Baofeng handheld radio
Hacker ApprovedHandheld radio
Cheap handheld radio that people recommend as an emergency backup and for light UHF/VHF use, even reaching satellites with a Yagi antenna. Critics say it breaks noise and emission rules in many places.
Cheap handheld radio that people recommend as an emergency backup and for light UHF/VHF use, even reaching satellites with a Yagi antenna. Critics say it breaks noise and emission rules in many places.
15 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 10
- criticize it
- 5
- approval share
- 67%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 10 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 2 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Cheap backup for emergencies
“Would not be the worst idea to get a cheap Baofeng radio for emergencies”
Comment from 16 Mar 2026 in “Closure of the Weatherradio Service in Canada” “It's good to have a box of these to hand out in emergency situations!”
Comment from 30 Apr 2026 in “The FCC is about to ban 21% of its test labs today. I mapped them all” “they are great as cheap backups”
Comment from 30 Apr 2026 in “The FCC is about to ban 21% of its test labs today. I mapped them all” Cheap, useful range for light use
“it's a good choice for light use in UHF/VHF scenarios even communicating to satellites if you have a Yagi antenna.”
Comment from 21 May 2026 in “Turn your Android phone into a ham radio transceiver” “A cheap Quangsheng/Baofeng for 20 euros can reach a few kilometers in urban area”
Comment from 16 Jan 2026 in “Briar keeps Iran connected via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when the internet goes dark”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Breaks noise and emission limits
“Baofengs are notorious for going over the allowed noise limits”
Comment from 19 May 2026 in “Turn your Android phone into a ham radio transceiver” “spurious emissions (thus banned in quite a few countries)”
Comment from 30 Apr 2026 in “The FCC is about to ban 21% of its test labs today. I mapped them all” Illegal and unsafe to use
“Those cheap baofeng's are illegal to use where I live on most of the spectrum they can operate on.”
Comment from 19 May 2026 in “Turn your Android phone into a ham radio transceiver” “dangerous both to them and to others”
Comment from 30 Apr 2026 in “The FCC is about to ban 21% of its test labs today. I mapped them all” Not reliable in emergencies
“In reality... they're useless in most cases.”
Comment from 24 Apr 2026 in “MeshCore development team splits over trademark dispute and AI-generated code” “they're still not emergency radios”
Comment from 30 Apr 2026 in “The FCC is about to ban 21% of its test labs today. I mapped them all” Hard to operate, presets useless
“The preprogrammed channels are useless”
Comment from 1 May 2026 in “The FCC is about to ban 21% of its test labs today. I mapped them all” “they are not exactly easy to operate”
Comment from 17 Oct 2026 in “eBay Restricts Listings of Radio Equipment, but Exempts Ham-Band-Only Gear”
What people said
17 of the 21 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“they are not exactly easy to operate”
“countless pages of Baofengs and all manner of accessories”
“it's a good choice for light use in UHF/VHF scenarios even communicating to satellites if you have a Yagi antenna.”
“Baofengs also have terrible receive filtering.”
“Baofengs are notorious for going over the allowed noise limits”
“Those cheap baofeng's are illegal to use where I live on most of the spectrum they can operate on.”
“Why does every (usually american) prepper buy baofengs instead of local blister pack FRS ones from walmart?”
“The preprogrammed channels are useless”
“they're still not emergency radios”
“dangerous both to them and to others”
“they are great as cheap backups”
“spurious emissions (thus banned in quite a few countries)”
“It's good to have a box of these to hand out in emergency situations!”
“In reality... they're useless in most cases.”
“Would not be the worst idea to get a cheap Baofeng radio for emergencies”
“A cheap Quangsheng/Baofeng for 20 euros can reach a few kilometers in urban area”
“Im having alot of fun with my new RTL-SDR dongle and Baofeng radio”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.