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Baofeng Baofeng/Pofung UV-82 triband

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nanZor

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Having 220 repeaters near me, I decided to pick one of these up and like it. Classic UV82 functionality, and programs with standard UV82 Chirp.

Years ago I had the older dual-band 2m/220, but got rid of it and the tri-bander is far more convenient, although I only use the supplied 220mhz duck for 220 to swap out when I need.

In my area, it did seem that unlike the dual-banders, this one at times needed some additional squelch on some problematic 220 freqs that even when set to a level 9, the squelch was "knife-edge" about opening and closing.

Used Chirp to change the default squelch levels and fixed my issue. Perhaps the wider frequency coverage has just a tad higher internal noise floor? Maybe just my unit. Chirp tamed it. YMMV. Make a backup of your original settings with Chirp, yes?

THIS was what led to my accidental discovery that changing the squelch levels, ALSO got rid of the dreaded "geiger-counter" in motion clicks when monitoring flamethrower signals no matter what the squelch setting. Covered in another thread. On this tribander AND a recent Pofung dual-band UV82.

Let's be realistic though - It is mostly used for local machines with the supplied duck, and not dx'ing with some monster yagi. And for that it performs nicely. Use it or lose it - makes a good way to keep 220 going or perhaps spark an initial interest in the band with a few friends to play with propagation and such.

And like most radios of this ilk, CLOSE TALKING the radio to get decent audio levels is needed. Like no more than 1-inch away from the speaker grill.

So far I'm very happy with it for what it is.
 

N6TDG

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I just picked on of these up for $50...so where did you set the squelch. Any other issues or quirks that one needs to know about. Radio comes Monday, but I won't be home for another week to play with it... And what's the deal? Says Baofeng but it is sold through Radioddity. I can't keep up with these Chinese radios. I noticed on amazon that the uv 5rx3 is currently unavailable. Maybe this is the replacement?
 

N6TDG

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UV82 - Miklor. Read all the links.

Radioddity sells several brands including some rebadged as Radioddity.

Understandable, ND5Y and have read all the links including the one/s pertaining to squelch...I wanted to know what range worked for him and this particular X3 radio to use as a ballpark guide when I set my squelch levels. Oh, and thanks for the welcome aboard for this old man, ND5Y...

73
N6TDG
 

nanZor

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Hi N6TDG - since I have a small investment in UV82 batts, chargers, I picked this tribander up as well to work the local machines.

Thing is, on 220, I seem to be experiencing some random instability not related to local noise or signals - I get kind of a machine-gunning squelch that sounds like being on the "knife-edge", and at first using much larger values of squelch in Chirp mitigated it somewhat.

BUT, it is still there on some problematic freqs for some reason. None of my other radios / scanners exhibit this, but *something* I can't quite track down is waking it up. Even with larger values of squelch with Chirp, PL/CTCSS and so forth, with the "ABR" enabled, I can see the rig waking up and machine-gunning the squelch when nothing should be happening. It's almost like an internal instability, but only on certain freqs.

So I'm still hunting for something local that the lna in this sdr transceiver is picking up, but at the end of the day, I'm wondering if mere cpu shielding and the like needs to be better? Don't know yet, so I'll let you know if it's just my unit perhaps...

Happy with it for what it is - despite this - yes.
 

nanZor

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Found the problem!

For some reason, on this unit on 220, my *cellphone* was causing the problem! Took me awhile to realize it, because it doesn't always happen - seeming randomly.

So I picked it up, and started thumbing through the smartphone's gui and whatnot, and saw the UV82 tribander shotgunning the squelch.

Amazingly, it picks up that screen manipulation from pretty far away too.

I always forget to treat these inexpensive transceivers like having the front end of most frs radios - too much gain and not much filtering. :)

That's why for the most part I run with the stock squelch on these units set pretty high - and sometimes even using Chirp to run my own slope like 0/5/15/20/25/30/35/40/45/50 for squelch.
 

N6TDG

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I kindly thank you for your reply and sharing yur experience. Yes, they are Chinese radios that have a poor front end... This is something that I will keep in mind. I was thinking of this tri bander for node work for a system I am setting up on 220. I do have an Anytone 3318E. I picked up the last one from Ed at Wouxun.us this summer. I like the radio, but I still havent had a chance to give it a good work out. As those tri-banders are no longer available and Alinco no longer has one, all that is left is the Yaesu VX-6 and the Kenwood...I was looking for a less expensive alternative with a little more power...This unit seemed to fit the bill. If it works half way decently, then I can recommend it to other hams in our area if they don't already have a 220 radio so they can access the node...
 

nanZor

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Sounds like a plan. The stock 220 antenna should be fine - I have no complaints. Well, other than forgetting to swap it out for the dual-bander on 2m/440, but basically it sits on 220 all the time, and I use other radios for vhf/uhf.. including other uv82's.

It's too bad that supporting 220 is just not financially justifiable for the big three, so here we go. There are others 220/tribanders out there like yours. TYT, Bridgecomm etc are available, but some may not be chirp compatible, so there is that...

Although there is a plethora of 220 base antennas one can use, in the KISS arena is the Ed Fong DBJ-220 you slip into some thin-wall pvc that works quite well.

Whatever works for the "use it or lose it" motto. If one doesn't have any 220 repeaters, drum up some of your own activity on simplex, what have you. Still, there is always the concern about that dreaded 2nd-harmonic, which for me -even if the rig seems to pass spec - I run a 220 specific antenna, and not a multibander. That way harmonics like the second one typically meet a high-impedance end-fed half-wave in the real world, and not radiate effectively into our own uhf systems on 440....
 

N6TDG

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Well in our area we have Pave Paws, so there is little 220...Just have the Airforce to contend with...ooops...I will look into a specific 220 antenna for the Anytone also. The 3318 series is no longer made right now as Ed doesn't want to make an order. At least that is what he said. I understand. Takes money to make money...
 

N6TDG

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Since I live in Butte COuntyy I do know that...we were talking about harmonics bleeding over into the 440 band...it was a slight joke...But thanks again for letting me know where Pave Paws operates..

73
 

nanZor

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Yep, using a single-band antenna is what I choose to do on 220 whether I'm running budget xvcrs or not - just as a precaution. I also do that in an attempt to help the budget-front-end on these things too.

Interestingly enough, if one is running a transmission line to say an outdoor antenna, the second harmonic will also have higher cable-loss than the primary on 220, further weakening it before it reaches a very poor match to the single band 220 antenna.

So there's that too to consider in the real world - it may not meet spec, but may not be making it further than a house away when all is said and done. :)
 

nanZor

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Heh, and I have a feeling nobody with a Baoefeng will be running 100 feet of hardline to the antenna. :)

It is an interesting engineering exercise degrading your line for 2nd harmonic attenuation - *if* that is really a problem ..

So for a 100 foot roll of RG-58 you take a 7.3db hit at 220. But your line-of-sight has improved greatly. The second harmonic takes an 11.2db hit at the end of that line - to a poorly matched antenna designed solely for 220..

Let us know how well your node works, and how well your buddies like the UV82x3 ...
 

N6TDG

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Well I am going to primarily use this radio for node work with a system I am setting up. Allstar node attached to an ALinco 235. Switch from Alaskan Morning net to Winsystem to Manchester Hub or wherever local hams in our neck of the woods would like. Our local club eschews Baofengs, for some obvious reasons, but if it works okay using the stock 220 antenna, versus an aftermarket tri-band, then maybe it might be something for local guys and gals to use and reach my simplex node and partake in the various groups, nets, etc...

I wish there were a few more options out there. Alinco had that V27T, which is rarer than a Hen's tooth these days and Bridgecomm no longer sells the 220 HT they had for around $100. Should have picked one up then. I want something a little more substantial than the VX-6 with only 1.5 watts. (sigh) There is the Kenwood F6A but that used is still selling for around $200 or more if one can be found.

I do have that Anytone 3318E, which is tri band...But I got the last one. No longer being made. I was only able to test it out once on 220, but I was kinda close to the repeater...within 5 miles, so not a real good test.

I want to thank you Nanzor for your real life advice regarding the uv 82x3. I will pdf this thread for reference...
 

nanZor

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My pleasure - wish you all the sucess with the group.

Baoefeng makes an easy target. Yet if some young amateur were to cobble something like that together on his bench, he'd get a hearty welcome!

It's all relative. Since all the eschewing in the world isn't making them go away, how about we try to get the most from them with training and knowledge? Ironically, they are also helping to keep the band alive for our use, since the big three can't truly profit from such a niche-band.

73 and all the best to the group!
 

N6TDG

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I noticed the price went up a few dollars for the 82x3 on amazon. It will probably go up to that $60 range that the 82 HP is at... Still very inexpensive. So, I forgot to ask, are you using the supplied 220 antenna, or was there a replacement you found that you liked better.
 

nanZor

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Stock antenna is fine. Conveniently marked 1.25m at the base and 220 designators on the inside.

I adapted an old Larsen Kulduckie 220 on it, but that got top-heavy, and finding a better position with the stock antenna got me the best benefit.

Forgot to mention - in Chirp I purposely restricted the range down from 260 to 225 mhz. In fact I do the same for all my others by purposely restricting the coverage to reduce chance of error - and I've got *real* scanners for non-amateur needs.
 
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