GA-510

I bought the the Radioddity GA-510 after watching several Youtube videos detailing its performance. The performance from this radio is really good. It quickly become one of my favorite budget-friendly dual handheld radios. For the price, it delivers a lot of performance and features packed into a rugged, compact unit. ✅ High Power Output: The 10-watt output is no joke. I’ve noticed a clear improvement in both transmission range and signal strength compared to my older 5W radios. It easily hits local repeaters and performs well even in more challenging environments. ✅ Dual-Band Functionality: It covers both UHF and VHF bands (136-174MHz & 400-520MHz), making it a great all-purpose radio for ham use, monitoring, and general communications. ✅ Clear Audio & Loud Speaker: Audio quality is crisp, and the built-in speaker gets loud enough to hear even in busy environments like construction sites or outdoors with wind. ✅ Long Battery Life: The 2200mAh battery holds up great. I’ve gotten a full day of use on a single charge with moderate transmitting and receiving. It also charges via USB-C, which is super convenient. ✅ Well-Built & Compact: It feels durable in the hand, with a rugged design that inspires confidence. The size is just right—not too bulky, but not too small either. 📌 Things to know before buying: This is a Ham dual band 2m/70cm radio. It’s not FCC-certified for GMRS or commercial use—best suited for licensed ham operators. You will need a Ham license in order to Tx with this radio. This will require you to study and take a test. There are many resources to help you with this (Hamstudy.org). Rx doesn't cost you anything. You can Rx all you want, just to push the Tx button (PTT) without a license or the ham police will find you. :) Final Thoughts: The Radioddity GA-510 is a great choice for ham radio operators who want more power in a compact, budget-friendly package. It’s reliable, tough, and packed with features usually found on more expensive models. Highly recommended!

Update Aug 17, 2024: My second complaint is that the volume knob turns very easily. When I put the radio in my pocket the volume will get changed either all the way up or all the way down. I contacted Radioddity about this and they have no solution, or seemingly no concern other than to return the radio. I ended up with a fix where I put a small rubber O-ring around the volume knob at it's base. This gives added friction to turning the knob and by selecting just the right size O-ring it works pretty well...not too loose not to tight. So I'll keep the radio despite these two annoyances. Original review: I bought this radio to use as a cheap dual band ham, GMRS and to receive local fire traffic. The speaker is good, maybe not great but better than my older Yaesu 2m circa 2005. Using CHIRP to program is great and all radios should be compatible with CHIRP. It has only 128 memories which is small by today's standards but I've only used half of them and have filled in everything that I can think of for now. Getting a spare battery is a plus. The charger: well, it's a classic desk charger (with a light that is tooo bright, I put a piece of tape on it's bright center, now it's fine). No USB charging as this radio seems to have been designed in 2019 based on the FCC filings. I was concerned that it uses a now obsolete chip and maybe it does, but it's RX sensitivity is just as good, no better, than my older Yaesu dedicated 2m talkie. So this is fine for me. Are there more sensitive radios out there, maybe, but for some $40 this is a no brainer radio. My only complaint so far is that the little tab things on the bottom that allow the radio to stand on a desk are too close to each other. yes it does stand upright, but wobbles a little when I set it down until it stabilizes. But it's rather thin (1/2 that of above mentioned talkie) and very light with good speaker and decent display. What else does one need in this price range. Oh, I did find that the antenna is rather stiff which I don't like in a talkie as that means a lot of stress on the SMA connector when the antenna is stressed. I ordered a brandX dual band antenna that is more flexible and will do side by side comparison on performance. In the end this is a rather older design clearly, but has modern software, a good speaker and is mechanically better designed than many others I've seen out there. Update after 6 months: the generic dual band more flexible antenna I bought turns out to be terrible at 2m band. So I've gone back to the Radioddity OEM antenna despite it being rather stiff. I've found that dual band talkie antennas fall into two types: 1- fairly well designed with an internal structure that requires them to be stiff; 2- a bottom end fed flexible whip that has tuning at the bottom for both bands. The later type is terrible inefficient as the radiating whip is just toooo short for 2m. The former works better, if you don't break it or the radio's connector from stress on the antenna. I transport the radio with the antenna off and put it on to use it and the treat it carefully. Not that I think the radio or antenna are fragile mind you, it's just that should the radio's connector get damaged it's lights-out for the whole radio. As for the radio after 6 months ownership: it's fine, not great, not bad, but definitely light and with long battery life. I still recommend this radio.

This Radioddity transceiver was a second choice, but a serviceable one. It programs easily with CHIRP, and hits repeaters about as well as other similar small handheld radios. The menus are OK, similar to other low-end radios, and better than some. It feels solid in the hand, gives good audio and got no complaints on its transmitted sound in the few QSOs I did with it. It was a gift from my wife to one of her friends who had recently gotten her Technician amateur radio license, so my experience with it was limited to programming it with a starting roster of local and regional repeaters, and testing it to see that it indeed hit many of them. This last it did, including some fairly distant ones, though there were times when a older smaller inexpensive radio reached a distant repeater that this one would not reach reliably. Its reception seemed quite good, but there were a few times it came in slightly second-best there too. In fairness, it was the better of the two in a few cases as well. Minor differences in antennas and squelch settings, etc., could account for these marginal differences. Programming with CHIRP, which I used in preference to the dedicated software so as to easily share the programming between it and other HTs I own that CHIRP can also program, was for the most part easy and predictable, as CHIRP usually is. An exception was with a repeater that needed a digital code (DPL) rather than a tone (CTCSS) to access. The problem turned out to be that with DPL, the radio was requiring the same code back from the repeater to break squelch, which the repeater did not transmit. The exact same programming for other repeaters with a tone did not require the tone transmitted back. This may have been a CHIRP issue, as I saw it on another HT, programmed with the same set of channels. The key was to use a combined mode that specified both TX and RX code, with expressly no RX code. Oddly, CHIRP does not allow this for all HTs it programs, and for one I had to make the change after programming, using the radio keyboard menu. I don't recall this before, so it may have been a change in CHIRP, which I had recently refreshed with a current version. It lacks a few minor useful interface features such as "locked" name and frequency display, so that both are seen together when in channel mode, and other minor features that are not missed unless one is used to them. Its menus and features are still better than some competitors. I liked easily cycling through the power settings using a dedicated side key. Reversing a repeater's frequencies was a one-key operation, as was starting scanning. Scanning worked well, and noisy or talkative channels could be bypassed (and scan direction reversed) from the keyboard (up/down arrows). One could program scan skip channels, but I saw no way to forbid transmit on channels intended only to be monitored (like the NOAA weather radio channels). Like I said, a good selection of features, but not an exhaustive set. It can receive (and transmit on, though the legality there is technically questionable) both FRS/GMRS and MURS frequencies. I wanted a new HT myself, but decided not to purchase one of these for myself, and perhaps wait for a usable version of a more capable three-band radio in the same price range. The story there is that the other radio, which I really liked and was my first choice as the gift, had a fatal flaw - on 2 meters (around 146 MHz) it emitted a huge amount of spurious radiation, on harmonics and other frequencies, at power levels rivaling or exceeding the main signal!!! After trying three of those radios (two from Amazon, one from the supplier's warehouse) and finding the same problem in all, I came to the conclusion that there was a bad batch from the manufacturer. I was going to review it to warn other buyers, but its listing has been removed from Amazon, for whatever reason. Needless to say, I tested this Radioddity for spectral purity, and though I cannot guarantee that my sample met FCC requirements, my simple instruments show that it was at least close. The included programming cable was one of the common type with a Prolific interface chip, requiring installation of a specific driver to work. If buying the cable alone, for a couple of dollars more, a cable with the FTDI chip, for which Windows will automatically load the correct driver, is a better alternative. As this was a gift, I bought a separate verified FTDI cable and swapped out the included Prolific, which I kept as a backup. Note that there is no included easy method of charging the batteries using USB or 12V automotive power. I believe a separate USB to 10V adapter cable sold for use with another radio might work, but some careful testing would be necessary to obtain an easy on-the-go charging solution. The batteries do not appear to be a common type, so may be hard to find. Fortunately, two are supplied. So this is a nice solid radio, with two batteries, a charging stand, and a usable, if slightly inconvenient, programming cable included - everything needed to get a good start for a first, or a backup, 2 meter / 70 cm handheld FM ham transceiver. A very solid 4 stars, good value for the price, and recommended. Oh, and what radio did I end up getting myself? I decided that if I was going to get a new radio, it might was well include some really new features beyond my old Chinese analog HTs (new bands or modes, etc.). I ended up with a DMR radio, which of course can also do the same analog FM repeaters and simplex that this Radioddity does. Radioddity makes a serviceable DMR HT, but I went with another brand that I will review in due course, after completely surmounting the learning curve of code plugs and DMR features!

How's that for a dramatic headline? It's true: this is *not* a 10-watt transceiver! All tests on Youtube and QST magazine show it's only 8 watts. But you actually don't want any more than 8 watts pouring into your brain and eyeballs when you transmit, and this HT's competition radios are all 8 watts, too. I decided on the dramatic headline though, because these Chinese manufacturers need to learn that it is *not* acceptable to make such false and inflated claims, if they want to participate in the US market. That's the bad news. For the good news, let's have a quick word about those QST magazine tests: though the 10-watt claims are false, they revealed that this HT is now the first Baofeng-class, wideband VHF/UHF transceiver that truly meets the FCC-required -60 dB spurious emissions requirement! This one is actually legal to use on the ham bands! Radioddity has apparently worked with the Chinese factory to include proper RF filtering, so it can now be a serious, non-polluting amateur radio handheld, with a full 8 watts of output. So this is the one you want. This one is the UV-5R killer we've all been waiting for. Other improvements over the UV-5R include: • More verbose menu names and options, at least for the important ones, so we can configure a repeater on-the-fly while traveling without needing cheat sheets for the menu options. • We don't need to write the transmit config into a memory separately from the receive config; both are written when we commit a configuration to memory. • More characters in the display. • The alarm button is now a tiny dot on the top of the unit, next to the antenna, where it's less likely to be pressed by accident. • The useless LED "flashlight" (and its wrongly-named button) have been removed. • The size makes it feel more secure to grip, and the buttons are now larger for easier operation. Other positives about this radio: • Nice loud speaker, and good reports on audio quality from other repeater users. •The tough plastic case and battery feel very rugged. • It has the same belt clip as the UV-5R, which I like for its ease of clipping/unclipping, while remaining secure on the belt when I want it to stay put. • It is still a "general-purpose" FM transceiver, which means hams can carry a single HT and still be able to communicate with FRS/GMRS/MURS/business-band users. (Shh, don't tell! This isn't in compliance with FRS/GMRS regulations, but a nice feature nonetheless.) • Compatible with de-facto standards, like Chirp software, Kenwood/Baofeng-style accessories, and CTCSS/DCS tones (including separate tone freqs for transmit and receive). • And let me reiterate: this puts out a full 8 watts with *none* of the usual Baofeng "splatter" and spectral pollution! It's a real radio, at Chinese-made prices, at long last! Here are some opportunities for improvement: • Scanning is incredibly slow, and does not let us exclude channels from the scan list. So, if we want to use the scan function, we can't dedicate a memory to the NOAA weather radio channel; it will annoy us quickly by stopping on that channel on every scan. • The left/right arrow keys do nothing. They should be omitted entirely from the next revision of this radio. • The manual still has lots of room for improvement. Hey Radioddity, what does menu option #14, "FHSS," do? By omitting it from your menu reference, you got the numbers of all the subsequent menu options wrong. • The cover over the speaker/mic jacks opens downward, rather than rearward, which means it dangles out in harm's way when a speaker/mic is attached. The UV-5R cover was lower-profile when open. But aside from the scanning feature being almost useless, the other drawbacks are pretty small, right? I'm excited about that. This radio is it. This is the one to buy for your kids when they earn their technician licenses, or to keep in your day pack while camping, off-roading, or geocaching. The price is good, the power level is good, the audio is good, the ergonomics are good, and—okay, I'm going to say it one more time!—it actually meets the FCC requirement for -60 dB spurious emissions. With Radioddity's help, the Chinese have finally arrived, with a solid, rugged radio that we can recommend unapologetically. So, what's next, Radioddity? How about a waterproof version? How about an "S" version with no display or keys? How about an update to the GD-77 with 8 watts output and no "splatter?" With this GA-510, I see they're moving in the right direction, becoming more "serious" contributors, improving quality with new products, and ultimately, they deserve more of my money for it.

Appearance: The radio looks very solid. More like a brick than a bar of soap that one could describe the BF-UV82. The antenna and volume knob is flip-flopped, but that is a very minor thing (all of my other HTs have the antenna on the left and volume knob on the right). The orange buttons add great contrast to the black housing. Functionality: One of the biggest upgrades is the display. This display is very bright and easy to read. Channel names can have up to 10 characters. The updated menu makes this very easy to program from the keypad. This radio will take standard Kenwood 2-plug accessories and SMA-F antennas. The speaker is very loud and crisp, making it easy to understand QSOs. Power: This radio is advertised as a 10 watt transmit capable radio. When I hooked this radio up to my SURECOM SW-102 SWR/Watt meter along with my MFJ-261 dry dummy load, I got the following: * VHF at 146 MHz - 7.34 watts on High, 3.91 watts on Medium, 0.42 watts on Low * UHF at 444 MHz - 7.44 watts on High, 5.69 watts on Medium, 0.96 watts on Low The radio missed the 10 watt rating on both VHF and UHF High, the 5 watt rating for VHF Medium, and the 1 watt rating for VHF Low when testing in the US Amateur Radio 2 meter and 70 centimeter bands. Some of the loss is probably attributed due to the cable loss between the meter and radio. Transmit/Receive: This radio, from my testing, appears to be very sensitive for receiving - on par with my Yaesu RT65. Transmitting on the rubber ducky antenna it came with worked perfectly for very local repeaters and simplex on all power levels. When I paired this with both my Nagoya NA771 and Radioddity RD-771, the radio worked even better and I was able to transmit to a repeater 25 miles away (it is on top of a mountain). My voice reports when transmitting were really good as well. Programming: This radio is very simple to program from the keypad and menu. Easy to understand. Unfortunately CHIRP does not support this radio yet, BUT Radioddity does have programming software for this radio on their website. Their programming software is very basic. Recommendation: Since Amazon doesn't do half stars, I will give this 4.5/5 stars. The main detractor is the radio missing the rated power target of 10 watts. Otherwise, this is a very solid radio for a beginner Technician-class operator. It is rugged and very easy to use. I definitely recommend this radio for the new/beginner operator. PROS: * New, updated, and easy to read display * Friendlier menu makes it easy to program from the radio * Loud speaker, clear transmit * 2 batteries are enclosed * Radio itself looks really sharp! CONS: * Radio missed the rated transmit power of 10 watts by almost 3 watts. Again, this was probably due to the cable between the radio and my Surecom SW-102 meter. * No CHIRP support, yet. Radioddity is working with CHIRP to get the GA-510 added to their device compatibility list. * No built-in crossband repeater functionality

Update on the Update: Desk charger failed. Shows red when battery in dock, battery does not charge, light never goes green. Nine months out from purchase, radio actually used a handful of times due to horrible receive performance. "Support window closed" when trying to contact Radioddity. Pure junk. Update: I bought this as a backup radio and in initial testing, performance was good. My main attraction was the best-in-class display which was easy on my aging eyes. However, when I actually started using the radio, it's weaknesses became apparent. Transmit audio is good, but receive audio is worse than ever... Crackling and full of static unless you're right on top of the transmitting station. More than a two miles from a repeater, the radio is unusable. Duck, base or mobile antenna makes no difference. Replaced it with a Baofeng GT-5R from Radioddity. Despite the lame Baofeng display, the GT-5R is superior to the GA-510 in every relevant way... Performance and build quality. Skip the GA-510. I bought this as a backup radio, not a daily carry. Performance is very good. Receive tends to be prone to overload, and receive audio through the internal speaker is somewhat tinny and weak. Transmit audio is crystal clear resulting it top notch signal reports. Recharge times are faster than expected. Battery life is excellent. The "paper white" LCD display is best in class, and light years ahead of competitive Chinese radios. Build quality is exceptionally solid and results in a very impressive little radio for the money. On the bench, output is clean and clear with no splatter or troublesome harmonics. Far cleaner than the UV-5R, UV-82, and UV-82 I used as baseline comparisons. About the same as my TYT UV-8000D and TYT MD-390 in terms of signal purity. No worse than my Yaesu FT-60R. Pros: Paper white LCD display is clean and clear with large, clear fonts. Very easy to read under any conditions. As I said, best in class. Radio is compact and solid, and feels good in your hand. Very durable materials and build quality. Transmit audio is top notch, Recharges fast and has better than expected battery life. Cons: Receive audio is weak and tinny, comparable to a Baofeng UV-5R. Receiver could use better filtering. Summary: This is a great little radio for field use. Averages 7.5 watts on both bands. Good clean transmitted signal. Receive audio is probably not the best choice for noisy environments. All in all, I'm glad I added it to my collection. A great value for the money.

this one is a simple vhf/uhf ham radio, no especial features like frequency copy but a simple operation radio way superior to baofeng...highly recommended.

GA-510. First off, I did not receive any compensation for this review. I am a ham radio operator (K6WGX) who enjoys experimenting with different devices. I like the slightly deeper bass and larger display of this HT as compared to the Baofeng UV82. The 510 is now my favorite. The price is decent and the included programming cable and extra battery make this a very good deal as compared to the UV82HP. The keypad has a 4 way navigation button that makes menu navigation a lot easier as compared to the average Baofeng. The physically larger, brighter, 10 character display, as compared with the UV82HP, make this HT easy for me to use. The antenna and speaker/mic/programming connectors are the same as my other Baofeng radios. The included charger base and batteries are not compatible with my UV82s. This radio appears to be based on a Baofeng but this HT finally got rid of that goofy LED ‘flashlight’ that haunts the tops of other Baofengs. Yeah, I approve! Along with various Baofeng radios, I own a $300+ name brand name HT and a couple of $1000+ HF rigs. I like this one because it is useful, feels good in my hand, and is well priced. I can keep one of these in the glove box of my car without losing sleep at night. I recommend the Radioddity GA-510 to any one looking for a decent quality, low budget hand held ham radio. Edit added JUL 8,2021: I have been using this radio for more than a year now. I just ordered my third one. This is a fairly good quality HT. The sound and menu navigation are what hooked me on this. Easily CHIRP programmable. My older Baofengs are going to new homes ;)

llego sin Antena. y no se pudo probar