On Thu, Jul 19, 2018 at 6:49 PM, Dennis Wage dwage@dwage.com wrote:
I have 2 UV-5Rs and UV-5RA
When hold the 3 key and turn on the power to get the firmware version they all report: BFB297
Since the release of BFB299 firmware (probably back in 2012), powering on with the 3 key pressed has been meaningless for determining the firmware version. Since then, all UV-5R radios (and their many variants) all report BFB297 firmware (the exception had been BFS313 firmware which reports BFS297). The only way to know the "real" firmware version (unless it displays BFS297) is to use CHIRP.
However, in Other Settings Firmware message 1 and 2 are as follows UV-5R #1 - HN5RV01 1FB297 (THIS RADIO IS HORRIBLE) UV-5R #2 - HN5RV01 1 UV-5RA - N5R2407 BFB297
I have some of the weirdest problems with these radios. For example on the UV-5RA (which seems to be the best one of the 3 ), with this one particular repeater I have to hit exit or A/B twice get rid of background noise during an incoming transmission. WHY EXIT???
My experience with the various firmware versions over the last 6 years has shown me that the HN5RV01 is a firmware version to avoid. Unfortunately you won't know what the firmware version it until you have the radio in your possession and have downloaded its memory into CHIRP.
How this pertains to chirp is I downloaded the RESET image from Miklor for firmware version BFB297. I get the warning about wrong firmware version with each radio.
The BFB297 "reset" image you downloaded from the Miklor website is only for radios with BFB297 firmware. Not one of the radios listed above has BFB297 firmware.
There is a factory image for the radio with N5R2407 firmware. There is no factory image available for radios with the HN5RV01 firmware because none of the images that I have received from others or downloaded myself from new radios are without some kind of memory "defect" so I chose not to make them available publicly.
Those images from radios with HN5RV01 firmware that I have shared on a one-to-one basis has never successfully corrected any problem that the owner was experiencing.
Can or does Chirp upload, or download from radio for that matter, any settings not seen in Chirp?
CHIRP downloads the full memory image of the above radios. It only manipulates the memory areas known to control features of the radio. CHIRP does everything the factory software does (except presetting CTCSS tones and DCS codes in the VFO) plus a few additional settings. There are probably things the radio can do that are undiscovered (an therefore unimplemented).
CHIRP only uploads the full memory image to a radio when the firmware version of the image being uploaded exactly matches the firmware version of the radio it is being uploaded to. Memory areas that are known to be incompatible across non-matching firmware versions are skipped.
Dennis M. Wage (W9BOQ)
Jim KC9HI