Baofeng UV-5R Ham Radio HT

Amateur Radio
1

I have a Baofeng UV-5R, it is programmed properly, (I believe) and all functions show it is ready for operation, Tone, Offset, etc etc, BUT…it will not transmit, or pass a signal through an adjacent radio, it appears to be throwing a dead carrier…? Any help is greatly appreciated…Thanks Mike

P.S. It would be great if someone would give people with these radios a breakdown of all 40 menus, and some suggestions as too what too pre-set each menus at.

2

There are a few things that would prevent a UV-5R (or any other radio, for that matter) from transmitting properly or being heard. For this reason, we need a lot more information.

  1. Is this a new radio, or purchased used?
  2. Did it work previously, or is this the first time you’ve attempted to program and use it?
  3. Was it programmed from the keypad, or through software such as CHIRP?
  4. What frequencies, tones, codes, etc. are programmed into the radio?
  5. What is the make and model of radio you are using to test and receive the transmission (be specific)
  6. Is the receiving radio programmed and previously known to be working properly?
  7. Are you transmitting directly to the other radio or going through a local repeater?
  8. Have you tried transmitting to multiple radios, or just the one?
    There are other questions, but this should get it started.

To answer your post script, Someone has. There are a lot of resources available online for the Baofeng UV-5R. Some are here in this forum. A practical manual was created for it early on, and there are numerous articles and videos on how to navigate the menu and program the radio. The UV-5R is one of the most popular handheld radios in the world, so it shouldn’t be difficult to find what you are searching for. This should get you started:

Tech Support for Baofeng Two Way Radios

A Real Baofeng UV-5R Owners Manual

How to manually program the Baofeng UV-5R from the keypad

3

I was having the same issue.

I have a Baofeng UV-5RA in Channel mode, that I have tuned to the same channel and CTCSS code in my Midland LXT600PA. I can transmit on the LXT and the Baofeng receives the transmission, but when I transmit on the Baofeng, the tranmit light illuminates but the LXT doesn’t receive the call.

I know the FRS frequencies and CTCSS are correct. Our security team at church uses the LXTs. I bought the Baofeng so I could contact the local police department in case of an emergency which is why I was trying to get this to work.

I have the CTCSS code programmed into both the TX and RX on the Baofeng.

On a hunch, I changed from Channel Mode to Frequency Mode and the LXT received the transmission, but then the LXT transmission wasn’t received by the Baofeng. (I have a Yaesu FT-60 that works perfectly with the LXT, but the Baofeng is smaller and lighter.) I really want to get the Baofeng and LXT to talk together.

The Baofeng is set to Narrow Band. I then reset the radio to default settings in Frequency Mode, reprogrammed it to Narrow Band, re-entered TX and RX CTCSS codes. Now miracously, both radios talk to each other.

It would be nice, however, to get them to talk to each other in Channel mode, but for right now I am not looking a gift horse in the mouth. :slight_smile:

Thanks