Baofeng uv-5r "ex" prgm cable issue

[Station51]

I have never like the looks of the UV-5R, but when I saw the UV-5R "EX" @ $23.99 Shipped I decided I'd give the "low end" radio a try. I'm I HAM and have several radios, even some more expensive Chinese radios that work well.

Truth be told the UV-5R EX performance is surprising good. At the price I don't care if I drop it or lose it etc.

However.....I ordered the RD-201 specified programming cable from Radioddity and it wouldn't communicate with the radio, or so I thought until I spent some time on Google. The issue is that the pins on the cable do not go deep enough into the radio to enable reading or writing to the radio unless you apply EXTREME pressure to the plug. I tried a second cable with the same poor results.


Finally I trimmed the rubber around the pins (DO SO AT YOUR OWN RISK) and achieved improvement.
Still doesn't work as it should but it works although still requires minimal pressure on the plug.

Example here: Common Error Messages

Select the first line "Radio doesn't respond"

Considering the value of the radio and the $6 cable I'll just live with it.
I'm using CHIRP to program it, but that should have no bearing on the cable performance.

Just posting this hoping to help someone else who is banging their head on the desk lol.

73

 

[Mikejo]

Hi !

Just checking on a few things.

1.) If you are using Windows, check in Device Manager and make sure the cable is seen by windows.
(it must be plugged into the PC to be recognized), look under Ports (Com & LPT) and see if it is there.
Mine is: (Prolific USB-to-Serial Com Port) Mine is on Com 11. If your USB Cable is there, make note of the Com Port.

2.) In (CHIRP) , with the cable connected to the PC and the radio turned on with the volume half way, you must choose either Upload or Download under the "Radio" tab, and when you click on either one, you will get a dialog box. Make sure you select all the appropriate info in all three drop down boxes. top one is Com Port, second one down is for Radio etc.

I'm not sure you have or haven't done any of this yet, I just thought it might help if you haven't .


Mike

 

[Station51]

Thanks Mike
Yup all the first things I checked were the device mgr and the driver etc.
It just turned out to be a bad cable.
Everything is working programming wise, just requires holding the cable in to keep the connection.

Radioddity is of the opinion that it may be radio that has the connection too deep which is credible
EXCEPT that the "Free" Headphones plug right in and work fine.

I have about 8 or 9 HT's so its not an issue. Will probably only change the programming every couple of months.

My main objective was just to give a "heads up" in case this new model struggles with the recommended cable.

Cheers!

 

[Mikejo]

I would go with the connection to the radio, I did have to shave the plastic around a microphone plug I have to get it to seat properly, that just might be a problem.

 

[Lurchie]

Hi Guys,

I had a similar issue - I was able to program the UV-5R EX exactly ONCE. Now i can't get the radio to communicate with CHIRP. I am able to program a 888s with the same cable and config, but the UV-5r is no bueno. (I'm on a Mac, BTW.) I upgraded CHIRP versions in between having problems, so I thought that might be the issue, but I tried with the older software version and I have the same problem.
I'll try the above suggestion of jamming the cable in hard to see if that makes a difference.

 

[Lurchie]

Hi Guys,

I had a similar issue - I was able to program the UV-5R EX exactly ONCE. Now i can't get the radio to communicate with CHIRP. I am able to program a 888s with the same cable and config, but the UV-5r is no bueno. (I'm on a Mac, BTW.) I upgraded CHIRP versions in between having problems, so I thought that might be the issue, but I tried with the older software version and I have the same problem.
I'll try the above suggestion of jamming the cable in hard to see if that makes a difference.

That worked! Pushing the plug in REALLY hard made the connection.