I appreciate the rigor of your testing. There have been some videos posted to KZitem, even recently, that conflict strongly with your results. Since I had picked up a Baofeng K5Plus (I wanted something cheap to do 1.25 meters) those earlier videos spooked me a bit. I used what looks to be an identical load/attenuator and a Siglent spectrum analyzer to do my testing. Although I don't have all the analytic capabilities of your Tektronix instrument, I was able to determine that the very high harmonic levels reported by others were not present. Your video reassured me that my testing regimen was valid. Thank you.
@F16_viper_pilot
10 күн бұрын
I have a couple that fail at 2 meters, but are fine at 1.25, so your results may be similar to mine. I only use them for 220.
@QbutNotTheQ
5 күн бұрын
Great analysis of the Baofeng UV-5R, the finest engineered ham radio ever produced. 😊
@kcstafford2784
5 күн бұрын
4 the buck sure you can get better$$$$$$$
@w2aew
5 күн бұрын
At least it is improved over the original versions. Still has a way to go though.
@OctavMandru
10 күн бұрын
Thank you, Alan! Much better performance than I expected.
@lambdaprog
10 күн бұрын
Maybe it's worth checking the RX performance as well.
@lambdaprog
10 күн бұрын
You are safe. Only cheap non-exploding parts were used to make baofengs.
@MirlitronOne
10 күн бұрын
After all, who is going to fake a Baofeng?
@stevefoudray487
10 күн бұрын
Greatly enjoy your videos. Showing Tek gear is a bonus. Still learning how to get the most out of my RSA507A.
@w2aew
10 күн бұрын
Let me know if I can help.
@Neuroszima
10 күн бұрын
I have RSA306, had some installation problems but these were driver issues, however I still don't know how to use all the features :D
@__logan__duvalier__
15 сағат бұрын
thanks for making these tests and sharing the results
@fullwaverecked
10 күн бұрын
Great video as par. Always a good clean explanation. Cheers!
@DavidLightman
9 күн бұрын
Excellent as always, you don't disappoint, but the main problem AFAIK of those rigs is the lack of selectivity, can you do a RX test? i will try to get one of those for testing as well and test it here at the lab, honestly i never bought one because many of my ham friends told me they were pretty bad compared to a yaesu or icom HT, but after watching this video, at least in tx performance it's pretty darn good
@w2aew
9 күн бұрын
I haven't done any receiver testing yet. But I think the main problem with these rigs is not-so-much the sensitivity (mine seems pretty good), but the fact that the receiver performance can be easily degraded in a crowded RF environment. I believe this is where the poor sensitivity reputation comes from.
@wa4aos
9 күн бұрын
Thanks Alan, What a great review and I sure was surprised. I've heard for years those units were trashing up the bands with spurs; funny how false info gets spread. Thanks for setting the record straight and I too would enjoy seeing a review of the RX side. 73, Glenn WA4AOS.
@w2aew
9 күн бұрын
Those 75kHz sidebands are likely still not compliant (above 25uW), but not nearly as bad as the early units were.
@madnessandescapism
10 күн бұрын
Can confirm this. I've done similar tests on even older models and it showed similar performance. Actually, I was surprised - my Yaesu FT-817 had more harmonics at 70cm band than my Baofengs. And I tested like 4 of them bought at different time - results were consistent. The only problem with those Baofengs is their receiver, it is nearly unusable in any large city even with included antenna.
@briansauk6837
10 күн бұрын
I've tested the sensitivity (signal injected directly to antenna connector), and my sample was quite decent - so as you mention, the included antenna may be suspect. Mine came bundled with an Abbree antenna, which compares well to both an Alinco and Yaesu HTs under similar conditions.
@madnessandescapism
10 күн бұрын
@@briansauk6837 No, the sensitivity is excellent and included antenna is also great. We tried to receive satellite SSTV from ISS using just stock radio and smartphone app - and it worked surprisingly well. The problem is low dynamic range, it gets overloaded easily if you operate it in any large city. But for that price it still has no competitors in my opinion.
@markr.1984
8 күн бұрын
Your Yaesu FT-817 probably needs a good alignment. Yaesus are usually among the best transmitters as far as spurious crap.
@madnessandescapism
8 күн бұрын
@@briansauk6837 that is weird... I'm sure I answered your comment but can't see it. Sensitivity was good, dynamic range is the problem. Baofengs are nearly unusable in heavily congested RF environments. But you can't blame them for the price.
@madnessandescapism
8 күн бұрын
@@markr.1984 it is still within specs, but it is not new, it can legally drive and buy alcohol :) Might need filter replacement soon (can't see how adjustment could help against off-band harmonics, but I'm not professional radio engineer). The point is not to put blame on Yaesu, they obviously make really well engineered radios, you can't argue with that. The point is that modern cheap radios actually not that bad transmitter-wise. Can't say that about reception and build quality, though, but hey, it costs $20, that is less than Yaesu battery.
@tav9755
10 күн бұрын
Thanks for that video. Baofeng seems to have made their homework recently. They had a very bad reputation in Germany due to their spurious emissions and if I remember it right were even banned by the BNetz-Agentur (our equivalent to FCC)
@mxcollin95
10 күн бұрын
Interesting stuff! I have one of those radios that bought when I got my technician license.
@arnoldgrubbs2005
10 күн бұрын
Very interesting! Just goes to show that not all UV-5r's are the same. I think "they" got a little pressure to clean up the output of these radios over the years. I have a couple that are maybe 7 years old that do not pass the harmonic output test. I had 2 of them tested at the Dayton Hamvention by the ARRL "test bench" a number of years ago, when still at Hara's and they failed. I also tested them just for something to do on a 1.5 GHz spec-an I brought home from this years Hamvention. No difference than years ago. I don't use them any more, but can't bring myself to toss them out either. The ones I have also have an issue with the DTMF tones, I forget which tone it is, but 2 of the buttons on the right side column produce the same tone!
@uni-byte
10 күн бұрын
The ones I bought about 11 months ago came up clean too. It's quite amazing to get 5 radios for under $125 (USD) and have them perform this well. Something this good back in the mid 70's would have cost a small fortune.
@F16_viper_pilot
10 күн бұрын
Pretty sure they’re still not clean, as they likely still surpass the 25uW rule on spurious emissions.
@uni-byte
10 күн бұрын
@@F16_viper_pilot He said the peak was at about 3W and the next visible harmonic was over 60db down. Doing the math [db = 10*log(P2/P1)] that is about 3uW. Each of the successive harmonics were lower to the extent they were in the noise floor.
@F16_viper_pilot
10 күн бұрын
@@uni-byte I meant yours
@uni-byte
10 күн бұрын
@@F16_viper_pilot As I said, mine came up clean and are about the same vintage as this one. I also have two bigger UV-5RH units that are also clean.
@F16_viper_pilot
10 күн бұрын
@@uni-byte Yeah, okay.
@Chris5685
10 күн бұрын
Thank you for making this.
@briansauk6837
10 күн бұрын
Great video! I did some similar testing on my own Baofeng, and observed very similar sidebands - although mine exceeded 25 uW. I also observed what you saw in how they peak right after keying up, and then settle. I think you are spot on in noting a switching power supply issue. My guess is that the power rail to the final amp is noisy (at a switching freq of 75kHz) and effectively modulating the signal - so adding AM sidebands. It settles after the dc-dc converter begins to settle after the big power draw of transmit. Of course, I'm speculating, but that fits. That doesn't seem like it should be that hard for them fix - they are either running too close to the rail, or not using any feedback to avoid that sensitivity.
@w2aew
9 күн бұрын
Yeah, those sidebands are above 25uW, so non-compliant.
@Maker_Mikey
10 күн бұрын
Will you be covering the sensitivity and selectivity of this HT?
@w2aew
10 күн бұрын
Hadn’t planned on it
@PapasDino
10 күн бұрын
Thanks Alan, this was kind of surprising. I have a couple of different vintage BaoFeng HTs and will have to go back and check them out as well...they definitely got a bad wrap early on but you almost can't afford not to have a couple around since they're so inexpensive! 73 - Dino KLØS
@FesixGermany
6 күн бұрын
Surprising indeed. I tested my two UV-5R I got like >5 years ago for harmonics and they are horrible with 45dB at best. Far away from the 60dB required in Germany. But as I use these radios for RX only I don't mind that.
@AECRADIO1
10 күн бұрын
I had a Quansheng UV-K5 that was a really clean radio spectrally, as well as had a decent receiver that detected voice levels clearly at -127dBm. That was a shocker...most had noise at that level, with voice not recognizable that low in signal strength. I had another portable that was pure garbage, and I actually destroyed it on video so it could not be repaired., if was a K-sun I believe...sorry I do not recall the name precisely.
@truckinguy92
9 күн бұрын
I’m guessing this video is about the discussion you and I had recently about these radios. Has I known they got this clean I never would’ve spent the $160 on the Icom IC-T10 I recently purchased.😮
@JohnGodwin777
10 күн бұрын
They have a wide and narrow band setting. I wonder what difference it makes
@w2aew
10 күн бұрын
I'll have to check that out and see.
@linkh200
10 күн бұрын
Awesome video! Very informative and nice to see someone actually being fair to the UV5R for once. I wonder if the FM side bands you say could be boundary spurs.
@linkh200
10 күн бұрын
It definitely could be a switching power supply too. Either way, it is quite interesting indeed.
@severinwiedemann
8 күн бұрын
Hi Alan, thanks for the great work. I am a great fan of your videos and your way of explaining things! Have you also tested the low power modes on the Baofeng? I observed that my model had serious problems with harmonics/spurs especially in low power modes.
@w2aew
8 күн бұрын
This looks about the same on low power.
@ornithopterindia
2 күн бұрын
👍Thank you sir.
@nigelhewitt
10 күн бұрын
Thank you, useful
@lloydh1100
10 күн бұрын
Thanks, good to know they aren't actually that bad. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the damage threshold to a receiver with antenna located near a TX antenna, e.g. two verticals mounted on a vehicle roof, a few feet apart from each other. In particular concerns about a scanner with wide open front end.
@w2aew
10 күн бұрын
Highly dependent on the particular victim receiver in question. Certainly possible.
@mxcollin95
10 күн бұрын
What signal analyzer did you use this analysis? I saw the PC test signalvu interface but what was used on the hardware side?
@w2aew
10 күн бұрын
I used a Tektronix RSA607A.
@BrendaEM
8 күн бұрын
I am glad they are working better, BUT all the out of spec Baofeng HTs should be recalled.
@davewormfood4472
7 күн бұрын
I didn't notice you say how you got this radio. Did you buy it, like a regular person, or was it sent to you, to evaluate? It seems, when they send a radio to someone to be reviewed, they send them a "good" radio, but if you buy a radio like normal, you get a "bad" radio. I have ordered a lot of CCRs (Cheap Chinese Radios) off Amazon, just to test, and some of them are surprisingly good, like Retevis.Most CCRs, especially Baofeng, have pretty bad harmonics on 2m, but are pretty clean on 70cm. I also noticed, you're only checking for harmonics, and not other spurious emissions. I recommend you start your sweeps as low as reasonably possible, so you can see all the garbage the radio might spew. I had one particular Baofeng that's IF was leaking quite a strong signal in the 70Mhz range (1/2 the fundamental freq). If you start your sweep at a lower freq, you might see some IF leakage on 2m, in addition to harmonics. To be fair, I only had one radio that had a strong IF leakage, but you never know what you'll find.
@w2aew
7 күн бұрын
A friend gave me the radio at a hamfest this summer. He bought 5 of them for $100 and didn’t need all of them. True, I didn’t look below 100MHz, I’ll try that. But I certainly did see non-compliant spurious in the form of this 75KHz modulation sidebands.
@colloidalsilverwater15ppm88
5 күн бұрын
One question: did you had muted mic, during measurements?
@w2aew
5 күн бұрын
No, but that wouldn't explain the 75kHz sidebands anyway, which shouldn't be there with the mic unmuted anyway.
@miltering
8 күн бұрын
Likely Integer boundary spurs but why is it stronger at the start? I've had some SDRs that had such moving spurs and initially dismissed DCDC (as their frequency was changing every time) but turns out you can have a lot of weird spurs with high current draw and temperature changes. Guess they also didn't use any filtering to the PLL circuit. Some DCDC ICs switch between PFM and PWM so that could explain stronger spurs at the start but ehh, 3 watts.
@w2aew
8 күн бұрын
Yeah, it’s just a cheap meh radio.
@waynegram8907
10 күн бұрын
What are the common causes or issues why it take a long time for a transmitter or transceiver to Settle to the final frequency?
@w2aew
9 күн бұрын
It's a function of the design of the PLL and how it is controlled.
@waynegram8907
9 күн бұрын
@@w2aew So you're measure the Time interval of the PLL on how long it takes to LOCK the input frequency with the PLL? What is this measurement called?
@surplusdriller1
10 күн бұрын
Exelent analasys as usual Can you make a video about M17 modulation, encryption etc...?
@w2aew
10 күн бұрын
The only thing I know about M17 is what can be read here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M17_(amateur_radio) I don't have any hardware that can transmit with this format.
@James-b3i5u
6 күн бұрын
How much actual RF interference have these units caused? Even the older sketchy units to weak signal Hams? Receive is Direct Conversion. I seem to hear the same Military Radar Interference everybody else does. I assume my received interference is more wideband across the bands. I have a Uv5r tripower, it came unlocked. For $36.00 plus the accessories that came with it and it is Tid Radio Blue Tooth Programmer compatible, works fine for me.
@w2aew
6 күн бұрын
Not aware of reports of interference these have cause, just reporting my findings.
@Sneaky-Sneaky
10 күн бұрын
I saw several tested about 4 years ago and their transmitters were nasty spur generators….there second harmonics were almost as strong as the fundamental frequency. This is interesting …. Thanks.
@w2aew
10 күн бұрын
Looks like they cleaned up their act with this one.
@kenchilton
7 күн бұрын
Were these spurs less than 25μW on 2m at all power level settings? Were the levels the same all across the band? My UV-5R spurs were only down 30dB - you either got a good one or I got a bad one.
@w2aew
7 күн бұрын
The modulation sidebands were definitely above 25uW at both power settings. But, all the carrier harmonics were well below 25uW.
@kenchilton
7 күн бұрын
@@w2aew Then as I understand the rule, that is a problem: For a transmitter having a mean power of 25 W or less, the mean power of any spurious emission supplied to the antenna transmission line must not exceed 25 µW and must be at least 40 dB below the mean power of the fundamental emission, but need not be reduced below the power of 10 µW. The rule is not limited to harmonics, and both the dB below the mean power _and_ the 25μW limit must be satisfied, unless the mean power is low enough that 40dB down is already below 10μW. Is the conclusion that this radio violates Part 97 emission requirements?
@w2aew
7 күн бұрын
@@kenchilton Yes, after studying the rule (after I made the video), I would conclude that these modulation sidebands violate the 25uW rule and thus do not pass Part 97 emission requirements.
@kenchilton
7 күн бұрын
@@w2aewOK. Cool! Thanks for verifying. I thought I might be looking at it wrong. Also, thanks for the video! Nice analyzer, too.
@kfho9783
6 күн бұрын
I forgot about phase lock loop.
@skyking6989
10 күн бұрын
What software do you use for this?
@w2aew
10 күн бұрын
This was using a Tektronix Realtime Spectrum Analyzer with the SignalVu-PC software.
@skyking6989
10 күн бұрын
@w2aew thanks man! 73
@nickxia3209
10 күн бұрын
10usd, it is a excellent product.
@TheArtofEngineering
10 күн бұрын
Wow....pretty clean. When I tried to test mine.....it died!
@abubokorsiddiq580
7 күн бұрын
Hello sir hope you are also fine. I am fine too. But i fall in confusion that is ah what is the difference between voltage & potential difference
@w2aew
6 күн бұрын
Voltage is the potential difference measured between two points. Often times you're measuring with respect to ground, and most people will just call this the voltage.
@TMS5100
10 күн бұрын
I tested a UV-5R V2+ from 2015 which failed, and several UV-82HP from 2019 which failed miserably. I have yet to find a Wouxun or Anytone that failed harmonic limits. The only baofeng I tested that passed was a BF-F8HP (ZP5BF-F9V2) that passed, but only barely.
@VickyGeagan
8 күн бұрын
The radio version you have is version 3 I think it is 1998. I am not sure of that. That is just my guesse.
@w2aew
8 күн бұрын
It’s definitely newer than that.
@vitogriffin8902
9 күн бұрын
They're not clean, but they're not as bad as as people make them out to be, and most other radios aren't as clean as people tend to believe. In the earlier days people believed the 5r was super dirty because they would transmit on one and receive on another over very close distance, and the receiving radio would pick up the transmitting radio all over the place because the receiver is so poor, and people took it as the transmitter being terrible.
@w2aew
9 күн бұрын
The worst (unclean) thing I observed was the 75kHz modulation sidebands, which exceed the 25uW spurious regulation. Carrier Harmonics were good, as was the transient keyup characteristics. I didn't do any receiver testing.
@graemezimmer604
10 күн бұрын
I was hoping to see the harmonic output when used on the commercial bands, eg two-way frequencies, UHF CB, etc. The concern is whether it is fitted with harmonic filters for the other bands that these sets are frequently used on.
@w2aew
10 күн бұрын
This radio is unmodified, thus will only transmit on the bands it was intended for (US 2m and 70cm amateur bands, in this case).
@SeAfasia
7 күн бұрын
Tks for your time Alan...quanseng is better....k5(99)..73
@markr.1984
8 күн бұрын
I don't like any HT without a tuning encoder, bottom line. With these Baofengs units, you only have the up/down arrow keys to go through VFO or memories. I hate that!! I also insist on HTs that have a barrel power connector jack so I can power in my car through a Cig. lighter option. Otherwise you have to carry spare batteries! Very few China radios have these two features I just mentioned!! So kudos that they might be cleaning up the signals on transmit but they still lack features important to me. Plus they fail all of my receive tests, since they are direct/single conversion. They also pick up interference from household or car sources much easier than a good Japanese radio. Such as from PCs, PC monitors, LED lights, car alternators, you name it. I thoroughly tested this by comparing my Yaesu VX-6R and my Kenwood TH-D75 to two UV-5R8W (8 watt version not sold anymore) by scanning the exact same frequencies programmed into all four radios. So Baofeng had two radios and two chances to impress me, but they were a fail. The Baofengs were constantly stopping scans due to picking up some interference, while the Kenwood and Yaesu only did a few times, being far more immune. Receive on the two Baofengs from a strong repeater was fine, with the audio quality more than good enough. They sound okay on strong sigs.
@w2aew
8 күн бұрын
I agree 100% on all points! The only reason I have this rig is because it was given to me.
@saugaudesaugaude
10 күн бұрын
Is the spurious emissions at M1 at or below 25 µW? If not than the radio still violates the fcc rule 47 CFR 97.307(e).
@w2aew
10 күн бұрын
66dB down from 3.5W is less than 1uW.
@saugaudesaugaude
9 күн бұрын
Surprising but then again 3.5W on the fundamental is low for a 5W transmitter. I wonder if they got the spurrious emissions low enough by tuning the power down. My box of older baofeng are all have a fundamental above 4W and the spurious emissions are above the max as well. At least you can use yours legally. Thanks for the test and response. It's interesting to see it.
@ianthomsonGM0URD
10 күн бұрын
21/02/23/M Could well be a hardware date code of 21st Feb. 2023. M could be manufacture.
@vk3hau
10 күн бұрын
From Wikipedia, “The date format follows the Chinese hierarchical system, which has traditionally been big-endian. Consequently, it correlates with ISO 8601 - year first, month next, and day last (e.g. 2006-01-29). A leading zero is optional in practice, but is mostly not used.” 210223M would be 2021, February the 23rd.
@jplacido9999
10 күн бұрын
Critics of those cheap bao helped to pressure them to clean the non essential radiation. Blind fans didn't. FCC and other Regulators had to (late) enter the scene.....
@KamauNwabudike
10 күн бұрын
Never really cared about harmonic emissions, spurious emissions, or automatic transmission. It's a cheap radio that operates pretty well. That's all I care about.
@w2aew
9 күн бұрын
The reason for complying to the regulations is to avoid interfering with other users of the frequency bands.
@germanjohn5626
9 күн бұрын
build Feb 21st 2023
@jplacido9999
10 күн бұрын
Those "interesting" "sidebands" feature will mess 4 channels at a time. That's unaceptable.....even 50 dB down
@M0UAW_IO83
10 күн бұрын
I've got a few various Baofengs, they're good little radios. Maybe I'm lucky but all the ones I've bought were clean. I suspect there's good amount of hate for them because of the tribalism in the Yaekencom camps.
@TheHuntercamper
9 күн бұрын
We won wars using the SAE system and not using the metric system so when sounding off like there is nothing to know like it isn't think America first everyone else.... not so mucking fuch
@w2aew
9 күн бұрын
? - maybe you meant this comment for another video?
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