Basically, $13 per radio to the US - if you need 10. 12/29 Correction: Reading is hard. Thanks to the correction in the comments - this is for the battery only. Doh.
Both this post and number four on the list suggest a real desire for a good quality, but inexpensive mobile. They made the list despite only getting posted in May of 2015.
I'm glad this gets some hits as I try to keep it updated as a quick reference - I would like to expand it by keeping track of lowest prices and other miscellaneous data.
I think the Baofeng Tech UV-5001 and Baofeng Tech UV-2501 mobile radios would have been more popular posts than the KT8900 - except they weren't released until November.
A while back I posted about what I called the Blackbox Baofeng Base Station. The guys over at BuyTwoWayRadios discuss the Blackbox base station on their podcast. They've watched the video from Richard Klein (see below). There isn't a ton of information, so they speculate a little, ask some questions, and offer some opinions. I pretty much agree with everything they say - interesting idea, mounting to the wall would be odd unless the antenna rotates, either this is a repackaged Baofeng or they are taking advantage of popular (thus cheaper) components, and the $239.95 price tag means few amateurs will be interested.
What I don't understand is the comment left on their post - the name displayed with the comment is Richard Klein:
"You should ask questions before you post ignorant comments.
Yes we use a Baofeng keypad and screen due to low cost, but the entire thing from there is custom.
The power supply is modified to accept AC.
The speaker output is 3X a portable radio (4 Ohm speaker with amplifier).
The housing is custom.
The circuitry is completely modified with high quality shielding, voltage protection, and coil mod.
So you think it's a Vega from the headlights, but we wrapped it in a Ferrari body, and put a Maserati engine inside."
Drop the first and last lines and you've got a helpful response. I really don't think anything said in the podcast was as harsh as the response.
The Baofeng UV-5R is a very popular radio. I don't have any real data to prove this, but anecdotally it seems to be a favorite of new hams especially. AnyTone Tech is making the case for spending a little more to get the NSTIG-8R - which clearly has better features than the Baofeng UV-5R.
I am working on it and wouldn't mind a few testers.
The oldest radios must get the settings from firmware and can't be adjusted. My UV-5R with BFB231 firmware can't be adjusted.
I first tried this out on a UV-82L with success. Then later on a GT-3. Earlier this week, I got to try it on my own UV-82 and BF-F8HP radios. The difference is amazing. I don't know why Baofeng ships these radios with the squelch so "broken"."
And continues:
"Here is your .img file back with the updated squelch settings. Make sure you have a backup image before you get started. I now have a backup here. ;-)
I believe that you will now find that Squelch 9 can really squelch out stronger stations and you will have to reduce squelch to 6 or maybe 5 for normal operation.
If you like these settings, don't upload any other image file into your radio or they will be reset to the values in that image file. If you don't like these settings, or that don't appear to do anything, then just upload your original image file and everything will be as is was before."
"Two models are on display so far: the Misutā Samurai, and the Misutā Hero. Both are, of course, UV-5Rs, with reverse LCDs. Prices are about the same."
If you are having problems with your UV-5R where the receiver is muted, check out Miklor and the BuyTwoWayRadios pages for some common problems and fixes.
Some newer radios with N5R-20 and N5R-30 firmware. This is a current firmware that will ship with ALL UV5R series radios. This includes all UV5R, RA, GT-3, BFF8, F8HP, etc.