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Baofeng would sell a lot more UV-5R's if...

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Astrogoth13

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If the firmware of the radio was open source and flashable. Tinkerers/elmers/survival types etc etc could add or remove features as desired. Make the UV-5R a radio Swiss army knife. Sales would jump up.



What features or changes would you like to see?
 

WB4CS

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What exactly would you need/want to change in the firmware? What features do you feel the radio is missing? Are there any other amateur radio makes/models that give you the option to edit the firmware?(No.)

I guess I'm confused by your question. It's a radio. It receives. It transmits. Most are already unlocked to TX almost everywhere it can receive. Firmware isn't going to expand the frequency range of the receiver or add higher TX power output. Access to manipulate the firmware isn't going to give it digital capabilities. What could you possibly change with access to the firmware? (Maybe I don't get it, that's why I said I'm confused :) )
 

mancow

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Maybe if they they would fix the existing problems first like squelch that doesn't do anything and PL tone scanning that doesn't work. They all seem to be based on one base version of the firmware with only cosmetic differences.
 

WX5JCH

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I can pl scan ok with mine I used the software to program it


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chrismol1

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do you want it to do MCD1200?? They're already dual band FPP thats a damn good sell for 40 bucks. Although I have 2 boafengs F8 &9 and to me they are both very expendable. The fundamental basics of a transceiver exists and thats about it, almost as much as one did back in Marconi's day. If you can imagine how stripped down a 40 dollar dual band radio is, than you have a boafeng. Also, dont even pretend to use the stock antenna. I do enjoy the handy light on the top and occasionally a few songs off the mono fm broadcast
 
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n9mxq

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The elephant in the room is FCC certification.. Would the FCC certify a radio that would allow what you want? I highly doubt it..
 

brndnstffrd

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do you want it to do MCD1200?? They're already dual band FPP thats a damn good sell for 40 bucks. Although I have 2 boafengs F8 &9 and to me they are both very expendable. The fundamental basics of a transceiver exists and thats about it, almost as much as one did back in Marconi's day. If you can imagine how stripped down a 40 dollar dual band radio is, than you have a boafeng. Also, dont even pretend to use the stock antenna. I do enjoy the handy light on the top and occasionally a few songs off the mono fm broadcast

I would love one to have one of these chinese radios that could do MDC1200. I know alot of other people would too. I would even be willing to pay more than $40 for it. :cool:
 

rescuecomm

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The elephant in the room is FCC certification.. Would the FCC certify a radio that would allow what you want? I highly doubt it..

I don't know. It seems pretty much anything goes with FCC certs these days based on the import market.

Bob
 

N4KVE

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There are many different versions of the UV-5. UV-5R, UV-5R+, & UV-5RA. Each version that comes out every few months has improved firmware that allows the radio to be more versatile. So to get the improvements, we need to buy the UV-5 of the month. Wouldn't it be nice if we could go to their site & download free firmware to accomplish the same thing without having to buy a new radio every few months? Also, this way when they improve the above mentioned problems, we could download those fixes in our radios. I have a friend who has every variant of this radio, as that's how he gets the best firmware. While these radios are cheap enough to do this, being able to download the fixes would be ideal.
 
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Astrogoth13

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The latest of the UV line at the moment is the UV-5R Plus Qualette with the 311 firmware. There are several variants, the GT-3 and the BF-E500S, both with the 311 firmware. Battery packs do not mix so were I to buy another one I'd check that the extended battery fits the model I buy.
 

Astrogoth13

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If you read it with the latest CHIRP you'll see a box labeled "Firmware #1". That will show you the real name. The old power on + 3 trick quit showing the real firmware name some time ago.
 

MTS2000des

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part of the reason they are so cheap is the use of masked ROM firmware that is integrated into the CPU. Easier to stamp out. And besides, they've taken the Motorola "buy a flash update if you want that new feature" concept to a whole new level:

Buy a new version of the radio! I mean, jeez- they are only $30-50 a piece. A refresh key for an XTS5000 cost is around $75 with nothing on it.

Sure, we'd all like advanced features. Solution: buy a more advanced radio. These are designed to be cheap, throwaway radios that last the life of the battery pack they come with.
 

K5MPH

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WX5JCH said:
I don't think they have a sales problem


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Me eather every one owns one of these's things......
 

WB4CS

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Me eather every one owns one of these's things......

I don't. Nor will I ever own one of those cheap China junk radios. But I agree, I don't believe they have a problem with sales at all.
 

SCPD

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The radio does what it's designed for at the low price. For how much I paid for mine, it's a decent radio. When it breaks, trash it and just get a new one. Want more features, get one that does what you need and pay allot more for it.
 

JCNHB

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I can tell you first hand it last much longer than the life of a standard or even extended battery. It's an excellent radio.

I realize there was a time you had to spend 300 for a radio with these features and it upsets you now that it can be had for 40.

That's all it is. It's worth the money many times over.


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