Armed Polite Society
Main Forums => The Roundtable => Topic started by: Brad Johnson on April 29, 2025, 05:01:37 PM
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Being severe weather season, and being a previous spotter for the Natl Weather Svc, I got the itch to listen in on local spotters. Picked up a Baofeng UV-5RM Plus based on decent reviews and an even decent-er price ($29). Knew full well there would be compromises and general lack of quality based on the price, but didn't care since I'm just using it as a glorified scanner.
Couple of things...
First, it's actually a little better feeling than I expected quality-wise. Bare bones, but not bad. Especially for thirty bucks.
Second, it's a programming nightmare. I'm reasonably well versed in programming amateur radios, both handheld and mobile mount. This thing is just nuts. The fixed programming steps have zero similarity to anything I've worked with. Instructions are okay, but frustratingly incomplete when it comes to how functions interact with each other. It took three hours messing with settings, clearing and reentering data, watching YouTube tutorials, and searching the web to get a couple of stations programmed.
Third, lack of buttons, and lack of labeling on what few buttons it does have. The interface is bare-bones. I'm used to radios with a gaggle of LABELED buttons which are reasonably intuitive for someone with even basic amateur tranceiver experience. This thing? Without the instruction book, you're sunk.
I won't even bother bringing it to work any more. Tried it today and confirmed our building is effectively a giant faraday cage. I can barely receive FM signals from the 35,000w University radio station who's tower is less than a quarter mile away and direct line of sight out my window. No way in hell it's going to pick up a 200w repeater from across town. If I step outside I can key up the repeater. Inside? Nothing. RX won't even break the squelch.
I may take a look at Chirp for programming. I has its idiosyncrasies, but can't be anywhere near bad as trying to program from the radio keypad.
Brad
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CHIRP and a cable are your friends. That's how I programmed my F8-HP. Super easy.
Note that unless something has changed, GRMS stuff is locked out of the newer Baofengs, thanks to the FCC. I have an older one that still lets me use it as an FRMS/GRMS.
Also, this is well worth the 20 ducats:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KC4PWQQ
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Ben beat me to it. I ended up one of the "radio guys" for my friend group, so I have like 5 Baofengs, and one of the UV-5RM's is my truck overlanding radio. Chirp is the only way to roll. It's easy, intuitive, and you can save different images (i.e. for me I have a N. Georgia, a S NC, A North FL, and a Central FL) with different weather stations, freqs, repeater nets, Whatever. Swapping images takes less than a minute.
Get a good antenna, and it's a real value for the money.
Free Download: https://chirpmyradio.com/projects/chirp/wiki/Home
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I third the notion for Chirp. I use it on the three Baofengs I have. It also works on a metric buttload of other brand radios, too. It's free, easy to use, lots of features. Works kind of like a spreadsheet. Oh, did I mention it's free?
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Antenna and data cable ordered.
Brad
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Well, dang. Chirp refuses to comm with the radio. Baofeng branded data cable. Chirp-NEXT. Computer recognizes the cable insertion but no response from the radio.
Oh, well. Not like it's going to be much help anyway. After a lot of cussing and fiddling, I finally got programmed the two frequencies I want to monitor. That's enough for me.
Brad
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Well, dang. Chirp refuses to comm with the radio. Baofeng branded data cable. Chirp-NEXT. Computer recognizes the cable insertion but no response from the radio.
Oh, well. Not like it's going to be much help anyway. After a lot of cussing and fiddling, I finally got programmed the two frequencies I want to monitor. That's enough for me.
Brad
Depending on where you got your UV-5RM from you may need to unlock it. Some vendors ship them frequency locked out of some bands, as a nod to FCC regs.
Even if you don't want to program more right now, I'd recommend unlocking it so you have the capabilities if you want. and because it's BS to nuter your radio because some Revenuer is afraid you'll break squelch 500khz too high.
It's been a while but I think my UV-5RM's unlocked the same way my UV-5R's did. Procedure: https://youtube.com/shorts/JSMos7pLXJo?si=xK7Pio2VGeWFhX8x
If you have a UV-5RM Plus, that won't work, but I don't remember what did right now.
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Depending on where you got your UV-5RM from you may need to unlock it. Some vendors ship them frequency locked out of some bands, as a nod to FCC regs.
Baofeng store on Amazon.
If you have a UV-5RM Plus, that won't work, but I don't remember what did right now.
UV-5RM Plus
Brad
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All the Baofeng handhelds can be tough to connect to with Chirp. You've got to follow the sequence of connecting the cable, powering the radio, etc., pretty much exactly. Even then it can take a few tries.
Another thing to consider is trying the older legacy version of Chirp. I have a Baofeng M-5R tri-band handheld. It is supposed to be electronically similar to the UV-5RM. The M-5R absolutely refused to work with the new Chirp-Next. It works fine with the legacy version.
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I've only used legacy (it works and I haven't needed to update so why?) But it connects to pretty much everything i plug it into.
I have not played with the -5RM Plus though.
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I've never had an issue connecting. I'm assuming I'm on CHIRP legacy. I installed it a couple of years ago and have never updated it.
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One question I forgot to ask... does the cable require driver installation or is it plug an play? I plugged it in and the laptop assigned it a COM port so I presumed all was well, but drivers can always be suspect.
Brad
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One question I forgot to ask... does the cable require driver installation or is it plug an play? I plugged it in and the laptop assigned it a COM port so I presumed all was well, but drivers can always be suspect.
Brad
If I remember correctly, the cables that come with Baofeng radios are all based on the FTDI chipset. Again, IIRC, they do require a driver be installed. Teh goolez will tell you for sure.
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If I remember correctly, the cables that come with Baofeng radios are all based on the FTDI chipset. Again, IIRC, they do require a driver be installed. Teh goolez will tell you for sure.
I also seem to recall installing a driver, but I'm an old man and I get confused.
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Just checked the Baofeng website and some googlezers. Yes, the cable requires a separate driver installation. It's a fairly simple thing.
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While Dogmush already posted how to unlock a newer Baofeng, I thought I'd throw this guy into the mix. He has great information and he's a crackup, always making digs at the FCC. :laugh:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sg3RJf1ZEA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sg3RJf1ZEA
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I don't have to click on those to know they are NotaRubicon.
Don't be a Sad HAM
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Took another stab at it today.
Turns out the cable is fine. It was a radio selection issue. I was selecting UV-5R from Chirp's list because UV-5RM Pro isn't an option. On a whim I tried 5RM instead (no UV or Pro). Worked.
Not sure what I'll do with it now as I've also discovered local spotters no longer use frequencies from my old list.
Brad
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Program in all the repeater frequencies within 50-60 miles or so. Next time there is a weather event, set the radio to scan through those repeaters and you'll likely find the spotters. You might also email a radio club or two in the area. They can tell you which repeaters the spotters are using. The local NWS office might have that info, as well.
Edit to add that you can look up local repeaters on repeaterbook.com.