• To anyone looking to acquire commercial radio programming software:

    Please do not make requests for copies of radio programming software which is sold (or was sold) by the manufacturer for any monetary value. All requests will be deleted and a forum infraction issued. Making a request such as this is attempting to engage in software piracy and this forum cannot be involved or associated with this activity. The same goes for any private transaction via Private Message. Even if you attempt to engage in this activity in PM's we will still enforce the forum rules. Your PM's are not private and the administration has the right to read them if there's a hint to criminal activity.

    If you are having trouble legally obtaining software please state so. We do not want any hurt feelings when your vague post is mistaken for a free request. It is YOUR responsibility to properly word your request.

    To obtain Motorola software see the Sticky in the Motorola forum.

    The various other vendors often permit their dealers to sell the software online (i.e., Kenwood). Please use Google or some other search engine to find a dealer that sells the software. Typically each series or individual radio requires its own software package. Often the Kenwood software is less than $100 so don't be a cheapskate; just purchase it.

    For M/A Com/Harris/GE, etc: there are two software packages that program all current and past radios. One package is for conventional programming and the other for trunked programming. The trunked package is in upwards of $2,500. The conventional package is more reasonable though is still several hundred dollars. The benefit is you do not need multiple versions for each radio (unlike Motorola).

    This is a large and very visible forum. We cannot jeopardize the ability to provide the RadioReference services by allowing this activity to occur. Please respect this.

BaoFeng DM-5R Banned on Hoosier DMR

Status
Not open for further replies.

N4GIX

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
May 27, 2015
Messages
2,124
Location
Hot Springs, AR
Recently, on the Hoosier DMR Network's Facebook page, W9AMT (Tony) wrote that the BaoFeng DM-5R (and Plus) are banned from his repeaters, within a few hours nearly all of the other repeater trustees added their repeaters to the list.

Effectively, they are now banned from the entire network of ~30 repeaters.

Please be advised that I am banning the use of the BaoFeng DM-5R and DM-5R PLUS on all the W9AMT repeaters effectively immediately. If you use one of these, regardless of how it's programmed, it activates both time-slots simultaneously and will wreak havoc on the worldwide network. If you are found to be using one of these radio on my repeaters, there will be no warning, your ID will be blocked, simple as that. I don't want these trashy, uncertified radios used on my repeaters at all. Sorry to be so restrictive on this, but this radio is causing some serious issues and it did not get approval from the DMR association before it was produced. Thank you for your understanding.
For whatever it's worth, even the Rocky Mountain Ham Radio group have published on this problem, and expanded the list to include other similar radios with this issue:

Problems with New Baofeng DM-5R, TYT MD-398 and Radioddity GD-55 Models
https://www.rmham.org/wordpress/problems-with-new-baofeng-d-tyt-md-398-and-radioddity-models
 

Golay

Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2016
Messages
494
Our system users have also asked that no one use this radio. Others can explain it better, but in a nutshell, it keys up both timeslots at the same time. That's a no good of course.
 

N4GIX

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
May 27, 2015
Messages
2,124
Location
Hot Springs, AR
I deliberately bought one (and have since returned it) so that I could do my own testing with it. It failed every test I could reliably validate with the equipment I have available.
 

jbantennaman

Completely Banned for the Greater Good
Banned
Joined
Nov 10, 2009
Messages
72
I don't know who the first person was that said when you buy junk, what do you expect?
But when you have someone from China designing a radio that will be used anywhere in the world, and doesn't have any rules as per spectrum tolerances, and is given free reign to do as they please, so long as it transmits long enough for the check to clear the bank, what do you expect?

I would compare these handhelds to the amplifiers the CB radio shops sold in the back rooms, where all the buyer cared about was how many watts it produced.
The buyer did not understand anything about bandwidth or spectral purity, the only thing they cared about was being loud!

As long as you have cheap people that are unwilling to spend anything more than the minimum, this is what you are going to get.
 

jonwienke

More Info Coming Soon!
Joined
Jul 18, 2014
Messages
13,416
Location
VA
Not all Chinese radios are bad. The TYT MD-380 and MD-390 don't have these issues, and they're made in China.
 

WPXS472

Member
Joined
Aug 3, 2013
Messages
226
Location
Heflin, AL
Has Radioddity responded to any of this? They state that this radio is compatible with Motorola. I don't see how it could be. I bought mine to listen only, so this particular problem doesn't concern me. I have yet to get it to decode any DMR transmissions, but I think that is mostly a matter of operator headspace. I have issues with the CTCSS decode falsing and giving spitting noises when trying to monitor analog. I don't think it is a bad radio. It just isn't what it is advertised to be. Radioddity should pull these until, or unless this issue is resolved.
 

prc117f

Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2009
Messages
369
LOL 29.99 dollar DMR radio. yeah I have a feeling corners got cut. Costs as much as a Motorola HT antenna. Wow the MD-398 pushes 10w on UHF?
 

KD8DVR

Member
Joined
Apr 11, 2004
Messages
1,304
Location
Columbus, Ohio
Has Radioddity responded to any of this? They state that this radio is compatible with Motorola. I don't see how it could be. I bought mine to listen only, so this particular problem doesn't concern me. I have yet to get it to decode any DMR transmissions, but I think that is mostly a matter of operator headspace. I have issues with the CTCSS decode falsing and giving spitting noises when trying to monitor analog. I don't think it is a bad radio. It just isn't what it is advertised to be. Radioddity should pull these until, or unless this issue is resolved.
All my radios are compatible with Motorola's. Of course the Motorola has to be on analog . He never made mention that the radios are "100% DMR tier 2 compliant". It's what you don't hear is what brings the red flags.

AntiSquid Disclaimer: All posted content is personal opinion only and may not imply fact or accusation.
 

KD8DVR

Member
Joined
Apr 11, 2004
Messages
1,304
Location
Columbus, Ohio
Just wait until they dump them off at a closeout dealer. They are gonna have to with all the customer returns and bad reputation.

They'd be ok for simplex.

AntiSquid Disclaimer: All posted content is personal opinion only and may not imply fact or accusation.
 

N4GIX

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
May 27, 2015
Messages
2,124
Location
Hot Springs, AR
They'd be ok for simplex.
As an analog radio, they are no different from the ubiquitous UV-5R+ and all of its cousins, aunts, and uncles.

As a DMR radio, it will only communicate simplex with another DM-5R radio. It simply will not work with Motorola, Connect Systems, or TYT (and all of its cousins, aunts, uncles, step-brothers, et cetera). :roll:
 

KD8DVR

Member
Joined
Apr 11, 2004
Messages
1,304
Location
Columbus, Ohio
As an analog radio, they are no different from the ubiquitous UV-5R+ and all of its cousins, aunts, and uncles.

As a DMR radio, it will only communicate simplex with another DM-5R radio. It simply will not work with Motorola, Connect Systems, or TYT (and all of its cousins, aunts, uncles, step-brothers, et cetera). :roll:
I know...I was poking fun at Radiooddity and their "It works with Motorola" which is true...if both the Baofeng and Motorola are only in analog mode

AntiSquid Disclaimer: All posted content is personal opinion only and may not imply fact or accusation.
 

N4GIX

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
May 27, 2015
Messages
2,124
Location
Hot Springs, AR
Well, it's been a very long saga, but I finally received my $83.49 refund from SAIN3 (Radioddity). They still owe me the promised return postage. I'm not going to hold my breath waiting on that $7.75! :roll:

However, the refund came unwillingly, since PayPal had to step in and issue a refund from the SAIN3 account after they failed to respond to PayPal's inquiries.

10/23/2016 - requested refund
11/23/2016 - since hearing no response, initiated PayPal dispute
11/25/2016 - received an RMA by email from SAIN3
11/30/2016 - DM-5R mailed to Lenexa, Kansas
12/02/2016 - DM-5R received in Lenexa, Kansas
12/06/2016 - Escalated PayPal Dispute, PayPal sent an inquiry to SAIN3
12/17/2016 - PayPal notified me of refund.

Needless to say, Radioddity will never get any business from me again! :evil:
 

12dbsinad

Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2010
Messages
1,946
Well, it's been a very long saga, but I finally received my $83.49 refund from SAIN3 (Radioddity). They still owe me the promised return postage. I'm not going to hold my breath waiting on that $7.75! :roll:

However, the refund came unwillingly, since PayPal had to step in and issue a refund from the SAIN3 account after they failed to respond to PayPal's inquiries.

10/23/2016 - requested refund
11/23/2016 - since hearing no response, initiated PayPal dispute
11/25/2016 - received an RMA by email from SAIN3
11/30/2016 - DM-5R mailed to Lenexa, Kansas
12/02/2016 - DM-5R received in Lenexa, Kansas
12/06/2016 - Escalated PayPal Dispute, PayPal sent an inquiry to SAIN3
12/17/2016 - PayPal notified me of refund.

Needless to say, Radioddity will never get any business from me again! :evil:


They are probably trying to figure out what to do with all these returned radios!

Glad you got (most) your money back.
 

N4GIX

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
May 27, 2015
Messages
2,124
Location
Hot Springs, AR
They are probably trying to figure out what to do with all these returned radios!

Glad you got (most) your money back.
Probably! I'm sure they are taking a bath on these bits of garbage. Ah well, I figure I got at least $7.75 worth of entertainment while I tested the radio on my spectrum analyzer and service monitor! :lol:
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top