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.