Baofeng UV-5R radio questions

[core21]

Hello, I have searched google for a while and cannot find the answer to this question:

What is the difference between the Baofeng UV-5R and the UV-5R V2+

Also, on Amazon it says this: "Foscam Digital Tech is the authorized US Baofeng exclusive distributor of the U-5R V2+. Foscam offers US based warranty service out of our office in Houston, TX, (no shipping to China). You must ensure that Foscam Digital Tech is your selected buying option to claim the US warranty."
However, it says Sold by CameraTec. Confused

Thanks!

 

[gewecke]

Hello, I have searched google for a while and cannot find the answer to this question:

What is the difference between the Baofeng UV-5R and the UV-5R V2+

Also, on Amazon it says this: "Foscam Digital Tech is the authorized US Baofeng exclusive distributor of the U-5R V2+. Foscam offers US based warranty service out of our office in Houston, TX, (no shipping to China). You must ensure that Foscam Digital Tech is your selected buying option to claim the US warranty."
However, it says Sold by CameraTec. Confused

Thanks!

Cheap radios from china, don't typically come with warranties period. It would cost more to ship & repair these toys than to simply buy another. Very minor differences between one model and another actually. Personally I wish our government would stop allowing this crap into our harbors. Sorry for the rant. 73, n9zas

 

[nd5y]

What is the difference between the Baofeng UV-5R and the UV-5R V2+

The only difference in the models listed at Baofeng UV5R Variants - CHIRP is case styles, case colors and different firmware versions depending on the date they were manufactured. As far as know they all use the same electronic design and components. More than one company claims to be the exclusive Baofeng authorized US distributor.

 

[DickH]

Cheap radios from china, don't typically come with warranties period. It would cost more to ship & repair these toys than to simply buy another. Very minor differences between one model and another actually. Personally I wish our government would stop allowing this crap into our harbors. Sorry for the rant. 73, n9zas

Give it a rest!

 

[SCPD]

For what it is worth--- we (at work) have a slew of both models-- I can't see any differences between them other than cosmetics, though I think the "5R-2" has a more finished, a nicer appearance. We use them because they are very reliable, well made, and if one gets "cooked" (we some nasty transmitters that can fry a handheld in less time than it took me to type that sentence... I won't get upset at the $25 loss. They have been put on spectrum analyz'rs and come up clean- personally I don't know where they get such a bad reputation. .
I agree that its not worth worrying about a warranty- if one dies it is a throw away,-- though except for some careless lab mistakes, we have never lost a-one. Right this very moment I have a 5R-2 on my desk and I carry it by choice over much more expensive handhelds.
.......................................CF

 

[KK4JUG]

Cheap radios from china, don't typically come with warranties period. It would cost more to ship & repair these toys than to simply buy another. Very minor differences between one model and another actually. Personally I wish our government would stop allowing this crap into our harbors. Sorry for the rant. 73, n9zas

I think you're right but I also think we've become numb to the problem and it's our own fault. The computer I'm using right now was made in China. I bought a 2 terabyte external drive the other day. It was made in China. The closest scanner to me was made in Viet Nam. The batteries in it were made in China. My Glock pistol was made in Austria. Believe it or not, the shorts I'm wearing were made in Mongolia. My shirt was made in Lesotho. My battery charger was made in Taiwan. The pipe I sometimes smoke was made in Italy. My favorite cigars come from Ecuador.

We sat back and watched most of this stuff move out the country and it became the norm.

So what do we made in this country. Airplanes, cars (mine was made 35 miles up the road but the factory is owned by a Korean company), barbeque, maybe a little bit of furniture.
When Warwick Electronics was bought by Sanyo in 1977, that meant no more TV sets would be built in this country. VCRs were never built in America because the economic majors said no one in this country would want to record TV programs. No consumer electronics are made in this country, as far as I know.

In the last 40 years, it all moved away. Nobody cared but now we wonder what went wrong.

 

[gewecke]

Give it a rest!

. Uh, NO! . 73, n9zas

 

[gewecke]

I think you're right but I also think we've become numb to the problem and it's our own fault. The computer I'm using right now was made in China. I bought a 2 terabyte external drive the other day. It was made in China. The closest scanner to me was made in Viet Nam. The batteries in it were made in China. My Glock pistol was made in Austria. Believe it or not, the shorts I'm wearing were made in Mongolia. My shirt was made in Lesotho. My battery charger was made in Taiwan. The pipe I sometimes smoke was made in Italy. My favorite cigars come from Ecuador.

We sat back and watched most of this stuff move out the country and it became the norm.

So what do we made in this country. Airplanes, cars (mine was made 35 miles up the road but the factory is owned by a Korean company), barbeque, maybe a little bit of furniture.
When Warwick Electronics was bought by Sanyo in 1977, that meant no more TV sets would be built in this country. VCRs were never built in America because the economic majors said no one in this country would want to record TV programs. No consumer electronics are made in this country, as far as I know.

In the last 40 years, it all moved away. Nobody cared but now we wonder what went wrong.

Actually Italian made goods are very good since Italy is still proud of their reputation for quality. I have a Glock 26, so again I think its has a lot to do with which countries are still proud of their craft and continue to make quality products. There are still a few electronics built in the U.S. such as Ics controllers (although blank pcbs are produced in china) When was the last time China has ever made claims regarding quality goods shipped to the U.S. ? Some of my clothing is from China too, might explain why it disintegrates in the washer. . 73, n9zas

 

[nd5y]

They have been put on spectrum analyz'rs and come up clean- personally I don't know where they get such a bad reputation.

Did you do any receiver testing? Around here the crappy receiver in the UV-5R and UV-82 is useless for receiving weak signals. Something around here screws with the receiver. I suspect maybe NOAA wx, TV, FM, or trunked systems but don't have a way to determine what is causing it.

I can hear things over 40 miles away on other receivers that don't even open the squelch on the Baofengs.

If you touch the antenna or move your hand about 1/4" from it, it kills the receiver on weak signals. Put the same antenna on the Wouxun and touch it, nothing happens.

Baofengs make a geiger counter type clicking noise when moving. No other receivers do that. It seems to be location dependent. Not everybody reports that problem.

They have unreliable PL/DCS decoding.

One of the few things I like about Baofengs is they have good receive audio and the reciever has a 300 Hz high pass filter that blocks PL tones. No Japanese ham rig I have ever used filters PL tones. They think we need high bass response audio for some reason.

 

[k6cpo]

I have one of these I won at a club meeting. I've used it perhaps twice. After reading the results of the ARRL Lab's HT testing and seeing that over a four year period roughly half of the Baofengs tested were noncompliant for spurious emissions, it just sits collecting dust.

http://wp.ni4ce.org/wp-content/uploads/qst.pdf

 

[Rred]

Core-
"Foscam Digital Tech is the authorized US Baofeng exclusive distributor of the U-5R V2+. "
That probably means exactly what it says. If it is true, it probably means "Baofeng made a deal with us, to sell this package of accessories with this software version in this radio, and they aren't selling that bundle to anyone else."
So it could just be a custom tweak in the software menu, or a special earpiece in the kit...gobbledegook intended mainly to confuse you.
If you can't find specific model or package differences, and the seller can't give you a fast clear answer, then you might just move on to another one. And when it comes to warranties...with these radios, you are pretty much going to have none, except what the seller gives you. Unless you want to ship the radio back and forth to China and argue with the folks who really made it, about whether it was from an authorized dealer.(G)

 

[KK4JUG]

And when it comes to warranties...with these radios, you are pretty much going to have none......

Most of their radios are pretty much disposable. When it breaks, you throw it away.

 

[N4GIX]

Foscam Digital Tech did replace one defective UV-5Rv2+ I bought from them, and didn't even want the defective one back!

 

[gewecke]

Foscam Digital Tech did replace one defective UV-5Rv2+ I bought from them, and didn't even want the defective one back!

I suppose free is a good deal then. :lol: 73, n9zas

 

[SCPD]

ND5Y- " Did you do any receiver testing?"
.
No, we have never looked at the receiver side of these little radios. They are used in high RF density environments, however, and they seem quite immune.... I will say that their use is limited to 406-420Mhz, and I can't speak for what they do in the high band VHF, or the other portions of UHF. As basically inexpensive intercom's with ranges out to several miles they have worked admirably.
.
Here I want to emphasis that 'inexpensive' aspect for their appeal. When one of our engineers- we'll call her Barbie (for a number of reasons) managed to drop both her purse and her expensive Vertex handheld down a forest service pit-toliet (aka "Out House") whilest out on a field test.... her director (me) was not too please. Our guys managed to recover her purse- it floated-- the radio-- it didn't.... It..the radio... was really and truly 'forever flushed." I purchased 20-something BaoFengs and handed them out shortly there after. Maybe they aren't Vertex's or Motorolas, but if one comes to grief, I can shrug it off......
'
........................................CF

 

[WidowMaker69]

Programming New Beofane HAM Radios UV-5R

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen, WidowMaker69 here. I bought four Beofane HAM Radios and the exact cable required by Beofane to update my radios.
I went to the links given in the directions that came with them. As soon as I connected to the website, my computer(PC) came up with a warning that said that there were nine Trojun viruses found connected to the link. I tried to install the drivers required for my radios which are the Beofane UV-5R, and it crashed my computer! Now it won't even come on. I've tried the hard reboot, removing the battery, etc., and nothing works! Could someone please help me?

Respectfully
WidowMaker69

 

[Rred]

There are no Beofane or Baofeng ham radios. A radio marketed commercially for ham use has to be Part97 certified, none of those are.

Since you don't say what web site you connected to, no one can help you. Anyone can import and sell these radios and tell you to go to any web site. Any web site can be hacked and infected. You don't give anyone anything specific to respond to.

 

[jaspence]

When you get things straightened out, I would suggest you use CHIRP for those radios. It is free and you can find a safe download just by Googling "Chirp" minus the quotation marks. Miklor Radio Information Site - Miklor is also a safe place for good radio information and files.

 

[SteveC0625]

There are no Beofane or Baofeng ham radios. A radio marketed commercially for ham use has to be Part97 certified, none of those are.

Um, I think you're mistaken here. There are no Part 97 type acceptances or certifications. Remember that amateur radio licensees are able to build their own transmitters from scratch, not that anyone does that much these days, but it is still totally permissible. They are obligated to make sure the home brew radios don't create spurious emissions, cause interference with other folks, and assure frequency stability.

 

[KC4RAF]

Steve is correct. The ham radios aren't required to be

Part 97 to legally operate. How did you come up with that conclusion?
I have 2 of the UV-5R and the receive picks up the Lake Wales, Florida repeater over 20 miles away. Receive is really good.