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.