Baofeng UV-3R: Expanded Frequencies 222 MHz

Pat (WA6MHZ) expanded the capability of his UV-3R to include 222 MHz. His results:

Upon measuring the Power Output of the UV-3R+Pus on 223.5, I find the power is greatly reduced, On 2M and 440, I see +33dBM, which is 2W. On 223.5, I only get +12.26dBM, which is pretty lame. That come out to be 0.0168267406W, or roughly 16mW. So there must be some Filters messing with us. But I can hear it in my Kenwood TM-331A mobile rig just fine, so for short simplex it will work. Also to some repeaters where U have a good shot at it. The stock antenna is optimized for 2M & 450 so I need to score a Triband antenna so I have a chance of getting out with the 16 Milliwatts.

RX sensitivity is pretty good. Measured at -119dBM minimum discernable signal.

Measured TX frequency (223.5) 223.4988120 Mhz

So it WORKS on 222, KINDA!

In a follow-up post is a link to an app that will auto-mod your .ini file to open the frequencies. He has successfully used the program with a UV-3R Mark II and a UV-3R + Plus. Head on over to Mark's (VE3PZR) page and check it out.

Instructions:

How to update your UV-3R Mark II to support 220mhz Ham Band

 Some models of the radio are able to support a much broader range of frequencies if you store a special memory file into the radio.

Follow these steps:

[1] Install UV-X4 programming software

[2] Run the UV-3R-soft-Modder program to update your UX-X4 software to add some extended Band Plans

[3] If you have an existing memory file, re-run the soft-mod program to change the Band Plan that is embedded inside the .3R memory file.

[4] Load the memory file inside UV-X4 and write the memories to your radio and your radio will now have 220mhz added to your radio!

Tech TIP #1: If you are unable to write a memory file to your radio, power-on while holding down the VOL button. It will reset your radio back to factory and you will be able to write the extended frequency file.

Tech Tip #2: 2 memory files are included. Both files have 220mhz included but during tests with other hams, we found that my radio gave better 220mhz results if we lowered the UHF instead of raising the VHF frequency range. I suggest testing both methods with your radio to verify results.