Loretta and I have dinner with “the boys.” From L -R, me, Brad Boyd, Nick Boyd, Wyatt Yarnell, Justin Cain, and Loretta Casler. Leramy Carner, who had a scheduling conflict, was unable to be with us. Yes, my arm is still in a sling. Photo by Brad and Nick’s mother.

Again, my hat is off to Brad and Nick Boyd, Leramy Carner, Justin Cain, and Wyatt Yarnell, five tremendous young men! And congratulations in advance to Justin, the youngest of the group, who graduates from high school this coming week on May 19th.

View of Billy Creek State Wildlife Area. Everything is green! That’s Grand Mesa in the distance.

These roads are closed to “all human activities” from January 1st to April 30th every year, presumably so big deer can make little deer. The roads are now open. CR 4 has some rutting and some rocky parts. CR 2 has a bit of rutting, especially close to US Hwy 550, but is otherwise pretty accessible.

Chinese companies have entered the US ham radio market. They’ve come up with some very inexpensive handhelds, with prices so low that they’re hard to ignore. The Chinese radios will do everything that the Japanese radios will do, but that doesn’t mean that they’ll do everything the same way. The Japanese have been in the US ham radio market for decades. Three popular brands are Yaesu, Kenwood, and ICOM. Over the years, these manufacturers have become highly attuned to the US market. Their radios are easy to program and easy to use.

The Chinese radios are variants of public service radios made for an entirely different market. In this market, the person who has the radio really isn’t allowed to fiddle with it. Actually it’s the same in the United States—only in amateur radio is a radio operator also allowed to be the radio programmer. That may seem odd, but your firefighters and policemen use radios that are set up by specialists. Well, these radios cover VHF and UHF frequencies. So it wasn’t too hard for Chinese makers like Wouxun to add a keypad (almost universally missing on public service radios) and market them to US ham radio operators. Both the Wouxun and the more recent entrant, Baofeng, reflect this public-service heritage. In what they call “frequency mode,” or what the Japanese would call VFO, you can input frequency directly using the keypad. In fact, the Chinese radios, instead of “VFO” and “memory,” have “frequency mode” and “channel mode,” meaning exactly the same thing.

But the similarities disappear there. Both the Wouxun and the Baofeng are designed to be set up via computer software and the special programming cable. It is possible to program most settings using the keypad, but it’s an exercise in enormous frustration, and frankly not worth the effort. For example, neither the Wouxun nor the Baofeng automatically understand repeater offsets. These must be programmed in. Break down and buy the programming cable!

And, as it turns out, if you buy the cable for the Wouxun radio, the cable works just fine with the Baofeng radio. One has to wonder how different these radios really are. They seem more similar than different.

Programming the Wouxun radio

Step one: Getting your computer to recognize the programming cable. This is not as easy as it might seem. The cable itself has a USB connector on one end and a double audio connector on the other that plugs into the radio’s headphone/earphone jacks. Apparently, and I’m quoting from the Wouxun.us website, there’s actually a chip inside the USB plug that emulates the Prolific chip used for COM port communications. To quote the site, these are fake chips, not actually made by Prolific. Prolific has recently released new drivers for Win 7, and the new drivers very carefully are incompatible with the fake chips. So even if you had a driver that used to work, Windows always searches for the most recent driver, and will find the new Prolific driver. This, of course, will make the programming cable ceased to work. So, there are instructions on the Wouxun.us website to keep Windows from doing this. Then you can download a driver that works and install it. This is, as you might imagine, a royal pain. Be sure to set aside a few uninterrupted hours the first time you try this. The document on the Wouxun website that has the detailed instructions can be found here.

Step two: installing the Wouxun software. You get the Wouxun software here. You will note that nothing on the page refers directly to model KG-UV3D. Use the KG-UV2D software that is way at the top of the page.

Step three: programming the radio with the Wouxun software. Once you have installed the software and connected the cable to the radio, you need to download the contents of the radio’s memory to the computer. Follow the instructions in the software to do this. It may take some experimentation to find the right COM port. Have fun programming everything in. Note that for your repeaters, you program the output and input frequencies separately. There is no built in concept of “offset.” You can also specify high or low power, and whether that particular channel will be part of the scan pattern if you use the scanner feature. If you program in a frequency that is outside the ham band, for example your local weather station, you must program a transmit frequency that is inside the ham band. Really dumb, but that’s the only way you can program a non-ham listening frequency. For example I have programmed in the local weather frequency of 162.450 MHz as a receive frequency, and I paired it with the transmit frequency of 146.52 MHz. Once you are done, make sure to save this on your computer using the File command and putting the file somewhere you can find it. Then you must upload all of this into your radio. You will note that when you upload, the software uploads absolutely everything, not just your changes. The green light on the top of the Wouxun radio will flicker during upload. Once the radio is programmed, you can switch between frequency mode and channel mode by first pressing Menu and then pressing the TDR button. You can select channels with the frequency knob. This may seem like a very roundabout way of doing things, but it does work, and if you program in all the repeaters in your local area plus all the simplex frequencies plus APRS, after a while you’ll have everything in the radio that you need.

Programming the Baofeng radio

As noted above, the Wouxun programming cable works and driver just fine for the Baofeng radio. However, you’ll need different software for the actual programming. I experimented with a couple variations on the Wouxun webpage, but gave up and opted for something entirely different. CHIRP software is third-party software which you can find here. Note that while you can download the software freely, it really is shareware. Please make a contribution—after all, it’s going to save you an awful lot of work. You will need to use the same COM port that you would use with the Wouxun radio. If you don’t have one of those, you’ll have to do a little searching to find the right COM port. Once you have done that, use the UV-5R profile. You’ll use it the same way that the Wouxun works—that is, first download what’s in the radio’s memory, make modifications, save a local copy using the computer’s file command, and uploading the results back to the radio. The Baofeng’s light will blink green during the upload. Now, pay attention to every parameter. You start out by entering the receive frequency. Then you will make note if the repeater needs a tone, and if so, what that tone is. If there is no tone, or this is a simplex frequency, be sure to select “none.” You will have to pay special attention to the offset. The CHIRP software is intelligent and will try to make the right choices for you, but doublecheck it—for some reason I had real trouble with one particular repeater. I opted to program my Baofeng radio with the same channels as the Wouxun radio for commonality.

Last words

And, to be somewhat snide, that’s all there is to it! Actually it’s quite time consuming and frustrating. It’s a trade-off between a much less expensive radio that is just as capable as its Japanese equivalent, or the more expensive Japanese radio that might be a little bit easier to program. I note that if you have lots and lots of frequencies to program in, even the Japanese offer programming software. The Japanese programming cables are very expensive, and likewise the software that does the programming is also expensive, whereas the Chinese software is free or is shareware for a minimal amount of money.

I purchased the Wouxun radio quite some time ago because I couldn’t believe that an inexpensive Chinese radio could be as good as my Japanese radios. But the fact is, overlooking the cultural differences, such as what things are called, they’re just as good. And with the availability of the Baofeng radio, it really lowers the entry barrier for new Technician licensees. I can give the Wouxun radio my recommendation based on many months of usage. I’ve tried it out not only on voice FM, but also APRS. I want to get more experience with the Baofeng radio. Today I tried it with APRS with excellent results. I have to admit I’m building up quite a collection of 2 m handhelds of various ages. All of them are fairly simple radios, because I really don’t use the bells and whistles.

So, your choice! Once you go through the process of setting up the programming, you’re set. Its like anything new—it just takes some getting used to. [Just like this Dragon Naturally Speaking software that I'm using to dictate this post because with a broken arm I'm reduced to being a one fingered typist!]

The Baofeng UV-5R+ proved itself competent to work in an APRS setup. The points are along Ouray, Colorado, County Road 8 between US Hwy 550 and Vista Point (CR8 is not yet open beyond this—too early in the season). Click on image for larger version.

Overall I was quite pleased. The Baofeng radio acquits itself nicely with its 4 W output power. I connected it to the mag mount on the Blazer’s roof. The GPS itself is something that I purchased at the same time I purchased the TT4. Anyway, the bottom line here is that the Baofeng radio works on digital modes.

[* Baofeng is often rendered BaoFeng on the internet, including in Amazon ads. But it's Baofeng (only initial capital) on Baofeng's website, although they're not entirely consistent, sometimes with Baofeng, BAOFENG, BAO FENG, Bao Feng, and BaoFeng. I'll take the simple approach— the company's name is Fujian Nanan Baofeng Electronic Co., Ltd. See below.]

The accident

The weather this time of year is fickle. In fact, as I write this, it’s snowing outside. But Saturday was a pretty nice day. So I hopped on the bike and rode some of my favorite routes near here. Around 4:15 PM I was on the dirt road that connects the Peach Valley recreation area and the Montrose Adobes. I thought I was riding carefully and was watching for ruts because the road was very rutted. But I guess I wasn’t watching closely enough. And, to make matters worse, I was traveling fairly fast. Well, out of the blue, a rut about 4 inches deep grabbed the front tire and yanked the motorcycle right out from under me. This has happened to me before. Usually I just dust myself off, hop back on the bike, and move on. Not this time—I knew before I’d even stopped rolling that I had broken something.

I thought for a while about what to do. I had my cell phone with me although I was probably out of cell range. I also had ham radio gear which might have worked because the nearest repeater was only about 5 miles away. But I did not have my GPS, and was on a road that has only recently been opened, so my head was filled with visions of complex coordination and waiting a long time for the emergency services people.

One leg was stuck under the motorcycle, so I had to drag myself out from under using just one arm. Once free of that I had to stand up—a little hard because my left arm was not any use at all. But that was nowhere near as hard as the next task, which was getting the motorcycle upright. I tried pushing it up like I normally do. The motorcycle had fallen on its left side so I got on its left side and started pushing up but the problem was that the handlebar was just too floppy and with just one arm I couldn’t do it. So I went over on the other side of the bike, grabbed the handlebar, and managed after several tries to get the bike upright. But now, I’m on the wrong side of the motorcycle. So I very carefully leaned over the motorcycle and with my good hand pushed the kickstand down. Then I went around the bike and got on.

Getting out of there

So here’s the problem. My left arm was useless, the clutch lever was useless, and I had about 5 miles to go to where I thought I might find people. I got the motorcycle started, which was difficult because it had been down for several minutes and the gasoline had flooded the carburetor. Fortunately, my little Yamaha XT-250 has electric start, and the battery had survived the winter well, and had enough power to keep cranking until the engine started. I tried gently slipping the bike into first gear but that just made it lurch forward and stall. So then, I pushed the starter button while in first gear. The bikes started, lugged a little bit, and lurched forward, but kept going. Remember, I’m doing this with only one hand. So, here I am, pointed in the right direction, going down a very rugged road, and dreadfully afraid I would fall again. I was able to slip the transmission into second gear a couple times when the road was smooth, and slipped it back into first gear when I got to the steep part. This went on for quite awhile until finally I was at the parking area.

The Five Angels

The boys told me that they saw me go north. So I went back through my video and sure enough they were in one of the frames. This is an extreme close-up so it’s a bit blurry, but these are definitely the guys. God bless you, gentlemen!

I want to say something about these young men. I suppose I shouldn’t be calling the boys, but given that I’m 62, the age difference was pretty large, with one still in high school! Their names were Brad Boyd, Leramy Carner, Nick Boyd, Justin Cain, and Wyatt Yarnell. They told me that they had packed up their motorcycles and all their gear about 20 minutes before I got to them. They ride there every Saturday when the weather is good. Normally, once they pack up, they leave, but this time they were just chatting with each other for no apparent reason. Leramy told me later he was quite certain that it was not just chance that they waited. These young men were perfect gentleman, helpful in every way, including helping me get off the motorcycle and into the truck, and their behavior exemplary. I was extremely impressed. I told them that they were my angels that day. Loretta and I expressed our gratitude over and over. I told them that after I get better Loretta and I will take them out to dinner at the nicest restaurant in Montrose. One of them laughed and said that Taco Bell would be just fine.

The rest of the story

The doc told me that I had broken the ball area at the top of my left humerus in several places. He told me that it would be a painful fracture, which it has certainly turned out to be. Sadly, if he’s right about taking three or four months to heal, I’ll miss most of the riding season this year.

There’s a bit more to the story. Loretta and I are Mormons, and I wanted a priesthood blessing. Loretta was able to contact Bart Skalla. As it turned out, he was on his way home from Montrose to Ridgway with several other people in the car, including his son Tanner, and were not far away. They gave me the blessing, I took my meds, and crawled gratefully into bed.

So, that’s the story. Oh, except for one little thing. Since one arm is out of commission, I couldn’t type this. I dusted off Dragon Naturally Speaking, fussed with the microphone until it worked, and dictated this entire story! Technology to the rescue!

BaoFeng UV-5R+ — What’s in the box

“I put my new Chinese Baofeng UV-5R+ through its paces and it seems like a competent inexpensive dual-band ham radio handheld transceiver. It shares some features with its cousin, the Wouxun KG-UV3D (note the similarity in model numbers). The Baofeng has a better manual, is much easier to operate, and has an English-sounding voice that announces the numbers and such. That said, it still takes some serious button-pushing to put a repeater frequency in memory – the input frequency and the output frequency are set separately, and then you need to wedge in a CCTSS tone. If it’s like the Wouxun, this is all easier to do if you purchase the optional cable to set up the memories using your computer. The key feature of the Baofeng UV-5R+ is its price–by far and away the least expensive 2m / 70cm handheld on the market. Like the Wouxun, it features a flashlight (why didn’t anyone think of this before! – a great thing to have in your handheld radio for use on dark nights or on the road) and FM radio reception. Would I recommend this to a freshly-minted Amateur Radio operator with Technician license in hand? Yes, though I would recommend you find a more experienced ham to help you set it up. The radio as it stands has the same inverted antenna connector as the Wouxun, and you’ll want to attach it to a larger antenna for anything except really close-in communications. Also, it’s a 4-watt radio instead of the normal 5-watts for a handheld. Its features are basic but competent. It comes with a drop-in charger and a simple earpiece with a dangling microphone. For this price, go for it!”

A few additional words here: I’m actually kind of amazed this is considered an FCC type-accepted radio, but it is, apparently under Part 90, not Part 95. It appears to transmit outside the ham bands, though I haven’t tried it. But for an incredibly inexpensive radio, about a third the price of the most inexpensive Japanese competitor, it’s quite a bargain. As noted, it can be frustrating to program, so you’ll probably want to get the programming cable and download the software from the manufacturer’s website.

In the video I show a website that gives you near-real-time MUF propagation conditions for NVIS-type work. That website is www.spacew.com/www/fof2.html.

When you’ve finished, click here to return to the list of the videos.

Errata: In the introduction, “a couple you’ll see quite recently” should have been “a couple you’ll see quite frequently.” Also, I mention the May 2005 QST article. It was actually December 2005.