Baojie BJ-218 Software

In the comments on the original Baojie BJ-218 2M/440 Mini Mobile post, some folks were looking the programming software. Someone posted the link to the Baojie downloads page that includes the software.

It also looks like you can use CHIRP:

Yes, the BJ-218 works with the Luiton LT-725UV CHIRP driver as well as the factory software. I have one of each, an LT-725UV and a BJ-218, factory software and files are interchangeable, and I was able to write my LT-725UV CHIRP .img file into the BJ-218 without issue. My only question is when will the LT-725UV driver go from 90% to 100% and leave the Beta stage?

Baojie BJ-218: Manufacturer's Web Site

A link to the manufacturer's page for the Baojie BJ-218. There is a download section, but it only contains a brochure and a spec sheet at the moment - no software. And nothing on their download pages either.

The 409Shop does have a download link [.rar], but I like to see if the manufacturer has something different.

Baojie BJ-218 2M/440 Mini Mobile

BJ-218 136-174/400-470MHz Mini Mobile Radio Transceiver at the 409Shop for $95.       

Frequency Range VHF: 136.000 - 174.000MHz
UHF: 400.000 - 470.000MHz
System F3E(FM)
Antenna impedance 50Ω
Frequency stability ±2.5ppm @ -10°C ~ +60°C
Working environment temperature -20°C ~ +60°C (-4°F - +140°F)
Input voltage Direct current 13.8V (±15%), negetive grounding
Output power High Power : ≤10W
Middle Power : ≤6W
Low Power : ≤3W
Max Frequency deviation ±5KHz
Noise radiation ≤-60dB
Flexibility ≤0.2uV(12dB SINAD)
Max. Audio output 2W
Working current Receive 0.3A(SQL)
Transmit 5A(Max.)
Dimension 105 x 30 x 106mm (width x high x depth not including the outparts)
Weight about 0.5kg
PACKAGE CONTAIN
1 x Baojie BJ-218 136-174/400-470MHz Mini Mobile Radio Transceiver
1 x Microphone
1 x Car Power Cable
1 x Power Cable
1 x Mounting bracket
1 x Screw
1 x User"s Manual

Baojie BJ-UV55/HYS TC-UV55: Notes from Jens

Jens has one of these and has added a lot of information in the comments of my (or really Nate's) original post. If you are interested in this radio, it is definitely worth a scan of his comments.

Baojie BJ-9900: 409Shop

Thanks to Ken who let me know that the 409Shop has the Baojie BJ-9900 (or BJ9900) on sale for $250 including shipping.

Previous posts about the 9900 are here. I looked back at my posts and saw that Hans was going to get a sample, so a) he didn't get it, b) I missed his review, or c) he got trapped under something heavy and we need to help him out so he can get back to posting reviews.

I hope it isn't the last one.

Baojie BJ-9900: Sexy Pictures

Pictures of the BJ-9900 - Rated R for Ripoff (or Resemblance as Hans says.) They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

It is a sharp looking radio. The pictures with the ruler make it look very sleek. No word yet on its ability to do things like transmit or receive.

Baojie Repeater Backpack

Like ham radio?
Like repeaters?
Like backpacks?
Like prepping?

Then Hans has a post for you: the Baojie Backpack Repeater. (Click here for my other prep related posts.)

Baojie Backpack Repeater

Baojie BJ-9900: Dual Band Mobile

A Baojie BJ-9900 mobile is heading to Hans, so look for a good review soon after he gets it.

Baojie BJ-UV55: Videos

From Nate, two videos showing a little about the BJ-UV55.

Baojie BJ-UV55: Mini-Review

A little bit lost in the Anytone and Wouxun mobile drama is the Baojie BJ-UV55. Nate had done a write-up about it in July. Dale commented on the post that he has one and really likes it so far:

"I recently purchased a Baojie BJ-UV55 and have been using it in my car. So far I must say I am really impressed. I was initially concerned with the lack of an internal speaker, and the use of a speaker mic so I had an external speaker ready. After trying this little radio out I put the external speaker away as the audio quality of the speaker mic, was far superior to the external. I used the cable and software method of programming the radio and found it to be quite easy compared to most of the radios I have programmed. I have also had the opportunity to program and use a BJ-271 (VHF) and have found it to be a great radio too. It is only recently that I have strayed from american and Japanese radios to try out some of these very reasonably priced radios from China. So far, I am starting to think these are the radios for me. Brand names are not important to me, and I think the value for the dollar is definitely here with these Chinese radios. I will update later once I have worked the BJ-UV55 more. 

Dale
Canada"

I hope we get to see more about this radio. You can order one from the 409Shop for $223 (USD). If you are in the US, order from Kight Radio for a few dollars less ($214.95. USD).

HYS TC-UV55: Notes from Ed

YAWKG-UV920R* gripe session on the Wouxun Yahoo Group included a link to this radio on eBay. This radio being the HYS TC-UV55 that has been written about here and here.

The interesting part was when Ed Greany - the other very helpful Ed on the Yahoo Group - had this to say:

"I can speak to this subject. I have a prototype of that radio that I was considering carrying it as a mobile alternative with the Wouxun HT. It is NOT certified and the company wasn't interested in spending the money to certify it. I guess it runs about $5000 according to them. I don't know. I still have the new unit in a box. It replicates the Kenwood TM471 radio. I even did a price survey for them and they asked me for a recommendation on the button layout for the front of the radio. My price answer was between $199 and $250. Perhaps they settled on $239 - not sure.

I stopped negotiations when he said he was best friends with the owner of Wouxun. I didn't want Wouxun to think I was going behind their backs while I am their dealer.

It's unfortunate this is not legal in the U.S. It is a great radio as far as I can tell without resulting in my prototype becoming a "used" radio."

*Yet Another Wouxun KG-UV920R

Baojie BJ-UV55: 409Shop

Steve discovered that the BJ-UV55 is now available on the 409Shop site for $223.

Baojie BJ-UV55/HYS TC-UV55

Given the luke-warm reception of the Wouxun KG-UV920R, everyone is looking at some alternatives. Following is a essentially a guest post by Nate as he reviews the HYS TC-UV55 (Baojie BJ-UV55) by watching a video review by Andre Silva of Brazil. These mobile radios were first mentioned in his earlier Mega List guest post. I've done some editing, so assume any mistakes are mine. (Already updated as I've made plenty of mistakes! Hopefully, they are fixed now.)

Many thanks to Nate for the in-depth review!

Here is basically a "second hand" review as the video is not in English and Nate could not understand what he was saying. Basically, he watched the display and compared the specs listed in the catalog page.

This video consists of two parts. It is probably not a complete overview of all the features and menus of the HYS TC-UV55 - some key features weren't even showed. (He was using the pause buttons to check out all the settings, etc). The unit sells for about 2/3 of what they want for the KG-UV920 on AliExpress. Actually, the video is about the HYS TC-UV55 (which is essentially the same radio as the Baojie BJ-UV55 based on the specs and this video).

Part 1 Highlights

- Unique way to enter frequencies, the MHz button actually allow you to change digit by digit, most radios will just allow 1 MHz steps, and then you have to scroll up or down up to 500KHz .
- 36 Menu items (00-35).
- Offset steps - 10 KHz. Same digit by digit entry Offset Frequency (can be set between 0 and 69.9875 MHz in Frequency Mode).
- To switch between VFO and Memory Channel mode, he turned off the radio, held the MENU button while turning the radio on again. This seems odd, but I don't understand what he says. There could be a more conventional way to switch between VFO and Memory Channel. Here is a video from Thailand showing the Baojie BJ-UV88 HT radio and the guy demoing the radio did the same on the HT.
- The display can do VV VU - U+V,U+U,V+V,V+U dual band working mode can be selected arbitrarily Dual Frequency standby in any band.
- The button to the left of the MENU button, is the SCAN button.
- BDR function? TX-AB function?



Part 2 Highlights

- The display backlight can be turned off.
- Separate Tone Squelch or Digital Code Squelch can be set for TX and RX.
- The video gets cut at the end, but no Part 3...




Misc Notes
- A lot of similarities to the Baofeng UV-5R (The menu system is actually the same as the Baojie BJ-UV88 handy talkie).
-The Menu button is used to enter the item/save the change.
-The display shows a used memory channel the same way the Baofeng UV-5R does: CH-001 - used channel 1, 002 - empty memory channel 2.
-Like with the Baofeng UV-5R, programing a channel for the second time, the second frequency will become the TX frequency, the first will be the RX frequency, the display will show +-

MENU ITEMS - Default - Options
00 SQL - 5
01 BAND - UHF0 / VHF
02 TX-AB - OFF / A / B
03 BDR - OFF
04 TXP - LOW / HIGH - TX power (VHF 45W/UHF 35W)
05 TOT - 60 (Transmit Over Timer)
06 STEP - 10.00K - Channel Step(5K, 6.25K, 10K, 12.5K, 25K)
07 WN - WIDE - (Wide:25kHz ,Narrow: 12.5kHz)
08 R-DCS - OFF
09 R-CTCSS - OFF
10 T-DCS - OFF
11 T-CTCSS - OFF
12 ABR - ON
13 BEEP - ON / OFF
14 ANI-SW - ON
15 OPTSIG - OFF
16 SPMUTE - QT - Multi-kind mute modes(QT/AND/OR)
17 ANI-ID - 80808 - ANI code display(caller ID)
18 RING-T - 5 - Ring alert function
19 DTMFST - DT+ANI
20 S-CODE - 1
21 SC-REV - TO - 3 kinds of scan mode(TO/CO/SE)
22 PTT-ID - OFF - PTT-ID Function(BOT/EOT/BOTH)
23 PTT-LT - 5
24 MDF-A - FREQ
25 MDF-B - FREQ
26 BCL - OFF (Busy channel lockout)
27 AUTOLK - OFF
28 SFT-D OFF / - / + - Shift direction
29 OFFSET - Offset frequency 10KHz steps
30 MEMCH - Store VFO frequency into memory channel, second store will be for a separate TX frequency
31 DELCH - Delete memory channel.
32 WT-LED - PINK
33 RX-LED - BLUE
34 TX-LED - RED
35 RESET - ALL

LED back-light options: OFF / PINK / RED / BLUE


Links

HYS TC-UV55
QUANZHOU TRUEST COMMUNICATION CO. ,LIMITED
Catalog Page
Alibaba Listing

(Notice in older pictures the FM button was the power button).
Note how in some places the model number appear as TC-VU55 (instead of TC-UV55), even on the company's own website, on the radio in the picture the model printed is TC-UV55, and in the catalog it says: "Dual Band In-vehicle Radio TC-VU55"

Quanzhou Truest Comm Co. has a similar radio, the HYS TC-UV66, but with a knob instead of the frequency up/down buttons. The HYS TC-UV66 catalog page says: "Dual Band In-vehicle Radio TC-UV66," one line below: "Model No.︰TC-VU66," and in the picture it says: TC-UV66 - anyway, I think that the TC-UV66 is not in mass production yet. (You see it only in Alibaba, not AliExpress )

HYS TC-UV55 - Pricing
Price on AliExpress: $239.90 to $244.21
At the official QUANZHOU TRUEST COMMUNICATION CO LTD AliExpress store it is $242
Price for quantity or dealers: $100 - $200

Baojie BJ-UV55 - Pricing
Radiomart.biz - $219
Radiomart.biz - $239 - w/US B programming cable
There are currently five offers on Ebay - from $299.62 to $329.99 all free shipping.
Price on AliExpress: $207.86 to $237
At the official Quanzhou Baojie Electronic Co.,Ltd AliExpress store it is $207.86
Price for quantity or dealers: $100 - $189

Chinese Radio Mega List by Nate - Part 2 - HTs

Here is the second part of Nate's e-mail with the information about the HTs. (Most of this is from his e-mail, but I've edited it so assume any errors are mine.) Part I was about mobile radios.

Baojie BJ-UV88

BAOJIE have an HT model: BAOJIE BJ-UV88

HYS TC-UV11 / TC-UV99

HYS have an HT as well: HYS TC-UV11 and HYS TC-UV99 (if you need a larger flashlight). And the HYS TC-UV88 that looks a little bit like the Baofeng UV-5R / TYT TH-F8.

More UV-5R clones / brands:

ZasTone ZT-V8 ($85.50 on AliExpress)

Mstar M-UV1 ($56 on AliExpress)

Mstar M-UV2

Mstar also has the M-UV2 (Totally different radio)

Chinese Radio Mega List by Nate - Part I - Mobiles

Nate scours the internet for radio news and frequently posts in the comments here, sent me a super e-mail with a lot of research on some radios that I've not seen or mentioned in detail on the blog. Enjoy his work. (Most of this is from his e-mail, but I've edited it so assume any errors are mine.) Part II will contain information about several HTs.


Baojie BJ-UV55

Dual Band mobile: BAOJIE BJ-UV55 sells on AliExpress for $219. According to specs, it should be VHF 45W/UHF 35W - not bad. Same price at RadioMart.biz.

HYS TC-VU55

And like the Baofeng/Waccom/Ronson, it has another name: HYS TC-VU55. It sells for $244 here. Some close up pics here including the one below. According to this, some folks ordered and got it too.

HYS TC-VU66

Now that was old news (March 2012), now there is an upgrade, the HYS TC-VU66, with a channel knob instead of the up/down keys: