Baofeng UV-5R: New Baofeng Model

Chris (NH7QH) at Hawaii Radio Sales sent me the following about the new Baofeng UV-5R. (On a side note, Chris is now also selling ham equipment via eBay.)

"Just got this email - looks like it is a TYT TH-F8 - same marks and all mono band, already FCC approved since a TYT."

He also included a couple of pictures - see below. The styling looks more like the UV-3R +. Other obvious features are the charging connectors on the battery pack (so a drop in charger) and the keypad. I am not as familiar with the TYT radios, but it looks like Baofeng is willing to leverage the success of the UV-3R to build its brand by buying radios from multiple companies (Vero Telecom and now TYT). This model also more directly competes with the Wouxun. (I felt like the UV-3R was more of niche radio than a direct replacement for the Wouxun's.) These Chinese radios are keeping it interesting for sure. Maybe Baofeng needs to rebrand a mobile and steal the thunder from the much anticipated KG-UV920R.

Pricing on the TYT TH-F8 is around $50 to $75 on ebay. Here are the specs for the TH-F8.

Single band, dual display, dual standby	■  A/B band independent operation
■  128 groups channels storage	■  FM radio and 25 stations storage
■  Wide/Narrow Band(25kHz/12.5kHz)	■  0~9 grades VOX selectable
■  Chinese/English voice prompt	■  CTCSS/DCS and scanning
■  1750Hz tone	■  PTT & ANI ID
■  Priority transmit selectable	■  0~9 grades squelch level setting
■  LED display mode	■  Keypad beeper setting
■  Transmit over beeper	■  Dual watch/monitor
■  Receive saving function	■  Auto keypad lock
■  Power-on display	■  Battery power voltage
■  Power-on message	■  Repeater offset function
■  Channel name display and setting	■  Reapter shift direction
■  VFO step function	■  Shortcut menu operation mode
■  Emergency Alarm	■  DTMF encoder & decoder(optional)
■  8 groups scrambler(optional)	■  2/5 tone encoder & decoder(optional )
■  Remote skill/stun/activate(optional)	■  High/Low TX power selectable
■  Busy channel lock-out(BCLO)	■  Transmitter time-out timer(TOT)
■  Voice companding	■  Tri-color background light selectable
■  PC programmable	■  Wire clone

Kight Radio - Post Dayton Updates

More updates from Kight Radio posted on 21 May 2012:

"We are back from a long trip to Dayton. We have the TYT Dual Band Mobile now (This was displayed at Dayton Hamvention) I will be taking pictures of it in the morning and then its going back to TYT in China. Thank you TYT for letting us have this to show at Dayton. (TYT was happy to supply the Dual band Mobile, Wouxun was not interested in having theirs on display ???)"

I'm not sure which specific model he is referring to when he says the "TYT Dual Band Mobile." I thought the TH-9000 was a single band radio. The TYT TH-9800 is supposed to be the quad band mobile. He mentions it below. I need to finish my post about the TH-9800. I spent a few minutes looking and didn't see the dual-band pictures on his site either.

I thought there might be some news from Ed about the Wouxun KG-UV920R - I was predicting that he would have a demo unit. Based on the current chatter (here and here), no response from Ed (to his credit he is usually really good about engaging with the on-line community), and comments like the above, maybe we should be looking at TYT or Vero for the amazing value in mobile rigs.

"We also had the New TYT Th-UVF9 4 watt HT. Ed and I both have one and testing it now. This will be available within a couple weeks. I will post detailed pictures of it on this site in the morning. I will also post the New Specs for the TYT mobile too on the catalog page. They added AM receive coverage for the Air Band. This F9 HT does have the dot matrix readout."

Air band. Cool. Dot matrix readout. Also cool. I don't see the pictures and specs on the catalog page. Maybe I need some glasses or more coffee.

"TYT DUAL BAND MOBILE expected to ship in October. This is the mobile to watch for ... its actually a Quad Band Mobile covering 10, 6, 144 and 440. The other Chinese mobiles are only 144 and 440. Those of you that have waited for the Wouxun mobile should wait for the TYT first before buying one."

Earlier in the month, Nate pointed out in the comments that there could be some photoshop action going on in the TYT TH-9800 Dual/Quad band - a Yaesu FT-8800R screen? It doesn't mean the radio is fake by any stretch as I can image the marketing designer grabbing something convenient to complete the image. At least there is hard date for availability - October.

I'll keep looking and see if he posts any additional information.

AnyTone AT-588UV: Import Communications

As part of his one, two punch, Ed may soon be selling the AnyTone AT-588UV mobile. He expressed his interest in the AT-588UV when the KG-UV920R came out with a whimper:

"Anytone Dual Band Mobile  -  AT-588UV

For the past two years, I have consulted with Anytone as they developed their dual band mobile radio.  Anytone send a non-working model of the radio for me to show at the Dayton Hamvention (Wouxun would not send anything).  Anytone is now sending a working model (for free!) and says full production will begin in early August.  Anytone has quoted a price that lets me know this radio will retail in the $250-$275 range.  It will be Part 90 Certified and will have some wide-band receive ranges, including AM aircraft.  I look forward to working with this company and expect their mobile to be a big seller."

So they missed the demo date by a smidget and they are at the top of the price range ($275), but he seems very high on it. Ed's listing is here.

September 1, 2012
We are testing our sample model now.  Results are GREAT so far.This could be the Chinese dual band mobile that takes the prize!

Features:

• Receive Range     (FM)  134-174, 200-260, 350-400, 400-520 MHz  &  FM Broadcast
                              (AM)  118-134 MHz (Air Band)
• Transmit Range   (FM)  134-174, 400-490 MHz
• Output Power       50, 35, 10 & 5 Watts
• Bandwidth            Wide (25 kHz)  &  Narrow (12.5 kHz)
• Tuning Step          2.5, 5, 6.25, 10, 12.5, 15, 20, 25 & 50 kHz
• True Dual Receive - receive two signals at the same time or second side can be muted while transmitting
• Separate Tuning Knob and Volume Control, each side
• Separate Function Buttons, each side
• Either side can be VHF or UHF at any time  -  VU, UV, UU, VV
• Cross-Band Repeat (that works!)
• Alphanumeric Display
• 4 x 256 Memory Channels
• CTCSS, DCS, DTMF, ANI, PTT ID, 2Tone/5Tone Encode & Decode
• Scrambler Option
• DTMF Microphone
• Detachable Control Head (CAT5 separation cable)
• Computer Programmable
• FCC Part 90 Certified

Thanks to Nate for pointing out the updates on Ed's site.

KG-UV920R: Hands on Reports from VA3ISP

Lots of good stuff here... all these posts give me the impression that this radio is no different than lots of the other Chinese radios in that there is a price for being first. Hopefully, they will correct the problems in short order.

Initial review and pictures:

Pros: microphone is also a speaker, split tones - TX and RX settings are independent
Cons: DC noise is very loud when using the remote head, touchy VFO

Thoughts after three days:

"Lack of proper cross-band repeat is a killer for me. I’ve tried all their modes and none of them let me use a repeater on one vfo and simplex on another. It just simply does simplex-simplex repeating. So if you need a simplex cross-band repeater then your in luck."

Crossband repeat fail:

"So I contacted Wouxun yesterday and asked them specifically what steps I needed to take to enable the XBand repeat.

Everyone that has one that I have spoken so has the same problems. (apparently except Ed over at ImportRadio, Somehow he has his working.)

Here is what I got from them.

1. Press MENU+3+1—MENU—UP/DOWN to select ON—MENU—EXIT
2. MENU+3+0—MENU—UP/DOWN to select ON—MENU—EXIT
3. MENU+3+2—MENU—UP/DOWN to select X-DIPRT/X-TWRPT—MENU

So after trying this multiple times, doing a complete wipe of the radio and starting over I can’t seem to get it to work. Anyone else?"

(I will add that Kight Radio also said they could not get the Cross Band Repeat to work - and then they did get it working by selecting x-twrpt in Menu 32.)

Alternator Noise Demo

DC Noise Root Cause:

"[Wouxun] have confirmed that the flat cable included with the radio does not provide adequate shielding ( which we already knew ). They have replaced it with a standard CAT5 cable and RJ45 connectors.

I have done the same and noticed quite a reduction in the DC noise in the audio when my truck is running. My next step will be to add a clip on choke and see if that gets rid of it altogether."

Dual Receive/Same Band Problem:

"I was on my local repeater last night and had a simplex channel that I use with a few friends in the area. Anyway… I noticed that when I have a conversation going on on one VFO the second doesn’t rx anything. They were both VHF."

Wouxun to Fix Dual Receive/Same Band Problem

Adding VA3ISP to my RSS feed now!

 

Impact and Perception

I posted about the Wouxun problem.
Hans posted about the Wouxun problem.
Matt posted about the Wouxun problem.
David posted about the Wouxun problem.
It is making the rounds on the Yahoo Group.
It is making the rounds on the forums like eHam.net, QRZ, and AR-15, CalGuns.net.
[ EDIT TO ADD: ] The QRPer posted about the Wouxun problem.


That's in less than 24 hours. I know we don't represent a huge part of the total internet, but for the Chinese radios, we are what I like to call a non-trivial number. Wouxun had a huge lead on the other manufacturers. The KG-UV920R was a disappointment. Losing the guy that bought these radios to the US market is another step back. Culture issue? Poor management? Inability to manufacture? With alternatives like Baofeng, AnyTone, and a multitude of others, more problems or perceived problems* will make them go the way of AOL.

* Especially considering the price increases as they became more popular. My first Wouxun was less than $110.

Wouxun KG-UV920R: Problems and Delays

From Kight Radio:

"Wouxun has released limited quantities of their new Dual Band mobile to dealers. All dealers are limited to 10 units at this time because the mobile is not if full production yet. They did release some of the dual band mobile to the Chinese market to test and and Chinese wholesalers reported problems with them and they were returned to Wouxun and were told it would be abother 30 days before the problem is fixed ( this was on 6/2 ) The new radios will not have 2.5 steps and they will not be FCC certified. The sample dealers are being shipped by Wouxun on July 9th so it will be July 13 or 14 before they show up at the dealers. I would watch ebay close, I am sure one will be found there within a few days"

As predicted they are showing up on eBay as David and someone on the Yahoo Group noticed, but the listing has already been pulled.

KG-UV920R: Forever

I cannot find the message anymore, so I am guessing it got deleted from the thread, but I thought this was a pretty funny comparison:

This radio is going to end up being the "Duke Nukem Forever" of radios.
Most of you will have no idea what that means. There was a computer game
released in 1996 called "Duke Nukem 3D". The sequel to that was suppose to
be "Duke Nukem Forever". There are screenshots and videos of development
versions of that game going back to 1997. It was released this year after
the original development studio ran out of funds to continue development.
As the years went out, they added more and more things that other games had
come out with. Mostly graphics technology. All due to the main guy in
charge going on a perfection bender.

Maybe this radio won't be just like that. But it is very much past due and
that's reminding me of the game. The "Forever" in the title was a joke for
more than a decade. When it finally did come out? Complete junk. I wouldn't
play it unless they paid *me*.

Keisha also makes an appearance to assure us that the radio is real.

Wouxun KG-UV920R: Problems

Posted on Kight Radio last night:

"7/19

The Wouxun Dual band Mobile is out but its got problems. The Cross Band repeat is not setup correctly. It will repeat but will not transmit on the offset needed to access repeaters. The way they have it setup is worthless to the ham. This radio should not have been released. This shows that Wouxun did not have this radio checked ahead of time by USA Hams. The new radio is worthless the way it operates. Looks like Anytone or TYT will be the mobile to buy. Wouxun also tried to fix the price on the Dual band Mobile to be $325 - $350 which is way too high for the Chinese Radio."

It is one thing to be priced high. It is another thing to be priced high AND not work well. So Anytone, TYT, or the BAOJIE BJ-UV55 are looking like the better options. Nate sent me stuff on the BJ-UV55. I need to dig on that one and the Anytone. Anyone got some more hours in the day they can spare?

Anytone AT-5888UV: PD0AC Review

I noticed that Dale sold out of the radios in three hours this week. I saw this morning that Ed has more of the rigs for sale and then I saw the review from Hans. Please go to his site to read the entire review.

First, Ed reports these changes:

- Updated Microphone -- Added a built-in speaker in mic's front & a switch to defeat the Channel Up/Down button (which was easy to accidently hit). This switch was also supposed to lock all buttons on the mic, but not sure about that yet.
- Bracket for mounting detachable control head.
- Updated Firmware -- Several menu functions have been added. See the owner's manual for all functions.
- FCC Part 90 Certified -- ID # T4K-5888UV

The first item may address one of the concerns in Hans' review regarding the buttons, but I don't think it would change his conclusion:

"If I may be blunt: many flaws are impossible to live with. If I transmit, I want to be heard. If I listen, I don’t want to be annoyed by noise, distortion and high pitched tones."

He even goes on to recommend the Wouxun at this point:

"If I would like to own a Chinese mobile radio, I’d rather put my money in an improved version of the Wouxun KG-UV920R."

I think this reminds us, as it certainly is not news, that the Chinese process for design and manufacturing is to roll out models as quickly as possible, let the early adopters identify problems, and then fix the problems in subsequent releases.

Wouxun KG-UV920R: Cross-Band Repeat

An "oops" update from Kight Radio:

"We are going over the Wouxun Dual band mobile now. The radio is working fine in cross-band repeat. Setting are funny and you need to set Menu 32, setting x-twrpt for it to operate correctly. Radio seems to be very nice but I still feel the price is too high."

A little positive news then.

Wouxun KG-UV920R: July

So in addition to the stirring of the pot on June 12, this old thread got going again, too.

Thanks to Christopher for pointing out the update on Ed's site:

.......June 15, 2012   Update......

Wouxun has informed me that the mobile radio will be available in July.

Ed also posted to the Yahoo group saying it would be out in July, but no pricing yet.

I just checked the Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) page and there are no new listings for Wouxun (WVT). This doesn't mean a lot - we've see radios (UV-5R) hit the street long before they get blessed by the FCC.

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.

Wouxun KG-UV920R: Unboxing Video

My Greek is horrible, but you at least can get a look.