Baofeng DM-5R: Radioddity Responds to Questions

Radioddity posts a response to some of the questions about the DM-5R and it's DMR capabilities:

Rumor 1: The BaoFeng DM-5R is not compatible with MOTOTRBO TIER 2.
FALSE. While the BaoFeng DM-5R comes out of the box only supporting Tier 1, it can be easily upgraded to support Tier 2 online. The upgrade will be available at Radioddity.com as well as BaoFeng’s official website (under construction). This upgrade costs less than $10.

Rumor 2: The BaoFeng DM-5R is a dPMR, not a DMR.
FALSE. The standards for a DMR are as follows:
TS 102 361-1: Air interface protocol
TS 102 361-2: Voice and generic services and facilities
TS 102 361-3: Data protocol
TS 102 361-4: Trunking protocol
The DM-5R meets each of the ETSI Standards listed above. A true DMR, not a dPMR.

Rumor 3: The BaoFeng DM-5R is not FCC or IC certified.
FALSE. The BaoFeng DM-5R has met FCC and IC standards in its testing. The documents may not be visible online, as it takes about 4 weeks for the documents to be available.

They still don't give specifics on how to get Tier II - only mentioning the $10 upgrade.

Baofeng DM-5R: Manuals and Software

Radiodiddity has posted the manual and software for the DM-5R. I hope some of our DMR experts will pour over them and report back anything interesting.

Manual direct link (PDF)
Programming software direct link (RAR)

Software Password: 123456

Boafeng DM-5R: Tier II Support

Radioddity has updated the DM-5R listing with this cryptic note about Tier II support:

"Support DMR repeater function (DMR Tier I; support Tier II if upgraded with less than $10)"

Thanks to Don for pointing out the update.

Baofeng Tech UV-5X3: Display Sync

A nice little feature of the UV-5X3 tri-bander (Amazon $64.89):

Baofeng DM-5R

Radioddity is pre-selling the BaoFeng DM-5R Dual Band DMR Digital Radio:

• DMR Digital Radio
• VHF/UHF 136-174/400-480Mhz
• 2000mAH High Capacity Battery
• High Power/Low power
• 5 Watt/1 Watt
• 21CM Dual Band Antenna
• 8-Level Stepped Frequency Selection
• Auto power saving function,Super-Long Standby
• Compatibility Of Digital And Analog Under DMR System
• Supports Individual Call, Group Call And All Call
• Support DMR repeater function (DMR Tier 1)
• 128 Channels
• $69.99
• Available 9/26

There is a nice little discussion on the BARN Facebook page about the DM-5R.

Baofeng Tech: Nagoya NA-320A Triband HT Antenna

Nagoya NA-320A Triband HT Antenna ($17.99):

• Certified Original Nagoya Antenna - with an exclusive manufacturing partnership with BTECH
• New Release - May Require a Rubber spacer (included) and has an extended antenna cover to protect your radio SMA male base from the elements
• Triband: 2m-1.25m-70cm; *Gain (relative): +2.15dBi; Watts: 10; Height: 17.7"; Connector: SMA Female; *Rated against typical stock HT antennas.
• Compatible with all BaoFeng, some Wouxun, and some Kenwood Radios

Looks like a good compliment to a Baofeng Tech UV-5X3!

Baofeng Tech UV-5X3 Giveaway

Baofeng Tech is giving away a UV-5X3 tri-band HT (Amazon $64.89). Share their post and leave a comment on Facebook to be entered.

Baofeng at Neyland Stadium

Someone got on top of Neyland Stadium with a UV-5R.

Baofeng UV-5X3: Miklor Review

And speaking of tri-band radios, John has his review of the UV-5X3 tri-bander (Amazon $64.89) up at his site:

"Although the case design is familiar, the radio inside is not. BTech has recently introduced the new UV-5X3 to the US Ham Radio market. This radio is a true tri-band transceiver with internal filters specifically configured for tri-band operation."

And he concludes:

"The UV-5X3 firmware has obviously been reworked to include:
- Tri-Band Support: VHF/1.25M/UHF
- D-ANI (Display incoming DTMF Tones)
- Synchronized Displays
- DTMF audio gain level adjustment
- Add / Remove Channels from Scanning list via keypad (LCD Dot Indication)
- On the Fly scanning by Frequency Range
- 4 Tone Burst options
- Remote Stun, Kill, Revive
- One watt audio output 

It appears that BTech has once again managed to stay one step ahead of the curve. With the 220 MHz ham band operation back on the rise in the US, this radio hit the market at the right time. Even if 220 isn't popular in your area, the additional new features still give it an edge over the traditional dual band series."

Baofeng Tech UV-2501+220 (Gen 3) Price Drop

The Baofeng Tech UV-2501+220 (generation 3) has been discounted about $10 - down to $128.86.

Via Miklor on the Baofeng Amateur Radio Network (BARN) Facebook page.

Baofeng Tech: UV-5X3 Tri-band HT

BaoFeng Tech has announced their new lasted HT... the UV-5X3 tri-bander (Amazon $64.89).
From the press release:

"First and foremost, the UV-5X3 was built by adding filtering and support for the 220MHz Amateur band. The original UV-5R was a 4-watt dual-band radio; while the UV-5X3 can now output 5-watts on VHF and 4-watts on both 1.25M and UHF. The UV-5X3 focused specifically on the amateur band frequencies of the 1.25M band during design. The UV-5X3 supports: 65-108MHz (RX only - FM Radio), 130-179.99MHz (RX/TX), 222-225.99MHz (RX/TX), and 400-520.99MHz (RX/TX)"

The announcement also talks about simplified scanning, the option to sync the display (channel name and frequency), CHIRP as the programming software, and more.

Baofeng Tech UV-50X3 and CHIRP

This is pretty cool when you think about it...

 

MILESTONE: CHIRP's First OEM Partnership

The BTECH UV-50X3 became the very first radio to be exclusively supported by CHIRP programming software. CHIRP is a volunteer based effort to cohesively program radios from all vendors on Windows, Linux and OSX. BaoFengTech.com fully supports CHIRP and the efforts that CHIRP volunteers make to provide you the easiest programming solution between your radios. Download, support, and learn more about CHIRP at:http://chirp.danplanet.com/projects/chirp/wiki/Download

Baofeng Tech UV-50X3: Miklor Review

John has reviewed the BTECH UV-50X3 tri-band mobile. The full review is here, but he sums up this way:

The 50X3 has the power, functions and quality you would expect in an upper end tri-band transceiver. It is based on a proven design, and I have found no issues with the radio over the past few weeks. A bit more power on 220 would have been a plus, but it still gets me into the local repeaters fine. This is definitely one of the nicest mobile transceivers I've used; and yes, I've owned the "big 3".

Baofeng Tech UV-50X3: Improvements over VR-6600

Baofeng Tech mentioned to me that there are several improvements in the BTECH UV-50X3 over the similar radios that came before it. Specifically, we should find improvements to the receiver, microphone, and 220 MHz.

The UV-50X3 radios are starting to hit the street, so we should start seeing what people think of them.

Baofeng Tech UV-50X3: Test Results Pictures

One of the concerns with the Chinese radios has been spurious transmissions. Baofeng Tech posted some pictures of their testing of the new BTECH UV-50X3 tri-band mobile.

The results look good.

440...

2 meters...

220...

Baofeng Tech: UV-50X3 Tri-band Mobile

Baofeng Tech follows up a big Amazon Prime day with the announcement of their new tri-band mobile: the BTECH UV-50X3. So let's get to it...

- It is on sale now for $339.
- It looks a lot like the Vero TelecomVR-6600P.
- 50 Watt TX on VHF/UHF
- 5 Watt TX on 220 MHz
- CHIRP compatible day 1
- VHF/UHF Crossband repeat
- Full duplex
- Separate head unit
- Separate volume, squelch, wide/narrow filters for each VFO
- 1000 Memory channels
- RX:
-- 5-1.71MHz (AM Radio)
-- 76-108MHz (FM Radio)
-- 108-135.995MHz (Air Band (AM))
-- 136-250MHz
-- 300-399.995MHz
-- 400-520MHz

Baofeng Tech Amazon Prime Day Deal: BF-F8HP - Second Try

This Baofeng Tech Amazon Prime Day Deal is now live - hopefully for real this time:

BaoFeng BF-F8HP (UV-5R 3rd Gen) 8-Watt Dual Band Two-Way Radio (136-174MHz VHF, 400-520MHz UHF) Includes Full Kit with Large Battery

If you don't have Amazon Prime, you can sign up for a free 30-day trial if want to take advantage of the deals from Baofeng Tech.

Baofeng Tech Amazon Prime Day Deal: UV-82HP

This Baofeng Tech Amazon Prime Day Deal is now live:

BaoFeng UV-82HP (RED) High Power Dual Band Radio: 136-174mhz (VHF) 400-520mhz (UHF) Amateur (Ham) Portable Two-Way - this link is to the red one, but other colors are available.

If you don't have Amazon Prime, you can sign up for a free 30-day trial if want to take advantage of the deals from Baofeng Tech.

Baofeng Tech Amazon Prime Day Deal: Programming Cable

This Baofeng Tech Amazon Prime Day Deal is now live:

PC03 FTDI USB Programming Cable for BaoFeng, Kenwood, Wouxun, AnyTone

If you don't have Amazon Prime, you can sign up for a free 30-day trial if want to take advantage of the deals from Baofeng Tech.

Baofeng Tech Amazon Prime Day Deal: Antennas

These Baofeng Tech Amazon Prime Day Deals are now live*:

Nagoya NA-771 15.6-Inch Whip VHF/UHF (144/430Mhz) Antenna SMA-Female

Nagoya NA-24J 16.2-Inch Ultra Whip VHF/UHF (144/430Mhz) Antenna SMA-Female 

Nagoya RB-35 5/8 NMO Mount Magnet

If you don't have Amazon Prime, you can sign up for a free 30-day trial if want to take advantage of the deals from Baofeng Tech.

* Hopefully, these are live now. This post was scheduled based on the original times Amazon had given for the listing. I'll update if I learn otherwise.