The Baofeng DR-1801 (also called the DR-1801UV) is the newer version of the venerable DM-1801. The old DM-1801 was one of the most popular entry level DMR radios around. It was an excellent balance of capabilities at an inexpensive price for those just getting started in digital radio who still wanted dual-band analog capabilities.
The Baofeng UV-32 is one of several radios recently released that are just plain big. The Hamgeek APX-8000, Baofeng UV-25, and the Baofeng AR-152 are all close to the same size. These are definitely not meant to be pocketable radios. The AR -152 was basically an oversized UV-5R, with a really big battery on the bottom. The question is, is this more of the same?
The Baofeng UV-17R, UV-17 Plus, and UV-17 Pro are essentially the same radio, except the Plus adds a USB-C battery and the Pro adds GPS and a UCB-C battery, and they both jack up the price. They are reasonably new Baofeng radios that have the new 1.77" color screen and in most advertising claim to be upgraded versions of the UV-5R (no doubt to get hits from using the most popular model number on the planet).
The Radtel RT-470x is the first Radtel radio I have reviewed. While it does have some similarities to some of the newer Baofeng radios, I found the Radtel lineup different enough to be intrigued, so I picked up a few of them. When most of the radios that are popular these days are either Baofeng radios, or very close copies, I find it refreshing when I see something different, especially from a brand I have heard virtually nothing about before.
The Baofeng DM-1701 is one of the most popular DMR radios today. It is even more popular than its little brother, the dm-801. Oddly enough, the 1701 is an older model, and also a higher-end model, than the 1801. In my experience, substantially more newcomers to DMR choose the 1701 over the 1801, and in fact, more than most other DMR radios.
The Anytone AT-D878UVII Plus is one of the very few high-end DMR radios available. There are a lot of DMR radios, and some pretty good ones, but precious few that I would really call "high end". I have always been reluctant to review Anytone radios because they seemed like expensive versions of radios I already owned.
The Baofeng UV-82HP is one of the classic Baofeng radios, not as massively popular as the UV-5R, but close. It is also basically an upgraded version of the UV-82 radio. In fact, without removing the battery and looking at the sticker on the back of the radio, you can’t tell the difference between the 82, and the 82HP.
Without getting into the serious commercial grade radios like the Icom V10mr, the Btech MURS V2 is considered one of the better consumer MURS radios. It is not only built on the back of the iconic Baofeng UV-82HP, which means it has over a decade of use, refinement, and manufacture of accessories before becoming a MURS radio, but it is released by Btech who has a reputation for providing nice radio kits.
The Radioddity MU-5 is a budget MURS radio with a few additional features that make it interesting. MURS radios are few and far between, making any one of them worth reviewing. This one happens to be made by Radioddity, which is a well-known brand in ham radio circles. In fact, it appears that they took one of their existing ham radios and modified it for this frequency band and re-released it as a MURS radio. That is not necessarily a bad thing.
The Retevis RB17V is my favorite inexpensive MURS radio. It is also one of the few inexpensive MURS radios at all. Most people have probably never heard of Retevis, especially people looking for their first MURS radio. Retevis has made sure that this radio is an excellent introduction to the brand.