Ooooh! Boy

scottyfix · Jan 19, 2015

Folks ...I am new on here...I recently just bought a KG-UV8D radio ...mainly because I am a law enforcement officer and it seems like I always get the radio you have to smack against your palm to get it to work!! Anywhoo....I bought my radio during christmas....I am in love with this thing...I can talk to Central and the fire department within 2 seconds of each other....wow! ....that helps a lot!. This little UV8D will surprise you...tough little unit. How ever..I jumped in my patrol car...was going after a careless driver and my radio flew off my belt hit the ground . No biggee...the only thing is it put a crack in the display glass. I ordered one....the thing is? how do I replace it? is it a pop off type or ...???? Help!...sure would appreciate a little help if you can spare it!

Thanks
Scottyfix

mikewazowski · Jan 19, 2015

Thread moved to Budget and Entry Level Transceivers forum.

teufler · Jan 20, 2015

probably have to remove the case and replace from the inside. There is a special wrench that removes the brass fittings around the antenna but I have used needle nose plyers, careful to not hit the treads. then they will be either phelps head screws or torx head screws, of no size that "we " have. Make sure you place all the citcuits back in the case. Or send it to Baofeng Tech and have them replace it. Now several tears ago I sent a radio to Yaesu for a crystal repair. $75.00 a hour plus parts. Now you start to understand radio economics and leave with the crack or get a new one for less than a repair bill. What happened to you, it could happen to any portable radio. Several years ago, I had a Memphis patrolman throw his ht1000 at a perp. Hit him in the head, he died later from the hit. Broke the antenna and one of the knobs but no radio is destruction proof.

N8XOG · Jan 20, 2015

First post for me as well! To bad about your radio.
If you want to replace it on your own there are a couple vids on Youtube showing how to tear down a UV-5R. Yours is a bigger radio but much the same. I don't recommend tearing into it if you have never done that kind of thing before.
Second option; Take it to an independent cellular repair shop. They are replacing the glass displays on cell phones all the time. Your radio requires the same tools and knowledge.
Best of luck!

cabletech · Jan 21, 2015

scottyfx----first off, why are you using a non certified radio in law enforcement? This radio is certified as a dual band HAM RADIO.

As for replace the display, if you have never worked on this type equipment then you need to send it to some one who knows what they are doing.

VE3RADIO · Jan 21, 2015

cabletech said:
scottyfx----first off, why are you using a non certified radio in law enforcement? This radio is certified as a dual band HAM RADIO.

As for replace the display, if you have never worked on this type equipment then you need to send it to some one who knows what they are doing.

I was waiting for this comment lol.

Let the flame throwing begin. lol

wa2chj · Jan 22, 2015

Some, if not all, KG-UV8D radios are Part 90. I have two and both have the required Part 90 labels on them.

N4KVE · Jan 23, 2015

wa2chj said:
Some, if not all, KG-UV8D radios are Part 90. I have two and both have the required Part 90 labels on them.

While this is true, why would anyone in law enforcement trust his life to a Chinese made $100 budget radio?

com501 · Jan 23, 2015

scottyfix said:
Folks ...I am new on here...I recently just bought a KG-UV8D radio ...mainly because I am a law enforcement officer and it seems like I always get the radio you have to smack against your palm to get it to work!! Anywhoo....I bought my radio during christmas....I am in love with this thing...I can talk to Central and the fire department within 2 seconds of each other....wow! ....that helps a lot!. This little UV8D will surprise you...tough little unit. How ever..I jumped in my patrol car...was going after a careless driver and my radio flew off my belt hit the ground . No biggee...the only thing is it put a crack in the display glass. I ordered one....the thing is? how do I replace it? is it a pop off type or ...???? Help!...sure would appreciate a little help if you can spare it!

Thanks
Scottyfix

Besides anything else, how on earth did you get permission from your department to use a non-department radio on their system? If you didn't ask, you just placed the entire department in a huge liability issue. Not to mention the whole $100 radio thing.

So, your duty weapon is a $135 Taurus, or a $400 Glock? Which decision did your department make on that score, and why do you think a radio is any different?

teufler · Jan 23, 2015

We have probably scared Scottyfix off RR with comments. Some cities don't have good equipment, officers buy their own. East St Louis drove private cars for a coupled of years because th city cars gave out., Officers have a choice, go out with a radio that should be retired or go out with something that works. Years ago, I met several officers down in the Memphis area that had bought W32 Icom units, there were wide banded and they did cross band and they were dual band. The department had nothing like what they found. They had needs to talk uhf and vhf. As long as they were personnel radios, they did not get abused. True they were not part 90 but they worked and no one complained. Maybe Scottyfix comes from a small department and clear voice is a welcome voice. Getting a budget for new radios from city councils can be hard. The comment that Com501 makes about a duty weapon is a good comparison. If they can, officers will spend money for a special weapon, but seems to look at radios as just, it talk and receives and they are happy. The bells and whisles we see on radios are different than what some see in radios. For grins, we compared w32's and yaesus to <otorolas on the test bench. The "ham" gear did ever bit as good as the Motorola part 90 radios. A part 90 sticker ids like a badge from Underewriters Lab. It costs so much to put the sticker on, so somer produce and get stickered, others produce and don't sticker. Some radios cost more because of increased costs, partly due to "stickering". Now with departments going to p25, a do everything vhf/uhf radio will be short lived so this problem will go away.

com501 · Jan 24, 2015

Every ham club tech meeting I take my R8000. Every ham radio handheld we look at is so poor in performance and spec it is scary. There are a few that with some serious effort might be ok in a pinch, but none of them meet any frequency stability or narrowband compliance standards a radio would need to operate on any public safety system and not be a problem.

And an out of the box factory $400 Glock is NOT a special weapon. A Glock with a special trigger pull, titanium guide rods, laser, tac-lite, and other components that add another $400 is a special custom weapon.

A Bao-Feng is a Bao-Feng. A $200 eBay used MTS2000 that has been benched is a much better choice.

DJ11DLN · Jan 24, 2015

teufler said:
We have probably scared Scottyfix off RR with comments. Some cities don't have good equipment, officers buy their own. East St Louis drove private cars for a coupled of years because th city cars gave out., Officers have a choice, go out with a radio that should be retired or go out with something that works. Years ago, I met several officers down in the Memphis area that had bought W32 Icom units, there were wide banded and they did cross band and they were dual band. The department had nothing like what they found. They had needs to talk uhf and vhf. As long as they were personnel radios, they did not get abused. True they were not part 90 but they worked and no one complained. Maybe Scottyfix comes from a small department and clear voice is a welcome voice. Getting a budget for new radios from city councils can be hard. The comment that Com501 makes about a duty weapon is a good comparison. If they can, officers will spend money for a special weapon, but seems to look at radios as just, it talk and receives and they are happy. The bells and whisles we see on radios are different than what some see in radios. For grins, we compared w32's and yaesus to <otorolas on the test bench. The "ham" gear did ever bit as good as the Motorola part 90 radios. A part 90 sticker ids like a badge from Underewriters Lab. It costs so much to put the sticker on, so somer produce and get stickered, others produce and don't sticker. Some radios cost more because of increased costs, partly due to "stickering". Now with departments going to p25, a do everything vhf/uhf radio will be short lived so this problem will go away.

+1. Probably opening a can of worms here but having been in the OP's shoes I would assert that a cheap radio that works, provided that it's Part 90 Accepted and is verified to be working properly for the system, has it all over an expensive radio that is old, out of spec, garbled TX or RX (or both), unreliable, or just won't work when needed. No, it isn't a long-term solution...but it might get him from now to when his agency can afford some decent commercial gear to replace the one that needs a hand-slap to function. And I can't condemn anyone for that.

wildbill0013 · Jan 24, 2015

use what works for you!!!!

if you are in the law enforcement community and use it for the greater good of the community then i say use what works and to hell with the ones who bash you for doing it! i for one have used my radios on numerous times to aid the law enforcement community to crosspatch their uhf radios to the vhf frequencys of amtrack in order to prevent any injuries to law enforcement personnel working a foot chase on the amtrack right of way. wrong or not i will use my radios for assistance to any emergency service if it will help them do their job more effectively. PERIOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SCPD · Jan 24, 2015

Clearplate replacement

1.take the battery off
2.take the screws out of the case two on the back as you can see from the inside threads in the picture.
3.ensure you have all the screws out.
4.take the knobs off now,pull em off.
5.take the antenna off too if you havent already.
6.under the knobs and the antenna are things called spanner nuts!
7.oh boy! These you need a spanner wrench for or you can do what I do and use a flat blade screw driver and a small hammer to gently take the spanner nuts off the knobs and the antenna Sma connector.
8.separate the two halves slowly.
9.once you see whats in the picture,push on the cracked (I call it a Clear plate) from the inside with your thumb.
10.Once thats off the new clearplate goes where the old one was,unpeal the adhesive tape thats on the back of the clearplate and place it on from the outside of the front half of the case,make sure the dam things straight before you push it on to the black part of the cabinet.
MAKE SURE THERES NO DUST ON THE DAM INSIDE OR IT WILL DRIVE YOU CRAZY WHEN YOU ARE DONE!
11.reverse the taking apart process and put the radio back together.
12.Make sure the spanner nuts are tight!Otherwise the antenna sma will come loose.
Dont feel at ease or you had a hard time you can mail it to me,you pay to and from shipping.Hope this helped.
Youre helping us,I wont charge you a dime

KD2DXF · Jan 27, 2015

cabletech said:
scottyfx----first off, why are you using a non certified radio in law enforcement? This radio is certified as a dual band HAM RADIO.

As for replace the display, if you have never worked on this type equipment then you need to send it to some one who knows what they are doing.

How about not bashing the guy on his first post? If you don't know the situation, dont comment. There is no "Ham certification" for ham radio. Several dealers claim part 90 certification, though I don't know if the FCC has actually done so. If he wants to fix it by himself then let him. Props to those who actually wrote something constructive. Double props to k2ool for adding the graphics.

com501 · Jan 27, 2015

If the radio is listed on the FCC certification site, it's certified. Any dealer in the USA claiming Part 90 certification for a radio and advertising it as such risks losing their business if the radio is NOT type accepted.

And pretty much, any radio not type accepted can be considered 'ham certified'.

As for the OP, anyone using a $100 radio for public safety that they bought themselves, no matter what the reason, is so far over the edge of placing their department into liability as to be positively scary.

Just don't do it.

Voyager · Jan 27, 2015

You're just ticked because you can't install encryption in a Baofeng, aren't you? :wink:
"Making your mortgage payment useless, radio by radio"

But yes, I agree the department has to sign off on any radio they let their employees use for the job.

And there really IS such a thing as "ham certification" - it's Part 15 which any radio sold must meet (including ham radios).
(All Part 90 radios automatically meet Part 15 by rule)

The only exception is when you build (or modify) radios for your own personal ham use. Those don't require any certification.

com501 · Jan 27, 2015

Nah, I bought a couple of those cheapo radios to play with. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out why an FM radio or a flashlight was useful on a portable..... And the software on some of them is horrible. We used them for 'skeet' at the range. That was a LOT more fun!

Voyager · Jan 27, 2015

The flashlight actually IS a pretty useful feature. FM? Not so much.

So, how much does a radio need to cost before it is considered 'good enough'?

com501 · Jan 27, 2015

For me a radio has to be a commercial grade radio, not an amateur product or a black box radio. A MotoTrbo refurbed radio can be bought out of Florida for $219 from a dealer there. Is that too cheap? No, that is a great deal, and it is a good radio. Would I expect it to take the abuse of my XTS5000R or my APX7000XE? No, probably not, but I can still shove it in a glass of ice water at the restaurant and not think twice about it. Can you do that with a BaoFeng?

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