Brushbeater Store Link: Baofeng UV-32DM
I know, I know, "Not another Boo-Fwang", right? Well, this one fills a need for the prepared citizen, and it's not what you think. I've had one for about 2 weeks and have been testing it out. In this, I'm going to recap my thoughts.
Let me just say that if you are a sad ham, or a fan for amateur "Digital Mobile Radio"/DMR, you should probably stop reading. NC Scout and I teach an entirely different skill set with the DMR than you use, and you won't like it. I did not test this out on a single DMR repeater and did not try to program every ham DMR contact in the world into my radio. Sorry. Just like we say at every class, "This is not ham radio".
So, if I don't use Amateur Radio DMR, why would I want a digital radio? Well, for starters, in a complete collapse and Without Rule of Law (WROL) situation, a digital voice signal (like your cell phone) travels farther than analog voice, so there is that. Our use case is for sending text messages via a handheld radio. I know, some sad ham is going to screech about how we can't do that without a permission slip from our overlords, but that's entirely FALSE. Digital text messages are allowed on MURS and you are allowed to send text messages via FRS/GMRS under the rules. It's perfectly legal, sad hams. Wait until you hear about digital over CB - wild times, man, wild times. Oh, and Midland is campaigning to add digital voice to GMRS, just like the Europeans did with PMR (Personal Mobile Radio - 446 Mhz).
I tested the message function and it works across all brands. In other words, I was able to send and recieve text messages with my Baofeng digital radios, my Abbree ones, and Motorola XPR digital radios. They all also recevied the digital voice using both the All Call ID and private calls. A cool side effect of using digital traffic is that anyone with an analog-only radio will just hear static rather than your comms.
Another important feature on these radios is AES 256 encryption. I tested it with my other Baofeng DMR (DM-1701) and the Abbree DM-F8 DMRs I own and the encryption worked flawlessly. I was not able to get it to handshake with my Motorola XPR and XTS radios. That's both a blessing and a curse I guess. However, if everyone on my team has one of these and the same encryption key, we are good. Now, neither NC Scout nor I recommend running encrypted radios all the time because they draw unwanted attention to your traffic, but there are times and places when I might want it.
The software is easy to use, but a little quirky. For example, when programming repeaters, if you don't "Forbid Talkaround", the radio defaults to talkaround only and doesn't let you activate a repeater. Checking the "forbid" box solved it, but it's annoying. It also required me to enter the All Call talkgroup (16777215) manually, while every other DMR I've ever had had it already in the radio.
I recommend setting the squelch to 3 on all of your channels. I started with 5 and wasn't receiving anything at all, while my other radios were. Adjusting it down to 3 was a quick fix.
The stock antenna is actually quite good, once you set the squelch properly.
The radio is very well-built and is designed to look like a Motorola APX. It fits very well into AR-152 pouches. My radio came with a pouch, but I am not a fan of the stock pouch.
The main problem I have with it is the screen brightness. When turned all the way up, it is still not readable in daylight. You can turn the screen off as well.
The radio accepts all the standard K1 accessory cables. You don't need to buy a whole bunch of additional stuff that way. The radio battery screws into the unit and accepts USB-C charging, so you can charge it on the run. You can also find spare batteries on Amazon. For the first time, the people at Baofeng got the charger right - the charging base is also USB-C powered. FINALLY, I can run the quick charge base from my vehicle power using a USB cord. Well done.
The radio has GPS and will do automatic APRS (Automatic Position Reporting System). I did test the GPS function (because of two hams who asked me like a million times - you know who you are). It matched what my Garmin GPSMap said exactly, including speed and elevation. I did not test APRS because I am never comfortable broadcasting my location for anyone with a radio to find. Before you tell me that I carry a phone that does that, several students will attest that one rural Tennessee Sheriff Department complained that my phone pings in Europe (they weren't looking for me, they were looking for a student in the woods with me whose mother was worried - Sorry Samuel). I do turn the GPS on once a day to keep the clock updated, which is VITAL in digital communications. Once it gets a fix and accurate time (from somewhere I'm not going to be at for long), I turn the GPS off. It gets a fix in about 30 seconds after the first time.
The range is simlar to every other VHF/UHF dual band radio. I am able to hit the Bigfork repeater from 30-35 miles away if I am outside with no problem.
While I think this radio is a must have for advanced users, I don't reocmmend it if you are just starting out. If you haven't taken the RTO and Advanced RTO course, you won't have much of a need for one of these. It will not replace my AR-152 for tactical operations, and it won't replace my AR-5RM that I use as my daily business radio, but it has a use for clandestine communications like NC Scout and I teach.
At $99.99, it's more expensive than other Baofeng's, but cheaper than most DMR units.
Again, it's not a radio that everyone needs. However, if you need a DMR, getting this one or the Abbree DM-F8 is a good idea.
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