Are you gonna compromise your kit with something that you probably know is gonna break and cant be fixed? They arent worth fixing because they arent worth it. I usually get the response 'If it breaks its just a throw away radio anyways.' This is true, these $50 radios are just that, throw away radios.

I often challenge owners of these radios to drop them a few times or subject them to less than desirable conditions and Ill do the same to mine to prove a point. So your performance isnt gonna be what it should be.ģ. Again, you arent gonna have a ton of money spent in engineering on a radio that only costs $50. Without getting too technical, Im talking about how the radio transmits and receives. But Im taking about radio on the air performance. Everyone complains about how the radios operate as far as programming etc. Cheap components dont usually have a long lifespan and they certainly wont take any abuse.Ģ.

The quality of the actual components going into the radio cant be that high if the radio costs next to nothing. Over all quality of the parts in the radio.

Your probably asking at this point, 'Ok, so whats so bad about them if everyone is raving about them?'ġ. So where does that put the $50 radio on the scale? We all know how cheap labor is in China, so in reality that phone really probably only costs about $75 MAYBE to make. Think about this, the iPhone(made in china) costs $500. The $50 radios from China are just that, a cheap radio. Would I buy the absolute cheapest no name parts to keep my main vehicle running?Ĭhances are you probably would answer no to all of these. Would I buy that knock off 5.11 Rush 72 pack from Wal-Mart for my all my gear? Would I buy a $70 sightmark optic for my Bravo Company or Spikes AR? Why should our comms gear be any different? From nylon gear to food storage to weapons. As a prepper we spend lots of money on quality equipment. My response to them is always the same, you get what you pay for. I'm always asked locally why I carry a brick of a radio(my radio of choice is a Motorola Astro Saber) and dont break down and get one these nifty dual banders. Even in my local area guys are raving about getting a dual band radio from China for under $50. It seems that the under $50 radio(Wouxun, Baofeng etc) is an extremely popular radio both with the ham radio and prepper community. I just want to give my perspective from my professional and personal experiences. I first need to say Im not here to say anyone is wrong in what they are doing, because all of us have our own priorities, ideas etc. Ive been a member of several forums and it seems that there is a common item across the board on what types of communications gear is being utilized by the prepping community.

Motorola astro saber 1 rugged