Hello… Our team has about 30 radios we use and continually replace them and upload the same programming to all of them…
I just got a load of new UV’s that when I upload the same programming as all the radios in the past, it receives loud and clear but it won’t transmit.
It just beeps…
I am not as savvy as many on this forum and I ask for your help, Barney Rubble Style…
Thank you…
Are you using the latest CPR, if the trouble is new radios sounds like their firmware is different. Will the old software programme any of them if you read the radio, change one thing and try to put it back? That usually confirms the CPR version you have is still current.
Thank you for your time… I am not very versed in this world of radios… Is CPR, short for CHIRP? If so… I have uploaded the software from our everyday radios, programed it as recently as a week ago, and tried to download it to the new ones… It programs it to all the right frequencies and receives transmissions fine… It just does not transmit… I did go in and try to remove the GRMS and just leave the FRS… and it still didn’t transmit… I do sincerely appreciate your help… I will try to see if there is a new CHIRP if that what CPR stands for…
Computer Programming Software. Chirp is a popular one that programmes most common radios including the UV-5R.
So I wonder if you’ve got a transmit inhibit programmed. Can I just confirm that if you take a working radio, and read FROM it to Chirp, everything looks fine - but if you then WRITE that file to the new radio, then the data appears to be there, but the PTT button doesn’t work, and this happens on all the new radios.
Do you have any of the new radios that you have not programmed? If so, do these transmit? This will show if it’s the codeplug you are loading into it causing the issue. I can’t check as Chirp no longer works on my MacBook and I’m not near a PC.
All the new UV-5R radios for the USA are now firmware locked to work on the Amateur Radio bands only.
OP’s frequencies can no longer be used on these new Baofengs.
That is all these radios can be legally used on anyway, due to lack of FCC certification.
Some of the current Amazon listings for UV-5R say, “Frequency Range: 144-148MHz, 420-450MHz. Please kindly know that UV-5R would not transmit without [sic, maybe “outside”?] this frequency range.” Some also say, “(Can not transmit with frs radio and gmrs radio)” Others simply mention, “FCC Part 15 Part 97 Certified，FFC ID: 2AJGM-UV5R”[sic], i.e., not Part 95 for FRS/GMRS/MURS transmissions. However, it seems some are still selling “transceiver for VHF (136-174), UHF (400-520)”.
I am having the same problem same level of expertise which is basically none.
Do I have to have a Ham license to program these new radios?
Could I just use the frequency they come on?
Any help would be appreciated.
If someone could give a simple step by step of how to fix this in CHIRP that would be even more amazing.
The frequencies they come programmed with are probably legal in some parts of the world.However, every country allocated bands, and frequencies within them to certain services. Some are accessible legally with a licence, some without, and many with big fines or worse if you get it wrong.
It’s probably fair to say that almost certainly buying one and just using it will be illegal in most countries, but thousands of people may buy radios on amazon and just use them. As the range is small, and geography critical, most of them get away with it, by luck. The risk is still real though. Using a radio in a location where your use becomes very obvious - let’s say you live near a port, and are chatting away on a channel that other users will notice, means a probable visit from the authorities. At best, confiscation and at worse a fine. If the people you annoy are important, then think worse. If your use causes something really serious - maybe you’ve jammed an ambulance service radio and somebody dies as a result - then expect punitive and decisive action.
Hams should know all about frequencies and licence types. family and small business radio users probably less so.You need to research your own legislation and determine what you want to do. In the UK there are frequencies for licence free radio channels. Strictly speaking programming one of these via Chirp breaks the law, but if you are happy with lawbreaking - I doubt people will know, but I suppose it depends how illegal operation sits with you. You really should use them only where it’s legal and legit. I think the advice should be to NOT use them unless you really understand what you are doing and the consequences.
While the FCC policy does state that they cannot be used as they are not certified for GMRS, even newly produced and sold ones absolutely still can.
Be default, they need to be locked when imported into the USA after the FCC went after Feng.
But you turn them off, hold down three buttons, and turn them back on, the new models all unlock GMRS again. Takes 2 seconds.
I just got a pile of Retevis radios - a model I’ve been doing for a while. every one was locked to the US ham bands, and I had to individually unlock them. This doesn’t really solve a problem does it?
Same Problem ! with dissapointment !!! iam from Germany and i know my Rights so dont bother ! cause i thought this topic was about gettin this baofeng at transmitting !!!
I’m in the UK, so we don’t have all the trouble with restrictions - but the problem with Baofengs is the lack of conformality. I have three radios in stock on the shelf. all three have DIFFERENT programming, but out of the box, they ALL transmit. That is not the problem. The europeans have the UV-5R that usually is ready to go on our frequencies but one of mine turned out to me the US spec one, which needed unlocking.
I assume your radio is trying to communicate with another? This isn’t working? The problem is always programming - it’s very rare for it to be a fault.
You need to be systematic. Do you have the specification for the other radio? What is it’s transmit frequency, receive frequency and tone requirement? So let’s imagine you want 446.125MHZ receive and transmit with a 250.3Hz CTCSS tone. This is set in the other radio, Baofeng or not baofeng, it doesn’t matter. You stick this data in and you are working - it really is that simple. Do you know the data programmed into the other radio? A small slip on frequencies or tones and it doesn’t work.
I’m not sure what you mean about rights? If you bought it online, you have 14 days in general to just send it back for a refund. After 14 days, it must be faulty, and that would be rare. I get radios sent back all the time because people have programmed them wrong. wrong tone, wrong offset, wrong type of tone, or other reasons. You need to work out what is happening. What is the other radio? A Baofeng too? If you give us some more details we can help - rights don’t help get a system working, I am afraid.
Regardless… as they are not Part 95 certified, they aren’t legal for use on GMRS. Just because a radio can go there doesn’t make it legal.
They are though. People keep throwing around the word Illegal like it dosen’t have a VERY SPECIFIC definition. FCC policy is not LAW. Laws exist that could potentially back up consiquences of violating FCC POLICY (only if the FCC requests enforcement through a seperate agency), but they still arent laws. At best, transmitting on non-part-95 hardware in this manner would be UNLAWFUL. But again, Unlawful and Illegal are completely different things. Specific definitions are all that matter when discussing law.
They are NOT part 95 certified. And yes they are illegal. FCC regulations are directly based on the Communications Act and have the force of law.
You have a very strange interpretation of how law works. The US and the U.K. (and EU) have different Legal frameworks, but each one has an entity responsible for specific things. Your FCC created the changes in the licensing system, that’s what their job is, and an existing piece of law is the instrument that then gets used. Our own OFCOM are our controllers. They are currently changing many established rules hams are controlled by. Many of the current rules were initiated by their two descendants the Post Office and the Home Office. The laws are variations of the original Wireless Telegraphy Act. If OFCOM change something, the control mechanism is the Law, not OFCOM. The FCC changed your rules. They are using existing law. If they changed something that old law did not cover, your legislature would have needed to enact some new law. They didn’t!
JW is totally correct in stating how it really is. He cannot promote illegal activity. Some of the radios I import have all sorts of illegal frequencies in them. It means here, I must remove them before sale. If I did not, I doubt it would cause any grief, but I just don’t do it. I get every week requests for illegal frequencies to be put into marine radios. Some people provide the piece of paper from the coastguard or lifeboat crew, but some clearly “are waiting for their paperwork to arrive”.
It’s a bit rich to lecture a radio dealer site mod on radio law and regulations, to be honest. You’re free to think what you want, many people do, but it is in this instance rubbish.
I have a Baofeng UV-5R and have everything set up to communicate with my driving group (they use Channel 5, Privacy Code 9), except for my radio will not hold the T-CTCS of 91.5HZ, which is what is needed for the Privacy Code 9. I go into the Menu 13 and scroll to 91.5 and hit menu to confirm, but then it reverts right back to showing OFF. Can anyone help me with this?
As mentioned by others, the recent UV-5R in the States and Canada are locked to amateur radio frequencies. You can listen to other frequencies but cannot transmit on them.
Also all Boafeng radios, with the exception of a GMRS model, are illegal for use in North America other than in amateur radio bands.
Hopefully your team is not using these radios for life saving or other emergency type use where major liability may be in play.
If you are in the UK it would explain a lot as new baofengs are blocked from transmitting on or above 480mh to comply with Ofcom regulations by the manufacturer. Sadly you’ll still see them advertised to uk buyers as being able to transmit on those frequencies even though in the UK it’s not possible.
It just beeps once then does nothing. If that’s the case with your radio there’s nothing you can do I’m afraid.
OFCOM do NOT in the UK have any problem with radios at all. If you bring in a worldwide, not a US version of a Baofeng it will transmit happily all over the design bandwidth. OFCOM would take a dim view of transmitting where you do not have a licence for, but the old rules on ‘owning’ or ‘having in your posession’ are no longer in the various licences. You simply must not transmit. That’s the Wireless Telegraphy Act’s job.
Compliance with established specifications is the key for legal use - which means that the baofeng spec does actually meet the minimum spec for spurious emissions and power, and frequency stability. OFCOM are interested in interference, not performance.
Baofengs and others have always been supplied with many totally UK illegal frequencies in them. You need to just remove those and they will not be interested. Transmit on marine band and say silly things and they will. Many people use them on PMR446 - which technically is wrong, but I am not aware of anyone ever being prosecuted. I have a number of business, marine and amateur licences and they’re fine used properly.