squelch, with the lowest being level 1, some of the weak signals come through quite choppy, and the squelch has to be turned completely off for the choppiness to go.
This is a software issue though. It’s Egzumer. The lowest squelch is one, but it would be nice to see an update to the software so it has another slightly lower squelch setting of maybe half of what level one is. That would eliminate the choppy weaker signals without having to turn the squelch off.
Note: This radio also has normal commercial FM radio stations as well, so can also be used as a normal radio.
Transmitting [TX]
With the stock software the UV K6 can transmit on 136MHz – 173.9750MHz (VHF) and also 400MHz – 469.9750MHz (UHF). But with Egzumer installed the transmit range is widely increased. Technically it can transmit on any frequency once the right settings are applied within the Egzumer custom firmware. But its not recommended on airband, or any frequency that requires a license. Don’t do it.
Airband
Not really something I listen to on the regular. However I have tested it quite extensively on this radio. And compared it to my other radios that are capable of picking up airband. Conclusion: Out the box with the normal software airband is good. With Egzumer installed [after a fix was applied for poor Airband receiving] airband is even better. My tests were quite revealing.
The Quansheng was just as good at picking up airband signals [with egzumer software installed] than any of my other normal scanners that had airband capabilities. To be honest, it really made me ask the question. Why are the people who are really into listening to airband transmissions spending considerable amounts of money on airband scanners when they could just go and buy a Quansheng. From my tests, overall the Quansheng was basically just as good.
Build Quality
Build quality is excellent. It’s made mostly of a tough plastic. The amber screen is excellent. Very bright and clear for such a low cost device. Buttons are quite hard wearing and work well. The volume knob is smooth and has a nice on / off click to it. Side buttons also work well. I’ve owned my Quansheng’s for quite some time now, and there is no sign of any wear to the buttons. Nothing is failing etc. So the build quality is great.
Battery Life
Battery life from a full charge is very good. It stays at 100% for a long time before it starts to discharge. With on and off usage, my Quansheng radios last a few weeks from one charge. Very impressive for such a low priced radio.
Dual Band
Dual band frequency watch. This radio has the ability to watch two frequencies at the same time. And it works well. It won’t interrupt if the priority channel is receiving. It picks its times carefully.
Spectrum Analyzer
Pressing the function key [F] and then the number 5 [NOAA] on the keypad brings up the spectrum analyzer, and its really cool. It can monitor a whole segment of a frequency bandwidth range and keep a watch on the signals within that range. The number of signals it can monitor is changeable by pressing the number 4 on the keypad. Everything else is also easily changed to suit the users requirements, such as squelch level, channel bandwidth, modulation type etc.
Channel Save Features
Up to 200 channels can be saved, and the level of customization that can be applied for each individual channel is very good. KHz steps, Demodulation, Mode, channel number, power and many more options.
Light Up Keypad
This is something that I really appreciate. And I would imagine that anyone who uses older handheld scanners frequently will probably appreciate it as well. A lot of the older scanners do not have a light up keypad, so can be annoying to use in low-light conditions. But with the light up keypad on the Quansheng, using it in low-light conditions is no problem whatsoever.
Limit Search Feature
Lots of scanners have a limit scan feature, some can be a bit confusing to use. But with the Quansheng its so easy to set up. If you don’t know what this is – its basically a feature that lets you scan a certain frequency range over and over. Such as 27MHz – 28MHz.
Listening To CB Frequencies
The radio will need to be upgraded / modified in order to be able to listen to the CB bands. Out the box this radio will go down to 50MHz. CB is @ 27MHz. If you do decide to upgrade to one of the many software updates that are available, you will also need a different antenna. The stock antenna that comes with the Quansheng, while good at its specified frequencies, is almost completely dead at 27MHz. I did pick up a signal one time. And that was only because it was extremely strong, from someone with a great CB setup who was quite close by. Other than that, nothing.
This isn’t really a problem. Because a decent CB antenna can be picked up for literally a few pounds / dollars on AliExpress. I have quite a few, and they all work well. I would recommend one of the ABREE branded CB antenna’s [black flexible whip or silver telescopic]. Or even a non-ABREE cheap telescopic will do the job. Not as good as the ABREE models but very cheap and work fairly good across most frequencies.
HAM
Works well at picking up many HAM radio bands. 2 Meters, 70 Centimeters etc. Even with the stock antenna. I’ve had some extremely clear audio on these frequencies.
Speaker
There is some debate online about which Quansheng model has the best speaker. But after owning practically all of the models I can say that any difference between them is rather small. The speaker is generally a good all rounder. Certainly not as deep and quality sounding as some of my older scanners, but certainly good enough to hear transmissions with good clarity.
Headphone Jack
It would have been great if this radio had a normal 3.5mm headphone jack and was as simple as plug in the headphones and listen. But it isn’t. This radio has a 2-pin connection. A 2.5mm Jack and a 3.5mm Jack. I have tested it to see if it would work through headphones by just plugging in some normal headphones into the 3.5mm Jack, but it didn’t work. There was a response in one of the headphone speakers when the PTT transmit button was pressed, but nothing from a received transmission. It just kept coming out the normal speaker.
LED Top light
The flash light at the top of the Quansheng is more of an afterthought for most users. Most will probably never use it, but its nice to have there just in case. I have to admit, though, I have used mine a few times. Certainly not the brightest LED light I’ve used but definitely not bad. There are 3 modes – Solid light, constant flashing, and what looks to be an SOS emergency series of flashes. Could come in handy if lost in the great outdoors.
Charging
There are two options for charging. One is the mains operated desktop cradle charger which works well. And the other is by USB-C port. Charging by USB-C is not recommended as a regular option by Quansheng. Not sure why. But the option is there should you need to use it. I have not used USB-C port yet myself, as the desktop cradle charger has been convenient and no problem at all. Does its job well. Note: a USB-C cable is not included in the box, but they are so widely used these days for other devices like smartphones, that almost everyone has one of these cables sitting around in a drawer somewhere.
Verdict
If you’re looking for a brand new radio that can scan, receive, transmit, has a wide frequency range [especially when modified], is well-built and has great battery life, I honestly don’t think you will find a better radio than the UV-K6 for the price. And that’s one of the key things here, the price. For how cheap this radio is, it’s crazy how feature-packed and well-made it is. It really is a great analogue radio in my opinion.
Buy From
Amazon, eBay [stock and modified versions available], Aliexpress [cheapest and straight to the main source for all resellers] and many more websites.
Useful Links
From Github – Download / Install Egzumer [Flash from browser]
From Github – How to use Egzumer firmware basics [Great for new users]
More from Github – Menus and Hidden Menus when using Egzumer Firmware
The official Quansheng Website [and manual] can be found here
Reddit Sub for this radio can be found here
Good information about the Quansheng and Egzumer