A decent Yaesu is $165+, but will last for many years and actually fulfill its role if you need it to.
Look up tests of Baofeng radios and you'll see how poorly they carry out their intended function.
Noone said Baofengs are high-quality devices. But that's kind of the point, and it is easily good enough to get onto a local relay to get some easy satisfaction and practice the non-technical aspects (like: err, what did he say? and what am I supposed to say now?). Since it's only $35, I own one and have have used a couple of different models. I've done QSO's (connections) over repeaters around 25km away with these from rural but non-elevated positions without any problems. (Ok, I probably used an antenna that costs $10 extra.)
Besides, what's so interesting about 70cm/2m handhelds that makes getting an expensive one worth it anyway? Spending the money on a HF (around 3MHz-30MHz, often a bit more) transceiver seems like a much more interesting choice (long distance, antenna building, atmospheric conditions etc.). (This does not mean there are no interesting things to do on 70cm/2m. But even with a Baofeng you can e.g. work a satellite with the right antenna.)
Yes, you're relying on the superior equipment and position on the other end, but so what, if it works? Noone tells the QRP (low power) crowd to get an amplifier either, and certainly noone complains about the very crude DIY designs most people build. It's ok.
You got one that may perform closely to specification, but frustration for the newbie arrives when they get one that performs poorly....if at all. This is the norm for Baofeng equipment. So you might spend $35 a few times until you get one that works well, and then another $25 for an actual quality antennae ($10 one you have is 100% a counterfeit). Already, the newbie is down $95 and at this point probably not happy with their new hobby. If they do graduate to more interest, that pile of Baofeng gear will be wasted money in a drawer somewhere.
Also, Yaesu and they like are hardly Pay To Win as you say (whatever that means). $165 is small amount of money for something that will last many years and will function as designed and when needed.
Further, the point of radio gear is to communicate. Try using a Baofeng for anything anywhere important for any length of time, and you'll realize they are nothing more than toys and not suitable for the task.
For a beginner, who's not sure if it's worth the time and money investing $300 on a radio that might not be used, it's a very good idea to start with a $30 radio first.
As an aside, I feel that consistently denigrating people's choice for less expensive hardware is a very big barrier to the hobby's adoption.
I've had many people tell me that it's one of the things that turned them away from the hobby. Others that still stick around simply avoid discussing what type of radio they're using (not an easy task, when you're rag-chewing, mind) simply because they don't want to deal with these arguments.
It's a shame because I feel like there's a ton of groups of people(younger, more diverse backgrounds) that would be around if they weren't pushed out. I know a few really sharp people who build their own hardware but got chased off because their aspect of ham radio didn't involve contesting/etc.
APRS, GPS. I love my Kenwood TH-D74 for hiking around. Before I had it I used a Baofeng UV-82 with a http://www.mobilinkd.com/ TNC paired to my phone with Bluetooth. Smart phones suck up battery, so it is a lot nicer to have APRS all in one unit that doesn't depend on a smart phone.
Does everyone need the bells and whistles? No, but depending on what you want there are some nice features.
the Baofengs are cheap but absolutely suck when it comes to usability. With the Kenwood i can deploy to help our local CERT team, and not worry if they say "oh we changed the band plan... use this frequency" With the baofeng it was... "um... er.... well that sucks..."
Admittedly the Kenwood doesn't have a beginner friendly price but I don't know of any handheld that lets you type in a random frequency without wanting to kill yourself that IS cheap. I'd love to hear about it if anyone knows of one.
Old timer says: My Kenwood (3 tube final amp) cost about $700 in 1978, so I'm a little amazed at modern pricing.
-- KA1BKM
The latest-and-greatest KENWOOD TS-990S is going for ~$7,979.95 (according to HRO)[1]
I'd say you got a deal back in the day. :)
It took me a few minutes to remember: Mine was the TS 520, which listed at $600 according to eham. So even more of a bargain than I remember. (not like I paid for it. Thanks Dad. (But then again, it sent me down the giant rabbit hole of analog circuits and devices. Thanks for nothing Dad.) :)
https://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/5430
https://www.ebay.com/p/Kenwood-TS-520-Radio-Transceiver/1296...
Edit: Wow, just spent some time on the TS-990S site. The state of the art is really something to behold for someone who has not been very active in the past couple of decades.
Not all equipment has to be the best equipment. Sometimes "OK" is enough.
Since then I've discovered these: https://signalstuff.com/product/super-elastic-signal-stick/ They are my go to antenna for HTs. I've never had one break, they perform great and they aren't too expensive. I love that I can take it off and tie it in a knot to shove into a small pocket in my backpack. Try that with a nagoya.
Fast forward a few years and I've graduated to a Kenwood in my truck and a Kenwood HT with all the bells and whistles. Are they better? Of course they are, but the UV-82HP was plenty to get started with.
I have an Icom sitting around somewhere that I am pretty sure I got brand-new for under $100 back in 2004-2005. It's pretty primitive, sure, and I don't think it even came with a rechargeable battery at that price (but you can drop eneloops into it and it's just fine), but I suspect it doesn't produce nearly as much QRM as a Baofeng.
If Icom/Yaesu have stopped making entry level radios, shame on them.
The menu system is MUCH harder to use and MUCH more inconsistent. Drives me nuts that when you find a menu, spin the selector to make a selection, to select you hit the PTT, sometimes you hit f, sometimes you hit V/M. Worse is often the manual doesn't even mention that part.
As for your tests on the Baofengs, I'd be interested to see your sources and the exact models tested.
As a counterpoint: Here's a video of an Official Baofeng UV-5R being stress tested, and demonstrating how resilient the front-end is: https://youtu.be/KqVq2G9dY5Q
I don't think that a Yaesu HT would continue working after running without an antenna, but I wouldn't want to try it myself.
Granted, the included antenna is garbage. I ended up building a j-pole and picking up a signalstick for mine. It works quite well with both.
Personally, I think an inexpensive 10m rig is the way to go, although if you live in a place with a decent 2m or 70cm repeater network there's an argument to be made for getting a cheap HT first. There's almost an assumption in most clubs that everyone has a 2m HT (e.g. talk-in channels for events and stuff).
A club that I joined years back handed me an old Radio Shack 10m SSB on my second meeting, it was sort of the "village bicycle" radio that everyone got to use until they bought their own. That was a fine way to start; I think it put out 10-12 watts or so (I'm dead sure internally it shared a lot of parts with some CB radio they must have sold at the same time), but that's enough to get a feel for things without too much frustration, even if your antenna isn't optimal.
Yes, while using repeaters is one of the less interesting aspects of the hobby, I do strongly recommend (licensed) beginners to get a $35 Baofeng 2m/70cm handheld radio precisely because it gets you some gratification very cheaply and very quickly.
If you're from the US, you would start at http://www.arrl.org/getting-licensed, either with online material or the book. If you're from Germany, I can highly recommend http://amateurfunkpruefung.de/. Additionally, you should check if there's a group nearby: with a licensed instructor present, you can transmit even before getting your own license, which is also very motivating. And a ham radio club will typically give you access to very expensive tools and knowledgeable people who want to help you succeed.