Quansheng UV-K5: Hacked for 220MHz: Better than Baofeng!

I finally got a Quansheng UV-K5 and opened it up for the 220MHz band. THEN I put it on the TinySA - what do you think happened? Let's look!
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Thanks for watching!
#Hamradio #kc5hwb #quansheng

[@poorman-trending]

The biggest drawback to these (and baufengs) is the lack of filtering. However; it’s extremely easy to make your own band pass filter for any handheld. In fact, that would be a great topic for a video 😉

[@MatCatSoft]

The UV-K5, K5(8), K6, and UV-5R Plus (quansheng one of course) are all identical radios with just slightly different cases. Some people have claimed better speakers or better AM or this or that, but they are all internally identical, well except for the UV-5R Plus which does NOT have USB-C, though it does have a slightly bigger battery.

[@phillipsmiley5930]

They all use the new Beken BK4819 chip

[@pep729]

Clip off the little plastic tab on top of the big battery on the 5r plus and it'll fit in your K5.

[@HamRadio2]

Not exactly identical, no.

[@willc8542]

@@HamRadio2So what’s the difference? Nothing notable or you’d mention it already. 😂

[@MikeN2MAK]

The more radios that can do 1.25m, the better!

[@HamRadio2]

Yep

[@norrinradd8952]

Was able to pick up 10m FT4/8 on mine plugged into a CB antenna.

[@JoeFramo-uw9fp]

Love the 220band😊

[@zer0bytes2000]

Also works on the Retevis RA79 variant

[@the_mad_swimbaiter455]

I got one of the k5 radios in your mystery box before this radio got popular lol

[@Peter-dd3br]

I got a basic UVK5, then I got the fancier looking version with the orange backlight, and they seem like the same radio, if there's any difference the fancy one might have a better speaker, but it's subtle. The orange volume knob suits the basic UVK5, the little pop of color gives the otherwise plain radio kind of a sporty look, but on the fancy version it looks out of place, so I popped it off and painted it black, looks much classier.

[@DePalma.]

Great radio…I like it the same as I like my UV-5R😊

[@oncomics1128]

The stock antenna works pretty well in the 2m space. Better than most rubber duckies. I’m using IJV mod right now.

[@JoeFramo-uw9fp]

They say the uvk 8 Jason is it will receive all of the upper lower sideband CW I think from 40 m on up to 10 meters

[@blueboy1183]

I have the K 6 so much with all the hacks and use the egzumer firmware!! The price was so cheap lol!!

[@kurttuttle1708]

Another informative video.

[@HamRadio2]

Thanks again!

[@DNMEBOY]

Egzumer allows you to bypass the function button by pressing and holding whatever button. No need to press function 2 to swap A/B, just press and hold the A/B button is assigned to the desired function. I believe the firmware removed the NOAA alert function though. I haven’t been able to find it in the settings, and the button no longer enables it. It launches the spectrum analyzer instead when you press function/5.

[@nicktan9849]

Good day Sir, how many km can cover?

[@micwell2247]

Does any of it work on the UV-5R plus ?

[@mnoxman]

220 and 50Mhz need love. Too hard to find HT/Mobiles that TX on those bands.

[@PlanetObservatory]

when i unlock mine for 220 it sends what sounds like dialing a phone when keying and unkeying. Any ideas what I may be missing that causes this?

[@harleymandk]

I played around with SSTV ,Data and Packet via a Baofeng 5r. Anything better for that ?? It has to be small and fit on a modelboat...Data runs on 433 Mhz !

[@k6usy]

Need to put a tri-band antenna on that thing now.

[@phillipsmiley5930]

Use a telescopic and adjust the length for a 1/4 wave

[@yungsmile7546]

I have 3 radtel 470 10 watt radios. Tests with tinySA showed 2M 1st harmonic only 5-6 dBm below fundamental and 3 watts out on frequency. Power meter reads 11 watts total meaning there's 8 watts of splatter. On 220/1.25M it's 6 watts on frequency and 1st harmonic is -52 dBm, so though it's slightly above -16.02 dBm it's close enough for me. That harmonic is 4μw. That's all I needed to know to have hts dedicated to 220. I've got numerous other clean radios for 2M. Quansheng UV5R Plus, TYT 8000D, Retevis RT85 (TYT UV88), and TIDRADIO H8, that all meet FCC requirements. Some newer China manufacturers are learning the low pass filtering needed where others don't care. 73 KN6VYP

[@daytona1212]

I installed a CEC Mod that makes this radio transmit SSTV and APRS, and more stuff like CW. And you will be suprised how the radio looks on that little screen.

[@W-733_KWX]

I also opened it for 220, but power out is in the mW range, needle barely moves on a 5W scale power meter. So for very local coms it may work, as I can't open the repeater I can easily open with my 5W radio on the 1W setting. On top of that the not stellar dual band antenna is surely not engineered to work on 220. Could be useful to use 220 with a dedicated antenna, if one of the radios already have it (on my side I have a Radtel 470X with 220). UV-K5, K6 and 5R Plus are awesome radios, I would personally would like to have tone control to add more bass to it on one of the custom FW. One of the best bargain radio out there. Have a K6, ordered the 5R plus to mess around with custom FW whilst leaving original FW on the K6. Next ones worth taking a look at are the (bigger size) "10W" powerhouses, like the RA89, or NR630 which I have and are awesome radios. Cheers de va3kwx chris

[@HamRadio2]

I can key a 220 repeater that's 10-12 miles away on the low power output of this radio

[@LeoLaRock]

I use firmware which unlocks 10 MHz to 1300 MHz and I can hear China International Radio on 17.650 MHz with Quansheng

[@JoeFramo-uw9fp]

Some people are just plain ignorant does your mind your own business and just enjoy your program ❤❤❤❤❤

[@allenbacus1324]

I just got mine in today and I can't wait to mess with it. The beauty of a cheap, hackable radio is, if you screw up, you just buy another cheap hackable radio.

[@dougdaniels]

Smiley has a triband antenna that would work with this hack. I have one on my THF6A and it's great.

[@HamRadio2]

Yeah I have that one too

[@mostlypostie1]

"IJV" firmware is what you need. It is by FAR the best. It provides SSB (DSB and CW TX as well! And FYI, the K5 and K6 are identical, other than the case and backlight. (The K6 looks and feels a lot better in the hand. IMHO). 73

[@av3510]

I've got one of those as well and opened it up for 220 as well. I've got a couple of 220 repeaters in my area (less than 5 miles away) and I can't ever hit them. Same distance for the 440 and 2m repeaters and I hit them fine. The power output on 220 must be negative, lolz!

[@NVRMTmotion]

You're not wrong... Mine measures milliwatts of output on 220 x

[@markw.4679]

How well does the Nagoya tri band antenna work on this❓️

[@HamRadio2]

I use that antenna on my TH-350 and it works great. It is heavier than this radio, so it would topple it over, but the performance would probably be great.

[@phillipsmiley5930]

The K6 is a rebadged K5 (8)

[@KempOutside]

I’m not sure if I missed it but did you say it was clean on 70cm? I am really torn as I love these cheap radios but want them to be clean.

[@KempOutside]

I just rewatched and saw the 70cm test, but I didn’t see the 2m test. What were the 2m results?

[@HamRadio2]

2M was dirtiest of all

[@KempOutside]

@@HamRadio2 thanks! Wasn’t sure if you were saying the Quansheng was dirty on 2m or the Radtel. Now I see you were saying both are dirty. Bummer.

[@dos0711]

Just curious...in all your testing is there a Baofeng that you liked?

[@HamRadio2]

The BTECH UV5x3 is probably my favorite. The UV13 works pretty well too

[@kumasu]

Do you monitor the NCTC repeater system?

[@HamRadio2]

Not usually but maybe I should

[@phillipsmiley5930]

They use the new Beken BK4819

[@legallimitoutdoors9917]

What's the best antenna for 220 band?

[@HamRadio2]

Nagoya makes a triband. I think MFJ has one too

[@josevazquez9724]

How many miles apart can I use it before it stop working

[@HamRadio2]

From Earth to the ISS

[@johnemmons9087]

gOOD sTUFF!

[@johnemmons9087]

You know why I wrote that way, yes?!😎

[@legallimitoutdoors9917]

Can I run a NAGOYA NA-24J Antenna for the 220 MHZ. Will this work. Anyone?

[@HamRadio2]

It should

[@robertmeyer4744]

looks like power drop off on 220 band. Their is a hack for the UV-5R to get 220 band but power drop off on TX . still looking for a tri band HT with 220 around $200 or less that is clean and have full power on 220 band. been looking at the Anytone one with triple display . just waiting for now to buy. I got like 10 HT's now. no good 220 yet. some day . 73's

[@HamRadio2]

TYT TH-350

[@fredorrell1273]

Btech is probably the best out there, not counting the new high end $$$Kenwood.

[@UnckieBub]

We need to influence the major radio manufactures in Japan, Icom, Yaesu and Kenwood to start producing 222 Radios!!! Mobiles and fix stations. I have no idea what Icom was thinking when they added 1.2 to the 9700. Come On Already!

[@HamRadio2]

Yes!

[@stevenharvey1375]

Alinco and TYT are producing 220MHz radio again. I really like the Alinco for just Analog FM. Yaesu has a golden opportunity to make 220MHz radio that runs C4FM and retool the DR-2X repeater with either a 220MHZ option RF board or make it the next feature and call it the DR-2x v2 or DR-3x. You have no issues finding antennas and duplexers on the market. My opinion Yaesu has the lead between ICOM and Kenwood and with the China companies chipping away at there market share.

[@Porco_Utah]

I think most of Japanese companies are thinking of Japanese domestic market now, I think they are having difficulty competing against Chinese companies. their target seem to be US$500 and UP radio with digital capability. in Japan need for strict transmitter certification pretty much keep many low priced Chinese companies out. AG6JU

[@stevenharvey1375]

@porcoutah9967 That is an interesting perspective. I never thought about them just being concerned only about the rules in their country. One thing to consider with the China made radios besides price is how clean is the signal compared to the Japanese made ones for higher money. My gut feeling saids there has to be major differences. I would think the YAESU should have a cleaner signal next to bofeng. Just my thoughts. 73's N8RLW

[@fredorrell1273]

Absolutely love the 220 band. There’s a small group here in the Salt Lake City area and we have around a half a dozen repeaters. I noticed Anytone has some AT-588 monoband 220 mobile radios for around $130 on eBay, but probably with limited quantities.

[@kevins4736]

Those spurious emissions are not really that bad, cause your using a low powered radio transmitter. Now it this radio was a 100 watt pa those emissions could cause problems.

[@HamRadio2]

Yes but if they're like this at 4w, imagine how bad they'll be at 100w

[@kevins4736]

Well the radio circuitry such as the transmit section and receiver were not meant to transmit outside the amateur bands. Just beware users if you plan on using this to drive those dual band UHF/VHF amplifiers that are currently everywhere on ebay. The firmware mods for the uv-k6,k5 are converting a walkie talkie into a wideband scanner.@@HamRadio2

[@MatCatSoft]

Your tinysa ultra is NOT properly calibrated out! when nothing is attached to input the line should be FLAT, also 40db attenuation is not enough to get proper accurate measurements on TinySA at all, you should be at -25dbm or better on input for accurate readings, for a 5W radio 40db attenuation is only going to be about -5dbm, its safe for the tinysa input, but too hot to get accurate measurements, you should NOT be seeing it around 0dbm you should be seeing it at about 35dbm on the scale since you are telling it you are using a 40db attenuator.

[@HamRadio2]

This is incorrect

[@user-bd6db9ir6d]

you can find a mod that opens it from 8.000 to 13,000.00

[@HamRadio2]

Nice

[@guitarandstuff8265]

or just get a baofeng 5rm

[@HamRadio2]

Those are junk though

[@guitarandstuff8265]

idk mine does 200mhz out of the box and clear air band reception haha@@HamRadio2

[@HamRadio2]

Yeah but the emissions are spurious and it might die on you in a year, who knows.