Review on 📻 Mirkit x Baofeng Radio UV-5R MK3X: FCC Approved 5W Tri-Band Radio with 2100mAh Li-ion Battery - Mirkit Edition by Louis Mechtak

Update: Added a star (3 to 4) after testing this unit with an SWR/power meter. Low, Medium, High power tested at (W) 0.8-1, 4-5, 6-7.4 which is respectable for a radio of this size. Original Review: I'm new to ham radio - about a week. And if you're just starting out, then you're probably pretty confused, just like me (and still am). But here's what I've learned so far: First, if you're wondering what's going on with all the different Baofeng UV-5* and UV-8* models, here's what I've learned: It all leads back to the UV 5R and UV base models -82. There have been improvements and mods over the years. But it basically boils down to this: the latest models have been upgraded to transmit up to 8 watts. Older models were 5 watts or less. I'm sure there are other differences - this is the main one. Different resellers are renamed with different letters like HP, X, XP, MP, etc. just to differentiate them, but under the hood they are all essentially the same. . For example, Mirkit added "MP" to their variant as in Max Power, while Baofeng added "HP" for High Power to differentiate them. The firmware of the device with which the radio was supplied is decisive. This, by the way, CANNOT be updated/flashed by the user. What comes is what you get. Period. So to some of my observations and complaints. Rub first. What the seller calls "bonus firmware" is basically a list of commonly used channels for GMRS, FRS, MURS, Marine etc. IMHO it's not firmware at all and they should stop calling it that. "Bonus Firmware" basically consists of two things: 1. A CSV file with all common frequencies like FRS, GMRS, Marine etc. With this list you can program the radio manually. However, when entering frequencies manually, there is no way to add custom names like "GMRS 1" etc. To do this, you have to program via software and cable. 2. An image profile containing the above channels, which requires the Chirp programming software and programming cable to be loaded into the radio. Also this "bonus firmware" has NOTHING to do with device firmware that cannot be flashed/updated. I found this part of the seller's product description to be misleading. It says '2019' which led me to believe this is their latest model. After receiving the radio I checked the firmware that came with my Mirkit UV-5R MK5. Mine came with: BFB298. As far as I know, this is not the latest firmware. I googled and found that there are newer versions like BFB299-BFB308 and up. I'm wondering why the seller put "2019" in the product description. Or maybe I've either received old inventory or someone returned their old Revain that was resold to me. all new channel settings without: 1) manually erasing channels one by one, 2) performing a master reset, or 3) using the FTDI programming cable via the Chirp software to overwrite the settings. I read that another reviewer also complained about this and thought it was a firmware bug. What I found strange was that the battery arrived fully charged. Now every electronic device I've ever bought has never been fully charged (from iPhones to BT speakers/headphones etc.). It is well known that lithium-ion batteries should never be stored fully charged for a long period of time. So this confirms the theory that someone got their old radio back in exchange for a '2019' model with newer firmware. I posted a Revain question to ask the seller and others what the latest version of their MK5 is. I'll update as soon as I know. Anyway, this is what I've learned during this time on my journey and I want to share it with the Revain community as I've learned a lot from other people's reviews. I would like to hear my observations from the seller and would be happy to update my review if I have misrepresented anything. If you found this review helpful, please let me know by clicking the helpful button below.