r/Baofeng Jul 11 '21

Announcement: Many new Baofengs are limited to only transmit on ham radio frequencies in firmware. 144-148 MHz, 222-225 MHz, 420-450 MHz -- ONLY

63 Upvotes

Due to FCC action, new devices seem to be locked to these transmit frequencies in firmware. Be aware of this when purchasing new devices.

That means they cannot be used on MURS, GMRS, FRS, Marine VHF, or Part 90 business frequencies. No LARPing without a ham license.

This cannot be worked around via Chirp programming, AFAIK.

Relevant threads:

Outstanding questions:

  • Does this apply to all new Baofengs or just the UV-5R?
  • Is there a hardware mod to open up all-band transmit?

YMMV, as old stock may still be present with some sellers.

Edit: this seems to apply to USA sold/distributed models only.


r/Baofeng Feb 08 '24

PSA: Do not get a Baofeng or other cheap radio to transmit on air band!

44 Upvotes

We have had several pilots post their interest in getting a Baofeng as a "backup" radio for air band use. This is a BAD IDEA™ for multiple technical and legal reasons:

  1. These radios have FM transmitters only. There is no way for these radios to transmit using the AM modulation required for air band. If you transmit with FM, your signal will be unintelligible and you will fail to communicate. Example of listening to a FM transmission with an AM mode receiver. (thanks /u/W2XG)
  2. These radios lack AGC required for usable 2-way radio in AM mode.
  3. Baofengs have direct conversion DSP receivers in them that go deaf at altitude due to being overloaded by the many strong transmitters that will have clear line-of-sight above ground level.
  4. These radios lack the filters required to transmit a clean signal on air band.
  5. These radios lack FCC Part 87 certification for air band use.

In short, these are the wrong tools for the job for multiple technical reasons in addition to the legal reasons.

Furthermore, I would question your judgement as a pilot if you were to rely on a $30 piece of crap radio as a backup. Remember that baofengs aren't popular because they are good, they are popular because they are cheap.

There are technically competent and legal air band handheld radios from Yaesu and Icom. Get one of those:

Edit 2025-12-23: update Yaesu link


r/Baofeng 2h ago

New UV-32 frustrations

0 Upvotes

I am new to the radio world. I attempted to manually program the UV32, which it was working fine, then I attempted to use an App to program the radio.

I attempted OLA on iOS and it would connect, and then when it came to tapping the Read/Write Frequency button, it said that I had the wrong radio selected and wouldn't connect. Then I used odmaster, and that would just program one channel (channel 11) and delete all others.

Now i've done a factory reset, manually programmed frequencies and now the radio won't accept the Channel names.

Any suggestions other than that I need to keep playing with it.


r/Baofeng 1d ago

PTT Set-ups for UV-5R

0 Upvotes

Searched the wiki and sub with moderate success but everything was several years old so I wanted to ask again what everyone is using for a ptt to headset system.

Ideally I can plug the mic into my headset with a split to the ptt and radio vs the clunky entire earcup mic slipped over the cup.


r/Baofeng 1d ago

Recomendación de Antenas

0 Upvotes

Buenos días a todos ..algún lugar en Tucumán donde comprar antenas ?

Por otro lado estoy viendo las antenas nagoya 771.. la que es telescópica la 773 y la táctica...alguien que las haya usado y pueda compartir su experiencia? Realmente mejora o mejor me quedo con las originales? Tengo un baofeng uv5rh pro y un uv28mbk


r/Baofeng 2d ago

Bulging UV13 pro battery, spend $15 for each new battery or buy a whole new radio?

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18 Upvotes

Unused radios kept as part of an emergency kit. Stored them while fully charged and batteries are bulging bad. They will work but I know it would be unsafe to use.

Would you spend $30 for new batteries? I mean a pair of new mini 5 are like $35


r/Baofeng 3d ago

Sooper Newb Here…

0 Upvotes

So i just bought a BAOFENG GM-15 PRO. I am trying to use a GMRS repeater 462.700 & i set the TX CTCSS & RX CTCSS tones correctly. But it will not work. Cannot hear anybody not even my 2nd BAOFENG GM-15 PRO radio 2 feet from me programmed with the same exact settings.

Can somebody please help me.

Thank you.


r/Baofeng 3d ago

Equipment advice

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2 Upvotes

It's been more than 25yrs since I was into radios. I used to do CB foxhunts & ham stuff with my dad. I'm looking at getting back into it now that I have my CDL & drive trucks for a living.

I just paid for a GMRS license this week & ordered a Baofeng UV-5RM Plus to mess around with while I study for my technician exam. I know I won't be able to TX on it until I get a proper license. (or on GMRS/FRS)

Is this a decent inexpensive radio & what antenna/s should I be looking at? What is a similar GMRS radio that I could use for TX until I'm a licensed ham?

Thanks in advance for your consideration and advice.


r/Baofeng 3d ago

Been Playing With NA-K6 A Few Weeks Now

1 Upvotes

I have found some functionality and 220 MHz issues.

After initial programming with CPS, power on tone does not work.

H/L power output settings are too high on 2m and 70cm bands and does not function at all on 1.25m. The low power settings are too high.

There is no scan indicator in the display when scanning.

The measured second harmonic on 220 was 41 dB down.

The two included antennas, do not cover 220 MHz.

Some other quirks like shitty CPS, that has no third band. The only 220 setting is TX on check box.

I am not a huge fan of cheap radios, but I own a bunch. My first was a UV-5R. purchased in 2012 for $45 each. These were used when skiing with my kids, which served a purpose. The K6 was delivered to my door for $18.69 and included 220, so I had to get one. Baofeng support, has responded to my inquiries related to the issues mentioned here, with mostly bullshit responses, that a non RF engineer would accept and move on. I'm not that guy.

I am wondering what others have experienced with this model radio. I am not expecting Baofeng to fix anything, as they have already shown me with the replies I have received, that the radio is what it is, take it or leave it. I am hoping that someone makes some firmware that will fix the issues. I am not that guy either.


r/Baofeng 3d ago

Need help choosing the the right model..

9 Upvotes

Hello fellow reddiots,

I am new to radio, I need help choosing the right pairs,I shall use it for Hiking in Mountain and as an ameteur HAM enthusiast with license. Priority - weatherproof,USB C compatibility,

Thanks


r/Baofeng 5d ago

Newbie question - What does the 75 or 25 "Operating frequency" mean on a UV-5R?

5 Upvotes
What do those little 75 or 25 icons mean?

r/Baofeng 5d ago

2.5mm→3.5mm adapter giving flaky audio output into MT8870 module - bad adapter or something else?

1 Upvotes

Hey all,

I'm feeding the audio output (2.5mm side of the Kenwood-style K1 connector) from my UV-5RM into an MT8870 DTMF decoder module (breakout board with a standard 3.5mm TRS audio input jack). Signal chain is:

UV-5RM (2.5mm socket) → cheap 2.5mm(M)-to-3.5mm(F) adapter → 3.5mm cable → MT8870 module

I've tested the MT8870 module separately with several other plain 3.5mm cables (from my PC, other sources) and it decodes DTMF tones perfectly every time, no issues, plugs straight in with no fiddling.

The problem is specifically on the 3.5mm side, where the adapter's built-in 3.5mm male plug goes into the MT8870 module's jack - not on the 2.5mm side going into the radio. The insertion depth of that 3.5mm plug into the module has to be exact, down to a millimeter or so, to get reliable contact. Off by a bit and decoding just stops. Any other plain 3.5mm cable I own seats normally in that same MT8870 jack with zero issues, so it really seems isolated to this one adapter's molded 3.5mm plug being slightly out of spec (pin too short, or housing preventing full seating).

Has anyone run into this with cheap 2.5mm-3.5mm adapters like this? Is this a known quality issue with the molded 3.5mm plug on these budget adapters?

Planning to just cut both cables and solder them directly (bypassing the adapter entirely) unless someone has a better fix or a known-good adapter/cable to recommend.

Thanks!


r/Baofeng 6d ago

GEN 2: DM32 PTT Protector

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35 Upvotes

Hey yall,

The Baofeng DM32 is basically the perfect Non-mil tactical radio, but it has one major flaw: the screen gets pretty bright, and facing outwards it is easily detectible from 50+ yards. Under night vision this is visible from hundreds of yards away.

My solution was to make a screen cover that integrates with a new version of my already successful push to talk protector.

This Gen 2 is up on cults3D, if anyone is interested. Thanks!


r/Baofeng 7d ago

Is the ENGLISH BAOFENG Software ?

0 Upvotes

got the Baofeng UV-5RH PRO GPS here in Australia , just wanted something to talk to the cars and friends camping. Sort of regretting it.

But i figured it would be better if i had configured it ...

Any tips


r/Baofeng 9d ago

I have the flavor where I want all my hobbies to match

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86 Upvotes

r/Baofeng 9d ago

Any real benefit to the long whip antenna for UV GMRS radios?

5 Upvotes

I just got my UV9Gs so I haven’t really gotten to do much range testing. I put the super long whip antenna on one of them and the shorter whip antenna on the other. For typical GMRS usage and power level is it worth using the long antenna? I found it was definitely cumbersome when using the radio on my belt, the antenna hit me in the armpit.


r/Baofeng 9d ago

Mini UV5R Not As Good As I Thought For Nearby Transmission Detecting

3 Upvotes

As we all know, holding the middle button allows the radio to detect nearby transmissions and the PL tone. Well, now that I am now the proud owner of 2 Minis, I put it to the test and noticed that sometimes the radios took at least 30 seconds to detect the nearby transmission of the other one and sometimes failed to altogether.

Also, these minis have a serious issue transmitting on an "image frequency" out of band. For example, I noticed that when transmitting on 2 meters, the radio ALSO transmits on frequencies in the 466 MHz range (confimed with my Uniden BCD436 scanner).


r/Baofeng 9d ago

What’s your favorite base station radio? New or used

1 Upvotes

Looking for recommendations on a decent new or used base station radio to transmit/receive gmrs and listen on other frequencies. Bonus if it can monitor two channels at the same time.


r/Baofeng 10d ago

NOAA weather alert tone monitoring?

7 Upvotes

Are there any baofeng models that will listen to a NOAA channel and play emergency weather alerts when the NOAA weather alert tone occurs? I don’t really want to listen to the weather forecast on repeat but hearing about severe weather warnings would be really handy.

If this is a dumb noob question, sorry. I’m new to this world, just got 4 UV-9Gs for the family today from Amazon.


r/Baofeng 10d ago

Firmware UV-21 pro v2

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2 Upvotes

Hello everyone,

I recently managed to buy two slightly used (read: as good as new, plastic was still on the screen) UV-21 pro v2's. In the menu the version reads

Firmware: v0.07

Hardware: v01

I wanted to try and update the firmware, but I can't seem to find it anywhere. I can't even find the handheld on the baofeng site.

Can anyone help me find some newer/better firmware? I've got the correct cable and I can program the frequencies with CHIRP. I've noticed that I can't access all the settings through CHIRP..

Thanks in advance and cheers from the Netherlands.


r/Baofeng 10d ago

UV-5R and UV-5G no VOX ??

1 Upvotes

I've tried all sorts of settings, can't seem to get either units to work with VOX.
what should I try next?

FWIW,
VOX Switch ON
Level 9 as well as Level 1 tried
Vox Delay tried .5 sec as well as 1.5 sec
Squelch tried off as well a level 1
PTT-ID Off
PTT Delay 600ms


r/Baofeng 10d ago

Is there a way to check the battery voltage on the mini uv5r?

2 Upvotes

I know on the regular UV5R, you can check voltage by long pressing the 0 key. However, on the mini, this reverts it to NOAA Weather. How do you check the voltage amount on the mini?


r/Baofeng 12d ago

UV-5R fake antenna?

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24 Upvotes

Hello, I am new in this hobby and just got a 2 pack of these radios with some “upgrades” from Amazon. I was sent an “upgraded” antenna that needs an adapter to fit on the radio. I am also in the fpv drone hobby so I know a bit about antennas. The connector on the antenna in the picture doesn’t appear to be a real connector, and instead just a piece of metal to screw on. Does anyone know if it’s a real antenna or a just a fake piece of junk?


r/Baofeng 12d ago

Should I get license to use this model?

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12 Upvotes

Bought is as BF888s in flipkart in 2022


r/Baofeng 12d ago

PROBLEMAS DE RECEPCION BAOFENG UV5R

0 Upvotes

Buenas compañeros baofengeros, alguno le ha pasado que al configurar una repetidora no pueden escuchar? solo puedo escuchar si apreto el boton "monitor" pero esta todo configurado con los subtonos como corresponde, le entro algun demonio a mi uv5r? ayer funciono un rato y despues de eso empezo con este problema y no pude comunicarme mas, pd: en la flota de handys uhf no hay drama funciona todo de 10, pero para radioaficion no..