Explorer QRZ-1 5W VHF/UHF Handheld Transceiver

I already had an inexpensive Baofeng handheld when I got this through the jumpstart program, but I really wanted to see how other radios compare. The QRZ1 is worth it at the discounted price, but I really hope no one is paying full price for this thing. For less money, you can get a pair of Baofengs and a ton of accessories.

I live in a rural area, and I'm able to connect to my local repeater with the Baofeng and the longer antenna the package deals include. The QRZ out of the box doesn't connect to that tower at all, and doesn't receive as well either. The QRZ's SMA is the opposite of the Baofeng, so I need to buy adapters or different antennas to try to get more range out of it.

The speaker works well though. Very clear.

Also the display is AMAZING. Beautiful and crisp. Mine's slightly off center, but it's okay because it still works and was cheap.

I'm sorry I paid extra for "engraving" because it's just a sticker. I could've made my own sticker for way less than $10. If I'd realized it was just a sticker, I would've skipped it. (In hindsight, I see that they do describe the personalization as a sticker, but only when you mouseover the option, and I bought this from a mobile device, so I wouldn't have seen the mouseover text. A larger, clearer photo of what the personalization looks like would've been nice.)

Programming it was okay... I used CHIRP but couldn't get the radio to transmit after, so I ended up paying $25 for the QRZ programming software, and that didn't fix it either. Ultimately I figured out that because I'd just used the same list of channels I have in my Baofeng, I'd included an off-limits channel for the QRZ (on my Baofeng, I programmed the local fire dept channels for listening, just because I live in a fire area), and once I removed that channel from the list, the radio worked again. I was not impressed by that "feature."

So once I got it programmed and proved that it worked, I stuck it in my kit of radio gear and haven't touched it. Since it can only be charged with a desktop charger, it's not even really something I want to leave in my car for emergencies. So it'll go in my home emergency kit in case I need a spare radio for family members in the event of a disaster.

So all told, with the programming cable, software, and personalization sticker, this radio cost me $74. That's significantly more than what I paid for two baofengs with a ton of accessories. I'm happy to pay for quality items, but I'm not sure the QRZ qualifies.

Newly licensed technician, happy that QRZ and gigaparts teamed up to design a radio with the features someone like me really needs. I appreciate two other members of the amateur community supporting what is probably a loss leader program to help people like me get started. With tax and shipping the Explorer was less than $29. (look for the jumpstart program on QRZ’s homepage if you have been licensed less than six months.) Seems to have a good receiver section, I know some of the CCR‘s out there don’t even have super het design, and I believe that this one has both a good receiver and transmitter design. A couple of downsides, you have to manually monitor input frequencies since there is no reverse function for repeater access, and there is also no weather alert function. But with the wide range of frequencies you can scan, they include public service and weather radio. I do plan to upgrade the antenna, possibly the battery, and definitely get the software to save the aggravation of manual programming. A great start to a great hobby!

I got the 70% discount for new hams thinking I was getting a steal, but I was thoroughly dissapointed after learning only a small bit of the competition. For $23 shipped, I could have gotten the Baofeng 5RM from Amazon. It is almost as easy to use for a new ham, has broader RX/TX, twice as much power, comes with otherwise paid accesories, and is actually programmable on PC without needing to purchase proprietary software. Quite frankly, I feel cheated and I feel that my ignorance as a new ham was taken advantage of.

The only reason this isn't 1-star is that the radio technically does what it says it will do. It's just that I didn't realize just how little that actually was until I explored the market.

This isn't the greatest radio ever, but if you can get the QRZ deal, you can get it for less than 30 dollars.

Returned because here is no wx alert function, going to icom v-86, only one uhf repeater in my area, hardly ever gets used so I won't miss dual band. Also gave 2 uv-82 radios, they have dual band and are 19$ on amazon.

Hello everyone I'm KR4DMG of Orangeburg South Carolina & I'm a new ham & I've had my explorer radio for about 2 weeks & it's working great. Excellent little radio for anyone starting out in the hobby definitely recommend anyone new ham trying it out. Also thanks to QRZ & Giga Parts for the big discount off all accessories 73 KR4DMG

I like this radio has a great speaker and fair range.

All around, great. I have had to reset it and then reprogram it but then it was fine after that. Happened a few times.

Solid radio overall, especially if you get it thru the deal.

I was fortunate to get my radio through the QRZ JumpStart program. Nice radio, works well, but it could use some upgrades. This radio can only be charged in a cradle charger-there is no USB port. Also, not sure if I have overlooked it or not, but there is no way to program digital codes. Otherwise it is easy to program on the fly. Works great with Chirp. Great secondary radio.

If I'm not in need of a Digital Mode HT this is my goto. You can get a FAT battery for it and get another to keep in the car with a USB chargeable battery.