UV2501+220 audio test
15 April 2016
There have been some people asking about the audio quality from the UV2501 series, so today I put together a quick video. I used what I had available (a GeekPro 2.0 HD camera aka GoPro clone) to get the footage from my 2501+220, and compared it to the audio quality out of the Yaesu FT2900. This is ONLY about incoming audio quality from the speaker, not audio quality out from the microphone. I have also had a few people email me asking about the the "ticking" I had mentioned in my day 1 review, so I also got that on this same video.
With that said, I am not a public speaker nor do I make videos or ever record myself so this is pretty much unscripted and raw footage spliced together. I know the audio quality is not that great as it is using the camera built in mic (and this model has no option to connect an external mic), but I have watched it a few times and you can tell the difference between the two.
BTECH 2501+220 audio quality review from Mike Kai on Vimeo.
From this we see that there is a definite audio quality difference (even with the limited range of the mic used). One of the compromises of such a small unit like the 2501 series is that the speaker also needs to be small to fit in the unit. Pulling out my tape measure for a quick unofficial measurement, I see the 2501 speaker at 1.5 inches, and the Yaesu at 2.5 inches across. This extra inch allows for much better sound quality from the Yaesu, and connecting a larger 3" external speaker (stand alone "unpowered" speaker) to the 2501 gives it equal or better audio quality than the Yaesu. So to contradict the words of lying women everywhere, size does matter.
As for the clicking, BTECH has updated the description of their amazon.com listing with this information: "The 220 MHz band antenna lowpass filter is switched with a relay and the 2 meter lowpass filter and 70 cm highpass filters are switched with PIN diodes - resulting in a audible relay switch noise when monitoring 220MHz with VHF/UHF simultaneously. A relay that completely isolated the 220 MHz RF filter won't impact the RF performance of the 2 meter/70 cm bands." So while the relay noise is audible, it doesn't impact the other 2 bands on the unit. The only time it really seems to be heard is in a nice quiet house, or car with little other noise around. While driving or other radios going, it is much less noticeable (if at all since it is a fairly quiet "tick").
Where to buy the BTECH UV2501+220:
Amazon.com
baofengtech.com
NOTE: I do not make any money or benefits from any of my reviews, nor do I receive anything at all from these links. I prefer people read the information and decide for themselves.
I hope this helps a few people, and if you have questions, comments or other words for me, contact me at the "Contact Us" link in the top menu or comment on the Vimeo link from the video itself.
Take care and 73
de K4ISR