Baofeng UV-3R: Modification Loud Receive Audio

I posted a link to this modification earlier, but it was in the context of taking the rig apart, so I wanted to add this post.

There have been three consistent complaints about the UV-3R:
1. Slow scan speed
2. Spurious emissions/harmonics issue
3. Loud receive audio

OM1LD has the fix for the Loud Receive Audio.

Baofeng UV-3R: Modification Low Pass Filter - Harmonics

Leigh, WA5ZNU, tries his hand at the low pass filter modification to deal with the harmonics issue on the UV-3R:

Low Pass Filter (WA5ZNU) - Harmonics Issue

Updated:
My thoughts on the issue:
1. Many confirmed an issue existed, but there were several opinions as to the severity of the issue.
2. Even if the radio doesn't meet the letter of the law (§97.307), the real world impact of the harmonic should be negligible.
3. If using the single band antenna, the radiated signal should be even less than what was generated by the radio and measured by a meter.
4. There is a mod that eliminates the issue and improves performance, so I may try that.

Ed tells us that they are trying to get their Part 90 Certification. I wonder if that has any impact on getting this issue resolved.

A Dance with Dragons

It is almost here... another couple of weeks and I will be reading A Dance with Dragons. I've been to one of George R.R. Martin's book signings before, but I don't think I will make it to the one at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Lexington.



On a sad note, he will not be doing personalizations:

"There's one huge change from all my past signings and book tours: I will no longer be able to do personalizations. The crowds have simply gotten too big. At my huge signing last week in Ljubljana, Slovenia, I started out personally inscribing the books, as I have always done in the past, but had to cut that off about four hours into the event. If I hadn't, I might still be there, signing. The same thing happened at my last big US signing, at Vroman's in Pasadena, and for the same reasons. It takes time to write, "to Charlene, Winter is Coming" or "To Fred, All Good Wishes," and when you are writing it hundreds of times, well... it makes the lines move considerably slower. And it's not fair to personalize the books for the front of the line, and not for the poor sods waiting for hours in the back."

(My copy is signed "Winter is coming.")

I guess that is the price of popularity - and without it we might not have gotten the HBO series.

Baofeng UV-3R: US Re-seller - Import Communications

Some facts plus some guessing on my part...

I think Ed of wouxun.us might be setting up to sell the UV-3R.

Follow along...

On the Wouxun Yahoo Group, Ed responds to some comments about the UV-3R:

"The factory has applied for Part 90 certification, which may take about a month.
Hopefully they will be distributed in the US by a company, Import
Communications.

Regards,
Ed Griffin
www.Wouxun.US"

So he knows the factory has applied for and hopes to have their Part 90 Certification in a month. I had not heard that anywhere else and I've been trying to keep up with any developments on this front. I tried looking for Import Communications via Google, but didn't really find anything. On a whim, I tried http://importcommunications.com/ and got the following error:

I believe that http://www.kmaantennas.com/ is Ed's original/other business. A quick whois check confirms that Ed is the owner of the Import Communications domain and that it was registered about a year ago.

Registrant:
Ed Griffin
PO Box 451
New London, North Carolina 28127
United States

Registered through: GoDaddy.com, Inc. (http://www.godaddy.com)
Domain Name: IMPORTCOMMUNICATIONS.COM
Created on: 22-May-10
Expires on: 22-May-12
Last Updated on: 22-May-10

Lastly, I did look and see that Ed is a member of the UV-3R Yahoo Group. This doesn't mean a lot by itself, because it would make sense for him to an eye on the competition, but I'm adding it to the pile of circumstantial evidence.


Worlds collide - Wouxun and Baofeng! It makes sense that he might setup this more generic company to sell multiple brands. I'm actually a little jealous. I thought about trying to set myself up as a re-seller, but didn't have the courage or time to really pursue it. I hope I am correct, because I think Ed will be a good guy to sell these things.

G4ILO

I only recently discovered Julian's (G4ILO) blog. He had one of the first reviews of the UV-3R that I found and he has been very active in the UV-3R Yahoo Group. If you can spare a minute in your prayers, it sounds like he could use it.

He lives in Cockermouth in the UK. I spent several weeks there with my then girlfriend, now wife, and her parents in the mid-90's, so I guess I feel more connected to him than some other blogger I've never met.

Baofeng UV-3R: Disassembly 2

Long time readers (since June 1) may recall that I tried to disassemble the UV-3R, but got stuck because the antenna connector was soldered to the circuit board. I'd read instructions on the UV-3R Yahoo Group, people had posted comments on the blog and the Youtube video,etc. but it wasn't until a Youtube comment by r0b0b4ss pointed me to OM1LD's Loud Receive Audio Fix that the light bulb finally came on. His post to fix the loud audio included instructions for taking the radio apart and included this picture.


It seems so obvious now. Another example of how to make something a lot harder than it should be. Now I need some time to take this thing apart again!

I have a lot of love to give.

And something, something about cats.

Echolink

Another plug for ham on the cheap... if Echolink didn't feel like using a real radio, then maybe the Echolink 100 software is what you need. It provides a front-end to Echolink that makes it look like a radio. Given all the software defined radios (or hybrids like the Baofeng UV-3R), no one should get too hung up on the computer vs. radio debate. (Is anyone still waving the banner for vacuum tubes as the end all and be all of radio technology?)



Via KD8BIG

Baofeng UV-3R: Power Plug

Thanks to Lee, N9LO, for finding the power plug specs for the UV-3R. It is a DC male power supply Plug socket connector 2.5 x 0.7mm and is availible via eBay.

Maryville City

Since Uncle and others had posted about it, I thought I would skip posting the Maryville City rap by Hollywoood and Dirty D. However, since it has stuck in my head, I hope this will help get it out.



Maryville City. Country Boys. Blount County Boys.

How we warm up in the morning...

I like for the guys in my IT department to get things going in the morning by doing a little bit of physical activity. It looks something like this...

I.T.!
Fired Up!

I think winning programs have that level of excitement and enthusiasm in most of their practices.

Prepping

I've often though that one of the first things I should do as part of any "prepping" is to get in shape. Everyone talks about guns, food, flashlights, medicine, etc. I have to believe all these tools become a lot more valuable if the prepper has the energy to use them.

So, I went out and bought some running shoes. I haven't played indoor soccer for approaching two and a half years. It has been almost seven years since I was jogging on regular basis. I got home, changed, and took off running. I ran just under 3 miles in about 33 minutes. Not a bad start - all things considered.

Baofeng UV-3R: Review by Dave, N9EWO

Paul has pointed me to Dave's (N9EWO) review of the, as he call its, the VGC / Baofeng / Magiksun / Comtex / Zastone UV-3R "Micro" Dual Band Handheld Transceiver. You have to scroll half-way down to find the start of the UV-3R info, but it is worth a little mouse work. He has lots of good information.

First, he's found two other brands the radio is sold under - Comtex and Zastone.

Second, he's encountered a few problems with the radio and has some fixes like this one for :

"When we do PC uploads to the UV-3R transceiver using the "409shop's" Universal USB cable,the 5 Khz channel step appear like this [B. 4BK] on the LCD afterwards on some memory channels and/or each VFO . Software version used : 1.01.01.
We cured this bug by going to Menu # 9 after and just rotating through the loop of "steps" once to wash out the weird step entries (done after every upload ).
Needs to be done for both VHF/UHF VFO AND also for EVERY memory channel used to clear these weird entries out and for the display to show properly ."

He also mentions the slow scan times and loud receive audio, but comes to the same conclusion that we all do:

"Cheap, Fun and Useful."

Football Cops

Justice is a team sport.

On Target Training Center is now on Twitter

You can follow Doug from On Target Training Center on Twitter. His account is @OTTC_Doug.

La plus ça change

If Tam sees some strange hits on her old posts at View from the Porch, then that's from me walking through history. During my walk, I noticed that things haven't changed much.

2011 - Gas prices coming down.
2005 - Tam talks about gas prices.

2011 - Tam asks what is the difference between a SWAT team & Depart of Education federal agents?
2005 - Tam points out militarized police arresting a man for loitering.

2011 - Atlas Shrugged is an eye-opening read for me as the movie comes out.
2005 - Tam says Atlas Shrugged approaches philosophical scripture status.

I Pack

It might remove the element of surprise, but I must have... get yours here.



You can compliment it with some stickers.

Shirt via TNJeff.
Stickers via Linoge.

Dropbox - Even Worse

I posted that I shouldn't put sensitive information in my Dropbox, since there are tools being released to compromise your "secure" storage.

Apparently, you don't need a tool or even a correct password. Dropbox allowed any password to work with any account for 4 hours.

Via Slashdot.org

New Acronym: BUR

I was writing a reply to a comment and described the Baofeng UV-3R as a BUR. Those from the gun world might recognize the similarity to the short-hand BUG. BUG is a "back up gun", so BUR is "back up radio".

I think the UV-3R fits this bill perfectly. It is small and light weight. You can use the AA battery pack for emergency power. (That's another reason I prefer flashlights that use AA batteries as well - I can move the batteries between devices if needed.) And it is inexpensive enough that I could buy a couple UV-3Rs and toss them in the glovebox without having to get a second mortgage.

General Knowledge

So over at the the Quest for C Class on the Exurban League blog, they have a list of General Knowledge every firearms enthusiast should possess. They have a few categories...

Know the basic operation and use of:
Be capable of:
Know how to (but not always accomplish):
Know (and ALWAYS accomplish successfully):

For ham radio, I wonder what the list would look like? I don't have the experience to complete it, but I'll throw out some things and see what sticks.

Know the basic operation and use of:
UHF/VHF Transceivers on Repeaters
HF Transceivers
Power Supplies
Coax

Be capable of:
Build a half wave dipole
Build a quarter wave ground plane
Use a manual tuner
Sending and receiving CW at 8 wpm.
Soldering
Reading a circuit diagram

As I learn more about ham radio, I think this would be a good list to build.

They lead in with a quote from Robert A. Heinlein and as a bonus I measure myself against the list.

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."

Change a diaper - check!
Plan an invasion - probably not.
Butcher a hog - doubt it.
Conn a ship - I do have some small sailing experience.
Design a building - Do levels for Dungeon's & Dragons?
Write a sonnet - I've heard of iambic pentameter and been to the Globe in London.
Balance accounts - check!
Build a wall - 16 inch centers.
Set a bone -
Comfort the dying - I hope so.
Take orders - Sir, yes, sir.
Give orders - check!
Cooperate - check!
Act alone - check!
Solve equations - check!
Analyze a new problem - check!
Pitch manure - I'm not much of a salesman.
Program a computer - check!
Cook a tasty meal - Sustenance is the goal for me.
Fight efficiently - you don't want to find out.
Die gallantly - untested.

Dropbox

I love Dropbox - especially now that I have an iPad. But remind me to never put anything of a sensitive nature there.

Ham Study Guides

I think I've pointed them out before, but I have a friend who is tempted by ham radio, so I will link to the the KB6NU study guides again. PDF versions are free, but paid versions are available for Kindle and Nook.

Free study guides, inexpensive exam fee, free Echolink, and inexepensive rigs... add it up and it is like the package a dealer gives you to get you hooked.

Baofeng UV-3R: KC2RA Review

A KC2RA (Kings County Repeater Association) review by Gary ( KB2BSL) of the Baofeng UV-3R is below. I had not thought about it, but the review points out how much the of radio is in the software - that it uses the software to leverage a small number of components to build such an interesting little radio.

First Look: Baofeng UV-3R Review

"This radio is undoubtedly a SDR (Software Defined Radio) and has a relatively low part count. I will not cover every part used as a full list is available in the UV-3R Yahoo group file section (Thanks to PY2BBS), but will cover some of the major ones."

"The heart of the radio is a RDA Microelectronics RDA1846 single chip transceiver for walkie talkies. This single CMOS chip provides frequency synthesizer, VCO/VFO, AFC, AGC, pre/de-emphasis (selectable and can be disabled), RSSI indicator, CTCSS/DCS encode/decode, DTMF, 8dBm PA (about 6mw), and more. Basically everything a radio needs is provided by a single chip."

KYD NC-5H, KYD UV-5H

Kenivore found "another UV-3R clone with more button[s]". At first glance, they look more like the Yaesu VX-3R than the Baofeng UV-3R, because of the extra buttons. The specs for the NC-5H and UV-5H are identical and very similar to the UV-3R. I did a quick search on eBay and could not find any for sale. A search on Alibaba has them for sale for $60 from New Century Communication and Electronics Co., Ltd. The company website is here.

In fact, the physical layout of the buttons on the KYD models is identical to the Yaesu VX-3R. For example, the power button is on the side like the VX-3R, but different from the UV-3R. Most reviewers are pleased with simplicity of the UV-3R menus using the limited buttons and knob to do the programming. Looking at the picture, it appears some of the menu items have gotten a dedicated menu in this radio. For example, STEP (MENU 9 on the UV-3R) has its own button. It does not appear to have a flashlight, but does have an inner and outer knob. Also, the web pages say they will support the channel naming via a programmable alpha-numeric display. The NC-5H does not explicitly say that it is a dual band, but the specs have both 2M and 440 listed.

Baofeng UV-3R: Vero Global Communications (Manufacturer)

Boafeng (and others like Magiksun) are re-sellers of the UV-3R. They purchase the UV-3R from Vero Global Communications.

Vero Global Communication Co., Ltd. Established in 1995, we have vast experience in OEM and ODM services. We design and manufacture telecom products, encompassing a full range of products such as Dual Band Two Way Radios, Business two way radios, Dual Band Mobile Radios, VHF/UHF Mobile Radios,CB-Radios,Two-Way Radio Throat Mics, Wireless Portable Radio Microphones, Accessories And Batteries. Our operations are centered in China, integrated of R&D, production, QC and shipping. These ensure fully controll production lines and fast delivery. Our target buyers of consumer electronics in Middle East, Southeast Asian, Africa to Central-South America and East Europe. We are renowned for offering products with high quality and competitive price.

Our pursuit is“Quality First,Customer Supreme”?This means we supply first-rate qualiy,lowest price and full after-sales for our potential and long-term standing customers.Considering the mutual benefit, we welcome our domestic and international customers to visit our factory for establishing a stable business relationship and consulting long-term business cooperation!

If you are interested in any of our radios,please do not hesitate to contact us for more detailed information.We are looking forward to receiving your kind enquiry at the early date.

Maybe I should order 1,000 with the Brick O'Lore brand on them - in Submarine Yellow or Git 'R Done Camo Green.

Yard Maintenance

I've got some trees that need to come down. I need to buy a chainsaw.



From the Gun Source.

November Uniform 5 Delta Echo

I was looking through QST at the upcoming special events. I stumbled across the blurb about the NU5DE event. After reminding you that Hams are generally a bunch of old guys, I will provide the link and picture without further comment.

Naturist Amateur Radio Club

Unstoppable

Combine the tactical genius of RTT-CQB Man with this weapon and he would be unstoppable!



Via Pistol Training.

Which is it?

President Obama says...

Technology kills jobs.

We need more engineers.

Via Snarky Bits and Slashdot.org

Job Change

If they don't call me about a certain Athletic Director position, then maybe I can be the US CIO.

Via Slashdot.org

Baofeng UV-3R: Cheat Sheet by ZL2GVA

Gerard (ZLGBA) posted a handy PDF cheat sheet for Baofeng UV-3R to the UV-3R Yahoo Group.

Baofeng UV-3R: Charging

If you open up the the supplied charging base, you will find that there is no circuity between the input and the battery. This has lead to much speculation about the wisdom of using the base to charge a battery outside the radio.

Grant, ZL2BK posted the following which appeared to be a definitive answer.

I did a bit of research [on]the battery and it is also used in a number of different products such as cell phones. It appears to have some protection in the battery to prevent overcharging as is common with these batteries (or single cell in this case).

I put my partially discharged battery on the charger and the charge current was 1.1 amp. The voltage across the terminals was 4.25 volts. I checked the current occasionally and it remained close to 1 amp until the voltage rose to almost 4.3 volts at which point it dropped to zero.
As there are only two terminals on the battery, there is no way of controlling an external charger so there has to be some electronics in the battery for safety and this quick test shows that.

I used the supplied wall supply for this quick check. The voltage on no load was 5.09 volts.

I was happy with that bit of detective work until Tom PA2TSL had to muddy the waters again.

I wonder why a charge circuit (with the LTC-4054-L IC) is present in the UV-3R
when it is already build inside the battery.

I can ony imagine an additional protection when a non-standard power supply is used to charge the battery when it is in the UV-3R.

Anyway, it is nice to have a spare battery available that can be charged outside the UV-3R.
I was about to build the same charge circuit in the cradle, but that makes no sense when it is already inside the battery.

Tom PA2TSL later adds:

It should be quite easy to reproduce the charge circuit and put it into the
cradle.

A few additional components are required when using the LTC-4054L that is used
in the UV-3R.

You can add a LED for the charge status (just connect it between the appropriate
pin of the IC and the supply voltage with a small resistor).

I guess I will assume that the battery is smart enough to prevent over charging (and fires!), but it would make me wary of buying a knock-off battery that might not have the built in brains.

Baofeng UV-3R: Magiksun UV-3R

We knew the manufacturer was selling the radio with an option to re-brand it, so the Magiksun UV-3R should be no surprise. You can find it on eBay.

The 470 Amateur Radio Group on Facebook

I knew the 470 Amateur Radio Group had a web page, but I just discovered they have a Facebook page as well.

Baofeng UV-3R: Internals, Integrated Circuits 2

Everything you could every want to know about the internal components is now availible via the UV-3R Yahoo Group thanks to Luciano, PY2BBS.

"I've uploaded data sheet of all semiconductors used in UV-3R.

All in this folder:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UV-3R/files/Datasheet/

And schematic with RDA1486 and MC81F8816L pin names and numbers. (on Diagrams folder)

Enjoy!

73. Luciano
PY2BBS from Brazil"

Baofeng UV-3R: Software

[ Don't have a UV-3R yet? Get one here. ]

UPDATE 11-12-12: A new version (1.10) has been released under the UV-X4 model. It adds the ability to update the FM Broadcast memories via the software. 

UPDATE 11-10-25: There is now an updated version of the UV-3R software that was released with the UV-3R Mark II - The new software information is *** here ***. 

UPDATE 11-09-27: As an alternative to the UV-3R software, you may want to try CHIRP. It supports the UV-3R as well as radios from ICOM, Yaesu, etc.

I've encountered two versions of the software for the UV-3R (Amazon). The first version, matching the screen shots below, has the installation steps in Chinese. This version is the one that came on the CD which shipped with my radio. I assume it is Chinese as my computer does not recognize the characters and displays gibberish. In this version the actual software is in English. The other version was the opposite - English installation with a Chinese application. As you can imagine, I stuck with the first version.

I installed the programming software first and assumed I would install the USB driver when I plugged in the radio. You can see the Chinese install below. The middle button in the first three screen shots is the one you want - you can tell by by the "N" that it is the "Next" button. The final window has an option to "C" for "Close" (not shown).







After it finishes installing, you get a folder with the short-cut to start the software.



I then plugged in the USB cable and the radio. When I powered on the radio, Windows detected the new device and started installing it. (Note: I did not do anything to put the radio into programming mode. Some rigs require that, but not the UV-3R.)I must already had the drivers for the Prolific USB to Serial chipset installed as it did not prompt me for any files. When it completed, it told me that the device was ready on COM5.


Next I started the software using the short-cut displayed at the end of the software install. First, I went to the Com Port menu and selected Port to display the Communication Port screen. I selected COM5 to match the information provided when the driver was installed.



I then clicked Device and Read to copy the configuration to the software. I saved the file before making my edits.



Once you've completed your edits, you will want to save the file and then select Device and Write. I recommend saving different versions of the file (perhaps by date), so you can always go back if you break something.

30 Rock

So the wife and I are watching 30 Rock on NetFlix. We just finished "Rosemary's Baby" (S2E4) with Carrie Fisher. I about lost it during this exchange.

Walking down the street, Liz (Tina Fey) and Rosemary (Carrie Fisher) pass a man carrying a pistol in his hand.

Liz: Is that guy carrying a gun?

Rosemary: Don't worry. He's not a cop.

Bazinga.

Baofeng UV-3R: USB Programming Cable 3

I got my cable in the mail a couple of weeks ago. Not much to it... a USB cable and a CD with the Programming Software/USB Driver. The cable plugs into the Speaker/Microphone jack.

Battle At F-Stop Ridge

Great. Now we will have a ban on "automatic" assault cameras with high capacity SD cards. Think of the children. I can't even begin to calculate the number of children that have cameras waved in their face each day. Cameras should only be allowed to take 10 pictures and the film should have to be advanced manually! I say we start by locking up threats like Oleg Volk and Les Jones



Via ENDO.

Peelian Principles

I wasn't aware of the Peelian Principles, but I was glad to stumble across them via Atomic Nerds via Snarky Bits. It is another one of those "why didn't I think about it this way head slappers."

Sir Robert Peel's Nine Principles:

The basic mission for which the police exist is to prevent crime and disorder.

The ability of the police to perform their duties is dependent upon public approval of police actions.

Police must secure the willing co-operation of the public in voluntary observance of the law to be able to secure and maintain the respect of the public.

The degree of co-operation of the public that can be secured diminishes proportionately to the necessity of the use of physical force.

Police seek and preserve public favour not by catering to public opinion but by constantly demonstrating absolute impartial service to the law.

Police use physical force to the extent necessary to secure observance of the law or to restore order only when the exercise of persuasion, advice and warning is found to be insufficient.

Police, at all times, should maintain a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.

Police should always direct their action strictly towards their functions and never appear to usurp the powers of the judiciary.

The test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with it.

Some Mysteries Science Can't Solve

I don't know why, but I think I am about 100 times cooler (Fonzie, not temperature) when I'm mowing the lawn, wearing sunglasses, and listening to the Gourds on my iPod.



Yes, I posted this video before, but I like it so much you may see it again.

Guns for Sale.com Contest: KRISS Vector CRB

Another contest, this time GunsForSale.com is giving away a KRISS Super V Vector CRB/SO .45 ACP with TacPac.



From the KRISS site:

The world's lightest, most controllable and most accurate carbine. The patented KRISS Super V System virtually eliminates felt recoil and muzzle climb. Available only through KRISS Certified Dealers.

Includes all Basic items plus items either specially designed only for the KRISS Super V Vector firearms or tested and approved by KRISS-TDI:
• CUSTOM SINGLE POINT TACTICAL SLING
• INTEGRATED MILSPEC BI-POD GRIP POD GPS02 SYSTEMTM
• SUREFIRE® E1B 80 LUMEN TACTICAL LIGHT WITH MOMENTARY SWITCH
• L-3 EOTECH HOLOGRAPHIC SIGHT SYSTEM MODEL 512.A65/1. Co-witnesses with KRISS BUIS

Maximus Arms

The Random Shots section of June's American Rifleman has a blurb about Maximus Arms in Gallatin, TN. From the Maximus Arms web page:

"Maximus Arms, LLC, based in Gallatin, Tennessee, is a manufacturer of custom and collectible guns. For more than 20 years we have been professional gunsmiths serving customers across the United States. In 2010, upon the request of our many customers, we began the process of designing and manufacturing our own guns. We take pride in the integrity and quality of our custom-made firearms. With so many companies cutting corners these days, we felt strongly that the time was right to make premium-quality guns right here in the United States. We use only the highest quality steel foundry-cast to our exact specifications. The components of our pistols are unrivalled in the industry. And the quality of our hand-assembly and integrity checking is beyond reproach. We know you will enjoy our guns for many years to come."

I need to add a tip jar to my blog... just 1,500 one dollar tips and this could be mine.

Baofeng UV-3R: Disassembly

In the name of science, I take apart my UV-3R to see what I can learn about it. Turns out that I don't really know how to get it completely disassembled. I get stuck trying to remove the circuit board from the metal chassis.