UV-B6 what are test mode settings?

[GW7MGW]

Even at squelch 1 the radio does not open squelch unless the signal is good, I note all things in test mode setting are 255 and I wonder if changing from 0 to 9 squelch is actually doing anything?

The official UV-B5 Radio Program SoftWare does not show the test mode settings so not keen to alter them without knowing what they are for.

 

[andrer9999]

Even at squelch 1 the radio does not open squelch unless the signal is good, I note all things in test mode setting are 255 and I wonder if changing from 0 to 9 squelch is actually doing anything?

The official UV-B5 Radio Program SoftWare does not show the test mode settings so not keen to alter them without knowing what they are for.

I’m unfamiliar with test mode, but squelch is *supposed* to not open unless the signal is good. Maybe you can describe the problem more.

The squelch settings for Baofeng units are notoriously bad. The miklor site has suggested squelch settings that make it more useful. Not sure if the v6 has a similar issue.

UV5R/UV82 Squelch Levels - Miklor

 

[GW7MGW]

The pictures shown in your linked "service settings" looks very like what shows in my "test mode settings" so it would seem likely it is the same. I have photshopped three scrolled images together here to show the whole of the range, since I have nothing to compare squelch setting with not sure if anything wrong, however it seems to rarely open squelch except very close to PC or with strong signal.

 

[needairtime]

I was playing with the squelch levels as used by CHIRP as above on my UV-82, and the squelch settings still doesn't seem as smooth as my potentiometer controlled squelch radios. After hacking it, it's a little better than the stock programmed values. It's better but not great, though it's a ton better than my Garmin Rino, which I have no idea how I can even change the squelch value!

I ended up setting mine to numbers from 0 through 59-ish and found that around 40 it pretty much silences most of the noise in my area including RFI from computers and PSUs. Unfortunately some channels need different squelch values which makes it tough to choose one and forget when scanning, and your area is likely different.

Agreed I don't know if this applies to the UV-B6 however, perhaps getting 255 means it's not compatible with your radio yet (firmware revision)? Usually the 0 entry should have a 0 there to open up squelch completely (much like pressing the monitor button). If the 0 entry doesn't open up squelch, then the 255's don't make any sense and may not work for your radio.

 

[GW7MGW]

Since to date most of the time I am using tone squelch I don't know if there is a problem or not. 255 seems a digital limit, so I would have expected to see 32 (2f) jumps between each setting, but don't know if that is a squelch setting or not.

I hardly use radio today, one event around 5th November each year, last year both my radio's batteries failed, one I can get around I need to open case and fit new cells, the other is more like a phone battery and old NiCad cells so when looking for new battery found I could buy new radio for less than price of battery, radio's are not the only thing like that in UK, battery drills the same, battery costs more than drill and battery.

However on arrival, I found very time consuming to set things on the radio, also wanted to reduce frequency range, scanning commercial frequencies is rather pointless, so limited to amateur band and PMR466 also reduces the chance of transmitting on non permitted frequencies.

However CHIRP seems to show things which don't show on the official UV-B5 Radio Program SoftWare, and with 67 turns to the coil some of the options do seem strange to me, and the Chinese to English translation is not so easy to follow, they seem to miss out words, so instead of "The cat sat on the mat" it is "Cat sat mat" so you have to read it a few times to work out what is should say. Plus USA spelling.

So I look at ROGE which I think is a roger beep which I hate, and STE (tail tone elimation) "to activate or deactivate the transmission end of the transceiver" which had there not been a roger beep option I would have thought it was that, but I really have not a clue what it is?

Some new features are very good, setting the radio memory channel to say GB3CR really helps, I don't need to remember the frequency any more. Of the 29 option most I understand, I use to be a member of a club, it was in the main a way around legal requirements in the UK to have access to test equipment, but now having just handies it seems pointless, when I got my first license VP8BKM I really enjoyed talking around the world, then back in UK got into packet radio, however internet has killed packet radio, and as GW7MGW call sign world wide talking would really need me to learn Morse so today I carry a radio in my back pack, but rarely use it.

 

[nd5y]

So I look at ROGE which I think is a roger beep which I hate, and STE (tail tone elimation) "to activate or deactivate the transmission end of the transceiver" which had there not been a roger beep option I would have thought it was that, but I really have not a clue what it is?

See the sections on Squelch Tail Elimination (STE) and Repeater STE and RL at https://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Baofeng_UV-5R
Most of the information probably applies to the UV-B5/6.