AR-152 PRO: The Hilux of Handheld Radio

The AR-152 is without a doubt one of the most versatile radios you can own. Its large, rugged size and nearly infinite battery life definitely set it apart from other Baofeng radios on the market, quickly becoming the radio I go to most often as a carry along in the truck, tractor, or any other time I'm hitting the woods. The radio is simple, rugged, and dependable for pretty much everything I do. And configuring it into a data terminal is really straightforward as well. While its not perfect, I consider the AR-152 to be about as close to a Toyota Hilux of radio as you can get. 

A new version hit the scene earlier this year and I'm generally pretty skeptical of new things...especially when the old one performs so well. I definitely fall into the 'if ain't broke' crowd and for a good reason. Better the devil you know, so to speak. But besides, how good could improvements be? There's certainly some things I'd like to see in that form factor and DMR inclusion is certainly one of them. Then again, that'd add a layer of complexity that many don't necessarily need for all things. Again, having a simple radio that most can pick up and get running in a hurry with minimal instruction is a very, very big deal. The aftermath of Hurricane Helene and the ensuing relief effort was proof positive of that. The 152 definitely was put to good use by many in the Black Mountain area. So that brings us back to the above - how do you make a Hilux better? Can you? 

Enter the AR-152 PRO. It shares the same form factor with the original 152 - same housing, button layout, Kenwood plug, 10w power output, power plug, everything - with some very useful additions. The standout upgrades are an expanded frequency coverage range, bluetooth programability and GPS.

The original 152 featured a frequency coverage range of 136-174mHz and 400-520mHz, with FM broadcast band also being built it. Pretty standard for what you get with every Baofeng since the original UV-5R. This model features the 220-250mHz range on transmit and has continuous coverage from 136 all the way through 520 as well as featuring an air band receiver (108-136mHz in AM). In my tests its all perfectly functional and the ability to set up frequency ranges for scanning is extremely useful. 

The GPS receiver is an interesting feature. It gives an accurate display in latitude and longitude when enabled and can also transmit those coordinates to another radio. The GPS has a software kill switch and can utilize either GPS or BeiDu (or both). This is an incredibly valuable feature for Search and Rescue teams especially considering its inexpense as well as simplicity of operation. Just hold down the EXIT button and you've got a lat/long to your position, hit the PTT and send it. 

Now for the criticisms: one big and one very minor. They've incorporated an LED screen replacing the older dot matrix LCD. I liked the LCD quite a bit - you could easily read it anytime and when you cut the backlighting off it was easily read under night vision. That said this one is very easy to read, stays dim, and can be completely shut off once you lock the keypad if light discipline is required. But, they went for eye candy over function. There's no feature of the LED screen that couldn't have been better executed with a backlit LCD. Its not a deal killer, mind you, but just something to note. As I stated before, I would have loved to see this unit include a DMR module. While that would have added a significantly higher level of complexity in operation, the software defined radio at the heart of all Baofengs could certainly support it as we've found with the DM32. A DMR in this housing could be a real killer.

The radio retains its best qualities overall and builds on that with some new ones I think can be very useful. Its well worth $68 just for the GPS and overall simplicity of execution. And while I still might be inclined to run my older 152 when I need just a bare bones radio, I don't have any reservations about this newer one in most applications over the old standby. 

Get yours here. -NCS