First and foremost, you ought to have your ham license to operate these radios, and operating them outside the ham bands is illegal. This topic is beat to death all over the internet, use google if you have questions about this, it is not the point of this post.
A few dudes and myself were at the Excrutiololathon yesterday, and we used that opportunity to get on the air and run some comms and talk shit to each other. I was using my FT-60R with a remote mic and ear bud detailed in my earlier post in this thread, but everyone else was using UV5R's. Except 'Snacks, he is on a whole other level with comm gear and I don't know enough about it to comment. Yet
. The guys using the UV5's were using these accessories and they worked very well.
BaoFeng UV-5R Dual Band Two Way Radio -
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007H4VT7A/ref=psdc_912322_t1_B008IYCQSO
Authentic Genuine Nagoya NA-701 8-Inch Whip VHF/UHF (144/430Mhz) Antenna -
http://www.amazon.com/Authentic-Gen...&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00 Or Authentic Genuine Nagoya NA-771 15.6-Inch Whip VHF/UHF (144/430Mhz) Antenna -
http://www.amazon.com/Authentic-Gen...&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00
Retevis 2 Pin PTT Mic Covert Acoustic Tube In-ear Air Acoustic Earpiece Headset -
http://www.amazon.com/Retevis-Acous...=UTF8&qid=1459689544&sr=8-8&keywords=uv5r+ptt
All 3 are Prime eligible and inexpensive.
The tube ear piece sits under your ear pro comfortable enough and if they are electronic, you still retain the ability to hear your surroundings. The Retevis PTT setup has good audio quality and the mic is pretty good considering the price. Someone was trying to interface their UV5R remote mic with a stereo cable to their electronic earpro and that doesn't work, the output on these radios is mono. Add to that, most electronic ear pro is stereo and you can see why it is so hard to make it work. On top of the compatibility issues of mono to stereo, I was also unable to find a remote mic that had a functioning audio out. Plenty of them have the jack for it, but I have 3 different models of mics and none of them worked with a mono out earbud. I spent a lot of time and a bit of money trying and all I have to show for it is a bin of UV5R accessories. An other benefit to the tube ear piece is you don't need to keep your ear pro on to be able to use it.
If you want to integrate the antenna to your carrier like I did pictured in this post:
https://www.northeastshooters.com/v...you-re-using?p=4916476&viewfull=1#post4916476
you will need a SMA extension cable. There are cheap ones that seem a bit fragile but work, like this:
20''/50cm Male to Female RP-SMA Extension Cable -
http://www.amazon.com/50cm-Female-R.../B00MI9582G/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1459692559
I have used this cable when I had my carrier setup for a UV5R (I used the Retevis PTT listed above on my carrier), but like I said it seems fragile and probably doesn't work as well as using something like RG8x or something in LMR195. If you are handy with a soldering iron, you can make your own like I did when I upgraded to the Yaesu radio. Youtube can teach you how to do anything.
For antennas, the short stubby ones work for UHF but are pretty much useless for VHF. I would say if you want to upgrade the antenna and intend to use it for VHF as well as UHF, go for the NA-701 at least.
As far as pouches go, the HSGI small radio pouch is cool, and rifle TACO's work well too. If/when I move to a commercial radio I will likely grab one of HSGI's radio TACO's, they are just too big for these handhelds.
Here is my modified TACO, my FT60R is a bit bigger then the UV5R so I clipped the wings.
I also clipped the plastic side wings on an old TACO to use it as a radio pouch. I am thinking about using some shock cord to make a bungee loop over the top for a little more retention if I find I need it. I think the HSGI radio taco will be too big for my radio choice, so this will do for now.