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mcandre/baofeng-uv-5x3-cheatsheet.md

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Baofeng UV-5x3 Cheatsheet
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baofeng-uv-5x3-cheatsheet.md

Baofeng UV-5x3 Cheatsheet

SUMMARY

A growing list of notes, bugs, issues, problems, design flaws, oddities, quirks, bad UX, nonintuitivity, challenges, frequently asked questions, gotchas, glitches, and errors with the Baofeng UV-5x3 amateur radio transceiver.

WARNING

DO NOT TRANSMIT ON THE RADIO WHILE THE ANTENNA IS DISCONNECTED, UNFOLDED, OR DAMAGED; DOING SO MAY RESULT IN PAINFUL BURNS FROM SPURIOUS RADIO FREQUENCY EMISSIONS.

NOTES

  • Deleting factory preset channels triggers a crash. Workaround: Delete each preset channel one at a time, confirming and closing the menu between each deletion.
  • Repeater directories are terse, often insufficiently labelled, and the ham repeater convention for notation is not described by the FCC Technician exam question pool. Workaround: Remember, repeaters are listed in the following notation: The repeater's output frequency, followed by an offset, followed by an optional tone requirement and set of supported protocols. Transmitting directly onto the repeater output frequency with no offset configured is likely to fail to correctly propogate through the repeater, for some or all listeners on the repeater.
  • Weak mic gain, according to net recipients.
  • Baofeng lies. Even though "CT" may alight on the LCD screen, in fact the Tx CTCSS tone setting will be silently ignored whenever the Offset value is zero (000.000) Hz. This can occur, for example, when attempting to configure the effective input frequency directly as its own memory row. Workaround: Always apply repeater output frequency, with a non-zero input offset, together as a single memory row. Ensure compatible Tx/Rx CTCSS values for your repeater usage. Ensure the offset direction is appropriate for the repeater (+, -, or OFF). Remember to manually clear out any leftover repeater settings in the A/B bands when configuring for different repeaters.
  • The FCC Technician exam question and answer pool provides a wealth of information, but does not cover many important aspects of amateur radio operation, such as proper transceiver configuration for communicating with repeaters. Workaround: Consult the manual. Consult ham radio books. Consult Internet videos. Consult amateur radio Internet communities.
  • When configuring the device, the displayed menu option is not automatically applied/saved. Workaround: Manually activate the Menu button to apply and save the desired menu option. Or else use CHIRP.
  • No CHIRP adapter is included with the base UV-5x3 model package. Workaround: Select a CHIRP application compatible with your desktop and/or mobile computer. Purchase a suitable adapter, such as USB-C and K1; or Lightning and K1; or USB-A and K1.
  • Leftover Rx tone settings may prevent reception of desired signals. Workaround: You may elect to always configure Rx tone to the OFF menu value, for both the A/B bands.
  • Up/Down menu navigation buttons operate in reverse order (Descending/Ascending). Workaround: Press the opposite button. Or, memorize the menu number designating your most common menu features.
  • Menu option wraparound often has gaps. Workaround: Go past where the option belongs, and navigate back in the other direction.
  • Although marketing material boasts of the model's ability to monitor multiple frequencies/channels concurrently, this option is disabled by default. Workaround: Enable the TDR option.
  • Refuses to save frequencies to channels if the frequency is currently breaking squelch. For example the NOAA frequency, which hardly ever stays quiet. Workaround: Power down the device. Remove the antenna. Power on the device. Save the desired frequency to memory. Power down the device. Reattach the antenna. Power on the device. Or use CHIRP to program your favorites. Or use paper/electronic memory to document your favorites. Or memorize the national simplex frequencies of your operating country.
  • Refuses to save commercial FM broadcast stations to memory. Workaround: Shop for alternative radios, such as an "AM/FM music radio". Or use an Internet AM/FM radio application, such as TuneIn Radio.
  • Inconsistent unit formatting in menu options. Workaround: When in doubt, assume the most common unit for the particular radio feature, such as a unit of MHz for 70 cm repeater offsets.
  • Few discernable markings for distinguishing between the 220 MHz antenna versus the 140 MHz / 440 MHz antenna in low light conditions. Workaround: Power down the device. Remove the antenna. Shine a flashlight on the antenna base to highlight some small font describing the antenna operating bands. Reattach the relevant antenna for your traffic. Power on the device.
  • The included rubber ducky style antennas have limited range. Workaround: Use local repeaters. Try changing your location or orientation, even moving just a few feet around to get a better signal. Decrease the SQL (squelch) menu value. Or, purchase a longer whip antenna with more range. Ensure the new antenna model is compatible with Baofeng UV-5x3 and/or UV-5R devices.
  • The Squelch menu allows the value to be set to zero, which can add noise and drain the battery faster. Generally recommend to set squelch to 1 or higher.
  • Backlight configuration refuses to accept values larger than 10 seconds. Workaround: If necessary, shine some low light on your station.
  • As with many other ham radios, Baofeng models do not natively support general audience auxiliary / 3.5mm / TR(R)S headset cables. Workaround: Use the builtin Push To Talk microphone and speaker, or else purchase a TRS/TRRS PTT adapter compatible with the UV-5x3 / UV-5R radio models and your TRS/TRRS PTT headset.
  • Unnecessary double layer box that slows down packing, unpacking radio components. Workaround: Throw out one of the plastic box layer inserts.
  • The newer UV-5x3 model has not supplanted the classic UV-5R model in market share. Workaround: The models are similar in feature set and operation. Many discussions of the older UV-5R model apply to the UV-5x3 model as well. When researching topics of the UV-5x3 model, try replacing "UV-5x3" with "UV-5R" in your search terms in order to yield more results.
  • Western retailers may select an unfamiliar language as the default. Workaround: Consult online material, such as community posts for the similar UV-5R model, in order to successfully navigate the menu to configure the device for operation in another language. Note, the interface has been translated to a very small set of available languages.
  • The model does not allow multiple frequencies/channels from different bands (e.g. 2m amateur band and commercial broadcast radio) to transceive concurrently, or even assigned to the A/B bands concurrently. Workaround: Press the emergency call button once to toggle between amateur and commercial broadcast FM modes. Or shop for an alternative radio.
  • The toggle button to access amateur and commercial broadcast FM modes is the same button as the emergency call button. Workaround: Press the button quickly, only once per toggle, to select the desired mode.
  • Many common radio features, such as 6m, 10m, AM, SSB, CB, FRS (consumer "walkie talkies"), municipal bands, C4FM (Yaesu Fusion), and GMRS, are not available for transmitting/receiving/scanning on this model. Workaround: Shop alternative models. For GMRS transmission, apply for a separate GMRS license.
  • The screw holes for the belt clip attachment may be stripped. Workaround: Order a replacement or refund.
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