Baofeng UV5R
Setting up and programming your UV-5R
So far, the Baofeng UV-5R seems to be a steal of a deal. Not without its flaws though, and one of them is the cryptic and incomplete manual. This article will teach you how to set up the UV-5R, and how to program frequencies into the memory by hand.
Setting up the UV-5R
1. Charge the battery. According to the manual this will take about 5 hours, but don’t be surprised when the LED switches to green after just a few hours – contrary to what the manual says, some batteries appear to be (partly) charged.
2. Please be aware that a Li-Ion battery will be at full strength only after you depleted and charged it at least three times in a row. After these three cycles you can charge the battery any time you want. There’s no memory effect to deal with.
3. Reset the UV-5R. This will make your life much easier when you want to program frequencies into the memory. Switch on the UV-5R, press the Menu button, type ‘40‘, and press the Menu button again. The display will show “Reset All”. Press Menu again. The display will show “Source?” Press the Menu button once more to confirm your choice. Do this quickly, you have only once second or so. All that weird factory memory data is deleted now, and defaults are restored.
4. In later firmware versions a Chinese voice was added and, unfortunately, is default after a reset. You can change the language back to English in Menu 14.
How the menu system works
Pressing the Menu button the first time will display the menu items. There are 40 items in total. Pressing the Up or Down button scrolls through all the items. If you know where to go, typing the item number on the keypad will often be faster.
Press the Menu button once more to switch to the parameter menu. Pressing the Up and Down buttons allows you to browse through all the options. After selecting one of the options, press the Menu button again to confirm and save your choice. You can exit the menu at any time by pressing the Exit button. Waiting a few seconds will do the trick, too.
Programming Example 1: storing simplex frequencies
1. Switch to VFO A
2. Select VHF or UHF by using the Band key
3. Select the frequency you want to store
4. Press Menu, type ‘27‘, and press Menu again
5. Select an empty memory position (000 – 127) by using the Up or Down key
6. Press Menu again to store the frequency
7. Press the Exit key to leave the menu.
Programming example 2: storing repeater frequencies
1. Switch to VFO A
2. Select VHF or UHF by using the Band key
3. Select the receive frequency you want to store
4. Set TX power desired, Menu 2
5. Set TX PL tone if needed, Menu ’13’ T-CTCS
6. Set RX PL tone if desired, Menu ’11’ R-CTCS
4. Press Menu, type ‘27‘, and press Menu again
5. Select an empty memory position (000 – 127) by using the Up or Down key
6. Press Menu to store the receive frequency
7. Press the Exit key
8. Select the transmit frequency
9. Press Menu, type ‘27‘, and press Menu again
10 .Press Menu once more.
At this time I know of no way on the radio to change the memory channel names. Must be done via computer.
Switch to memory mode by pressing the VFO/M key and test your work.
Menu Structure:
0-SQL
Squelch Level
– Squelch silences the receiver when there is no signal.
– UHF Sensitivity can be varied from .1 to .3 mV
– VHF Sensitivity is constant. 1 > 9 = .1 mV
– Level 0 = Open Squelch
– There is little difference between settings.
Level 5 is recommended.
1-STEP
Frequency Step – Amount of frequency change when using Up/Down arrows or when scanning in VFO Mode.
2.5 / 5 / 6.25 / 10 / 12.5 / 25 kHz
2-TXP
Transmit Power
– High = 4 watts Low = 1 watt
– Use Low power unless necessary.
– Power can be toggled Hi/Lo by pressing the [ # ] key, however, Dual Standby (Menu 7) must be OFF.
High / Low
3-SAVE
Battery Save
– Sleep Ratio to acknowledge an RX signal.
– The higher number increases the RX sleep cycle, but you may miss the first few syllables before the RX opens.
1=1:1 2=1:2 3=1:3 4=1:4
OFF / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
4-VOX
Voice Operated Xmtr
– Allows transmitter activation by talking only.
– Adjust VOX gain to allow smooth operation.
– Level 10 requires the strongest voice.
OFF / 1, 2 > 10
5-WN
Wideband / Narrowband
– Wide = 5 KHz Narrow = 2.5 KHz
– For Ham use, start with selecting Wide.
WIDE / NARR
6-ABR
Display Illumination Time
– Time the display stays illuminated.
OFF / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 secs
7-TDR
Dual Watch / Dual Reception
– Allows monitoring of 2 channels, toggling between Freq A and Freq B.
– If a signal is received, the RX remains on that channel until the signal is gone.
OFF / ON
8-BEEP
Keypad Beep
– Allows audible confirmation of a key press.
OFF / ON
9-TOT
Transmission Time Out Timer
– Transmit Times Out after pre-selected time.
– Radio will alert you when the time is up.
– This helps prevent overheating.
15 / 30 / 45 / 60 > 600 secs
10-R-DCS
Rec – Digital Coded Squelch
– Prevents interference from signals on the same frequency.
– The squelch will open only if the incoming signal is coded with the same tone required by your receiver.
– Note: Not all repeaters requiring a tone for access transmit a tone back to you. Leave this function turned OFF unless you are absolutely sure it is needed.
OFF / D023N > D754I
11-R-CTCS
Rec – Continuous Tone Coded Squelch
– Prevents interference from signals on the same frequency.
– The squelch will open only if the incoming signal is coded with the same tone required by your receiver.
– Note: Not all repeaters requiring a tone for access transmit a tone back to you. Leave this function turned OFF unless you are absolutely sure it is needed.
67.0 Hz > 254.1 Hz
12-T-DCS
Trans – Digital Coded Squelch
– Required by some networks to limit access and interference.
OFF / D023N > D754I
13-T-CTCS
Trans – Continuous Tone Coded Squelch
– Required by some networks to limit access and interference.
67.0 Hz > 254.1 Hz
14-VOICE
Voice Prompt – Audible confirmation of a keypad entry.
OFF / ON or OFF / ENG / CHI
15-ANI-ID
Automatic Number ID of Radio (set with S/W)
– Sent when PTT is pressed and/or released.
– Used to alert dispatcher which field radio was keyed.
– Used primarily for commercial applications.
16-DTMFST
DTMF Tone of transmit
– Determines when DTMF codes are heard through speaker.
– OFF No tones heard
– DT-ST Only manually keyed DTMF codes are heard
– ANI-ST Only automatically keyed DTMF codes are heard
– DT+ANI * All DTMF codes are heard
OFF / DT-ST / ANI-ST / DT+ANI
17-S-CODE
Signal Code
– PTT-ID DTMF Code Selection (set with S/W)
– Selects one of 15 DTMF codes.
– Set with software and are up to 5 digits each.
– Enabled by using Menu 19.
1 > 15 groups
18-SC-REV
Scan Resume Method
– TO (Time Operation) Scan stops when signal detected. Scan resumes after after predetermined time.
– CO (Carrier Operation) Scan stops when signal detected. Scan resumes when signal disappears.
– SE (Search Operation) Scan stops when signal detected. Scanning will not resume.
TO / CO / SE
19-PTT-ID
When to send the PTT ID signal code
– OFF – No ID is sent.
– BOT – An ID is sent at Beginning of Transmission
– END – An ID is sent at the End of Transmission.
– BOTH – An ID is sent at BOT and EOT
– This tells a dispatcher which field radio was keyed.
– Not Applicable for Ham use. Set to OFF.
OFF / BOT / EOT / BOTH
20-PTT-LT
Signal Code sending delay
– Not Applicable for Ham use. Set to 0 (zero)
0 > 30 ms
21-MDF-A
Channel Mode A Display (upper display)
– FREQ – Displays programmed Frequency
– CHAN – Displays Channel Number
– NAME – Displays Channel Name programmed via software.
– If no name is programmed, CHAN will display.
FREQ / CHAN / NAME
22-MDF-B
Channel Mode B Display (lower display)
– FREQ – Displays programmed Frequency
– CHAN – Displays Channel Number
– NAME – Displays Channel Name programmed via software.
– If no name is programmed, CHAN will display.
FREQ / CHAN / NAME
23-BCL
Busy Channel Lockout
– Prevents transmitting on a busy frequency.
– If another repeater or signal is present using a different CTCSS or DCS code, your transmitter will be ‘locked out’ to prevent interference. When PTT is keyed, radio will sound a Beep Tone.
OFF / ON
24-AUTOLK
Automatic Keypad Lock
– When ON, keypad will be locked if not used in 8 seconds.
– Pressing the [# ] key for 2 seconds will Lock/Unlock the keys on the keypad.
OFF / ON
25-SFT-D
Frequency shift direction
– Enables access of repeaters in VFO/FREQ mode.
OFF TX = RX (simplex)
+ (plus) TX shifted Higher in freq than RX
– (minus) TX shifted Lower in freq than RX
OFF / + / –
26-OFFSET
Frequency shift amount
– Specifies frequency difference between TX and RX.
– Used with Menu 25 for repeater access in VFO/FREQ mode.
– Offset is not required when storing repeater frequencies into channels.
00.000 > 69.990 MHz in 10 kHz steps
27-MEM-CH
Store a memory channel
– Stores channel information in memory slot 0 > 127
28-DEL-CH
Delete a memory channel
– Deletes information stored in memory slot 0 > 127
29-WT-LED
Illumination / Display Color – Standby
– Screen illumination color in Standby Mode
OFF / BLUE / ORANGE / PURPLE
30-RX-LED
Illumination / Display Color – Receive
– Screen illumination color in Receive Mode
OFF / BLUE / ORANGE / PURPLE
31-TX-LED
Illumination / Display Color – Transmit
– Screen illumination color in Transmit Mode
OFF / BLUE / ORANGE / PURPLE
32-AL-MOD
Alarm Mode
– SITE – Sounds alarm through your radio speaker only.
– TONE – Transmits a cycling tone over the air.
– CODE – Transmits ‘119’ followed by ANI code over the air.
SITE / TONE / CODE
33-BAND
Band Selection
– In VFO/FREQ mode, sets VFO A or B to VHF or UHF band.
– This is similar to the [ BAND ] button.
VHF / UHF
34-TDR-AB
Transmit selection while in Dual Watch / Dual Reception
– While in Dual Watch mode, this forces the selection of which transmit frequency is selected.
OFF / A / B
35-STE
Squelch Tail Elimination
– Eliminates the squelch tail at the end of a transmission.
– Only works when other radios turn on their Tail function.
* For Ham use, set to OFF.
OFF / ON
36-RP-STE
Repeater Squelch Tail Elimination
– Requires a repeater using this function.
* For Ham use, set to OFF.
OFF / 1, 2, 3 > 10
37-RPT-RL
Delay the squelch tail of repeater
* For Ham use, set to OFF.
OFF / 1, 2, 3 > 10
38-PONMSG
Boot / Power On Display
-FULL – Displays the entire LCD screen.
-MGS – Displays a 2 line Power On message.
FULL / MGS
39-ROGER
Tone at end of transmission
Sends a Tone at the end of each transmission.
* For Ham use, set to OFF.
OFF / ON
40-RESET
Restore to default settings
– VFO – Resets all menus to factory default. Resets VFO [A] and [B] frequencies to factory default.
– ALL – Same as above.
Erases all channels.
Resets chan 0 to 136.025 MHz / chan 127 to 470.625 MHz
VFO / ALL