The Baofeng UV-5R is arguably the most prolific VHF/UHF radios in the world. It hit the market in 2012 and there have been dozens of versions. Many are just different case styles, while others have a little extra transmit power. There are even versions with different colored cases.
The radio is designed to transmit on VHF (on the 2 meter band) and scan between 136 and 174 MHz (VHF) and on UHF (on the 70 centimeter band) and scan between 400 and 520 MHz (UHF). Features include CTCSS support, DCS support, 128 programming channels, repeater support, dual watch and dual reception, an LED flashlight, voice prompts in either English or Chinese and programmable LED lighting for the LCD display. It is capable of transmitting on MURS, Marine, GMRS, FRS as well as other public service frequencies. There are also a few versions which add the ability to transmit on the 1.25 meter band (220-222 MHz) like the UV-5X3. The UV-5R generally puts out between 4-5 watts with some versions with 8 watts. They come with a removable antenna, belt clip, drop in charging base, etc.
The UV-5R costs around $20-30 and is readily available on Amazon, eBay, AliExpress, Banggood and other retailers. This has made it popular for use on radio services outside the ham bands, though illegally. Part because the radio was not type accepted by the FCC for use on these other services. Another reason is that, for instance on FRS, the radio put out too much power. On FRS Channels 1-7 and 15-22 are limited to 2 watts ERP (effective radiated power) and channels 8-14 .05 watts. That does not stop non licensed people from buying them however. These radios are very commonly purchased by the prepping community.
My collection of UV-5Rs include a number of the base models as well as two of the case variations. The UV-5RC on the first row left and UV-5R+ with my custom camo paint job on the first row right. There is also a tri-band UV5X3 and finally an AR-5RM which is really not a UV-5R at all though it looks like one. I have a number of extended battery packs and have replaced a number of antennas with Nagoya NA-320A tri-band and NA-701 dual-band antennas as well as one ExpertPower XP-669C 7.5″ antenna.
The AR-5RM transmits 136-174 / 220-260 / 400-480 MHz and receives 65-108 / 108-174 / 200-260 / 350-390 / 400-520 MHz. It transmits FM / NFM and receives AM / FM / NFM / WFM. It has 999 regular with alpha tags (12 characters) memory slots and NOAA weather channels and a cool frequency copy feature. I have a review on it here.
Conclusion: The UV-5R is a great little radio to get you introduced into the ham radio world. They are cheap enough to throw in the glove box of your car, in go bags, etc. While the quality of the radio may not be as good as a Yeasu, Icom, Kenwood, etc. With these other HT’s starting at over $100 you can own 4 or 5 UV-5Rs for the same price.