Yuehong YH-A8

If it walks like a Baofeng UV-5R and quacks like a Baofeng UV-5R, then the Yuehong YH-A8 is a Baofeng UV-5R. Discussion of this identity confusion is here.

Given the Yuehong website has this image on their main page (note the Baofeng label) and that Baofeng radios dominate their product page, I'm thinking the YH-A8 is nothing new.

Baofeng UV-5R: SSTV

So we have the UV-7DS D-Star model along with the ability to open the UV-5R to almost limitless frequencies... and now we have K3NXU with SSTV on his UV-5R!

Quote of the Day

Referring to the UV-5R tri-band capability:

"Now all we need is the $3.71 tri-band antenna."

(The famous $3.71 antenna that turned out to be a really good deal.)

Baofeng UV-5R: Tri-band

I have not been paying much attention to the tri-band posts on the UV-5R (instead looking at the TYT TH-UV3R running 220 or the 2M/220 specific model of the UV-5R). The following post did catch my eye with its certainty that it works on all newer firmwares.

Instructions on how to make all recent UV_R5 radios run 200 band wiith 136+400mh

"I have just come back to the forum after a month or so and I am suprised to see the big response there is to my original post . Look there is no debate if it works or not------------it does.All UV-R5 radios- Firmware BFB291 and Newer-will TX-RX 220 with 2 meter and 440. I have done this to 3 radios The new 220 radio is a ADVERTISEING GIMMICKbaofeng did not advertise that all the new radios would be 220 and did not release instructions-I discovered this through trial and error 

This is exactly how to do it.

This method is for Firmware BFB291 and Newerto find your firmware --turn on radio while holding the 3 button- look at screen 

download this program BF5R_VIP_v120725_BFB291_ENG(VB6).zip

from here-----http://www.miklor.com/uv5r/UV5R-Software.html

these instrucktions assume your radios cable driver is installed correctly if they are not this program can be used to get them going.

1---unpack zip ---install and launch program.

2---press comunication menu and click com 3

3- plug in radio and press the-- Other-- menu

4--click the check box that says work band-it will switch from 136-174/ 400-520 to 136-174/ 200-260 --type in 200 to 260 in the UHF boxs.

5--- press write to radio on the 'Other' menu--your radio led will flash during download.

6-- press VFO button on radio to VFO mode and you will see on channel A__ the 400 band number has changed to 200.000you can now program 200 band simplex--- and repeters on the radio- -2 meter and 400 band programs will continue to work.

7--now that the radio has been switched to 200 bandPress the 'program' button on software --press ""read from radio"" this will switch the software so that the spread sheet will take 200 band.

8-- press the edit menu -press channel informmation you will see the 2 meter-and 400 repeters that are on the radio on the spread sheet and now it will accept 200 band programing but not 400.

9-- press program menu --press write to radio and now 2 meter -400 and 200 band programs will be working all at the same time!!!!!!

9-- remember!! first you must switch the radio 200 0r 400 with the '' Other"" menu, Then upload back to the software to program with the spread sheet.-- then write back to the radio to make allthem work.To use 200 with 400 and 2 meter the frequencys you want to use must be in a program.

10-- Follow theses instrucktions and you will have a 3 band radio instead of 2 Do this before you say it doesnt work!!!!

73 AND CLEAR SUPERFROG"

Maybe all radios are tri-band. I should pull out my UV-3R and see if I can work some DX on 20M. Crazy, crazy, crazy.

Baofeng UV-5R: 2M/220 Gone and Back

They were gone.

marksenk Seems that the 220 MHz version of the Baofeng UV-5RAX is no longer being sold on Amazon #hamr Any other sellers?Sat, Apr 13 23:15:16 from SenseTwit

And now they are back.

marksenk Baofeng 220 Mhz radios return to Amazon with the UV-5CAX and UV-5RCX - one even has a user reviewSun, Apr 21 00:31:27 from SenseTwit

Get one here: Baofeng UV-5RAX 144/220 Transceiver

Lots of Radios

I've posted about a lot of radios...


AnyTone
AT-5888UV / AT-588UV

Baofeng
BF-F9
BF-F8
F-11
UV-3R
UV-5R
UV-B5

Baojie
BJ-UV55

Chierda
CD-UV55

Hong Litong
HL-UV8R

Hora
HR-76D

HYS
TC-UV55

INTEK
HR-2040

Kirisun

KYD
NC-5H
NC-UV90A
UV-5H

MYT
MYT-Q1
MYT-Q2

Nanfone
NF-369

NKT
NKT-R3
NKT-R5

Puxing
PX-888K

Quansheng
TG-K4AT(UV)
TG-Q5 (Lucky Stone)
TG-UV2

Ronson
UV-8R

Shi Ying
SR-31

SMP
SMP698

TYT
TH-9000
TH-9800
TH-F8
TH-UVF1
TH-UV3R
TH-UVF9

Vero Telecom
UV-E5
UV-X5
VR-2200

Waccom
WUV-6R

Wouxun
KG-UVD1P
KG-UV920R / KG-UV920P
KG-UV6D
KG-UV2D

Baofeng UV-3R: Firmware Hacking

I'm way behind on this topic, but I am posting this in case you haven't see it at all. Lior is working on a custom firmware for the UV-3R. (He started with the UV-5R, but moved to the UV-3R when the project looked to be easier.)

If you have suggestions for features, he's started a thread on the UV-3R Yahoo Group.

Baofeng UV-5R: UV-5RAX 2M + 220

W2PDQ has a Baofeng UV-5RAX 144/220 Transceiver and shared the following in the comments on the original post:

"It works, with a few small issues. The radio was marked with a decal in the battery compartment as a 2m/440 radio. A call to Radio-Mart told me to check the antenna markings and power up, sure enough the little rubber attenuator is marked 2m/220 and using a charged battery from my 440 unit the display shows 220. When using the latest VIP programming it will allow me to place the 222 freqs in but chirp will not allow it (the chirp is a one month old nightly) 

Power on with holding the #3 key says BFB-296. Talked last night on the net with no issues. All the accessories such as the extended battery and car adaptor are also fine. Only distinguishing cosmetic is the front labelling with some reflective type as a dual band If you needed an extra battery for your 2/70 uv-5ra then this is only 35 bucks more for another radio with a 220 band. It was shipped rather quickly also. So far so good." 

"Need to get a sma to pl adaptor to check actual power."

Import Communications: Exclusive and New Baofeng Versions

I had not previously posted anything about the Baofeng F-11 from Import Communications. It is a custom version of the UV-5R specially made for Import Communications with an exclusive firmware (USA349). Some have been critical of the F-11 for being slightly more expensive and having no real difference from the UV-5R (see this thread). I've not got one in my hands, so I can't say it is any better, but I would also remind them that part of the price is the service you get with it. (For example, I have seen where Ed is updating the firmware on the Anytone AT-5888UV radios he sold.)

In any case, the reason for my post is that Ed says he is about to have a 2M/220 version of the F-11:

"I will have a 2m/220 version of my Baofeng F-11 in a couple weeks."

I know that will make some people very happy.

He goes on to say that he will have a new Baofeng HT to compete with Wouxun and TYT:

"I will also have a new dual band HT from Baofeng using the more expensive chip, which can provide more user features than the present Baofeng radios. This will put the radio more in line with the Wouxun and TYT models."

Did I mention it sounds like it will be a fun summer for radios?

Quansheng Electronics

Nate has been looking around and done some research on the Quansheng (QS) Electronics radios. We've talked about the Quansheng radios before - the TG-Q5 Lucky Stone and the TG-UV2 (that Hans likes). Following is Nate's research with some edits from me - so assume any mistakes are mine.

========= New radios by Quansheng Electronics Ltd =========

I've noticed few days ago a new dualband HT on 409Shop. The very cool looking TG-K4AT(UV) -  It costs $67.

Quansheng has updated their website recently.

*     TG-K4AT(UV) (as above): Looks like they borrowed some of the Baofeng UV-3R+ / UV-5R looks. No eHam.net reviews yet for the dual band - only the single band TG-K4AT mixed in with other Quansheng radios.

*     TG-620: Looks like a single display face lift for the old Quansheng TG-UV2, or if you will, the ham radio version of their commercial single band TG-360/860 - I wonder if the batteries are interchangeable, as the ham version is advertised with a 2000mAh battery and the commercial with a 3200mAh battery (they do promise a whooping 300 hours of work with these 3200mAh batteries). No eHam.net reviews. The Quansheng Alibaba page shows another version of the TG620 radio that they have yet to put on their main website: TG-620 (color). This one has red Up/Down buttons and yellow Menu and Exit buttons, while the rest are plain.

*     The old TG-UV2:  - Weird looking, very hard to program using the keypad (unlike the Baofeng UV-5R, which is relatively easy to program via the keypad). 47 eHam.net Reviews with an average score of 4.6/5.

*    TG-286/TG-486: Mono band mobile radios, 2m and 440MHz respectively (Also comes as the TG-386 for 350MHz). No eHam.net reviews.

(The following cute/weird radio - this hides under a different page where they keep their older models - mostly ham mono bander HTs.)


*     TG-R20:  - Dubbed "Cute radio" - has only 3 buttons on the radio where the (M)emory, (F)unction and Menu buttons are arranged to look like eyes and a nose of a cute small animal, (the large menu button even have painted nose and whiskers). - no specs, one picture shows it as having a single frequency display, while another shows a dual display. No eHam.net reviews.

Baofeng UV-5R: UV-5RAX 2M + 222

marksenk New Baofeng UV-5RAX covers 144 & 222 MHz ham bands - Available March 10 on Amazon for $49 #hamrTue, Mar 12 11:28:24 from The Visitor Widget

A Radio-Mart exclusive at Amazon: Baofeng UV-5RAX 144/220 Transceiver for $49.99 USD. I'd like for someone to try this out since people tend to have a strong opinion about Radio-Mart.

Baofeng UV-5R: Bad Batch?

Hans is hearing that some of the latest versions of the UV-5R are having problems. He's looking for data, so if anyone has done some measurements, please head over his way and let him know about your findings.

Baofeng UV-5R: Officially Old News

Roberta X has a Baofeng UV-5R, so we can now officially say that it is well past the cutting edge phase and is quickly moving toward whatever the modern equivalent of a boat anchor is.

;)

Radio Giveaways

Ham City: Sangean H201 AM/FM PLL Digital Tuning Water Proof Radio and Yaesu Hat

American Radio Supply - Baofeng UV-5R 

Baofeng UV-B5: Best Kept Secret

[ Don't have a UV-B5 yet? Get one here. ]

Ben (PA2OLD) called me out for being so slow to post about the Baofeng UV-B5. Hans posted some general information about it when he discovered the UV-B5 and UV-B6. (Yes, back in November - just wait, it gets worse.)

On the surface, it is your typical dual band 5W Chinese HT: 136 - 174 MHz and 400 - 470 MHz along with 65 - 108 MHz FM receive. Here are the links to the radios on the Baofeng site: UV-B5 and UV-B6. Of note is the lack of the customary flashlight (for the UV-B5) and, perhaps more importantly, 2.5Khz steps. You can get one at the 409Shop for $53 (USD) along with many of the usual accessories (USB programming cable, serial programming cable, extra batteries or chargers) - no colors or AA/AAA battery packs yet. Give them time and I am sure they will show up. As you will find, the UV-B5 does not share the same form as the UV-5R, so you won't be able to share batteries or chargers. However, the programming cable from your UV-5R should work.

No surprise.. a Yahoo Group has been started for the UV-B5.

Hans, in his full review, says:

"For now this is the HT to compare others with – the receiver is at least as good as the Wouxun KG-UVD1P and outperforms the Quansheng TG-UV2. Overloading is not impossible, but far from easy – almost unreal for an HT this price."

"The Baofeng UV-B5 is close to perfect. The only two niggles are the 5-character limit for alphanumeric descriptions and the belt clip screws which are too short. For the rest: best value for money to date. Needless to say, I’m keeping this one."

Hans also points out that you can save a few dollars if you don't want the pretty box by ordering from AliExpress. I'm guessing price was not the biggest factor when Hans did his "Best/Worst of 2012" and ranked the Wouxun KG-UVD1P ahead of the Baofeng UV-B5. If price had been weighted heavily it looks like the UV-B5 might have been the winner.

Lastly, after living with the radio for a while he found some problems with the FM tuning and memories. He also reports the battery life, while not horrible, isn't great.

And Ben got his hands on one. He's got a summary page here with lots of pictures. He comments:

"The radio works excellent and the modulation is also good, not like some UV-5R types.I also think that the battery is more than enough capacity.
This Baofeng UV B5 cost at the 409shop only 53 Dollar, which is in Euros (with the exchange rate of January 2013) € 41.75 including shipping."

Bob (K0NR) really likes it as well:

"My overall assessment is that Baofeng has cleaned up the issues with the UV-5R (and don’t forget, I really like that radio!). The UV-B5 is a sweet little radio that will make a splash when it hits the US market."

Given my tardiness, the price, and the glowing reviews from the big name ham radio bloggers above, I'm surprised these things aren't the talk of the internet. The Yahoo group is of a modest size and Google searches don't reveal much beyond the links above. (I found one other review, but there wasn't much meat to it.) Here is the best video I found. (Best meaning the better of two.)



So for now, I'm calling the UV-B5 the best kept secret in the world of Chinese radios!

Baofeng UV-5R: Giveaway at American Radio Supply

Win a Baofeng UV-5R at American Radio Supply.

Via AmateurRadio.com

Boafeng UV-5R: New Models

marksenk Just wondering when the 2014 Baofeng UV-5R model will start being sold - "2013 model" appeared in UV-5R ebay descriptions 5 months ago!Sun, Jan 13 04:04:21 from web

They will be available as soon as the Baofeng marketing guy sees a drop in sales. Here is a reminder about the differences between the models from October:

"We receive many emails asking if we have different UV-5 models. We were also asked if we have the New 2013 latest UV-5 Baofeng has taken the standard UV-5R and packaged it on many different cases. ALL of these new model numbers are the SAME RADIO, no different from one to another but just a different name. There are no 2013 models unless you have a time machine, They talk about extended freq coverage, that change is made in the new software they released, not in the radio. So, pick the case design you like and go with that, your getting the same radio. Hong Kong and Chinese sellers like to confuse you and make you think your getting something different but your not. Better buy from a US Seller that will back the warranty in the USA."

Factory Tour - Injection Molding

Not directly ham radio related, but I suspect the process for creating the cases for the radios is the same. Also, given the amount of effort required to make a mold, you can see why the TYT TH-F8 and Boafeng UV-5R (among others) might look the same.

MIT Media Lab IAP 2013 - Shenzhen, China:

"The tool and die shop was amazing. I had no idea how massive the tooling was just to make a simple enclosure. The tooling is cut out of steel using CNC, EDM (Electron Discharge Machining), and manual milling. Each steel mold can weigh a ton or more and requires a lot of manual and automated work. Depending on the finish, the molds also need to be hand polished. To tool and die shop consists of a lot of heavy metalworking equipment. The steel blocks are first cut on the CNC machine. The EDM machine is used to remove steel in parts that can't be cut accurately using a CNC machine. It uses electrical current to remove steel at a rate of 5 microns per electrical burst."

And on a side note, the drinking matches my experience, too. The hosts would, one-by-one, engage you in a "ganbei". This might result in your having four or five drinks to their one. You could often respond with "cheers" and you would just have to take a small drink instead of finishing your glass. Another tactic would be to tap the table with your drink and it meant everyone at the table had to "ganbei."

"This concluded our tour of this injection molding factory and the boss of the factory took us all out to lunch. I didn't realize that lunch included drinking alcohol and we had many "ganbei" (chinese for "bottoms up") glasses of beer with the boss. By the end of lunch, I was fairly trashed and Bunnie was getting there too."

Oh and the "white lightening," as we called it, was horrible. I much prefer the warm Coca Cola and ginger drink that they also encountered. I've actually made that drink at home a few times.

"AQS, a contract manufacturer that was helping to organize all the tours and also a company that Bunnie works closely with, took us all out to dinner with their staff. It was a wonderful dinner and we talked about a lot of the things we saw with them. They also broke out the Chinese hard liquor (53% alcohol) and proudly proclaimed that they wanted to drink with us. I hid from the "white liquor" since I've had a few bad experiences with it but most of the others were game to try it out. Overall, it was a fun evening with AQS and it was our first real dinner together as a group. It was a wonderful chance to meet everyone and hear about what they were working on, why they were on the trip, and just randomly ramble on in a happy, semi drunken state :) "

Breaking the Law!

Sorry for the lack of radio posting. I had been running my pirate radio station (2 x the legal limit!!!) using my UV-5R and an FCC SWAT team raided my house. They confiscated my radio charger and mouse, so it really has hampered my ability to get on the air and to post.

Seriously, this post was 100% inspired by Hans' last two articles:

2013, Narrowbanding and Ham Radio

and

UV-5R Group for Illegal Users

I commented on the first by saying:

"It seems like people forget about 50+ (100?) years of history when they start talking about rule changes. I don’t think all the war surplus rigs that my father-in-law has will magically become compliant with every mandate. Nor will all the stuff he designed and built. Unless you are being a real jerk and causing interference, I don’t see the FCC breaking down your (US) door to confiscate a Chinese HT."

Maybe my rule should be a) don't be a jerk and b) don't be dumb - then you shouldn't have to worry about the FCC SWAT team.

Baofeng UV-5R: BF-F8+

Baofeng has introduced a new BF-F8+. It looks very similar to a UV-5R, but they advertise an enhanced LCD screen:

BF-F8+ series two-way radio are the newest styles by BAO FENG, it has multi-functions, such as dual band, dual display, dual watch, its performances are excellent, the shape is fashionable. The background is very unique, make it look elegant and luxurious.

It looks good. The only problem is that the listing on 409Shop ($51 USD) doesn't have the same screen. The radio is marked as a BF-F8+. Somebody is wrong.

Thanks to Hans for pointing out the BF-F8+ to everyone.