Baofeng UV-5R: Yahoo Group

There is now a Baofeng UV-5R Yahoo Group.

Two comments...

1. Quelle surprise! Hams love their Yahoo Groups!
2. That didn't take long.

Baofeng UV-5R: Specs and Pictures

First, I would like thank Chris (NH7QH) at Hawaii Radio Sales for sending me the heads up about the UV-5R. Be sure to support Chris by visiting his website for your Baofeng and other radio needs. (And no, Chris is not paying me to say this.) He's at IWCE now and I hope he comes up with some new toys for us there.

I found out about the UV-5R being "in the wild" while I was at the UT basketball game last night. As I mentioned, PA2OLD sent me this link first. I was very excited to get confirmation that UV-5R was available so soon. No KG-UV920R here. Unfortunately, trying to decipher a Chinese web site on an Android Phone while at a college basketball game with congestion on the mobile network is not fun.

Not too long after that, someone posted anonymously in the comments with the link to the 409Shop listing for UV-5R. And then in quick succession, Nate sent me the link and Carol from the 409Shop responded to an e-mail to inform me that it was available. I felt like Will Bailey in this episode of the West Wing.

On top of all of this, Knology was having major problems in my area, so I had no cable internet at my house. I used the mobile hot spot on my Android phone, but the 3G was painful. It was all I could do to get this simple post up last night.

So here is my more formal post about the UV-5R. I looked on the Baofeng website, but did not see the radio listed yet, so here are the specs from the 409Shop page.


BAOFENG UV-5R 4W
136-174/400-480Mhz

BAOFENG UV-5R The transcevier is a micro-miniature multiband FM transceiver with extensive receive frequency coverage,providing local-area two-way amateur communications along with unmatched monitoring capability

VHF/ UHF  DUAL-BAND TWO WAY RADIO

Frequency Range: 136-174 / 400-480MHz
Dual-Band Display, Dual Freq. Display, Dual-Standby
Output Power: 4 /1Watts
128 Channels
50 CTCSS and 104 CDCSS
Built-in VOX Function
1750Hz Brust Tone
FM Radio (65.0MHz-108.0MHz)
LED Flashlight
Large LCD Display
Hight /Low RF Power Switchable
25KHz/12.5KHz Switchable
Emergency Alert
Low Battery Alert
Battery Saver
Time-out Timer
Keypad Lock
Monitor Channel
Channel Step: 2.5/5/6.25/10/12.5/25KHz
Roger Set


■  Dual band, dual display, dual standby
■  A/B band independent operation
■  128 groups channels storage
■  Shortcut menu operation mode
■  VFO & Memory channels scan
■  Emergency Alarm
■  Tri-color background light selectable
■  0~9 grades VOX selectable
■  PTT & ANI ID
■  FM radio and 25 stations storage
■  Voice companding
■  CTCSS/DCS coder & tone searching
■  PC programmable
■  Wide/Narrow Band(25kHz/12.5kHz)
■  Transmitter time-out timer(TOT)
■  High/Low TX power selectable
■  Busy channel lock-out(BCLO)

Specifications:

General
Frequency Range 65-108MHz(FM Receive only)
        136-174MHZ and 400-480HZ (TX/RX)        
Channel No. 128
Frequency Stability ±2.5ppm
Antenna High gain DualBand Antenna
Antenna SMA - Female
Antenna Impedance 50Ω
Operating Voltage DC 7.4V
Mode of operation Simple or semi-duplex
Dimension（W x H x D）100 x 52 x 32 mm
Weight 250g （including battery, antenna）
Transmitter
Output power 4W / 1W (Max 5W)
Modulation Mode 16kΦF3E / 11kΦF3E
Maximum deviation ＜5kHz(Wide) / ＜2.5kHz(Narrow)
Spurious Radiation ＜7μW
Adjacent Ch. power  ≤-65dB(Wide) / ≤-60dB(Narrow)
Pre-emphasis characteristics 6dB
Current ≤1.6A(5W)
CTCSS/DCS deviation 0.5±0.1kHz(Wide) / 0.3±0.1kHz(Narrow)
Intermediation sensitivity 8-12mv
Intermediation distortion ＜10%
Earpiece / mic type   Kenwood Plug type

The package contents are listed as:

1 x UV-5R (VHF136-174Mhz UHF 400-480Mhz)

1 x 7.4V 1800mah Li-ion Battery Pack
1 x Antenna 400-480Mhz
1 x Belt Clip
1 x ENG Manual
1 x Desktop Charger ( 100V ~ 240V )+(2pin USA or 3pin UK or 2pin EURO or 2pin Australia)
1 x PTT Earpiece for free


The 409Shop has the UV-5R for $56 USD. Hopefully the description is correct (High gain dual-band antenna) and the package contents (Antenna 400-480MHz) is incorrect. Baofeng should have learned that lesson with the UV-3R when it provided the two band specific antennas originally.

Nate hopes, based on the description, that we can get U/U and V/V. I can't wait for somone to get their hands on one.

Baofeng UV-5R: Now Available

Hat tip to PA2OLD who first posted a comment with this link.

Also, thanks to someone for the anonymous comment to the 409Shop link.

The 409Shop has the UV-5R for $56 USD. It says it is a dual band radio and is 4 Watts. in one section is says it comes with a dual band antenna, but package contents says a 400-480MHz antenna.

More to come!

Baofeng UV-3R: Comparison

Geoff (N3OWJ/4X1GM) provides a great summary of the differences between the UV-3R Original/Mark II and the UV-3R + Plus models. I added the links to his original text.

"From the specs and advertisements, the Mark II and the Plus are thesame radio. The changes are external.

The Mark II takes an antenna with a pin in the SMA connector, the PLUS

takes one with the pin in the radio.

The Mark II uses a 4 conductor earphone plug for the speaker/mic andprograming. The PLUS uses a Kenwood/Woxoun speaker mic connector (2separate plugs).

The PLUS shares antennas, earphones, speakermics and progaming cableswith the Wouxoun and if you have both an original or Mark II and aPLUS you will need two different sets of each.

The Mark II uses the same battery as some of the Nikon and othercameras (but not any Canon), the PLUS uses a special battery.

The Mark II battery has to be taken out of the radio to be charged in the external charger, which is why no one ever does it, they leave itin the radio to charge.

The PLUS has charging contacts on the back and it looks like you charge the battery by dropping the radio into the external charger.

There are videos on YouTube of a car running over the PLUS and it falling from 5 meters with no damage. I would not expect a Mark II tosurvive.

The PLUS is significantly bigger and heavier.

Yaseu AA battery packs for similar radios work on the original and Mark II and there are cheap knock-offs. There are currently no AAbattery packs for the PLUS."

Lent

Last year I gave up Cokes (really anything but water, milk, and coffee) for Lent. As I have been told recently, you shouldn't drink your calories. I still have the occasional Coke or Mountain Dew Livewire (usually as the result of stress), but have dropped them from my daily habits.

This year I am going to give up desserts. I doubt this will continue beyond Lent.

Baofeng UV-3R: +Plus Video

Another video from the 409Shop about the UV-3R+ Plus. My takeaways... the Kenwood style plug looks really bulky on the still small radio and you can charge a battery independent of the radio in the drop-in charger.

Ham Radio Deluxe Business Plan

When the new owners bought Ham Radio Deluxe, I did not expect them to get rich through licensing or support fees. However, I did not count on other revenue streams like the HRD branded Cafe Press clothing, mugs, etc. I am sure hams everywhere will be ordering the Women's Boy Brief in Fuchsia/Pink for $18.19!

Via Vince, KI4VBR

Baofeng UV-5R: Output Power

The question was asked on the UV-3R Yahoo Group if the UV-5R was 5 watts. I don't know the answer to that question, but the UHF TYT TH-F8 is 4 watts and the VHF TYT TH-F8 is 5 watts.

Changing World

For Women Under 30, Most Births Occur Outside Marriage:

"One group still largely resists the trend: college graduates, who overwhelmingly marry before having children. That is turning family structure into a new class divide, with the economic and social rewards of marriage increasingly reserved for people with the most education."

The drivers for skipping marriage... Selfishness? Independence? I'm not a proponent of loveless marriages, but this is still disturbing to me.

Baofeng UV-3R: PA2OLD

PA2OLD from the Netherlands has a plethora of information regarding the UV-3R. His posts are a mix of English and Dutch. Also, check out the pics of his shack while you are there. Impressive!