Re: UV-5R Dual band mod to 220 MHz band
Thanks, Donald. That makes sense now.
|
Re: UV-5R Dual band mod to 220 MHz band
Milt . . . On Sat, 07 Aug 2021 15:07:46 -0700, "Milt / KJ7PPX" <milt.reynolds@...> wrote: What is "splatter"?
Splatter would include any radio emissions that's not intended to be transmitted. This could be spurious signals outside the intended transmit passband. According to one of the people who test radios for QST magazine, one big brand of radio puts out spurious signals. these might be below what the FCC allows but can interfere with nearby signals on the same band but are outside the intended bandwidth of the signal. I won't mention the brand, but it's not well-known that these radios are not putting out a clean signal. Donald KX8K ---------------------------------------------------- Some ham radio groups you may be interested in: /g/ICOM /g/Ham-Antennas/g/HamRadioHelp /g/Baofeng/g/CHIRP
|
Re: UV-5R Dual band mod to 220 MHz band
There should be a notice about a new file uploaded with the instructions for making a UV-5R work on the 220 MHz band. I'm not sure if you need the UV-5RX3 or if any UV-5R will work. The former is a RadiOddity branded UV-5R and has some differences. Rodney will, no doubt, confirm which is the case. I THINK the X3 is already a tri-bander, and that this is for the plain-Jane UV-5R. If that's the case, many of us already have one and only have to open up the transmit range to cover 220. Don't forget to get yourself a triband Nagoya (or other good brand) HT antenna, and be aware that there are counterfeit Nagoya antennas out there, so be careful if you're buying on eBay. I seem to have got a good dual-band Nagoya on Amazon. There are some very similar looking ones on Amazon that aren't exactly counterfeit antennas, but they are of a different brand and have very poor reviews. Donald KX8K ---------------------------------------------------- Some ham radio groups you may be interested in: /g/ICOM /g/Ham-Antennas/g/HamRadioHelp /g/Baofeng/g/CHIRP
|
File /Baofeng UV-5R on 1.25 Meter band (220 MHz).pdf uploaded
#file-notice
The following files have been uploaded to
the Files area of the [email protected] group.
By: Donald Hellen <donhellen@...>
Description:
How to program your Baofeng UV-5R to operate in the 1.25 Meter band (220 MHz).
|
Re: UV-5R Dual band mod to 220 MHz band
|
Re: UV-5R Dual band mod to 220 MHz band
On Sat, 7 Aug 2021 21:54:20 +0000 (UTC), "Rodney kraft via groups.io" <kc7cjo@...> wrote: Here's the instructions as promised: I may have misunderstood. Will the regular plain UV-5R work by using the UV-5X3 software, or is that model of radio needed? Donald KX8K ---------------------------------------------------- Some ham radio groups you may be interested in: /g/ICOM /g/Ham-Antennas/g/HamRadioHelp /g/Baofeng/g/CHIRP
|
Re: UV-5R Dual band mod to 220 MHz band
I've not had any splatter problems with the 3 I have.
Here's
the instructions as promised:
How
to program your Baofeng UV-5R to operate in the 1.25 Meter band (220
MHz).
?BEFORE
you do this procedure, I ¡°HIGHLY¡± recommend that you download
your current radio settings (database) to a folder that you can
reload into your radio, just in case this doesn¡¯t work on your
radio.
You
must use CHIRP programming software to accomplish this modification
as there is NO OEM programming software for this radio.
Connect
up the radio via the programming cable.
Click
on the ¡°RADIO¡± tab
Select
¡°Download from Radio¡±
Select
the COM PORT
Select
the ¡°Vendor: RADIODDITY¡±
Select
the ¡°Model:??UV-5RX3¡±
Click
¡°OK¡±
This
will download everything that¡¯s already programmed into the radio.?
Once it¡¯s finished downloading, go ahead and make frequency
modifications as desired.
Make
sure to go to the Repeaterbook.com site and make a list of the 220
repeaters you want to use.? This may take some trial and error
as not all the 220 MHz repeaters listed are actually on the air.?
This band is sorely underused and this modification will, I hope,
help to increase its usage.
Next
step:
1)
Click the ¡°SETTINGS¡± tab on the left side of the screen.
2)
Click on the ¡°Other Settings¡± tab.?
3)
Go to the line labeled: ¡°Upper VHF Limit (MHz).¡±? Change
this line to read, ¡°250 MHz¡±.
Leave
everything else as is.
Save
the changes to the radio.? Give it a try!? I now have 3
handhelds that operate on the 2 meter, 220 MHz, and 440 MHz bands.
Let
me know how you did!
Thanks!
Rod
KC7CJO
On Saturday, August 7, 2021, 10:00:04 AM PDT, Bob Bennett via groups.io <bobsmacbox@...> wrote:
Rod,
? ?Good info. Have you been able to test the signal to see if is OK with no splatter. I have five of these radios and would consider putting one on 220.?
--
Bob nz2z
|
Re: UV-5R Dual band mod to 220 MHz band
Thank you, Rod! It actually sounds fairly easy! I'll give it a try soon. I appreciated your recommendation for a tri-band antenna, too. Very helpful post!
|
Re: UV-5R Dual band mod to 220 MHz band
Rod,
? ?Good info. Have you been able to test the signal to see if is OK with no splatter. I have five of these radios and would consider putting one on 220.?
--
Bob nz2z
|
Re: Baofeng BF-T1 Prog cable
Doug . . . On Sat, 7 Aug 2021 01:43:26 +0000, "Doug J" <vk2xlj@...> wrote: Moral to the story is that there may be more than one chipset used in a particular lead due to chip supply and different manufactures of that prog lead. I used a cable with the chipset you mentioned. It has something like 8 cable ends to be a more or less universal cable, and it worked fine once I sorted out where to get a driver for it. That makes 3 chipsets I've heard about for these. The FDTI chipset is what comes in the current programming cable from Baofeng's store on Amazon.com. It works very well too. I bought the "octopus" cable just to try it out but I already had the official cable from Baofeng. Donald KX8K ---------------------------------------------------- Some ham radio groups you may be interested in: /g/ICOM /g/Ham-Antennas/g/HamRadioHelp /g/Baofeng/g/CHIRP
|
Hello Group,
I recently purchased a BF-T1 with cable and most places said that the driver was a prolific PL-2303, which was not the case. I tried this lead in 3 different PC's off different OpSys
but none of them would recognise it and tried different versions of prolific drivers but to no avail.
I decided to go to the Miklor to see what he had to say and said that some Baofeng prog cables use the WCH
(CH340/341) chipsets. So I decided to give it a go and bingo....
it worked !!!! Also you have to plug in the prog lead BEFORE you instal the driver, which you never normally do either. I have used a lot of prog leads and never heard of
this chipset.
Moral to the story is that there may be more than one chipset used in a particular lead due to chip supply and different manufactures of that prog lead.
I highly recommend the Miklor web page as a good source of radio info & tips, link below to the cable drivers page
|
USB Cable Drivers FTDI / Prolific / SiLabs / WCH Microsoft (tm) Drivers May 2013, 2015, 2019 Rev 7/2020 John K3NXU Jim KC9HI
miklor.com
|
|
UV-5R Dual band mod to 220 MHz band
First let me say thanks for letting me join this group.
I have 2) UV-5R's and 1) BF-R3 (tri-band) and a couple of other Baofeng/BTECH mobiles.? They all have their quirks, but for the most part operate VERY well!
I bought the BF-R3 as it was CHEAP, especially for a Tri-Band (2mtrs, 1.25 mtrs, and 70 cm).? So I went to program it using CHIRP (they don't make OEM software for this radio, so I had no choice), but I found out the the model BF-R3 doesn't exist in ANY of the 3 manufacturers that make/sell the Baofeng products!??
So then I went back to the CHIRP website and found a paragraph that says to use the "Radioddity" model "UV-5X3".? It said UV-5xx, so I tried it and sure enough it read the radio.??
Then I put in several 2 mtr, 220 MHz, and 440 MHz repeater pairs and uploaded them to the radio.? IT WORKED!!
So I finished loading all the repeaters/frequencies I wanted, flashed them to the radio for the most part everything works fine.? There are a number of 220 MHz repeaters listed for my area in Repeaterbook.com, but as this band isn't used much, a LOT of them are no longer on the air, so I have to continue to hunt for working ones, but that's neither here or there.
I then took one of my UV-5R's and read it using that same set up and it read it just fine.? It even took the same database.
But when I tried to use the radio, 2mtrs and 70 cm worked just fine, but the 220 band wouldn't transmit.
So I went back to the CHIRP site and found that you have to go in and change the radio's VHF frequency span to:? VHF Lower Limit - 130 MHz ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?VHF Upper Limit to 250 MHz
The VHF Upper limit frequency defaults to 177 MHz, or something like that and it MUST be changed.
It transmits/receives just fine.? BUT, and this is a BIG? BUT:? You MUST switch to a TRI-BAND antenna!!!
Do NOT use the antenna that Radioddity sells as it is NO GOOD!!!? I know from personal experience that their antenna? is BAD on both 2 mtrs and 220 MHz.? It works great on the 70 cm Ham band!!? It doesn't work well at all on GMRS frequencies either, just the 440 MHz band!!??
I inadvertently?purchased one through Amazon.? Whe I received it, I noticed that it said "Radioddity on the packing (not a company known for quality products).? It was NOT what they advertised, so I read the reviews of it and there were NO good reviews.? So I decided to put it on my work bench (I'm the Radio Tech for our County) BEFORE putting it on my radio.
Sure enough, that antenna was CRAP!? The reviews were 100% accurate!!
I did some research and fount that Nagoya makes a tri-band antenna (NA-320A), which I purchased and they work GREAT!!
I have the instructions on how to convert your UV-5R to a Tri-Band radio, if anyone would like.??
Just email me @:? KC7CJO@...
The more Hams we can get on 220 MHz, the more popular it will be come!!??
Let the FUN begin!
73's!
Rod KC7CJO
|
Re: programming a uv5r pro with chirp
I used Windows 10 and didn't like it. I switched most of
my computers to Windows 7. I have a tablet that has
Windows 10 on it but my primary operating system is
Windows 7.
Microsoft is coming out with a new version of Windows.
I checked to see if any of my computers would work
with that version of Widnows. NONE of them will work
which means if I wanted to move up to the new Windows
version I would have to get rid of all of my computer
and buy a new more expensive computer. Not going to
happen!!
73
Mike W5RKL
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On 2021-08-05 5:05 PM, Donald Hellen wrote: Michael . . .
On Thu, 5 Aug 2021 14:58:49 -0500, "Michael Waldrop"
<mikew5rkl@...> wrote:
I'm not sure why you only have comm 3 and 4 but I have "Com6" that
shows up on Chirp when selecting the comm port. I run Windows 7
and Device Manager serial port shows "Prolific Com6" which is
what Chirp sees. I suspect the driver and Windows work out which COM port to assign.
If you have other COM ports assigned when you install the driver,
Windows will assign a new one for it. I don't know why I was offered a
choice between two ports when the driver was only on one port.
Be glad in some ways that you have Windows 7. It won't be updating
anymore so your COM ports won't be changed around after a Windows
update like many WIN 10 users see. I haven't had that problem but I
expect I will when I install digital ham programs unless I reassign
the ports to ones higher than 20. Windows doesn't mess with those.
Donald KX8K
----------------------------------------------------
Some ham radio groups you may be interested in:
/g/ICOM /g/Ham-Antennas
/g/HamRadioHelp /g/Baofeng
/g/CHIRP
|
Re: programming a uv5r pro with chirp
Michael . . . On Thu, 5 Aug 2021 14:58:49 -0500, "Michael Waldrop" <mikew5rkl@...> wrote: I'm not sure why you only have comm 3 and 4 but I have "Com6" that
shows up on Chirp when selecting the comm port. I run Windows 7
and Device Manager serial port shows "Prolific Com6" which is
what Chirp sees. I suspect the driver and Windows work out which COM port to assign. If you have other COM ports assigned when you install the driver, Windows will assign a new one for it. I don't know why I was offered a choice between two ports when the driver was only on one port. Be glad in some ways that you have Windows 7. It won't be updating anymore so your COM ports won't be changed around after a Windows update like many WIN 10 users see. I haven't had that problem but I expect I will when I install digital ham programs unless I reassign the ports to ones higher than 20. Windows doesn't mess with those. Donald KX8K ---------------------------------------------------- Some ham radio groups you may be interested in: /g/ICOM /g/Ham-Antennas/g/HamRadioHelp /g/Baofeng/g/CHIRP
|
Re: programming a uv5r pro with chirp
On Thu, Aug 5, 2021 at 01:33 PM, Milt / KJ7PPX wrote:
The default settings for these ten are quite insufficient!
Yes!! I reset all of the levels to give a full-range squelch control.
|
Re: programming a uv5r pro with chirp
I'm not sure why you only have comm 3 and 4 but I have "Com6" that
shows up on Chirp when selecting the comm port. I run Windows 7
and Device Manager serial port shows "Prolific Com6" which is
what Chirp sees.
73
Mike W5RKL
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On 2021-08-05 2:30 PM, Donald Hellen wrote: Charles . . .
On Thu, 05 Aug 2021 10:05:02 -0700, "W5CTD"
<charles.t.dennis@...> wrote:
I am getting the following results to my efforts to program the radio so far You might also attach a PDF. Not everyone has a program to read MS
Word documents.
I do, and looking at your error, it looks like you have a faulty
cable, connection, or didn't choose the correct COM port. As I
remember it, CHIRP only gives you the option of using COM 3 or 4. That
may not be correct, but it's all that I saw when I used it. I had to
change the default to match what I had.
If you see your port driver is using a port number not available in
CHIRP, change it in Windows to match one of them.
Donald KX8K
----------------------------------------------------
Some ham radio groups you may be interested in:
/g/ICOM /g/Ham-Antennas
/g/HamRadioHelp /g/Baofeng
/g/CHIRP
|
Re: programming a uv5r pro with chirp
Charles . . . On Thu, 05 Aug 2021 10:05:02 -0700, "W5CTD" <charles.t.dennis@...> wrote: I am getting the following results to my efforts to program the radio so far You might also attach a PDF. Not everyone has a program to read MS Word documents. I do, and looking at your error, it looks like you have a faulty cable, connection, or didn't choose the correct COM port. As I remember it, CHIRP only gives you the option of using COM 3 or 4. That may not be correct, but it's all that I saw when I used it. I had to change the default to match what I had. If you see your port driver is using a port number not available in CHIRP, change it in Windows to match one of them. Donald KX8K ---------------------------------------------------- Some ham radio groups you may be interested in: /g/ICOM /g/Ham-Antennas/g/HamRadioHelp /g/Baofeng/g/CHIRP
|
Re: programming a uv5r pro with chirp
Very good point, Donald. Yes, I'm grateful for CHIRP. Another feature that CHIRP allows is adjusting the squelch levels. The UV-5R only allows 10 levels of squelch, 0-9. The default settings for these ten are quite insufficient!
|
Re: programming a uv5r pro with chirp
I am getting the following results to my efforts to program the radio so far.
|
Re: programming a uv5r pro with chirp
Some features, such as scan skip cannot be programmed without CHIRP!?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Aug 5, 2021, at 11:14 AM, Milt / KJ7PPX <milt.reynolds@...> wrote:
? Another problem I encountered: I had to press very hard on the cable's connection to the radio. Feeling it snap into place was not sufficient...I had to intentionally press the connector firmly into the connection.
Regarding Chirp: I've used it successfully, and all of the above suggestions are really good. However...
My focus right now is being prepared to help in an emergency. I feel like I need to be skilled in programming my UV-5R on the fly, in the wild, without needing my laptop.
You mentioned that you've had no success in manually programming the UV-5R. I totally get that. I spent several months struggling with the user manual, searching the internet, and experimenting. The fruit of that struggle is a 14-episode series of how-to-program the UV-5R by hand.
I'm not selling anything, and I'm not saying that programming by hand is for everyone, but I do believe these videos provide a step-by-step to the basics of programming and operating the UV-5R.
73!
|
Milt / KJ7PPX
Bob Bennett
Doug J
Chuck Dennis W5CTD