I'm not saying "drill a hole through your #Baofeng" but what I am saying is, I widened the mic hole with a tiny hand drill and my voice does not sound nearly so muffled... if you do this, you could drill through your mic... which would not be good... also dust and things... and no more warranty... on your Baofeng #UV5r etc

Edit: Actually, I did this to two Baofengs and both sound better on the other end now... wind and plosives are an issue... but I side-mic anyway

#ham #gmrs #radios #mods

@howtophil Good idea. If it's practical I'd probably take the mic out ("some disassembly required") but it sounds like a good mod. For wind and plosives, a little foam stuffed into or slightly covering the hole might help.

@philpem

Yeah! Absolutely. Taking the Baofeng case off is the safer route... I just decided to "trust my drilling skills" and if it were something more "precious" to me I would not have trusted.
Also, you could probably glue some mesh on one side or the other after widening to protect from larger debris while still de-muffling your voice...
I used a "resin hand drill" thing. A little craft drill.