UV-5R transmitting after unlock

[WRVY822]

I just recently got a UV-5R and did the "hold three buttons and turn on" to unlock gmrs transmitting functionality. Before doing this I had already used Chirp to program the uv-5r and I set all the Ham frequencies/repeaters to off (the Duplex column) so I wouldn't accidentally transmit. The gmrs unlock must have canceled out those settings, because I realized I could transmit on a Ham repeater. I went to Chirp to re-download the radio and checked those duplex settings again. After uploading again to the radio, I could still transmit on Ham freq (which I don't want to). And I noticed that the red light indicator would stay on well after releasing the PTT button.

The only fix or work-around I have found so far was to go back to Chirp and just disable transmitting in the settings on all channels and frequencies, but this is not a long term solution I want.

I hope I explained that well. Does anyone have any ideas?

[WRUU653]

I don’t have the UV-5R but I have a GT-3WP that is unlocked. I think you’ll only be able to turn off tx in channel mode by selecting “off” in the duplex column for each frequency that you want to restrict. In frequency mode I think you’re gonna have to avoid the button. I hope this helps. 

[WRVY822]

So I have "off" selected in the duplex column (using chirp) on those channels that are loaded with Ham repeaters. Before I did the gmrs unlock, it worked like it was supposed to preventing me from transmitting. Something changed after the unlock. I re-checked those duplex settings and they are still set to off. But when I have a Ham repeater channel selected, I can transmit. Are you saying I need to change a setting on the radio related to frequency and channel mode?

[WRUU653]

On the GT-3WP it has either channel mode or frequency mode when using. Chirp only locked out frequencies in channel mode. I changed my settings after the unlock. I don’t know if it makes a difference but I figured it would. You may be able to do the unlock again and then go and change your settings. I’m not really sure. Sorry I’m not more help on the 5R. 

[WRVY822]

I attached a screenshot of what my settings look like on chirp. I don't see how to differentiate between channel mode and frequency mode in chirp.

[WRUU653]

Maybe this guy can help. 

[WRUU653]

1 minute ago, WRVY822 said:

don't see how to differentiate between channel mode and frequency mode in chirp.

You can’t in Chirp. I was just saying it doesn’t lock frequencies out in frequency mode that’s all. Sorry for the confusion. You look like you have things correct so the only thing that seems different to me is that you changed things before the reset so I don’t know if that had an effect. I would try resetting again but do so at your own risk. Maybe someone else has run into this. 

[WRVY822]

Yes, I actually watched that video before I found the gmrs unlock video from the same guy. My picture shows that I was using the channel by channel method of preventing accidental transmitting on Ham frequencies. The screenshot shows that I have those Ham frequencies Duplex set to off. But when I check on the radio, I can still transmit on those Ham repeaters (not good).

Currently I am using the "global" method that he talks about in that video, but that means all transmitting is turned off. I would prefer to be able to transmit on frs and gmrs while also blocking transmitting on Ham frequencies. Unfortunately, I can't figure it out.

I do appreciate your attempt to help.

[WRUU653]

I understand what you are trying for and it seems like you have done things correctly. Wish I had the answer. Good luck. 

[WRUU653]

Sounds like it’s time to buy a GMRS radio maybe. Then no worries. 

[WRVY822]

Actually, my first radio purchase was 2 Btech GMRS Pros. I just bought the UV-5R to play around with monitoring Ham radio and to see what all the hype is about.

[WRUU653]

Just now, WRVY822 said:

just bought the UV-5R to play around with monitoring Ham radio and to see what all the hype is about.

I can understand that. I thought of doing that myself but my want list keeps growing.  

[wayoverthere]

I won't say it's the best workaround, but on both the uv5r types and the LMR gear, if I don't want tx completely disabled, I'll them set up with odd splits... on the channels I absolutely don't want to key up over (like public safety channels)...Rx set as normal,  with the tx frequency set for low power on either gmrs channel 1, or one of the murs channels for the vhf-only radios.

[Lscott]

9 hours ago, WRVY822 said:

Actually, my first radio purchase was 2 Btech GMRS Pros. I just bought the UV-5R to play around with monitoring Ham radio and to see what all the hype is about.

The little buggers are like dandelions. You get get the first one, then another, before you know it you have a big collection of them all over the place.

[WRVY822]

So I am still trying to figure out what has changed on my new uv-5r since I did the gmrs unlock.

I re-downloaded to chirp and set all the Ham frequencies to "off" on the Duplex column. I enabled transmitting in the other settings and then uploaded back to the radio.

First, I tried transmitting on a gmrs channel and confirmed that it works (which is great).

Then, I switched to a Ham frequency and when I pressed and released the PTT button, the screen lights orange for several seconds and the red indicator light comes on. (not good) And in fact the red indicator light stayed on longer than the orange light on the screen. If I understand how the radio works, the orange screen light and red indicator light should have turned off immediately after I released the PTT button. But they stay on for about 7 to 10 seconds with the red light staying on longer. This doesn't seem normal.

Has anyone else experienced anything like this?

[kerstuff]

The red light issue is a known for the locked units. There isn't a fix. The easiest thing is to immediately turn the radio off & back on & it's no longer frozen. I have these radios to hand out for a SHTF time. Ideal solution, no. Practical, yes.

[WRVY822]

kerstuff, does the "red light issue" prevent the radio from being able to successfully transmit on Ham frequencies/repeaters if a Ham license was acquired?

[KAF6045]

20 hours ago, WRVY822 said:

I just recently got a UV-5R and did the "hold three buttons and turn on" to unlock gmrs transmitting functionality. Before doing this I had already used Chirp to program the uv-5r and I set all the Ham frequencies/repeaters to off (the Duplex column) so I wouldn't accidentally transmit. The gmrs unlock must have canceled out those settings, because I realized I could transmit on a Ham repeater. I went to Chirp to re-download the radio and checked those duplex settings again. After uploading again to the radio, I could still transmit on Ham freq (which I don't want to). And I noticed that the red light indicator would stay on well after releasing the PTT button.

To my understanding "Duplex: OFF" just means -- transmit in SIMPLEX mode (use the Rx frequency for Tx, rather than using some offset from Rx to get to Tx frequency).

If the radio is truly "unlocked" it should allow transmit on any frequency within operating capability.

[WRUU653]

8 minutes ago, KAF6045 said:

To my understanding "Duplex: OFF" just means

In Chirp setting duplex to off for a frequency will prevent you from being able to tx in that frequency. At least it does on my unlocked radio. That’s what he is attempting to do. For some reason it isn’t working though. He’s trying to lock out selected frequencies not enable them. 

[axorlov]

Should be easy to verify if radio actually transmits with wattmeter between radio and antenna, or better, between radio and dummy load.

[WRVY822]

I don't have the wattmeter or a dummy load thing. Should I invest in something like that?

The radio behaves like it's transmitting on channels that I have set to "off" on Duplex. The screen turns orange, the red light comes on, and stays on well after I have released the PTT button.

[SteveShannon]

Having these tools might be fun, but I wouldn’t buy hundreds of dollars in tools just to diagnose a problem with a $25 radio. 
Just buy a different radio that you don’t have to diagnose. 

[wayoverthere]

49 minutes ago, WRVY822 said:

I don't have the wattmeter or a dummy load thing. Should I invest in something like that?

The radio behaves like it's transmitting on channels that I have set to "off" on Duplex. The screen turns orange, the red light comes on, and stays on well after I have released the PTT button.

I don't know that I'd buy them specifically to diagnose this radio, but a dummy load and a meter (surecom sw102 isn't horribly expemsive and will have you covered for both swr and power output) are helpful things to have in the radio hobby. The meter will tell you if you have power going out, and the dummy load reduces the possibility of interferece while testing.

If it's strictly a utility thing, I agree with @Sshannon that it's probably more economical in the long run to just take it as an opportunity to upgrade.

[axorlov]

3 hours ago, Sshannon said:

but I wouldn’t buy hundreds of dollars in tools just to diagnose a problem with a $25 radio

Wise words

[SteveShannon]

I have two Baofeng radios, one an older UV5R from before the crackdown by the FCC, the other a GT5R, which I left locked down. Both work as expected.

i also have more than my share of Yaesu handhelds and one Alinco DMR handheld that are just better radios. If you ever ask how many radios are enough I’ll say “Just a few more.”

When unlocking a radio, a person should fully expect all existing memory channels to be wiped clear.  That’s just part of the trade off, and in fact for some radios that’s what’s necessary to get them to open up because the frequency limits are baked in somewhere in the memory configuration. For other radios, like the Yaesu handhelds I have, it was less disruptive.

My friend Jack has a new UV5R that he just picked up a few months ago.  He bought it for ham radio, not GMRS, so there was no need to open it up.  His radio had been cutting out on some signals coming into the receiver lately and we figured out that it was the squelch. I sent him the Miklor article on fixing the squelch in that radio and I talked with him on the phone while he worked in Chirp. When he was done we tested the radio through the local 2 meter repeater.  Everything worked just fine. That was Saturday or Sunday.

Then, on Monday night, during the local 2 meter net, we heard someone trying to get into the repeater.  We would hear white noise when they pushed their PTT, and then a roger beep, followed by the repeater courtesy beep. Another ham recognized that it was Jack because of Jack’s roger beep.  Jack tried a few more times while we waited, but all we could hear was the white noise and then the roger beep.  It was obvious that his transmitter was working, but his voice wasn’t being picked up and transmitted. I called Jack on the phone and told him what we were hearing. Having a recognizable roger beep helped!

Yesterday, I spent some time with him while he and I looked through all the Chirp settings, looking for anything that might disable the microphone. We found nothing.  I said that I thought it sounded like the internal mike just failed, possibly because the external mike jack’s bypass switch was stuck open.  Inserting and removing the programming cable might have caused it and Jack tried inserting it a few times, but no luck.  Finally, Jack tried the external microphone that came with it and then I could hear his voice.

I’m not a Baofeng UV5R basher, but it’s important to realize just what they are — very low cost and surprisingly fun little radios that can fail at any moment. Baofengs are  often an expendable component along the path of learning radio. 

But, if you get serious about playing radio, an SWR/power meter, a dummy load, and an antenna analyzer are great to have.  Then a spectrum analyzer and oscilloscope. ♾

[WRVY822]

My goal is simply to have a way to communicate with family during an emergency, and I was hoping to get a range of about 10 to 15 miles. After a little research, I decided to get a gmrs license and bought 2 Btech GMRS Pros. However, I have not been able to find many repeaters in my area so far, so I decided to get a Ham radio so I could listen and play around.

I'm starting to think that if I really want emergency comms, that I am going to need a base station. But I still haven't decided if gmrs or Ham is going to be the best for my situation.

And my cheap UV-5R quickly tripled in price when I added an antenna and extended battery.