Baofeng UV-B5

[thelad]

tryed that with no joy, its ok I can live with it and can not see my self using it in rain.

[thelad]

I have just worked out (by accident) that it has a keypad lock by holding the menu button for about 3 seconds.

[Kilrymont]

Got one of these as a second to a UV-82 (which feels like a better built radio all round) and am a bit miffed that neither CHIRP nor the factory's own software can connect with the radio, turns out this is a well known fact - surprised it didn't emerge on this thread. The cable I have works just fine with the 82, but the B5 can't link up no matter which way you plug it in, have been round the houses with all the commonly suggested remedies and - no joy. However programming via buttons isn't a deal breaker so have made do with that.
There's a couple - or more? - known bugs mentioned on the Miklor site about this set - seems to me it's one that's been rushed to market a bit too quickly before its wrinkles were ironed out.
After a while using it, can report it mostly works okay, with a better receiver than the 82 but with the worst screen I've ever seen, semi-legible characters that need chosen with care when naming a channel. The rotary VFO is a big improvement over the nudge up down buttons the rest of the family is fitted with - but it's prone to skip sometimes - a bit like the old Lincolns used to do when they loosened up a bit after a fair bit of use. Only this is a set only a couple weeks old.
I'd buy another UV-82, but not another B5 unless they revised these faults.
Both rotary controls have stiff spots on their turning - the plastic knobs rub on the casing I think - carefully draw them off maybe a m'metre or so and the stiffness/rubbing disappears > the feel of the controls is improved.

[Road_Hog]

Got one of these as a second to a UV-82 (which feels like a better built radio all round) and am a bit miffed that neither CHIRP nor the factory's own software can connect with the radio, turns out this is a well known fact - surprised it didn't emerge on this thread. The cable I have works just fine with the 82, but the B5 can't link up no matter which way you plug it in,

I'd buy another UV-82, but not another B5 unless they revised these faults.

I'd go for user error, the UV-B5 is rock solid. The cable should work fine, there are only two reasons it won't:

1: You don't have a real cable and have to play around with the drivers - must be about 90%+ of us.

2: The cable doesn't quite fit right.

As for number one, ensure that you've loaded the Prolific driver 3.2.2.0 and it is working in device manager. I set it up for the UV-B5 and works bang on all the time, also when I plugged the KT-980HP (another Baofeng branded Intek) it also worked first time.

As for number two, the Miklor site shows that you sometimes have to trim the cable down. For instance, my programming cable works fine on both radios. The speaker mic (again Kenwood style) is fine on the UV-B5 but temperamental on the KT-980HP. But then Intek didn't sell it to me, so I don't see it as a fault of the manufacturer and will just have to get the Victorinox out and file it down a bit to adjust it.

Baofeng didn't sell you the programming cable, a third party did, and if it doesn't work, you have two choices, complain to the company that sold it to you, or crack on with a bit of DIY to sort it.

[owza]

I have no issues programming this radio using CHIRP and/or the supplied software. I'm just using a cheap 'generic Prolific' cable from EBay. What O/S are you using? I have heard about issues with drivers. I'm still using XP.

[Road_Hog]

I have no issues programming this radio using CHIRP and/or the supplied software. I'm just using a cheap 'generic Prolific' cable from EBay. What O/S are you using? I have heard about issues with drivers. I'm still using XP.

If you're using XP, then you'll need the older prolific driver which is 2.0.2.1

Both drivers are available here:

http://www.miklor.com/COM/UV_Drivers.php