BTECH, BaoFeng BL-5 Battery Eliminator for for BF-F8HP, UV-5X3, and UV-5R Radios

I love the added length this gives the radio, makes it holdable for people with big hands! The added battery life is a bonus too. It will charge in the standard table top docks but be aware if you want to use the built in charging port on the battery, you will need the smaller 2.5mm plug, it does not use the same power connector as the desk top charger.

This review is about the BL-5 AA. This battery pack should cost about half the price -- theres not much to it. And you will need to modify it as other reviewers have indicated, or it will short itself near the center-top, where the external contacts pass near the internal battery contact. That said, its very versatile. It works with both Alkaline and NiMH (e.g., Eneloop) batteries, which is the reason I bought it. I imagine it would suffice in an emergency. I only wish they would release a proper USB-compatible battery for these radios.

Christmas storm of 2022! Decided to really use it. Battery provided 35 hours are CONTINUOUS scanning and use. Was not turned off for just over 35 hours. Very satisfied.

No issues for me.

With so many fakes out there, it’s nice to have a reliable source of true extra capacity batteries for the UV5R. This one is the real deal. My biggest complaints are the price, it costs almost as much as the radio itself. And, it’s only available in black. All of my UV5R radios are camo. But there are no legit 3800 mAh batteries available in camo. So now I have 3 camo UV5R radios with black extended capacity batteries. But I’m so happy to finally have the extra battery capacity that I no longer care about the color mismatch.

First, it works as expected in that it replaces your battery (it is a battery eliminator not a charger) and powers your radio from a 12 volt accessory socket. A couple poor design features to be aware of though: The cord is a coiled cord, but the coils are very stiff. At rest it is about 2 feet long, but if you try to stretch it out, by the time you get to three feet it is pulling out of the car socket. I would say that for most people, they would have a lot of trouble talking on the radio with that limitation combined with the fact that at that length you are playing tug of war if it stays plugged in. Also the cord comes out of the bottom of the battery adapter, which means you cannot stand your radio up. Not a concern for car use but in emergency use where you might have to be on 12 volt power indoors, you cannot stand up your radio. This means your antenna is operating at well below maximum efficiency. It seems that just a little forethought and beta testing of this product would have made it a MUCH better product with little or no change to cost.

So far so good. Only had for a week or so. I should have read the description better I thought it was two batteries but it was only one. The other thing I didn’t like is it does not come with a charging cable, and not like most people have the right one just sitting around. So I will have to buy one separate.

Got this unit plus a couple of extra batteries and a better antenna for my initial foray into the world of amateur radio. Setup was easy using CHIRP software - got 127 channels programmed right outta the gate. Am still learning and discovering all the features of this radio as I study for my HAM license, but initial impression is positive. Follow up email from the folks at BaoFeng is reassuring. Buy with confidence.

So far so good, charged this fully 8 days ago and it still has one battery bar left. It’s in use as a listening-only scanner most of the day (to my wife’s great dismay) only turned off consistently overnight. I also bought the little USB plug that charges this directly and it seems to work but I’ve only charged the battery once via dock as the beginning of the charge/discharge/repeat process. So far so good.

As previous reviewers have stated, the top center battery terminal can easily come loose, touch another terminal and short out the pack. *I have not experienced this.* Although I have taken the precaution advised and glued the top center battery terminal in place so that it does not wiggle free. See photos. After this quick fix, it works safely and as expected. With 6x NiMH the battery life is considerably longer (2-3 times) than the 1100 mAhr Li-ion supplied with the Baofeng UV-5R. Another gripe about this product is how loose the snap mechanism is securing clam shell design together. I can pull the two apart pretty easily without hitting the release button. And also... please please please use the included dummy battery when using alkaline (1.5V) AA batteries!! If 6 alkalines are used, the radio will intentionally not work due to the higher total voltage being outside the operating range. Many people have given this product bad reviews because they didnt read.