Wednesday 14th January was our first meet at CNS of the new year and to be honest this is usually quite a quiet night as people return back to routine, so as I had bought one of these radios before Christmas but had difficulty programming it and knew at least one person who had the same, I thought it might make an interesting activity for a few people on this first meeting of the year. What makes this particular radio special is that it is low cost (around £20 inc desktop charger and battery!) and seems to be an open source design so many amateurs around the world have written new firmware to greatly extend its functionality including band scope, extending range from 2m/70cm to wider bands etc. Just google or YouTube the model and you will see – great base to experiment.
When I wrote about it on the newsletter to see if anyone was interested in an informal workshop I was immediately contacted by a dozen or more people who were all keen to learn or share experiences, so I promoted it and it was a very popular evening as the photo below shows!
I have tried to write a few of the things I learned and share a few experiences below, but there were many more than this, so Mark has set up a Forum** on the NARC website for everyone to share their experiences and offer help. We can also do this at the club when we meet at CNS – surely it’s what clubs are for! (** Click here: Forum Note that you need to be logged into the website to use this – free to create a login).
• There are at least two versions of the UV-K5(8), the regular one and a new version called version 3. They look identical, but you can tell which version by taking out the battery and the label says v3 if it is the later version. I only have a V1 but I understand the V3 has more memory and offers programming as well charging via its USB C socket which would save having an adapter. HOWEVER some people have said that you need different versions of the firmware for each version OR YOU RISK BRICKING YOUR RADIO so please be sure what version you have and be sure to use a compatible version of the software!
• It appears the reason I could not install new firmware on my radio is that my particular programming cable or radio were very tight and I needed to push the two jacks in much harder than normally would. It was great to be able to try these on other peoples kit and I have trimmed a little plastic off my programming plug to make it fit more easily.
• The UV-K5(8) radios are available from many sources both in China (eg Ali Express) and eBay, but I bought mine from Moonraker as it was £24.95, came next day and supplied with a UK plug on the charger unlike most Chinese supplied ones – they also offer the programming cable for £4.95. It supports a UK business and is about as cheap as buying from china and much quicker! (STOP PRESS the radio is currently on offer for £19.95 from Moonraker)
• Emma 2E0KFZ has written to me today to say that she did brick her radio but eventually figured out a way to take it back to the original version:
“I might have a solution to a bricked quansheng uv5/uv6 (8) radio: When I tried to upgrade mine, I bricked it to the point it wouldn’t even switch on- it was totally dead. I managed to get it fully back (default, not upgraded), it wasn’t easy finding a solution but I did- eventually. If you hear of anyone else stuck in despair after bricking theirs, my solution might help. You can pass my email on and I’ll try to help them out (drop me an email if you want to contact Emma)
• Seeing a lot interest in the Quansheng Handheld Radio at a recent NARC Meeting, a forum to discuss and share info has been created. Mark G0LGJ has also shared a Norwich Based memory file for both Chirp and QCPS as a starting point.
Forum
Note you will need to be logged in to the website to post.
So thats just a start – please do share your experiences, suppliers, firmware etc on the new Forum – if posting firmware updates don’t forget to state which version of radio it is written for.
David G7URP – radio@dcpmicro.com
