The baofeng AR-152, as all baofeng radios do, get mixed
opinions and various takes on quality and other opinions
from various ham radio operators and unlicensed users.

Here’s our opinion thus far:

Ad Hoc/Off Grid programmability and ease of configuration.

The user interface on this radio, like most other baofeng models, is designed in such a way that it is generally very easy to configure settings on the fly without a PC and a programming cable. When comparing with many commercially available radios and even quite a few more expensive handheld analog radios.
Keep in mind this radio does not do DMR, or have a built in gps reciever or way of sending APRS packets built in, which can be quite the unfortunate downside for a radio to use in 2025. Still, the general simplicity of FPP (front panel programming) on this radio and cost mostly make up for this issue.

Chirp compatibility.

Although we have discussed previously the ease of off grid programming for most options, you are still unable to program repeater RX/TX pairs into this handheld without a PC and software such as Chirp. Although this is a downside, the plus side is is that Chirp is Free and Open Source software, and is easily installable from downloadable binaries at chirpmyradio.com. Remember to only download the software from this website or the official Github repository here. Chirp can pull repeater pairs directly from repeaterbook.com for extremely quick and easy programming once you have everything set up.

Memory bank/slots.

Quick note: This radio unfortunately only has 128 slots for storing pre-set channels or repeater pairs. Having said that, for simplex mode you can always switch into VFO and enter a frequency and ctcss or DCS tone/code.

General thoughts on the user interface.

One of the best things about this radio is how large the buttons and LCD screen is, which makes it very easy to both see the screen and use the keypad with gloves. The lcd is a plain, no color
display, which is actually a large advantage in the bright sunshine of the deserts of Arizona where it would otherwise be much harder to see in direct daylight. The buttons are well placed.
Something to note about these cheaper radios is the flashlight.
They usually aren’t very bright but can be useful in a pinch. In Utah, for example, my phone was very low battery but I was exploring an old mineshaft. Needed anything I could get for light, as I didn’t currently have a regular edc light, but I had my baofeng. Flipped that on and I could see enough to make it out.

Some things that are not ideal/”Features” I dislike.

The charging port on this radio is a small barrel charger. It doesn’t have a regular “charging stand charger” which I don’t particularily mind but the main downside is that most of the newer baofeng models have a USB type C charging port directly on the battery, which is very useful for charging quickly with a solar panel or battery bank. Having said that, it did come with a USB-barrel charger, but that can get lost and it’s not a standard common cable. So if I could change one major thing, it would be the charging interface. Unlike a lot of other ‘fengs though, this comes with a very long lasting battery by default.

No belt clip on this radio 🙁

(therefore you will need a super cool radio pouch like this one) 😁

Overall, I would rate this radio at 4/5 stars. For the price, It’s very good, even for outdoor use/exploring. Get a decent pouch, extra batteries, and of course the radio itself via these links if you would like to help keep the Arizona Bushcraft website up and running, so we can give you quality product reviews (Not AI written) and guides on communications tech, outdoor survival, bushcraft gear and tips, and much more!

– Maxwell Evans