Another Baothing the UV-5G

[WSKY567]

Well, let's see.....

Its:

• GMRS and FCC legal
• Tiny.  Very small "Pocket" radio
• Does things one would expect from a Baothing
  • FM Broadcast receive
  • Limited VHF receive
  • Limited UHV receive
  • NOAA receive
  • 22 channels of FRS GMRS
  • Does reduce power to FRS only channels and will transmit
  • 8 channels of repeaters..... kind of.....
• Doesn't do some things one would expect
  • Won't communicate with available Baothing CPS software.  App crashes on handshake
  • Won't communicate with available Chirp.  Chirp supports same radio as UV-5X but refuses to recognize UV-5G
  • RT Systems will work with the channel list with no options for general settings  Allows for CTCSS input for repeater channels  So the radio will now work on the 8 repeater channels.
  • Button programming is Bizarre.  Do this in this mode, then switch modes, then do it again, then save the one parameter, rip your hair out and try again. 
• Pretty tinny speaker but can be understood
• Has a flashlight,  Ok now I'm being cynical  
• Will communicate 20 feet between rooms   Haven't tested it any further  It's cold outside

Overall opinion and recommendations:  Get back to me in five years.  

[WRYS709]

UV-5G: That was your Father’s GMRS Baofeng!

Now updated as the UV-5G Plus

Or in my case, after a member of this Forum posted about an Amazon 2-Pack Flash Sale for $18.54: the GM-5RH

Very difficult to “open” so I gave one away to my BFF in the hopes of his getting the “radio bug” and used all the accessories and battery for my other compatible radios, including the soon after acquired 2-Pack 5RH Pro for $39!

[WSKY567]

20 minutes ago, WRYS709 said:

UV-5G: That was your Father’s GMRS Baofeng!

I picked up on that eventually, a while after I received them.  I looked at a plus, a pro, an eieio #6 suffix and none of them really did anything more that I was interested in.  I like the two desk docks I got with the set.  The rest of the junk that came with it is pretty much just that, junk.  I've got an SWR meter and dummy load coming in tomorrow.  I'm going to test the radios I have purchased here recently and see what they are made of.  Should be able to put them on the oscilloscope across the dummy load and get a good idea of exactly what they are emitting.  Last I played with radios they were huge heavy boxes.  These tiny little units are a hoot to me.  Every one I've tested is giving me a good 1/2 mile which amazes me.  Obviously haven't tested these yet.  For the things I will do with them 1/2 mile is plenty.  

[HHD1]

53 minutes ago, WSKY567 said:

eieio

what does this mean, McDonald's ?

[WSKY567]

3 minutes ago, HHD1 said:

what does this mean, McDonald's ?

Old McDonald's farm with all kinds of animals.  I realize it's a bit of a quantum leap but it stands for acronymology in general or in this case too many derivatives of a series or model to remember.  

[HHD1]

49 minutes ago, WSKY567 said:

Old McDonald's farm with all kinds of animals.  I realize it's a bit of a quantum leap but it stands for acronymology in general or in this case too many derivatives of a series or model to remember.  

That's where my mind was going.  I like that. We live in the age of eieio. And not just radios.

[WSKY567]

11 minutes ago, HHD1 said:

That's where my mind was going.  I like that. We live in the age of eieio. And not just radios.

Yes my friend, that we do.  Regardless of what I'm looking into the first and most difficult task is sorting out the eieio's.  Once that's accomplished, the concepts are usually not that difficult to understand.  I am studying for the tech ham right now and I'm convinced my success lies in memorizing the eieio's.  What kills me is a conversation with multiple people with different backgrounds.  The same eieio means a dozen different things.  You programmed your radio with Child Protective Services, Amazing!!!!!  

[WSKY567]

Update:

Power test shows unit over performs by a tad showing 5.4W output.   The carrier looks pretty clean on the oscilloscope.  There is a fairly prominent  spike at the 4th harmonic but within specs.  Couldn't see much beyond the 5th harmonic as using the oscilloscope as a spectrum analyzer is limited.  

[WSHL413]

Happy so far with a pair of UV-5Gs. I plan to use them soon for a cross-country drive with two vehicles to keep in touch.

Interestingly they ID as "Radioddity UV-5G" which works fine with Chirp. I programmed as many open GMRS repeaters as I could find between CA and WV into the higher numbered memory channels. We'll see how they perform on the road.

[beerftw]

I have the uv-5g and the gm-5rh baofengsm they both work good but I prefer the uv-5g just due to simplicity. They are not the greatest gmrs radios but the plus side they work good enough and if you use them outdoors or on a hunting trip or in construction work if one breaks you will not be crying about the loss.

 

  Enjoy the uv-5g it is the gateway drug of gmrs.

[WSKY567]

16 hours ago, WSHL413 said:

"Radioddity UV-5G"

Gonna try that today.  Got an swr meter a couple days ago and the swr is terrible, but the swr is terrible on all my handhelds.  All between 3 & 4.  I'm guessing at this point that it's me as a ground plane not necessarily the radio itself.  

 

Edit:

 

Just tried it and as you indicated it worked perfectly.  Thanks!!!!   You're genius!

[SteveShannon]

3 hours ago, WSKY567 said:

Gonna try that today.  Got an swr meter a couple days ago and the swr is terrible, but the swr is terrible on all my handhelds.  All between 3 & 4.  I'm guessing at this point that it's me as a ground plane not necessarily the radio itself.  

 

Edit:

 

Just tried it and as you indicated it worked perfectly.  Thanks!!!!   You're genius!

Don’t waste your time trying to measure the SWR of handheld antennas.  Their measurements almost never make sense.

[WSKY567]

9 minutes ago, SteveShannon said:

Don’t waste your time trying to measure the SWR of handheld antennas.  Their measurements almost never make sense.

Agree with that for sure!  Things are performing great and giving me those hideous readings. Test any of my antennas on mobile/base unit and I've got them tuned almost to an exact 1:1.  

[WSHL413]

4 hours ago, WSKY567 said:

Just tried it and as you indicated it worked perfectly.  Thanks!!!!   You're genius!

Glad it worked!

Appreciate the compliment although it was more of an educated guess. If I ever had any genius brain cells, they burned out decades ago! LOL

[WSHL413]

1 hour ago, SteveShannon said:

Don’t waste your time trying to measure the SWR of handheld antennas.  Their measurements almost never make sense.

Steve, got a question.

On my road trip I plan to use the Signal Stuff dual-band (2m/70cm) antenna on a roof mag mount with an HT inside the car. I remember seeing something on their web site saying the dual-band antenna should work for GMRS. That would be nice so I don't have to mount a second antenna on the roof. Would you agree or should I invest in a second magmount and antenna specifically designed for GMRS? I'm not looking for maximum efficiency - just casual use of HTs while on the road.

[SteveShannon]

9 minutes ago, WSHL413 said:

Steve, got a question.

On my road trip I plan to use the Signal Stuff dual-band (2m/70cm) antenna on a roof mag mount with an HT inside the car. I remember seeing something on their web site saying the dual-band antenna should work for GMRS. That would be nice so I don't have to mount a second antenna on the roof. Would you agree or should I invest in a second magmount and antenna specifically designed for GMRS? I'm not looking for maximum efficiency - just casual use of HTs while on the road.

That’s where an SWR test can be helpful.  SWR test the dual band antenna on the roof mount on the car just as you would use it using GMRS frequencies.  If it’s 2.0:1 or less then I would just use it.  If it’s high, like 3.0:1 or higher then I would probably get a dedicated GMRS antenna. If it’s in between 2.0:1 and 3.0:1 then I would test it to see if you get decent range. You shouldn’t damage your radio at that ratio, but you’ll attenuate power in your transmission line.

[WSLA698]

18 hours ago, beerftw said:

Enjoy the uv-5g it is the gateway drug of gmrs.

But have you tried the UV-5G mini? The "fits in your pocket undetected" GMRS drug of choice.

[SteveShannon]

2 minutes ago, WSLA698 said:

But have you tried the UV-5G mini? The "fits in your pocket undetected" GMRS drug of choice.

I have a blind ham friend who recently got the UV5R mini.  He’s used to Yaesus and Alincos, and he didn’t care for the TYT MD-UV380, but he wanted to try the mini. I really anticipated that he would hate it, but I was 180° wrong.  He really likes it.

[WSLA698]

7 minutes ago, SteveShannon said:

I really anticipated that he would hate it, but I was 180° wrong.  He really likes it.

It's hard to hate when you can get a 2 pack for $50 or less. The stock antenna isn't great but far better than I expected.

My son has already dropped his a dozen times and it doesn't even matter. Easily replaced and programmed with CHIRP or BT.

[WSKY567]

2 hours ago, WSLA698 said:

It's hard to hate when you can get a 2 pack for $50 or less.

When I first started looking around at these radios I couldn't believe my eyes.  $20 gets you a functional radio that will easily transceive 1/2 mile.  I do handle them with care but that's with everything I own.  If something happens to one it's no big deal.  Being brand new to GMRS, I really don't know what to expect but as far as I can tell they work fine.  I'm honestly not sure what more expensive radios would do better.  I'll keep reading here and see what folks have to say about different radios but so far I have read nothing that qualifies the benefits of more expensive units.  

[SteveShannon]

2 minutes ago, WSKY567 said:

When I first started looking around at these radios I couldn't believe my eyes.  $20 gets you a functional radio that will easily transceive 1/2 mile.  I do handle them with care but that's with everything I own.  If something happens to one it's no big deal.  Being brand new to GMRS, I really don't know what to expect but as far as I can tell they work fine.  I'm honestly not sure what more expensive radios would do better.  I'll keep reading here and see what folks have to say about different radios but so far I have read nothing that qualifies the benefits of more expensive units.  

A $25 five watt Baofeng will transmit exactly as far as a $650 five watt Kenwood.

But it might have a messier signal. It probably doesn’t receive quite as well. It might be more susceptible to desensing in the presence of a strong nearby signal. But those are pretty subtle things. 

[WSKY567]

22 minutes ago, SteveShannon said:

A $25 five watt Baofeng will transmit exactly as far as a $650 five watt Kenwood.

But it might have a messier signal. It probably doesn’t receive quite as well. It might be more susceptible to desensing in the presence of a strong nearby signal. But those are pretty subtle things. 

Very much appreciate this.   Helps a lot with perspective and expectations.  

[WRYS709]

4 hours ago, WSHL413 said:

Jason: I have a code plug for the Radioddity DB20G a/k/a Anytone AT-779UV, that has most of the Ham Repeaters contiguous to Interstate-15 from Los Angeles to Central Montana. 

Would that be helpful?

[WSHL413]

1 hour ago, WRYS709 said:

Jason: I have a code plug for the Radioddity DB20G a/k/a Anytone AT-779UV, that has most of the Ham Repeaters contiguous to Interstate-15 from Los Angeles to Central Montana. 

Would that be helpful?

Appreciate the offer. The route is briefly north on I-15 to I-40, then eastward to I-44 and I-70 into Wheeling, WV. One-way trip as that will be my new QTH (big change but nice place to retire and close to family).

Not to stray too far off-topic...For 2m and 70cm I'm using an Anytone AT-D868UV programmed with analog repeater info from Repeaterbook. Similar to how I compiled the set of GMRS repeaters using this site's map function for my UV-5G, I searched for ham repeaters along the interstates that appeared to be available for travellers.

The D868UV also supports DMR. I don't yet have experience with code plugs or that digital mode. Are code plugs only used for DMR? It would be great to see a real-world example. Glad to talk further offline or create a new thread under the Amateur Radio section. You got my curiosity piqued so some web searching is in order as well.

[WRYS709]

The disadvantage of analog on a continuous trip is that you will lose each repeater in 15 minutes or so as you progress. 

With DMR, a hotspot and portable wifi internet (such as from your cellphone) you can stay on the same DMR Talkgroup for as long as desired and needed. 

While the concept of “codeplugs” are usually associated with DMR, especially because they tend to be more complicated when early in your learning curve, in reality, anytime you backup your radio’s settings and channels, that is a codeplug, even if analog.