I was aftera cheap HT to get back into it after a few years off and I'm so pleased I found the extra ￡20 for the GT-3 over a UV-5 etc.

Firstly build quality is excellent. Whilst I doubt the unit is as well made as the casing and blurb suggest (wouldn't wanna get it wet) it is very sold and well screwed together. If you need IP68 spend a lot more or take your ship to shore exam!

Using CHIRP software I was able to program a load of repeaters into the radio easily. Still need to muck about here and there but I had a solid hour on my local 70cm repeater tonight and surprised a good few hams as to the quality of the sound qaulity and reception using the often terrible stock antenna. Paired with a BAOFENG speaker mic I've got the perfect setup for my needs. I work in security and the alarm is a nice touch.

If all you need is a solid, cheap little HT, buy with confidence.

Baofeng GT-3

as i have just got my ham foundation licence,and could not afford the big named radios,i purchased one of these, great little radio cannot fault it.ideal for 2m/70cm crystal clear audio and transmit,had some good reports from radio hams who have been on the air for years,and they are very fussy.programming software is the same as the ub-5r,so my recomendation is buy one you will not be dissapointed.alan M6RFO

Real Bargain for the money

I have been a Ham since 2007 but have been using radio since the 70s and now have at least 8 . Base,Mobile and 4 handhelds. A ICOM IC-706 MK11G,Yaesu HF Base Rig, Kenwood TH-K20E, Yaesu FT60 and a couple of Baofengs. ok the baofengs are not quite up to the level of the others but for the money asked they are a no brainer. Between the baofengs I find the gt3 has a much cleaner audio on both transmit and receive, the SQL is also much tighter, but unless you want to spend days tapping keys??? good idea is to program it using a computer OR get a friend to do it for you.Quite easy to program using the keys BUT you WILL have some reading to do, best to use the internet as it is easy to pick up all the info you need.I have only had it a couple of days now but already have had a few people checking it out as it looks so neat. So for the money I don't think that you will get a better buy and I have spent ￡1000s on radios,Plus it even has a nice little FM broadcast built in. So if you want to get into Amateur Radio or just want to have a listen then get one of these.

Baofeng GT-3 “not another handheld” says her indoors

I couldn't resist trying this one at the price and am glad I did. The receiver is a big improvement on Baofeng uv5r with no annoying spurious squelch openings. Measured power on transmit on 144 mhz was 5.8 watts and transmit audio is much better than the uv5r which is by no means poor. Menu settings are more or less identicle to uv5r and so is key lay-out so no learning curve. Listen to that voice tempting you to get one - you'll be glad you did!

Nearly ideal radio – price/quality/performance Used for 3 weeks in alps with extended antenna (nagoya) - 4 radios (group of 4 skiers and boarders)

We were really pleased by the performance - it is outstanding! Much better than much more pricy radios...

Very easy to program (from Mac also) and use.

Simply amazing

I received this within two days. The features on this handheld are simply amazing for the money. Yaesu, Kenwood and all the radio manufacturers should be very worried.

If you are in the market for a 2m/70cm handheld and are not concerned that it hasn't got the usual badge on the front get one of these you will not be dissapointed. Trust me.

The radio has a better feel than the UV-5R and BF-F8+ radios. It has a better contour to it without feeling like a 2x4 or too rounded like a giant Tylenol. The sound is a better. It has a louder max volume while still being clear and not as "tinny" as the older ones.
The radio seems better sealed against dust and moisture. I wouldn't dunk it in a bucket but the elements will have a harder time getting inside. The battery fits a bit different and seems to be sealed to the body better, along with the side buttons and plug cover.
The keypad lights differently. Not really a pro or con, just different so far. On the other models only the numbers lit up, on this one the number and a small area around the base of the keys light as well. The keys are still the same type of rubber as the previous models. Some people have reported wear on them but I haven't seen this on ANY of my Baofengs as of yet. If this becomes a problem then I will report it here in an update.
This radio seems to receive a bit better than the others did, including the BF-F8+. Stations that had static in the past are clear using the same antennas.

Baofeng GT-3 over view

The Radio does what it was design to do, low cost and great value. The volume is loud enough and it seems a little over amplified at times. It was easy to program using the same program cable that I used for my UV-5ra and UV-82L and the latest chirp program. I'm using a MacPro 13" with the latest Maverick OS. I did use the USB driver for the UV-5ra and I did have to restart the mac a couple of times so that the Chirp program would recognize the GT-3 and once the radio was recognize I downloaded the radio freq to the chirp software so that chirp would recognize the radio than I imported my freq for the local repeaters into the GT-3. The yellow colors around the key pad makes the keys very readable. I did like that the radio would dim down the lcd display if you had it in scan mode and would become fully bright when you received a incoming signal. The charger was the only slight problem that you had to play around with to get it seated right to get the charger working properly. I would change the antenna for a better one. Of all the BaoFeng radio I've bought UV-5re, UV-5re+, UV-82L and now the GT-3, my favorite is the UV-82L and second would be the GT-3 or the UV-5re. I believe on the BaoFeng radios it is a hit and miss on the radio you buy, some of the same models will be better or worst if you compared them with a buddies radio of the same model. It depends on quality control at the manufacturing plant and the quality of the components that they install. The antenna for these radios do need to be changed and some times you do get lucky and receive a unit that everything matches up and perform with no antenna mod or internal mod.

Baofeng GT-3 internal hardware/chips much improved for 2014, out performs all other Baofeng dual band Radios

I have had this radio for about one month now. Not only the outside looks good, but the new micro-chips for transmit and receiving make this radio much more stable, and the audio quality is excellent. In the last month I have used the Baofeng GT-3 radio with different repeaters in Las Vegas, Nevada, Twenty Nine Palms, California, and with the Papa System which has coverage over all of the Southern California area, and as far south as San Diego, CA. to the border. I have transmitted over several ILRP repeaters. Everyone says the audio clarity of the radio is crisp and clear. One thing I would recommend is getting a higher gain antenna, rather than use the original stock antenna. At 5 watts however, the low gain antenna works very well.

I have no complaints with the GT-3 radio; however, Baofeng has not provided downloadable software to program the radio through their USA website. Chirp does not offer software for download either at the current time. I was able to purchase programming software including a cable through RT Systems for $49.00, which works flawlessly. It is so easy to program with the software and RT cable. The new booklet that comes with the radio is much improved, reads well, and is easy to understand. Not like previous Baofeng models.

It also works well in a vehicle with a mag mount external antenna.

It will switch from Frequency mode to Channel mode easily by pressing the red button on the left. The radio menu is easy to navigate. Similar to the Baofeng UV-5R & UV-82. The radio's audio voice is a pleasant sounding American female voice. Not the previous Chinese accented English female sounding voice.

The screen is LCD - but is reversed, with a black background and light lettering, which make it easier to see in bright light, or at night.

My hope is that Baofeng will continue to improve their radio line, and offer more radios to compete with the Japanese radios, perhaps offering other frequencies, or multiple frequencies, (other bands). They are definitely on the right track. Please Note: "This is not a old radio with a new face." Get one and see for yourself. For around $60 dollars, it is worth your consideration.

Great Little Radio

Just getting backed into ham radio. My old HT died so this seemed like a good place to start. The GT-3 seemed like the best option of the currently available Baofeng radios. According to numerous reviews, while it is similar to the UV-5R series, there are some chipset improvements. Seems to receive and transmit well and I have gotten good reports on the local repeaters with quality. I cannot say I am thrilled about the reverse polarity SMA connector, but I have a new antenna and a RP-SMA to BNC adapter on the way. BNC just seems like a better connector choice if you want to be able to quickly change to different antennas. The adapter should also serve to protect the pin in the connector on the radio itself from getting damaged accidentally. The radio itself is attractive and feels well built for the price and feels good in the hand. It is a must to buy the programming cable to setup the radio. I am using the third party Chirp software on my Mac. One thing that did bother me was that the display dimmed down when transmitting and receiving; however, I just found a work around to that. It still appears to have the old firmware as the UV-5R series which would allow you to change the backlight color on the display even though this unit only has one color. I think they just kept the firmware and just stuck one color of LEDs in instead. The fix is to just set the standby, receive, and transmit colors in the settings all to purple and it will stay full brightness. At least is is a simple software issue and not hardware. All in all this a great radio for the price, especially for a ham on a budget.