Getting around the same values with TinySA Ultra on the K5 (OG white light FW 18-1300mod) as some of your readings 36.1Dbm at 146.5Mhz with 200k span and 3Khz RBW in high power 5:11 first 293Mhz - 10.1dbm Second 439.5Mhz = -16.6dbm Third 586Mhz -36.5dbm 440Mhz 35.9dBm (battery 7.93v) 880Mhz first -5.6dBm 🤔 1320Mhz second -2.5dBm 🤫 1.760Ghz third - 16.8dBm 2.200Ghz fourth -33.8dBm 2.640 five-43.1dBm Anybody got the same? (am on FW hack 18Mhz to 1.3Ghz) Though if I put all on automatic and just chose to do a "harmonic measurement test on 440Mhz as main carrier, the TinySA Ultra will span with 3.520Ghz. (RBW850Khz VBW 850Khz) and gives these values, after you hold it in for a good amount of time, to the values stop rising = Main carrier 440Mhz 35.9dBm Delta to carrier +440Mhz away -46.0dBc Delta to carrier +880Mhz away -40.6dBc Delta to carrier +1320Mhz away -51.8dBc *1320Mhz harmonic seems to peak a bit on 440Mhz on the K5 Big thumbs up for doing these tests, as its a joy to follow suit and learning a tad from your knowledge on the matter, and I personally put way more value to videos that test such things and gives tangible values, then just "I feel something is good" as that view been outwatered quite a bit on social media like YT, hence secondary agendas / incentives, so kudos for testing things.
I found the best way to compare the two radios is when you are enjoying a tall mug of your favorite adult beverage. The more you drink, the better they both sound. It's a proven scientific fact!
You should mention the USB charging on this and the K5. A real decision maker for me, as it obviates the need for an external charger, though one is suppied. I have chargers almost up to ny kneejoints, so anything which standardises charging between different makes & models is good, and especially good for preppers, as a fairly small solar panel charged both the K5 and K6 to three bars in less than a day.
@@Zigoritos no, usbc can even regulate the charge current at 60 and 90%. LEAVING the radio in a charge cradle for hours and days damages the battery by using up the charge cycles quickly because it never truly switches OFF in the cradle
Thankyou again VK7HH. Ignore the keyboard warriors, they're just as active on air too :-(. HAM is a hobby ... We learn from each other. Who cares who does not have what licence... We're HAMs. HAM radio is fun 🙂 Enjoy the comms hobby everyone.
I bought this K6 because of its good looks and amber backlight, simple choice. Turns out the chip has no built-in AM circuitry, basically it transforms the Amplitude Modulation with FM ihrough a single algorithm. It becomes sort of audible. Maybe it is even digital (DSP) because it sounds a bit like block waves without softening the frequency curve into a neat sinus.
What after all the fiddling with new firmware can this v5(8) or k6 do... Can you tx rx ssb.. The airband sounds awful so distorted... Am i missing something?
@@edkemp6287 yes! and it works even better now!, my comment was one month ago, i now use fagcis latest firmware (github) and radio works between 14Mhz to 1878Mhz, spectrumscope,Am,Fm,Usb, a fantastic radio! 73, Levi in Sweden
I paid $45Cdn for mine after your original review (no regrets). But I looked a couple of weeks later, and it was $28. Anyway today I listened to two airports and one was 100km away and the other 60kms. Scratchy, yes, but that's sensitivity.
I just bought a Quansheng UV-K6. Yes, this is its name in the Chinese domestic market. The official direct store price is $19 with free shipping. As an entry-level product, I think it is enough.
It's a shame the maker doesn't spend a small amount to make the radio cleaner. I think it's priced low enough now that an extra bit of cost to the end user wouldn't cool sales off.
its their first really popular product. im sure when profits land they will be able to do more r+d. now the hackers have taken control, the firm can let them do all the hard work for v2, and more time on the hardware. remember, if we like the wide band rx and tx, will good filters spoil our fun? maybe just give more empty memory for mods and do some fft switched or variable filter?
I really wish thry would make a Phase 2 Digital Scanner that does DMR 2 slot. I know they made a 2 slot DMR radio for 60 dollars. They could make a digital scanner for under 100 dollars and would corner the scanner market.
This video is all over the place. If you compare the audio please compare to the older model. Now what does that mean tad low audio. Compared to what, why not compare to the previous model. Also why not flash the custom firmware and then compare. Confusion.
What is probably the best Chinese HAM radio handheld station at the moment? I haven't had a pen for 20 years and I don't want expensive commercial products because it's more like a toy for the outdoors etc. Thanks, 73! OK1TCM.
Great Stuff! Thank you for the very clear testing. New US Technician class operator here. Looking for an upgrade to my UV-5R. The UV-5R receives NA1SS well - until now, though, it cannot “get through” on the uplink….time for a better antenna, also. All the best.
When everyone was buying the Baofengs..I bought a Quangsheng TG UV2...always got good reports on modulation..good punchy audio..even managed..with a bit of lift....a 350 mile contact West Yorks to Cornwall..so not all Quangsheng handies are bad. Great video mate..
@raystewart6524 Well Done, Ray - good fun, isn’t it?! I frequently do the same from Dartmoor National Park in Devon when lifts occur. Regular 200-400 mile contacts within UK and to Ireland & Europe with my K5 using the stock antenna.
I don’t think I’m going to regret buying mine. It was £14 delivered from AliExpress to Britain and I know nothing about it. If it’s rubbish, then I’ll never know 😂 On a serious note. Is there a beginner’s channel as I have no fkn clue how to use mine!
GREAT comparison and testing, but in the end, I don't see why the K5(8)/K6 would cause regret. You say the orange-backlit screen is easier to see and the speaker sounds a bit clearer. Did I miss something?
Have you seen the "uv-5r plus" that they're selling? The screen layout looks similar to the K5... so I'm wondering if it's essentially the K5 or K6 in a different body.
because of the reviews I've seen and it's versatility... I just purchased 2 UV-K6 off of AliExpress for $13.50 each and $14 shipping... don't need two but basically bought the second one for the battery... or an emergency situation... just hoping they aren't factory rejects or seconds...
I’ve got one of these and they haven’t improved anything, the airband is still bad and the speaker has improved but it’s not very noticeable. They could of improved things better in the new version. It’s a little disappointing. Great video as usual M7AQI from UK
But there is more, a lot more. With the latest firmware mods AM is absolutely spot onfor RX and TX. I have used mine a couple of times now as a back up air band transceiver and obtained takeoff clearance with it and a tower radio report of 5/5 whilst on the ground. @@Wondobar
Presumably through a 2m/70cm antenna the 2nd and 4th harmonics are attenuated further by the mismatching of the antenna to those harmonics? As long as you don't amplify it above 5W I can't see it causing any practical problems. I think it's confirmed that the electronics of the K5 and K6 are identical: just cosmetic changes. For the price the ability to load so many custom firmwares make it pretty impressive.
Practical problems - yeah probably not. I think the main issue is that the FCC specify the regulation as "at the antenna transmission line" which is essentially the end of the SMA connector before the antenna is connected.
How is the speaker volume on the original one? I got a baofeng for receive when paragliding, unfortunately I passed my radio to the emergency responders after an accident on the hill and didn't get it back. I guess that one is now lost. I may replace it with the quansheng but haven't seen if extended batteries are available.
I have both but cant tell any difference myself. Sadly Airband is also the same. Im not getting any more of these, I bought them mainly to receive extra freauencies at the same time. I have a Wouxun and a Tecsun that can get me good Airband. Cheers Hadies. :)
Hayden, i noticed the baofengs are happy enough to tune and tx ar 470-480 but the box for the quansheng says tx only to 460. Can anyone confirm if it can tx within 470-480mhz. While not encouraging operation of an amateur radio device on the class licensed UHF cb band (something that even at low power would not be permitted due to the absence of acma approval of the device), it was nice to know having a H/T in the car when driving remotely that in a pinch i could summon help from someone on the AU UHF cb band. In a genuine emergency txing on any frequency to get attention imho is fair game, no matter the penalty. If it can't tx just a tad higher and no worksround exists to hack the sdr, ill have to go with the talkpod or radi.
Can i ask just few questions please? When you hack this like i been seeing people do. What exactly all will you find to the lowest frequency to the highest? Like is it just going be like air,marine,ham,cb, police, public workers? Or can you even get all the way up to shortwave radio stations? I assume it will also pick up your reuglar Am and Fm stations of radio. I know that was a lot to ask. Im just hoping somone please can make it little more clarification on most what you will here. Thank you.
I'm gonna buy one of those quansheng, I used to do side banding 50 yrs ago and loved chatting even though I was illegal lol. My question will i be able to dx on sideband or am I asking too much?
No firmware, just press the lefthand side top button and M button together as the radio is turned ON. See the extra menus. That IS covered in this channel's videos.
Hi iam a bit of a noob to chinga hand sets ive a small gme 2w hand held my question is can these radio's operate in OZ normal uhf band width transmit & receive ? Cheers jimbo
Well...This upgrade is mainly for China Mainland market. The screen doesn't only change the background color. Instead,the UV-K6 screen can present the Chinese character which makes it easier to use for Chinese ham. The original UV-K5 can only present English character. So that’s why it exists. I don’t recommend anyone to upgrade to it if he or she can speak English and plans to purchase the UV-K5.
The whole radio is a joy to look at and to hold. Not clear how this is possible at a price other manufacturers not even sell a replacement battery. Even the backlit keypad is no standard. Firmware modifications are the icing on the cake.
Hi, as you left the attenuation inline for the receiver tests don't you need to add the 20dBm back onto the receive tests? I heard you say you added it for the TX testing. Thanks.
@@HamRadioDX Thanks, I wasn't sure if that had been taken into account for the RX path of the radio from the generator. Although even if you added the 20dBm back in, it would still have poor receive sensitivity.
I tried to connect the K6 to Chirp and received the following error message "Memory download incomplete". I am using the new Chirp-next release and a Baofeng programming cable. I cannot find any other references to that message. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Hi friend . when Im using it for scanning , I notice it throws me back where I started for example , start scanning 400 mhz , at end of the 400s it goes right back beginning of 400 . Do you know , can I set it to continuously go thru every band ex , 100 mhz - thru 1200 mhz . or can it only do each section manually. Don .
So I'm torn between this new K6, a K5, or a Talkpod A36 Plus. I'll mostly just be listening to Airband, chatting with my buddies locally on their HTs, and doing some tinkering and hacking, if available. Any thoughts from those far more experienced on which would be my best option? I currently have a Quansheng UV-R50-2 that I like, except that it won't hold a charge any more if I leave it off the cradle for more than a day or so. :/
Is anybody else having trouble with scanning on the Quansheng? I am receiving a signal on the Baofeng but the Quansheng does not stop at that frequency in scan mode. The Quansheng receives when not scanning but does not stop when scanning. I have done factory reset and reloaded the firmware but no scanny
My last job before retiring was at Keysight, so I miss being able to bring home projects to work and play with REAL toys. So whenever I see a ham tuber with a spectrum analyzer (or test set), I get FOMO.
Nowadays there are some good hobbyist tools for spectrum analyzing that don't break the bank and some are easy to use as well. I have experience with the TinySA Ultra (a hardware evolution from the NanoVNA, specifically used for spectrum analyzing applications, with a dc-800MHz range and limited use up to 3.5 GHz using harmonics) and using a decent SDR device as SA (in my case, the Adalm Pluto). Of course, don't expect the quality of a five figure dedicated SA, but you can do a lot with just a few hundred bucks and some hacking.
