Baofeng UV5R 6xAA extended battery holder

[Smurf Hunter]

The other day I order this off amazon.  There are a few different model and flavors.  The one I'm reviewing is http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FPHTPSG
Hypario® uv5r Two-way Radio Battery Case for Baofeng Uv-5r ,Uv-5ra,Uv-5re ,Tyt F8 F9 ,Vitai Vt-uv3 Vt-uv9r Two Way Radios

Price was $7.98 at time of this posting, and product was eligible for free amazon prime shipping.

Good:
price
extended length makes the little uv5r grip better in my hands
designed for use with rechargeable AA cells (they run at 1.2 volts)
it works - I hit a few repeaters and said hello with locals on VHF

Bad
Bottom of case does not snap together as expected.  It doesn't fall off when on the radio, but could easily snag and catch if holstered for example.
I might remedy with some PVC tape, but then that's sloppy when it's time to recharge the AA cells.
Cannot use standard 1.5volt alkaline AA without a little mod (see below).  This isn't a show stopper, but the engineer in me thinks a range of voltage could be tolerated with a smarter designed radio, but I'm not an electrical engineer...
The plastic is actually cheaper than that on the radio itself.  I wouldn't bet on this being around in 10 years.

There's a LOT of info on using these on Miklor's site.  http://www.miklor.com/uv5r/UV5R-FAQ.php#Batteries
Scroll down to section "6.8       AA / AAA Battery Cases   (UV5R series)"

The price is right, and this allows additional power options for the radio.  Additionally if you already have rechargeable AA batteries as a prep this is a tiny investment.  I plan to keep this handy, but probably won't use for all the time, since I'm worried about destroying it from repeated attachment and removal cycles.

[machinisttx]

I don't have any experience with the AA pack, but I did buy a couple of the hypario AAA packs. The one I have used worked just fine at first, but now doesn't work at all. The plastic has warped and it won't hold the batteries properly. I've tried a couple of fixes, but they didn't work.

I believe Baofeng offered a AA pack, but when I last checked it was not available.

[Carl]

The AA pack currently is for rechargeable cells unless you modify the pack to hold fewer non-rechargeable cells.
The AAA pack does not last long enough to be of any real value ,in my opinion.

    I am taking some UV-Popcorn for me and Brandi while I am here.

[machinisttx]

You can use a dummy cell in the AA packs to bring voltage down with alkaline batteries.


I rarely tx on my Baofengs. I use them mainly for rx.