I have created a guide to help users of the Radioddity/Baofeng RD-5R and DM-5R handheld, DMR amateur radios create codeplugs for their radios.
Version 3 of this guide combines and updates two previous guides into a single document.
W9LW’s RD-5R codeplug programming guide
Can’t find original firmware, new versions all coming up as chineese I think for Radioddity RD-5R
Have you tried https://www.radioddity.com/pages/radioddity-download? Is your problem that the CPS software appears in Chinese, or the radio’s display, or both? If it’s the radio’s display, you have to change that on the radio. To do that, turn the radio off and then, while holding down the Menu, 5, and 9 keys (all three) turn the radio back on. This should switch it back to English.
I have read your document on the BAOFENG RD – 5R. Have you ever had that radio be heard by others with a chopping sound on DMR mode similar to a helicopter? I have that issue with mine. This HT was given to me by somebody, and it was given to him by somebody at the FRRL club in quite new condition in the original box. It’s my first DMR radio. It is not the tier 1 only HT that BAOFENG made but the subsequent one. When I had initially programmed the radio, I was told by another listener that that noise was audible using the repeater. I noticed in the CPS in the channel setting the greyed out bandwidth setting read 25KHZ. The only way to change it was to select analog which allowed me to change the bandwidth to 12.5 KHZ. Then reselect digital, which cured the problem. Subsequently, I had played with a simplex DMR setting and I cannot get rid of the chopping noise that all hear listening to me on DMR simplex . I have applied the latest firmware also to no avail. I have tried turning on the DCDM check box in the channel setting. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Nick, if the pulses others hear happen at approximately 17 Hz (17 times per second), the other stations are probably hearing RF interference in the radio’s audio circuit. This commonly happens on DMR when a user transmits with a speaker/microphone that has a poorly sheilded cable. Because DMR uses time-division multiple access, a DMR radio transmits once every 60 milliseconds, which creates a pulse that audio circuits can pick up and mix into the audio signal. I’ve noticed this same audio artifact, although faint, on two RD-5R radios that were not connected to speaker/mics. I suspect, therefore, it’s a design flaw that doesn’t properly shield the internal microphone circuit from the transmitted RF. I recommend upgrading to a better radio, for example, the Baofeng DM-1701 or the TYT MD-UV380.
Jay,
Thanks for the quick reply! I had just discovered that my firmware was not the latest firmware the RD-5R. In the past, I did update it and believe I rolled back that update since the problem occurred since I had updated it. (I didn’t make notes). I have now updated it since my last post.
Another potential reason I’ve thought of, I have and need to test, I would believe this HT original small battery has been unused and idle and old. I don’t have any other experience with the standard battery size. I have a couple other HT UV-5R with large 3800mah batteries that are actively used that I’ve used on the suspect DMR HT. Perhaps the DMR HT did not create the problem with them. I need to try them instead if the smaller battery is weak. If the battery is weak, I could be getting a significant chopping voltage drop causing an interference. I have an o-scope that I can monitor the voltage and compare the timing to the audio of a monitoring analog receiver on the same frequency. I’ll keep you posted!