Radtel RT-470x vs Baofeng 5RH Pro - Which One is Better in 2026?

Would I recommend the Radtel RT-470x? I would have to say no. While I like some of the niceties and how well the buttons and knob work, I just can’t find anything this radio does well. Even though the transmitted signal is fairly clean, the spurious emissions eat probably half of your transmitted power. Add to that a terrible antenna that you would most definitely have to replace immediately. Lastly, the battery has almost exactly half of the milliamp hour capacity it’s rated for and a color screen that is going to use more battery life than a radio with a standard monochrome screen, and it will leave you starving for battery fairly quickly.

I really like the Baofeng 5RH Pro radio, and I really dislike that my kit not come with a drop-in charger, although some kits do. That isn’t a big problem for me because I have several radios on this platform, so I can use their drop-in charger for this radio. For you, though, you have to ask yourself how badly you want a drop-in charger and choose your kit accordingly. Then again, the 5RM desktop charger only adds another $10.

Other than that, I think the Baofeng 5RH Pro offers an excellent bang for your buck for features and usability, with my only reservations on the radio itself being the use of the screen in bright sunlight and the lack of a guard next to the volume knob.