Baofeng UV-98 Pro Review

At first glance, the Baofeng UV-98 Pro looks, feels, and acts just like a UV-9R Plus. The nice rounded corners and lack of a belt clip makes it really nice to hold in my hand. There are no sharp edges anywhere and the radio is long enough to mostly fill my hand without some of it falling off the bottom like the UV-5R style radios.

I also really like the base of the radio because it sits quite well on the desk. You would be surprised at how many radios I review will fall over if you sneeze in their general direction. This one, like it’s older brother, will not.

Keys and buttons are much like the UV-9R Plus, and if anything, the PTT is actually slightly better feeling. I have to really look for the improvement, but if you look hard enough, it is there. All of the other buttons feel much the same, have about the same spacing, and work as well. That is to say, everything is very nice for a radio in this price range.

Another notable little improvement is that the shield on the side of the volume knob is slightly shorter on the Baofeng UV-98 Pro than the UV-9R Plus. That shield is a very nice addition that keeps you from brushing up against something and inadvertently changing the volume. The shield on the UV-9R Plus is one of my favorite features, but it also is so tall that it can make it more difficult to change the volume, particularly on a new radio with a stiff volume knob.

Looking at the display on the radio gives you another reason to think this is a repackaged UV-9R Plus because it appears to be the exact same screen, displaying the exact same data. I don’t have a problem with that as it is a nice little screen that displays two frequencies or channels, one on top of the other, and plenty of other information such as power level. The UV-98 Pro has a single backlight on the far right side, just like its predecessor.

I also like the little grippy things on the sides near the bottom. I say grippy, but really they are just raised designs that help you grip, made from the same plastic as the rest of the radio.

Another nice addition to the Baofeng UV-98 Pro is the USB-C battery, which is an aftermarket purchase for the UV-9R Plus. The downside is it uses one of the screw-on batteries, so swapping them out is a pain. I much prefer the idea of just buying a USB-C chargable battery for my UV-9R Plus.

The Baofeng UV-98 Pro uses the same standard Baofeng menu system as just about any Baofeng radios, so there are no surprises there. It even requires that you turn the radio off, hold the Menu button down while turning the radio back on, in order to switch from Frequency Mode to Channel Mode. I used to really hate that but have grown so used to it that it is second nature to me now.

While CHIRP does not currently have a setting for this radio, I used it with it set to UV-9R, and it seems to have worked fine (as always, use at your own risk). Just remember, you will need to use the special waterproof programming cable made specifically for this style of radio.

Performance:

One of the reasons I really like the UV-9R Plus is that it was a remarkably good radio for a Baofeng. What do I mean by that? I mean, it put out a good bit of power to the reasonably good antenna that comes with it, emitting a substantially lower amount of spurious emissions than the average for Baofeng radios. 

The Baofeng UV-98 Pro does not fall too far from the tree here either except for power output which measured a paltry 1.1 watts on 2m and 1.9 watts on 70cm. That compares to 3.75 watts and 2 watts for the UV-9R Plus. Some of that is due to the clearly superior antenna packaged with the UV-9R Plus, and some of it is just the transmitter itself.

If anything, the UV-98 Pro has a better transmitted signal when you look at the spectrum. The spread is smaller and the central concentration is more…well…concentrated 😉 

Spurious emissions are close enough to be called a draw, with both radios coming in well under half of the average for Baofeng radios. The Baofeng UV-98 Pro has kind of a mess near the transmit frequency, but the majority of that is below -60 where it is not that impactful.

Images:

Radio Specifics:

Test Images:

• Dual Band 2m/70cm
• IP68 Waterproof
• Relay Forwarding Confirmed
• Dual Band, Dual Display and Dual Standby
• High &Low Power Switchover
• FM Radio Function
• VOX Function
• Wide/Narrow Band Selection
• Auto-Back Light
• Dual Band Standby
• Time-out Timer (TOT)
• 50 CTCSS and 104 DCS Codes
• Voice Prompt
• ANI Code
• PC or Manual Program
• DTMF Code
• PTT-ID
• Auto Keypad Lock
• Busy Channel Lock Function
• Low Battery Warning
• SOS Alarm
• Priory Scanning Function
• U/V Cross Band Dual Watch

Like most of the newer budget radios, the Baofeng UV-98 Pro comes in a variety of kits. Some with multiple radios, different antennas, programming cables, microphones, and even drop-in desktop chargers. I would consider the antenna and programming cable as required, with the rest depending on what you want. It pays to look around for different prices on the different confirmations to find what works best for you.

Conclusions

Would I recommend the Baofeng UV-98 Pro? That depends. There is nothing really wrong with the radio, in fact it is a pretty good radio once you put a better antenna on it and if you don’t mind the lack of power. I really like the amount of choice in colors and accessories.

The problem I have is that I think the UV-9R Plus is an objectively better radio for less money, and that is hard to overlook. Even if you add the price of a USB-C chargeable battery to the UV-9R Plus, it is still cheaper and still a better radio. And when you can swap that battery out in seconds without tools, I have a hard time wanting to carry the UV-98 Pro.

If you really want a Baofeng UV-98 Pro, go for it, it works well, feels great in the hand, and so far, hasn’t let me down. If you are on the fence or want the best value for your buck in a waterproof radio that is ergonomically excellent, get the UV-9R instead.

Here are some reviews of the Baofeng UV-98 Pro!