I had an F8HP but could not live with the fact it couldn’t be programmed on the fly. BTECH recommended the 5x3. I tried it alongside the F8HP. From a programming standpoint it was GREAT and did everything I needed. But it couldn’t receive anything. I put the radios side by side and while the F8HP was receiving everything I expected, the 5x3 was basically dead.BTECH had me return the radio so they could “warranty” it. And while the second 5x3 does perform better than the first one, it is far from acceptable. The receiver isn’t strong enough to break tone squelch on most of the local repeaters. I disabled tone squelch and I could at least hear the repeaters, albeit weakly. It doesn’t receive county emergency channels at all; the F8 absolutely did. I even tried a Nagoya antenna with no improvement.I can’t understand why BTECH would improve the software on a radio with an outdated chip set. I’ll throw it in the glove box or give it to the kids. Sad that we base everything on cost. I can’t recommend these for serious use, at least not where I live. I’d rather spend the money and get something I can trust.Update 2: I’ve tried a counterpoise ground plane, and even connected this radio to a portable j-pole antenna to help reception. What a joke! This radio must be popular with the urban cowboy and air-soft tin soldier crowd. It brings new meaning to the term “disposable” radio.