User Panel
Posted: 3/14/2013 10:00:45 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Jupiter7200]
On another thread I had said I would post something on programming the Baofeng UV-5R. I'm figuring out to do "hot links" here, so here goes.
The Baofeng UV-5R, and related models, -5RA, -5R+, etc, are all the same under the skin. There is no difference, they all have the same chassis and circuitry. There are "firmware versions". They all work just as well, but you run into some programming and cloning problem across some firmware versions. No one is better than another, and the "latest firmware" is not a better performing radio than the older ones. To find out your firmware version, turn the radio off. Press 3, and while holding it, turn the radio on. For just a second or two you will see the firmware number such as BFB281. They all have BFB, so all you have to look for are the last three digits. Make note of that somewhere. It will come in handy later. About version 251, the English voice was changed from a Chinese accent, known as "China Girl" to an American accent. The earlier China Girl versions work as well as the later ones. There are two sites you need to bookmark, where you can find all that I am going to outline, the Miklor site, and the UV-5R yahoo group. I suggest you join. http://www.miklor.com/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/baofeng_uv5r/ Here is a great English manual not written by the manufacturer. It actually makes sense. http://radiodoc.github.com/ Click the "Go Get It" button to download this good manual. The Miklor site above tells you how to fix your Prolific driver problems IF it has a fake Prolific driver. Most are. In my next post I'll go over manual programming. Meanwhile, download and print this Menu description. http://kc9hi.dyndns.org/uv5r/programming/UV-5R%20Menus.pdf 73, Jupiter7200 |
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Originally Posted By JAD762:
When I plug everything in, my computer doesn’t recognize the radio. No ports appear in the drop down menu and when I type it in manually it comes back with an error message. This is the cable I bought - is it the issue? www.amazon.com/dp/B008RZJHJU View Quote Attached File |
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Originally Posted By justsayin:
WHY do celebrities think we care what philosophical or political opinions they have? We don't pay them for who they really are..... |
Originally Posted By MCSquared:
The top review for this cable says it's counterfeit. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/356246/Counterfit__Cable_png-917026.JPG View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By MCSquared:
Originally Posted By JAD762:
When I plug everything in, my computer doesn’t recognize the radio. No ports appear in the drop down menu and when I type it in manually it comes back with an error message. This is the cable I bought - is it the issue? www.amazon.com/dp/B008RZJHJU https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/356246/Counterfit__Cable_png-917026.JPG |
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Aimless - The police academy ain't med school
Aimless - Yeah where's the ass fucking in comic movies asked no one ever CallSign : Armbar |
Originally Posted By MCSquared: The top review for this cable says it's counterfeit. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/356246/Counterfit__Cable_png-917026.JPG View Quote I have finally found a combination that worked for me. I went to powerwerx and got their USB Programming Cable for Wouxun Radios works with all versions of Windows here: https://powerwerx.com/wouxun-radio-usb-programming-cable You can download the driver for the cable from the same page. When you download the driver it says its for XP, Vista, and a couple other things but it also works for Windows 10 even though its not listed. Hope this helps someone. |
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AKA X-pert Bandit.
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If you get desperate, just buy the rtsystems cable. it's well made and works.
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"The worst part about living during the era of decline of a great civilization is knowing that you are." - Robert Heinlein
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Originally Posted By TinLeg:
If you get desperate, just buy the rtsystems cable. it's well made and works. View Quote BTECH PROGRAMING CABLE |
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"One day you may find me laying face down in a ditch................but I'll be laying on a pile of empty brass!"
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The link to your cable is funky...
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"One day you may find me laying face down in a ditch................but I'll be laying on a pile of empty brass!"
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I got one of these in a couple of days ago. I used it this morning with my Mac, Chirp, and some Arcshell AR5 radios. No problems at all.
Failed To Load Product Data |
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Just bought five of these. I was going to get a bunch of FRS radios for the family, but for the cost these are *way* more versatile. Already got some speaker/mics and bigger antennas for some. Had some issues getting it to work in CHIRP (setting the volume on the radio to 1/3 seemed to do the trick. I was trying full volume as the software suggested and it won't work).
I mostly like this radio, the alarm feature is retarded though. Hopefully that never gets triggered accidentally in a stealthy situation. The issue I have though is during receive, the squelch won't open reliably. On one repeater it would never open and I had to hold the "mon" button to open squelch manually, and then the icon at the top of the display indicated a full power signal being received. WTH? Other times it will cut in and out even though a very clear signal is being received. I verified no tone is set for receive and squelch was set at 1. Any suggestions? |
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Originally Posted By jonathan2421:
Just bought five of these. I was going to get a bunch of FRS radios for the family, but for the cost these are *way* more versatile. Already got some speaker/mics and bigger antennas for some. Had some issues getting it to work in CHIRP (setting the volume on the radio to 1/3 seemed to do the trick. I was trying full volume as the software suggested and it won't work). I mostly like this radio, the alarm feature is retarded though. Hopefully that never gets triggered accidentally in a stealthy situation. The issue I have though is during receive, the squelch won't open reliably. On one repeater it would never open and I had to hold the "mon" button to open squelch manually, and then the icon at the top of the display indicated a full power signal being received. WTH? Other times it will cut in and out even though a very clear signal is being received. I verified no tone is set for receive and squelch was set at 1. Any suggestions? View Quote |
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"One day you may find me laying face down in a ditch................but I'll be laying on a pile of empty brass!"
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Originally Posted By jonathan2421:
Just bought five of these. I was going to get a bunch of FRS radios for the family, but for the cost these are *way* more versatile. Already got some speaker/mics and bigger antennas for some. Had some issues getting it to work in CHIRP (setting the volume on the radio to 1/3 seemed to do the trick. I was trying full volume as the software suggested and it won't work). I mostly like this radio, the alarm feature is retarded though. Hopefully that never gets triggered accidentally in a stealthy situation. The issue I have though is during receive, the squelch won't open reliably. On one repeater it would never open and I had to hold the "mon" button to open squelch manually, and then the icon at the top of the display indicated a full power signal being received. WTH? Other times it will cut in and out even though a very clear signal is being received. I verified no tone is set for receive and squelch was set at 1. Any suggestions? View Quote ETA: Apologies I should've read more closely and see that you've tried that. Only suggestion I have is to try all the options. ETA2: Is it possible you have both ctcss squelch AND s-meter squelch active, with s-meter squelch set way too high? |
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Originally Posted By TinLeg: not all repeaters pass the ctcss tone on their output. try setting your receive squelch to normal / non-ctcss for receive. What you described is exactly what happens when your radio will only open on tone, but is receiving a signal on the freq without the tone. ETA: Apologies I should've read more closely and see that you've tried that. Only suggestion I have is to try all the options. ETA2: Is it possible you have both ctcss squelch AND s-meter squelch active, with s-meter squelch set way too high? View Quote I had the problem the most severe in my car with a mag mount antenna while driving. Never had an issue with my Alinco HT with the same setup, but maybe in this case the signal was marginal or it was in fact coming in and out due to some interference. ETA: Just went over some settings in CHIRP. Turned off the squelch tail elimination options, and (I think) lowered the threshold for squelch level 1, if I'm understanding the setting correctly. I came across some people transmitting nearby on an FRS channel after programming the radio, and the squelch seems to be staying open during all of their transmissions, even the very marginal ones that seem farther away. Sure seems better than before, unfortunately I played with two settings now I don't know which one contributed. I'll play around some more. |
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You might reset the radio to factory.
Sometimes chirp can do odd things. |
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OK. So far I've tested two radios (both were programmed from CHIRP) and they do the same thing. So looks like the problem is still there. It's very odd. At times it will hold the squelch open all the way down to where the signal is almost unintelligible. But other times while the signal is at full strength it will keep cutting out repeatedly. Holding the mon button to hold squelch open shows that the signal sounds just fine. It almost seemed like it was cutting out during certain vowels in the speech, but hard to verify. Basically receive shutting off every few syllables when somebody is talking then coming back on. Just did it one minute ago when one person was talking on the repeater, now it's working just fine even if I set the radio down flat on the floor with only two bars signal strength. Very confusing.
Will try a reset. |
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Well, I was able to fix the problem but it doesn't make much sense.
I had the dual watch feature (TDR setting) turned OFF. Turned it ON and problem is gone. Wut? The long story follows for anybody interested... I had never even tried the feature, I turned it off as soon as I got the radio. I figured I would get a better experience with the radio only handling one channel at a time (since it's not a true dual VFO, and I read it was recommended to turn it off). I was scanning some FRS frequencies tonight and picked up two channels that were in use at a local race track. I decided to put one channel in the upper display and the other in the lower and turn on dual watch to try it out, and listen to them both. Later, I was monitoring a local repeater and it was working perfectly (which I noted). I was working on my emcomm channel list in CHIRP and added a couple channels, and decided to clone to the radio. After the radio restarted the repeater no longer was coming in OK, it was cutting out and later didn't even break squelch. Then I remembered the clone would have turned dual watch off, so I turned it back on and lo and behold, crisp and clear audio again. I can replicate this easily. There is a local WX station with a decent signal, but it will cut out as if the signal is marginal. Turn TDR ON, works fine. Turn TDR off, glitchy again. I've gone back and forth enough times and tested enough that I'm confident this setting is the cause of my issues. Why, I have no idea. All I can think of is a firmware bug or something. What setting do you all use? Dual watch on or off? ETA: Just did a factory reset of the radio, then manually keyed in the repeater frequency and replicated the same behavior with TDR ON/OFF. Just wanted to make sure it didn't have anything to do with the CHIRP programming. ETA2: Not sure if this helps, tried to get the firmware version but I know it's problematic. Holding 3 while powering up shows "BFB298", CHIRP shows "Firmware message: HN5RV01", "6+Power on message: 170506N". |
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Best place to buy a uv-5r or bf-f8hp currently?
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Originally Posted By Honda4828:
Best place to buy a uv-5r or bf-f8hp currently? View Quote BF-F8HP- BTECH via their website or Amazon. It's about 60 dollars but BTECH is reputable and you know you'll be getting a real one instead of a rebadged UV5R that doesn't actually put out 8 watts. FWIW I think BTECH is currently running a 10 percent off deal if you order direct from their website. |
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"One day you may find me laying face down in a ditch................but I'll be laying on a pile of empty brass!"
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So I read elsewhere that Baofeng doesn't make the UV-5R and current versions are knockoffs? Any validity to that? This person also claimed a version starting with "H" is fake or failed QC. All my radios I just bought off Amazon have "HN5RV01" as the version number.
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The best way to get a reliable programming cable... get one for a Kenwood that goes to DB-9 (serial port connection).
And most people have a Serial Port to USB adapter that they know will work with their computer, or they can easily get one. Trip-Lite Keyspan is a good one. It's as simple as that. https://www.ebay.com/itm/273167327937 |
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btt
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I finally gave in and ordered a UV-5R. It was under $30 and had next day free shipping from Amazon. I finally figured out how to program it with the keypad. Having done that I ordered the programming cable and installed CHIRP.
I didn't realize how small the radio is. |
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Originally Posted By Lancelot:
I finally gave in and ordered a UV-5R. It was under $30 and had next day free shipping from Amazon. I finally figured out how to program it with the keypad. Having done that I ordered the programming cable and installed CHIRP. I didn't realize how small the radio is. View Quote |
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NorCal_LEO callsign: Brussel Sprout
I, for one, welcome our new Hawkeye overlords. |
So I got my cable and installed Chirp. The hardest part was figuring out which Com port the USB was on. For me it was USB3. Programming from the keyboard can be done, but its not worth it. Believe what everyone here has said and use Chirp. It is very much worth it. I'm so sold on it that I'm going to get the cable for my Yaesu VX-170.
The supplied antenna sucks. So that will be the next change. But other than that, so far so good. |
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I keep the programming cable for my Kenwood plug in radios and my mobile in the glove box of my Jeep. I've got a netbook I have CHIRP on that I typically have around that makes programming on the go cheap and easy.
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"One day you may find me laying face down in a ditch................but I'll be laying on a pile of empty brass!"
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Originally Posted By Jupiter7200:
Some of the Youtube videos appear to be guys that copied others. And one of the first ones shows programming R-CTCS (receive tones), which I don't recommend. R-CTCS (aka Tone Squelch) causes that the radio for that programmed channel to listen for a tone coming from the repeater before it will break squelch. Not all repeaters retransmit the tone. The videos don't explain this and seem to imply it must be done. If you program your HT to use Tone Squelch, and the local repeater does not retransmit the tone, your radio will not hear the repeater. On the other hand, if you leave R-CTCS off, the HT will hear that repeater whether or not it transmits a tone. Next up will be some basic operation if you've followed along so far. I'm still working on the manual programming, then I'll go over using CHIRP. View Quote Here's one for you. I have a local repeater that uses different tones. One for transmit and one for receive. I can't see anyway to set different tones using Chirp. It either one or the other. Any thoughts? |
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In Chirp you will see two columns, one says Tone, the other says Tone Squelch. One is for tx, one is for rx.
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Thanks. It won't allow me to set both, or at least, different tones for tx and rx. I can set it to one or the other, but it only allows one choice for the tone.
Example, I select tone and set to 123. It displays 123 in the tone column. I select TSQL and set 88. It displays 88 in the TSQL column and the tone column is blank. I put a number in the tone column, and the TSQL column is blank. So its one or the other, and they must be the same. I can't designate different tones for RX and TX. |
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Thanks for the step-by-step on page 1, OP.
Got my first UV-5R setup and programmed with CHIRP last night. Had to hold/press the cable plug into the radio with my thumb to get it to connect to my PC. Found a local SO still doing dispatch on an analog freq. that I've been monitoring. Deputies are out running around trying to find grandpa's house after the daughter called in a welfare (suicide?) check. First question asked, "Any weapons in the house?" They can't find the place. |
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Here's the deal with the fake prolific chips... They do work. Fairly well. But, when Prolific found out about them, they updated their drivers so that the fake chips will get a "failed to start" error in the device manager. You have to find the older version of the driver, and manually install it. I've dealt with this many times over the years.
There have also been fake FTDI chips on the market, which are less-than-stable. Other brands are WinChipHead (CH340) and Silicon Labls (CP2102). Those are both *decent*, but i have found that the CH340 chips are more susceptible to RF interference. I run a packet station at my desk at work, so I use one of those between my netbook and TNC (the HT is on top of a metal cabinet). Sometimes if I have a phone or tablet too close to it, it'll lock up and I have to unplug/replug it, and start the terminal program again. A way around this is to buy serial versions of programming cables, and buy a quality USB to serial adapter (FTDI is about the best). This way, the com port stays the same, as long as you plug it into the same usb port. But, I've gotten real Baofeng cables, RT systems (never buying their products again), cheapo chungkungfooey stuff, etc... I've gotten them all to work. |
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Award: 24/365 Most likely to be an appendix.
"Arfcom makes me happy. Arfcom is like a giant, heavily armed, dysfunctional family that smells like cheetos and gun oil." - Undefined |
Originally Posted By NotUrLawyer:
Thanks for the step-by-step on page 1, OP. Got my first UV-5R setup and programmed with CHIRP last night. Had to hold/press the cable plug into the radio with my thumb to get it to connect to my PC. Found a local SO still doing dispatch on an analog freq. that I've been monitoring. Deputies are out running around trying to find grandpa's house after the daughter called in a welfare (suicide?) check. First question asked, "Any weapons in the house?" They can't find the place. View Quote |
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Award: 24/365 Most likely to be an appendix.
"Arfcom makes me happy. Arfcom is like a giant, heavily armed, dysfunctional family that smells like cheetos and gun oil." - Undefined |
Originally Posted By Lancelot:
Thanks. It won't allow me to set both, or at least, different tones for tx and rx. I can set it to one or the other, but it only allows one choice for the tone. Example, I select tone and set to 123. It displays 123 in the tone column. I select TSQL and set 88. It displays 88 in the TSQL column and the tone column is blank. I put a number in the tone column, and the TSQL column is blank. So its one or the other, and they must be the same. I can't designate different tones for RX and TX. View Quote |
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Originally Posted By jonathan2421:
So I read elsewhere that Baofeng doesn't make the UV-5R and current versions are knockoffs? Any validity to that? This person also claimed a version starting with "H" is fake or failed QC. All my radios I just bought off Amazon have "HN5RV01" as the version number. View Quote |
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Originally Posted By ag04blast: I want to buy one but am honestly lost with all the Amazon sellers. I can't tell which is real and to buy. Each one seems to have reviews of fakes being shipped out. View Quote |
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Originally Posted By StealthCRF:
The baofengtech/btech sold through their site and Amazon store offer product support and warranty service. Haven't used it, but they did reach out and email me to see if I had any questions after buying off their Amazon listing. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By StealthCRF:
Originally Posted By ag04blast: I want to buy one but am honestly lost with all the Amazon sellers. I can't tell which is real and to buy. Each one seems to have reviews of fakes being shipped out. |
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Originally Posted By jeepinbanditrider:
UV5R- Amazon. They are 24 dollars on there right now. BF-F8HP- BTECH via their website or Amazon. It's about 60 dollars but BTECH is reputable and you know you'll be getting a real one instead of a rebadged UV5R that doesn't actually put out 8 watts. FWIW I think BTECH is currently running a 10 percent off deal if you order direct from their website. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By jeepinbanditrider:
Originally Posted By Honda4828:
Best place to buy a uv-5r or bf-f8hp currently? BF-F8HP- BTECH via their website or Amazon. It's about 60 dollars but BTECH is reputable and you know you'll be getting a real one instead of a rebadged UV5R that doesn't actually put out 8 watts. FWIW I think BTECH is currently running a 10 percent off deal if you order direct from their website. Do you know if the BF-F8HP is also being banned for import on 9/30? |
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"If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, give it Narcan." ~ AverageJoe365
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Originally Posted By StealthCRF:
The baofengtech/btech sold through their site and Amazon store offer product support and warranty service. Haven't used it, but they did reach out and email me to see if I had any questions after buying off their Amazon listing. View Quote |
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MA Gun Law Seminar&NRA Firearms Instructor
Moving to NH! |
Originally Posted By C-4: @jeepinbanditrider Do you know if the BF-F8HP is also being banned for import on 9/30? View Quote |
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"One day you may find me laying face down in a ditch................but I'll be laying on a pile of empty brass!"
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Are the $30 BF-F8HP’s on eBay knockoff models? Seems like it almost has to be if it’s half the price baofeng sells it for.
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Hey guys,
This may have been asked and if so, apologies and just point me in the general direction. Is there a nice user manual for the UV-5X3 like the one the OP references for the UV-5R? Or are the radios similar enough that the UV-5R manual could be used? Brand new and trying to tip-toe in. Yes I plan to get the general license soon (and before doing any transmitting). |
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I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye sees You;
Therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes. -Job 42:5-6 |
Originally Posted By Kates:
Hey guys, This may have been asked and if so, apologies and just point me in the general direction. Is there a nice user manual for the UV-5X3 like the one the OP references for the UV-5R? Or are the radios similar enough that the UV-5R manual could be used? Brand new and trying to tip-toe in. Yes I plan to get the general license soon (and before doing any transmitting). View Quote Radioddity has rewritten the manual to be a lot more readable. https://uv-5rtp.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/UV-5R Series Manual [EN+DE+IT+FR+ES].zip |
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MA Gun Law Seminar&NRA Firearms Instructor
Moving to NH! |
Originally Posted By LenS:
I just posted this on another forum. I bought the UV-5RX3 at the Boxboro Mass ham fest last weekend. The manual below came with it and is quite impressive compared to the one I received with my UV-5R a few years ago. Radioddity has rewritten the manual to be a lot more readable. https://uv-5rtp.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/UV-5R Series Manual [EN+DE+IT+FR+ES].zip View Quote |
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I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye sees You;
Therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes. -Job 42:5-6 |
The URL will download the zip file, unless you block downloads automatically.
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MA Gun Law Seminar&NRA Firearms Instructor
Moving to NH! |
Originally Posted By LenS:
I just posted this on another forum. I bought the UV-5RX3 at the Boxboro Mass ham fest last weekend. The manual below came with it and is quite impressive compared to the one I received with my UV-5R a few years ago. Radioddity has rewritten the manual to be a lot more readable. https://uv-5rtp.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/UV-5R Series Manual [EN+DE+IT+FR+ES].zip View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By LenS:
Originally Posted By Kates:
Hey guys, This may have been asked and if so, apologies and just point me in the general direction. Is there a nice user manual for the UV-5X3 like the one the OP references for the UV-5R? Or are the radios similar enough that the UV-5R manual could be used? Brand new and trying to tip-toe in. Yes I plan to get the general license soon (and before doing any transmitting). Radioddity has rewritten the manual to be a lot more readable. https://uv-5rtp.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/UV-5R Series Manual [EN+DE+IT+FR+ES].zip https://uv-5rtp.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/UV-5R%20Series%20Manual%20%5BEN%2BDE%2BIT%2BFR%2BES%5D.zip |
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I broke down and purchased an 8 watt Beaufang. I thought my Yeasu ft 60 had a learning curve to it. I was spoiled with my Yeasu, it did the shifts automatically. I figured out how to program repeaters 90 percent of the way on the Beaufang. I had to ask a friend for help. I forgot the menu that changes the shift + or - . All good now. After that, I broke down and bought a cheap 2 pack of the normal uv-5rs.
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Originally Posted By Lancelot:
Thanks. It won't allow me to set both, or at least, different tones for tx and rx. I can set it to one or the other, but it only allows one choice for the tone. Example, I select tone and set to 123. It displays 123 in the tone column. I select TSQL and set 88. It displays 88 in the TSQL column and the tone column is blank. I put a number in the tone column, and the TSQL column is blank. So its one or the other, and they must be the same. I can't designate different tones for RX and TX. View Quote In Chirp when you go into the properties for the memory channel, choose a Tone Mode of Cross and then choose the appropriate Cross Mode setting. This lets you define different tones for Tx and Rx. The Cross Mode setting lets you choose how they're split. For instance, a Cross Mode of "Tone -> Tone" uses the Tone setting for tx and ToneSQL setting for rx, and "-> Tone" transmits no tone on tx and the ToneSQL setting on rx. |
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Originally Posted By alemonkey:
@Lancelot In Chirp when you go into the properties for the memory channel, choose a Tone Mode of Cross and then choose the appropriate Cross Mode setting. This lets you define different tones for Tx and Rx. The Cross Mode setting lets you choose how they're split. For instance, a Cross Mode of "Tone -> Tone" uses the Tone setting for tx and ToneSQL setting for rx, and "-> Tone" transmits no tone on tx and the ToneSQL setting on rx. View Quote |
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Originally Posted By jeepinbanditrider:
There is no ban. I dont know why people insist on continuing to say that. Its informing importers to stop importing non compliant radios. As long as the radios are kept from going out of band theyre good. Im pretty sure Btech is already doing this. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By jeepinbanditrider:
Originally Posted By C-4: @jeepinbanditrider Do you know if the BF-F8HP is also being banned for import on 9/30? |
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"If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, give it Narcan." ~ AverageJoe365
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I've got my two uv5rs that are programed and works. Got two more uv5r8w coming and will program those.
So my local repeater system is the Freedom link here in East Texas. I can pick up my local repeater and hear its 10 minute check in. So, let's say it hits the fan and I want to hear or talk to someone in some other random location, how do those repeaters go outside that range or area? FREEDOM LINK |
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Originally Posted By pumbaajk:
I've got my two uv5rs that are programed and works. Got two more uv5r8w coming and will program those. So my local repeater system is the Freedom link here in East Texas. I can pick up my local repeater and hear its 10 minute check in. So, let's say it hits the fan and I want to hear or talk to someone in some other random location, how do those repeaters go outside that range or area? FREEDOM LINK View Quote HOW DOES IT WORK? When in range of one of the Freedom Group connected repeaters, you simply enter the repeater frequency, offset and PL tone into your radio of the nearest repeater and you will communicate with the full area of the Freedom Group FULL TIME CONNECTED Repeaters. In other words, the system is like ONE WIDE AREA REPEATER. If traveling, simply plot your travel route in relation to our repeaters. As readability lowers, simply switch to the next Freedom Link Repeater in your path. We hope to have a more detailed coverage map soon to assist you in your communication frequency selections. For those that have been following the growth of the Freedom Ling Group, we have simplified the current format of the system. (No PL tone changes required) At some point there may be some instructional needs to connect with an outside repeater, but for this point in time the process is as easy as connecting to any repeater. All connections currently are 100% connections and are via RF (Radio Frequency) connection. So there's two main ways that these networks of repeaters are linked. The "easy" way is via the internet. Easier to setup, but of course, dependent on the infrastructure carrying the internet connection, so it could go down in certain cases. The other way, and according to the bold above is how they do it. All of the repeater sites are linked together via RF. How this is usually done is each repeater site tower has an additional radio and directional beam antenna setup (or several) that also repeats the signal that came into that site out to adjacent sites over the air. Then those sites also daisy-chain it out until it hits all sites. There are computers controlling everything, but everything goes out over the air so the links stay up so long as the sites have power. Its also can be done on a different band to avoid interference with the main repeater, so say it's a 2 meter repeater, the link setup might be a 70cm setup. Another way is to have the linking radio+beam antenna tuned to the input frequency of the other repeater it's pointing at, so it simply keys up that other repeater as if you were talking right into it. |
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