Baffling Baofeng UV17

Which version of the Baofeng UV 17 is which.......an explanation.....I hope!

[@bigwill4423]

P.S. In my video I mistakenly referred to the UV 17 Pro GPS as a "quad band" radio which of course it is not as it is actually capable of receiving six different wavebands (if you include the built in FM radio function for listening to local commercial radio stations which pretty much all Baofengs possess). Of course in the UK we are only allowed to transmit on two of these bands (2 meters and 70 Centimeters assuming you possess the correct ham radio license) whereas in the USA you are allowed to transmit on the 1.25 meter band as well as I understand it (?) Of course it is also possible to transmit without the appropriate ham licence if you use the license free PMR446 frequencies in the uk although the UV 17 Pro GPS is not really type approved for using those frequencies in the uk either.....though I don't think OFCOM will pursue you if you do as I'm sure they have bigger fish to fry. Apologies for the error. 🤭

[@ReaperYouGames]

Thanx for the info,there seems tobe alot of different baofengs out at the moment,the uv-21 has many options also.

[@jayc9075]

Best explanation I've watched thank you I can order with confidence now

[@richardmillican7733]

Like I said yesterday, I've got the V1. Just ordered the V2GPS £33+postage We'll wait n see what arrives 👍

[@bigwill4423]

...if you ordered it from global walkie talkie on AliExpress like I told you then you'll be grand....if you got it from anywhere else...well, frankly you could end up with anything! 😲 Hope all goes well and enjoy your radio when it arrives! 😎👍

[@bigwill4423]

Have just been looking on AliExpress and there seem to have been some "black screen with white font" versions of the BF-18H appearing. On reading the specs of these "black screen" versions of the BF-18H they seem to be a uv17 "version 2" housed inside a BF-18H body! 😲😲😲 be careful if buying this black screen version of the BF-18H as it just seems to be a cunningly disguised version of the UV17 "version 2" and does not have the full spec of the "genuine" full colour screen version. BUYER BEWARE! 😲😲😲

[@mikesey1]

I made sure that I was buying a UV17 PRO GPS, was by speaking to the seller first. I have one of the other versions too. I tell the difference from listening to the deep male voice telling me I'm "welcome". None of the others has that male voice.

[@bigwill4423]

@@mikesey1 .....yep, I call it the "Barry White" voice as it sounds similar to the late great singer Barry White. 👍

[@One-Eyed-Willly]

Chirp does have experimental drivers for the 17 series I have tried and worked for me

[@MrKeys57]

And i have a fourth (or fifth) model!! - the UV17PRO (non GPS version), looks exactly as the PRO17GPS -- it is a tribander, and also has the AIR-band, (so fourband) but the Air sounds terrible...because it has no real AM-receiver/detector, hope there could come an AM-hack to it, as they did to the Quangshen, 73, Levi

[@petercarter9034]

It works fine on Chirp now put UV17 in the selection

[@bigwill4423]

Yes, at the time it wasn't included but of course now it's entirely compatible with chirp! 👍😎

[@BogusBolloks-mf4wq]

Very informative thank you appreciate very much😀🙏

[@bigwill4423]

Thank you. 👍😎

[@petercarter9034]

It's easy to change the voice with the modified CPS the voice is the only negative of this radio

[@Digital-Talk-Groups]

I’ve got many of those radios but does anyone know anything about the Baofeng i Black

[@bigwill4423]

Not heard of that model I'm afraid.

[@Digital-Talk-Groups]

@@bigwill4423 fair enough 👍

[@nickaxe771]

Got one of these last week just for airband just for taking to the airport....I have bases scanners at home......£29 as opposed £160...what a rip off so I gave one a try. Anyway.....I got myself one of these made in china walkie talkies a year or so ago that had air band...not a Baofeng....it was useless.....unless the transmitting station was weak....the signal was so distorted to be near unreadable...AM Airband. I got a refund....then I saw Baofeng where doing these things with airband I an d I thought....surely there will be better....had Baofeng experience before as I am a radio ham.....I have anther 2 just for 2mt use.....very very good on anything FM. But what a disappointment the AM Airband side of my UV-17 pro is.....near useless....I took it to the airport....not expecting it to be and good being near the transmitting station.....and yes it was garbage. Been into airband since the 1960s.....so I know good from poor. So dont buy one of these with airband.....keep your dosh in your pocket..... The UHF rx side of it is useless....so I put the antenna of the old UV-5 onto the UV-17.....its the basic one supplied some years ago....what a difference.....so the supplied antenna with the UV-17 is useless on UHF. If I take out the battery on my radio....it says its a UV-17Pro.....so looking under the battery should tell you which radio you have. Luckily I dont need the software....I program the radio from the key board....cant put name to freq though.....but no big deal PS firmware version is displayed in menu item 46 on my radio. which is V0.06 hardware V01 Nick 2E0LPL.

[@daz51173]

Can you listen to aircraft on these as i want 1 for my dad as he is a avid plane spotter

[@bigwill4423]

Yes, the UV-17 Pro GPS can receive AM airband! 👍😎

[@daz51173]

@bigwill4423 do you need special software to listen to the pilots or do you have to program it?

[@bigwill4423]

@@daz51173 .....you have to program the frequencies for your local airport into the radio. You can either enter the frequency via the keyboard or it is easier to connect the radio to a pc via a programming usb lead. You can either use the free to download "chirp" software but I prefer to use the "modified CPS software" for the 17pro GPS which is available for free download from www.miklor.com

[@AppleUser]

I am lost. Mine says 17L......... what do I have????? ugggggggg. mine looks/sounds like v2............................. AND it is orange

[@tommysmith824]

You have the tri-band model. 2m,220,440.

[@richardguzman5596]

Tengo la uv-17 versión 2. En frecuencia 150000 transmite y recibe bien pero en 400000 solo recibe no transmite y eso que puse bien los tonos

[@bigwill4423]

I'm afraid I don't speak your language but if google translate is correct you are asking "At a frequency of 150000, it transmits and receives well, but at 400000, it only receives and does not transmit, even though I set the tones correctly” which suggests you are trying to use one of these radios via a repeater in which case I would suggest you recheck your settings for the repeater? If you are not using a repeater then you need to ensure that the other radio you are communicating with is using the same tone.

[@notsogreat123]

Won't work on chirp. That's where I do all my programing !!

[@bigwill4423]

Yes, unfortunately because these radios are fairly new on to the market there currently is no chirp support for them and you have to use the CPS software I mentioned if you want to program via a computer and not from the keypad. They'll probably get chirp support eventually but at the moment CPS is the only alternative I'm afraid.

[@thedayofevil]

The 18 pro max Has GPS

[@bigwill4423]

Yes, indeed it has. The BF-18H doesn't though.

[@radiosnmore]

how the f do u flash these piles cps is like whaat ?????

[@bigwill4423]

When you say "flash" do you mean "program" the radio using software? If that is what you mean then the answer is that each different version of the UV17 uses a specific version of the software. Which version of the radio do you have and I can tell you which version of the software it needs (it also tells you in the video by the way)

[@radiosnmore]

@@bigwill4423 hey yhea man sorry i typed that before i watched fully (:

[@bigwill4423]

@@radiosnmore ....no worries my friend, I hope you find the video helpful....just make sure to match the correct version of the software to the version of the radio you have. 👍

[@johnstockwell8322]

And this one iBlack

[@ToppKatt7]

That’s why I don’t buy Chinese radios. Stay with Yaesu or Icom. And they are spectrum accepted. These are not. 73