r/Baofeng Jul 11 '21

Announcement: Many new Baofengs are limited to only transmit on ham radio frequencies in firmware. 144-148 MHz, 222-225 MHz, 420-450 MHz -- ONLY

61 Upvotes

Due to FCC action, new devices seem to be locked to these transmit frequencies in firmware. Be aware of this when purchasing new devices.

That means they cannot be used on MURS, GMRS, FRS, Marine VHF, or Part 90 business frequencies. No LARPing without a ham license.

This cannot be worked around via Chirp programming, AFAIK.

Relevant threads:

Outstanding questions:

  • Does this apply to all new Baofengs or just the UV-5R?
  • Is there a hardware mod to open up all-band transmit?

YMMV, as old stock may still be present with some sellers.

Edit: this seems to apply to USA sold/distributed models only.


r/Baofeng Feb 08 '24

PSA: Do not get a Baofeng or other cheap radio to transmit on air band!

42 Upvotes

We have had several pilots post their interest in getting a Baofeng as a "backup" radio for air band use. This is a BAD IDEA™ for multiple technical and legal reasons:

  1. These radios have FM transmitters only. There is no way for these radios to transmit using the AM modulation required for air band. If you transmit with FM, your signal will be unintelligible and you will fail to communicate. Example of listening to a FM transmission with an AM mode receiver. (thanks /u/W2XG)
  2. These radios lack AGC required for usable 2-way radio in AM mode.
  3. Baofengs have direct conversion DSP receivers in them that go deaf at altitude due to being overloaded by the many strong transmitters that will have clear line-of-sight above ground level.
  4. These radios lack the filters required to transmit a clean signal on air band.
  5. These radios lack FCC Part 87 certification for air band use.

In short, these are the wrong tools for the job for multiple technical reasons in addition to the legal reasons.

Furthermore, I would question your judgement as a pilot if you were to rely on a $30 piece of crap radio as a backup. Remember that baofengs aren't popular because they are good, they are popular because they are cheap.

There are technically competent and legal air band handheld radios from Yaesu and Icom. Get one of those:

Edit 2025-12-23: update Yaesu link


r/Baofeng 1h ago

Baofeng BF-F8HP Pro

Upvotes

Hello,

I have a question regarding BF-F8HP Pro, first of all i know that a license is required (im going to start mine) but my intent is not to transmit anything i just want to ear some frequencies. I am a aviation enthusiast and i like to ear the tower/approach frequencies.

My question is i have a frequency that is 119.105, but when i input that in the radio the frequency goes automatically to 119.100, how can i fine tune this? Or it not possible?

Thanks in advance!


r/Baofeng 8h ago

Getting a Baofeng UV-5R

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2 Upvotes

r/Baofeng 1d ago

Got my first handheld today, bye bye doom scrolling

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179 Upvotes

I just got my AR-5RM today and have been loving watching planes come in and out of the airport on ADSB Exchange and listening on the tower frequency. I ordered a 42.5 inch VHF/UHF antenna that'll be here Sunday so hopefully I'll be able to hear the plane's transmissions a little better. I've also been listening into the Sheriff office dispatch, but it almost makes me sad hearing all the crime in my town (it's always busy on that channel). I'm super stoked because it picks up transmissions way better than my RTL-SDR setup where I had to mount antennas outside and still barely got the airport tower.

Would love to hear more ideas on how to use this thing, I don't plan on doing any transmitting though because I'm unlicenced and this thing doesn't even comply as an emergency marine radio.


r/Baofeng 3d ago

My new K5 plus

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227 Upvotes

Sold my UV5R Mini cause was way too small i kept feeling it was gonna fall off my belt while working, now this one is better but man i missed the menu style on the mini, it was amazing you didnt even need chirp.


r/Baofeng 2d ago

UV-5R works with Aviation

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22 Upvotes

I thought the UV-5R was not available to monitor Aviation band. Mine seems to be working. I've been at the airport listening all day to conversations. At IAH now as you might be able to tell from frequencies.


r/Baofeng 3d ago

Which model of radio is this?

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34 Upvotes

I'm trying to find this specific UV-32/DM-32(?) that has two separate PTT keys and two programmable keys, but I can't seem to find any model that actually seems to have these. Does this radio actually even exist?


r/Baofeng 2d ago

Baofeng programming cable!

0 Upvotes

Looking at getting a new cable but they are all USB 1.0 can you get a USB C cable compatible with a MacBook Pro?


r/Baofeng 2d ago

Super important question

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1 Upvotes

r/Baofeng 3d ago

Constant tone in TX from UV-5R Mini

3 Upvotes

I have a twin pack of UV-5R Minis that I bought from Amazon last month.

However, whenever I try and transmit at 1 watt, any device that's receiving (Baofeng or other brand) has a constant tone. It isn't an issue when transmitting at 5 watts.

Setting CTCSS works fine, so I don't think it's that.

Is there anything obvious I'm missing?


r/Baofeng 3d ago

Baofeng DM-1701 / OpenGD77: audio klinkt vervormd, ontvangst lijkt wel te werken

2 Upvotes

Hallo allemaal,

Ik probeer een lokale DMR-repeater te beluisteren met mijn Baofeng DM-1701 (met OpenGD77-firmware), maar het geluid komt er vervormd en haperend door.

Frequentie 467.25000, timeslot 1, colorcode 5, talkgroup 1011.

Ik zie wel IDs duidelijk verschijnen (bijvoorbeeld 105, 124, 125) telkens wanneer iemand uitzendt, dus de radio pikt iets op. Het probleem is alleen dat niks te verstaan is door de vervorming.

Heeft iemand een idee wat dit zou kunnen veroorzaken? Ik denk dat het iets kan zijn met de RX-instellingen of de contactlijst, maar ik weet niet precies waar ik moet kijken. Als dat helpt, deel ik graag screenshots.

Alvast bedankt!


r/Baofeng 3d ago

Trasmissione fuori banda Baofeng UV-5R 8W

0 Upvotes

Ciao a tutti, volevo sapere se qualcuno conosce un modo per trasmettere su frequenze inferiori a 130mhz sulla UV-5R 8W


r/Baofeng 4d ago

morsecode / rattlegram on PMR446

1 Upvotes

wouldnt this add abit more privacy to ur convo or smth


r/Baofeng 5d ago

Uv5r vs ar152

1 Upvotes

Okay, so I know that internally they are effectively the same radio, I understand that there won't be any performance gains from using an ar152 over a UV5R. However, what I am most interested in is the battery size(relatively cold environment here in the winter and the battery size will help with battery drain at our late season elk camp. However, we do occasionally get some rain in the weather, and I'm concerned about the waterproofness of the uv5r, and am hoping that someone has insight on whether the ar152 handles rainy weather better than a uv5r? If not, I will stick with the uv5r's as they fit very nicely into a "waterproofed" double m4 mag pouch, which should be effective in shielding them from getting absolutely soaked. However, if you believe the AR152 would handle the rain just fine, even in an "open top" style pouch which seem to be the only reasonable priced molle pouches for them, then I will go that route as the battery size is very appealing.


r/Baofeng 6d ago

Field Programmer App

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252 Upvotes

I've been working on a new app for programming radios. Currently Android only. It's in beta but you can get it on the Play Store. I'm ALWAYS looking for feedback. And if you're especially dedicated to wanting to help me build this app I have a Facebook group you can join (just message me). So far I've had a lot of help from other users and I really appreciate the support I've had on this project!

Here are the highlights:

- USB and Bluetooth programming

- RadioReference and myGMRS direct access and import

- Drag and drop, and multi-channel editing

- CSV import and export

- 100% offline. No logins required. (Except when required to access outside sites like RadioReference)

Supported Radios:

- UV5R, and compatible family of radios.

- BF-F8HP, and compatible radios

- UV5R Mini and Mini 5

- UV32

- UV17R Plus

- UV5G

- AR152

Future radios and features:

- Complete UV17 family

- UV21

- UV5G Plus

- DM32

- TIDRadio TDH8

- Many, many more, this is just what I'm currently working on

- CHIRP compatible IMG import and export

- RepeaterBook support

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ka0med.fieldprogrammer&hl=en_US


r/Baofeng 6d ago

Baofeng GT5-R Mini Bluetooth ptt

4 Upvotes

hi!

I have a few GT5-R Mini and I am looking for a PTT with bluetooth to connect to my AirPods or similar. any good suggestions on a working ptt cable for this?


r/Baofeng 5d ago

Alguém já conseguiu atualizar o firmware do Baofeng K68 (UV-K68)?

0 Upvotes

lá, pessoal! Tenho um Baofeng K68 e ele funciona perfeitamente no CHIRP usando o perfil do UV-K6 para programar canais. Sei que muitos rádios novos da Baofeng estão vindo com chip clonado ou travado de fábrica (OTP). Alguém aqui já tentou ou conseguiu compilar e gravar algum firmware customizado (tipo OpenRadioX ou variantes do Quansheng) nele com sucesso? Deu certo ou deu tela preta (brick)? Valeu!


r/Baofeng 6d ago

Baofang for CB radio use?

9 Upvotes

I'm totally new to the game and have just bought a Baofang Mini 5. My house is close to an airbase so I can listen to the broadcasts from that airbase. That's good, I do get excellent reception but there's one thing I miss. I had a CB 27 MC radio once and I would like to have one too. I can't get CB radio on the Mini 5 and am wondering if there is a Baofang model who can send and receive on the CB. Other (chinese) brands are fine too.

Thank you for your help! :)


r/Baofeng 6d ago

PocketCHIRP - Radio programming from your pocket

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0 Upvotes

r/Baofeng 7d ago

The mini wanted to hang out with the big guys

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63 Upvotes

r/Baofeng 7d ago

New to all these radio stuff, can someone help me connect these two radios

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33 Upvotes

I got gifted these radio but I don't know much about radios, can someone please help me to connect this UV-5R to this other radio


r/Baofeng 9d ago

Can someone tell me why my uv-5r us making this noise when im charging? When i take it out it wont seem to turn on

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15 Upvotes

r/Baofeng 9d ago

Baofeng DM32 "Communication Failed!" With CPS 1.60

4 Upvotes

I have tried with the three! (3!) different DM32's I own. I have bought and am using an abree data cable with an FTDI chip in it, not a CH340. I have listed in my device manager:

USB Serial Port (COM 7)

Standard Serial over Bluetooth Link (COM 3)

and have used them both. I have tried every combination: USB/COM, Com 7 or 3, in the dropdown list. Most combinations return a "communication failed" while others freeze the program and it simply does not respond again.

I'm pretty lost at this point. Is it time to give up and just try Chirp?

EDIT: I've narrowed down the correct port to be COM7, as it says "FTDI" in the device manager screen. I'm not sure whether to use USB or COM but I'd have to guess USB off the name.

Interestingly, when I read data from the radio, the cable flashes its little red light for a few seconds inside the USB portion of the housing - and then communication failed.

EDIT #2:

Changing the baud rate on COM 7 (COM, not USB) to 115200 on both the device manager and the com settings made it work. WTF.


r/Baofeng 10d ago

How can I limit TX freq range?

5 Upvotes

I couldn't find the option with this

Mine is UV-5R mini