Baofeng UV-82

Hans spotted the Baofeng UV-82 a while back. He'd seen it on both e-Bay or AliExpress.

Features:
- Frequency Range: 136-174 & 400-520MHz
- Dual Band, Dual Display, Dual Frequency,Dual Standby
- Output Power: 5 / 1Watt
- 128 Storage Channels
- 50 CTCSS and 104 CDCSS
- Vox
- 1750 Hz Burst Tone
- FM Radio (65.0 MHz – 108.0 MHz)
- LED Flashlight
- Large LCD Display
- High / Low RF Power Switchable
- Wide / Narrow 25KHz / 12.5KHz Switchtable
- Emergency Alert
- Low Battery Alert
- Battery Saver
- Time-out Timer
- Keypad Lock
- Monitor Channel
- Channel Step: 2.5 / 5 / 6.25 / 10 / 12.5 / 25 KHz
- PC Programming

Nate sent me a note with some updates:

"Can be ordered now from a US dealer for $50:
http://www.radio-mart.net/Baofeng-UV-82-Dual-Band-Handheld-Transceiver.html 

It also states that this radio is "Pending FCC approval" (which they probably will get, like they did with the Baofeng UV-5R variety). 

Also, checked the pictures here:
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/2013-May-New-Arrival-Baofeng-UV-82-Dual-Band-VHF137-174MHz-UHF400-520MHz-Professional-FM-Portable/955846467.html 

Looks like you can unscrew the bolt that holds the Mic/Ear rubber cover, and bolt in an accessory plug, like you do with commercial rigs, which might suggest better build quality.
The two top LEDs on top might suggest dual RX at the same time, but you can't really tell. the display in the brochure isn't very encouraging (Only a single "S-Meter")."

Martyn posted his video of the UV-82 (see below) on the UV-5R Yahoo Group.

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-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

Baofeng UV-82: Software

Interesting work by Jim (KC9HI):

"I don't have a UV-82, but having an interest in one, I downloaded the software and installed it to see what I could learn from it. The software that I installed for the UV-82 is v13.01.12. 

The software I am testing has an identical layout to the v12.05.06 CPS software for the UV-5R. With both Optional Features menus set to the same values, there is no difference that can be seen when switching between both programs. 

So how did it get all of the settings to be the same. Easy... I just loaded the .dat file from my UV-5R. It read it right in. Every channel and every setting is there."

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: Picture with the Case Removed

Here is the first picture I have seen of the a UV-5R that has been taken apart. The picture is from Jester316 at the AR15 forum. I'm sure more will follow as others crack open the unit. I wonder if a Waccom version has the BFUV-5R stamp on it.

Baofeng Tech: UV-5X3 Tri-band HT

BaoFeng Tech has announced their new lasted HT... the UV-5X3 tri-bander (Amazon $64.89).
From the press release:

"First and foremost, the UV-5X3 was built by adding filtering and support for the 220MHz Amateur band. The original UV-5R was a 4-watt dual-band radio; while the UV-5X3 can now output 5-watts on VHF and 4-watts on both 1.25M and UHF. The UV-5X3 focused specifically on the amateur band frequencies of the 1.25M band during design. The UV-5X3 supports: 65-108MHz (RX only - FM Radio), 130-179.99MHz (RX/TX), 222-225.99MHz (RX/TX), and 400-520.99MHz (RX/TX)"

The announcement also talks about simplified scanning, the option to sync the display (channel name and frequency), CHIRP as the programming software, and more.

Squelch Threshold Adjustments

Jim (KC9HI) writes on the Baofeng UV-5R Yahoo Group about making squelch threshold adjustments through a software change to the image file:

"This capability isn't available in CHIRP (yet).

I am working on it and wouldn't mind a few testers. 

The oldest radios must get the settings from firmware and can't be adjusted. My UV-5R with BFB231 firmware can't be adjusted. 

I first tried this out on a UV-82L with success. Then later on a GT-3. Earlier this week, I got to try it on my own UV-82 and BF-F8HP radios. The difference is amazing. I don't know why Baofeng ships these radios with the squelch so "broken"."

 And continues:

"Here is your .img file back with the updated squelch settings. Make sure you have a backup image before you get started. I now have a backup here. ;-) 

I believe that you will now find that Squelch 9 can really squelch out stronger stations and you will have to reduce squelch to 6 or maybe 5 for normal operation.

If you like these settings, don't upload any other image file into your radio or they will be reset to the values in that image file. If you don't like these settings, or that don't appear to do anything, then just upload your original image file and everything will be as is was before."

I'll be following this to see how it develops.

Baofeng UV-5R: UV-5RE

First, a warning: What has been seen, cannot be unseen.

UV-5RE

Via the UV-5R Yahoo Group

Baofeng UV-5R: US Sellers

Chris, NH7QH, has added the UV-5R to his website at HawaiiRadioSales.com, but won't take orders until they have FCC approval - which should be coming soon.

Ed, of ImportCommunications.com, sent out an update saying that he had ordered several hundred UV-5Rs, but there has been a problem with a transfer of the funds. Apparently his money is lost in China, so he's having to work that out.

Hawaii Radio Sales

Hawaii Radio Sales (NH7QH Radio Supplies) has updated their website with a lot of new items including the Baofeng UV-5R and the Baofeng UV-3R+ Plus. He's now carrying the UV-5R since it got the nod from the FCC.

Wouxun KG-UV8D: Size Comparison

The first surprise I had was the size of the UV8D. From the pictures I had seen, I thought it was going to be a hefty radio. The reality is different. In the pictures you can see (from left to right) the Baofeng UV-3R, the Baofeng UV-5R, the Wouxun KG-UV8D, and the Wouxun KG-UV1DP.

(And, yes, I found my UV-5R.)

Baofeng UV-5R: Size Comparison

On the left is my Baofeng UV-3R. In the middle is the Baofeng UV-5R. On the right is a Wouxun KG-UVD1P.

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.

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

Top 10 and Best/Worse of 2014

409Shop's Top 10 Most Popular Baofeng models:


For those who don't want to watch the video:

10. BF5301
9. BF-A58
8. UV-B6
7. BFQ19
6. UV-82
5. BFUV89
4. A-52
3. BF-888S
2. UV-3R+Plus
1. UV-5R

The only surprise for me is the UV-3R+Plus coming in at #2.


And Hans has his best and worst of 2014 here.

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: Bugs

If you are having problems with your UV-5R where the receiver is muted, check out Miklor and the BuyTwoWayRadios pages for some common problems and fixes.

From the Miklor page, the affected radios are:

Some newer radios with N5R-20 and N5R-30 firmware.
This is a current firmware that will ship with ALL UV5R series radios. This includes all UV5R, RA, GT-3, BFF8, F8HP, etc.

Baofeng UV-5R Undressed

Some good shots of the disassembly of a UV-5R.

Via reddit

Baofeng UV-5R: Menu Options and Language

Interesting comments from Ed via the Wouxun Yahoo Group about the UV-5R:

"This radio appears to be a replica of an HT that TYT is preparing to market. TYT is testing it now. The only visible difference is that the TYT does not have a flashlight (at least at this time it doesn't).

This radio has 43 menu options, but beware of buying one of these unless you speak Chinese. The ones for sale in Guangzhou only speak Chinese and they say English versions are not available yet. So inquire what language it speaks before ordering."

The 409Shop product page does list the manual as being in English. As with many new products, earlier adopters may be in for a quirks.