For many years the go-to budget handheld radio of choice for the amateur radio curious (or even the ham aficionado) was the humble Baofeng. It’s fair to say that, like them or loathe them, the Baofeng and in particular the UV5-R model has probably been the most prevalent hardware gateway into amateur radio for many. However, you may have seen that there is a new contender on the block, the Quansheng UV-K5. In its standard form, the Quansheng UV-K5 has much to boast about, but there are some amazing hacks and mods to be done to this radio, both in hardware and firmware. This pre-modified Quansheng UV-K5 has had some of the more complex mods completed on it already making it an exciting choice for radio fun!
Out of the box, a standard Quansheng UV-K5 covers the 70cm and 2m ranges but this modded version has a replacement SI4732 chip installed which opens up the radio to HF bands. Of course, this requires a firmware change which is all completed and ready to go. While Jasonskits QRP is in the radio they have also done a couple of other popular mods changing the antenna inductor and a fix to increase the audio quality from stock.
It’s worth reading around the amateur radio communities to see the astonishing amount that has been done with this little handheld and also to read up about its HF capabilities after these mods, but for $45 it’s an amazing amount of technology in your hand!
Just a reminder: it’s illegal to broadcast on amateur bands without an amateur license. If you want to become a radio amateur, the process is usually quite easy! Simply do a web search for the name of your country and “radio amateur license” and you should find the entity responsible for licensing. In most countries, radio amateurs are mostly self-policing, so amateurs with experience can administer the exam to prospective amateurs, usually with minimal or no cost! Be sure to also check out the amateur radio society for your country (almost all countries have one!) as they will have lots of information and guidance on how to get into the hobby.
73 MW6CYK
