Baofeng Data Cable Review
Post date: Dec 6, 2017 5:50:43 AM
Baofeng UV 5R (also known as the Cignus UV-85 radio here in the PH) is a good, cheap radio. It has the features an amatuer radio enthusiasts (like me) will need. Organisations who need cheap, reliable communication will find it handy (hehe). The only difficulty I could think of is programming multiple frequencies on multiple devices. Enter the programming data cable, it allows the user to program a radio, safe the default configuration in a file, and deploy the config on a different radio easily.
Have used the UV5R_W64_VIP.rar installer for this review, the installer is available on the link above if you have lost your installer CD. It installs as a normal Windows application, BUT the program itself is in Chinese! (Not surprising, since it is a Chinese product after all). Well, they did include the English translation, which is located in the 6th menu slot (see below screenshot).
When the data cable is inserted in the computer, it will automatically install the drivers needed. It is basically a glorified USB to Serial converter, so it will be detected and installed on most recent Windows computers (mine was a Win 7 Pro machine, connected to the internet, maybe the drivers were automatically detected and downloaded from the internet..).
Another thing to take note is that the UV-5R program only supports certain pre-determined COM ports, so if your COM port is not displayed on the list, you just need to change the Prolific USB-to-Serial COM port to a different one.
From the WIndows Device Manager, you just need to select the Prolific COM port, right click, select Properties, in the Port Settings tab, select Advanced Settings. And select a COM port not used by a different device (not that many available in my case...).
The most important function of the UV-5R program is the Read/Write buttons (circled in red). The user should read once, modify the parameters, then write them to the radio. If you use the read button without writing your changes, it will overwrite the unsaved changes. So be careful!
You can set multiple channels, bands, RX/TX frequencies, etc, in the Channel information screen. You can also export this settings to an config file for future reference.
The read settings status screen below
The software also includes some advanced features, but since i'm a newbie, I do not understand most of the functions. Anyways, have added the screenshots for everyone's reference.
Optional Features
DTMF Encode / Decode
Overall, for 300php (6$ as of 12/6/17), although it require a bit technical knowledge or expertise, it is a valuable investment for radio enthusiasts (of the Baofeng/Cignus brand).