The Baofeng UV-5R is one of the most popular dual band handheld two way radios on the market worldwide. It's compact, feature packed, and very inexpensive. For many users who are new to programming portables, it is also one of the most challenging to program, primarily due to a poorly written user manual and an all but complete lack of support from its manufacturer, Baofeng.
Fortunately, there are some helpful resources available from a global community of UV-5R enthusiasts, including an easier to read and understand owner's manual and an excellent software application designed to program the UV-5R from a computer. The programming software is called CHIRP, and it is freely available online.
Of course, CHIRP is a great solution, provided you have a computer, an easy to install programming cable and the time to input all the data for 128 channels. But, what if you are on the road or out in the field and don't have a computer handy? What if you need to add in a frequency or program a channel on the fly?
We often receive calls from customers who just purchased their first Baofeng UV-5R from Buy Two Way Radios and want to know how to to operate it. More specifically, they want to know how to program their radio manually, directly from the radio itself.
So, here's how to do it. Follow the instructions below to manually program your Baofeng UV-5R direct from the keypad of the radio.
How to manually program a simplex channel
- Step 1. Press [VFO/MR] and enter Frequency Mode.
- Step 2. Press [A/B] and choose the A Side (upper display).
The A side must be used to program channels into the radio. Programming data entered on the B Side (lower display) will not be saved. - Step 3. Press [BAND] for the frequency band.
Toggle [BAND] to choose 136 MHz (VHF) or 470 MHz (UHF).
If the incorrect band is chosen for the frequency entered in Step 5, the radio will cancel the operation. - Step 4. Disable TDR (Dual Watch/Dual Standby).
Press [MENU] 7 [MENU] [press up/down arrow keys] OFF [MENU] [EXIT]
It is highly advised to turn TDR off when programming directly from the radio. - Step 5. Enter the frequency.
Use the keypad to enter the frequency into the radio. - Step 6. optional - Enter the transmit CTCSS/DCS code.
- CTCSS - [MENU] 13 [MENU] [enter/choose code XXXX] [MENU] [EXIT]
- DCS - [MENU] 12 [MENU] [choose code XXXXX] [MENU] [EXIT]
- Step 7. Assign the frequency to a channel.
[MENU] 27 [MENU] [enter channel number XXX] [MENU] [EXIT]
How to manually program a repeater channel
- Step 1. Press [VFO/MR] and enter Frequency Mode.
- Step 2. Press [A/B] and choose the A Side (upper display).
Like the simplex channels, the A side must be used to program the repeater channels into the radio. Programming data entered on the B Side (lower display) will not be saved. - Step 3. Press [BAND] for the frequency band
Toggle [BAND] to choose 136 MHz (VHF) or 470 MHz (UHF).
If the incorrect band is chosen for the frequency entered in Step 6, the radio will cancel the operation. - Step 4. optional - Clear any CTCSS/DCS codes previously assigned to the channel.
If no previous codes exist or when setting up the channel for the first time and no codes are needed, set the menu items listed below to OFF.- RX DCS - [MENU] 10 [MENU] [enter 0 (OFF)] [MENU] [EXIT]
- RX CTCSS - [MENU] 11 [MENU] [enter 0 (OFF)] [MENU] [EXIT]
- TX DCS - [MENU] 12 [MENU] [enter 0 (OFF)] [MENU] [EXIT]
- TX CTCSS - [MENU] 13 [MENU] [enter 0 (OFF)] [MENU] [EXIT]
- Step 5. Disable TDR (DualWatch/Dual Standby).
Press [MENU] 7 [MENU] [press up/down arrow keys] OFF [MENU] [EXIT]
It is highly advised to turn TDR off when programming directly from the radio. - Step 6. optional - Delete any existing data on the channel to program.
Skip this step when setting up the channel for the first time.
Press [MENU] 28 [press up/down arrow keys to choose channel number] [MENU] [EXIT]
It is highly advised to turn TDR off when programming directly from the radio. - Step 7. Enter the repeater output (your receiving) frequency.
Use the keypad to enter the frequency into the radio. - Step 8. Input the repeater frequency offset.
Press [MENU] 26 [MENU] [enter the offset for 2 meter or 70 cm repeater] [MENU] [EXIT] - Step 9. Enter the Transmit Frequency Shift.
Press [MENU] 25 [MENU] [enter 1 for positive shift or 2 for negative shift] [MENU][EXIT] - Step 10. optional - Enter the transmit CTCSS/DCS code.
- CTCSS - [MENU] 13 [MENU] [enter/choose code XXXX] [MENU] [EXIT]
- DCS - [MENU] 12 [MENU] [choose code XXXXX] [MENU] [EXIT]
- Step 11. Assign the receive frequency entered in Step 7 to the channel.
[MENU] 27 [MENU] [enter channel number XXX] [MENU] [EXIT] - Step 12. Press the [*Scan] button to activate Reverse Mode and display the transmit frequency.
- Step 13. Assign the transmit frequency to the channel.
Press [MENU] 27 [MENU] [enter the same memory channel entered in step 12] [MENU] [EXIT] - Step 14. Press the [*Scan] button to exit Reverse Mode.
To add more channels, simply repeat the steps above. If these step-by-step instructions are followed correctly, you should be able to program all 128 channels (000-127) in your Baofeng UV-5R as you need.
I purchased 2 baofeng uv-5r I still can't program it to the police scanner
Hi. My local fire department frequency is 41.140000 I was wondering if it is possible to program this into my Baofeng UV-5R from the key pad?
When receiving the transmission massage is cut off, is there a delay code- police scanner mode
For anyone who just wants to listen to emergency and police dispatch just look for you frequency number At RADIOREFERENCE.COM
Gary, you may have the squelch set too high (Menu item #0, SQL) or you may have a coded squelch setting turned on when you are programming your channels and saving them. In memory mode, choose a memory channel you have already programmed and then hit MENU, go to menu items #10 (R-DCS) and #11 (R-CTCS). Both should be OFF.
I have a new UV-5R radio. When I use CHIRP to program Channels I must press "MON" to hear the channel. In Freq mode things are fine and I can hear the radio without pressing Monitor button.
This question was asked earlier by someone else but not answered: Is there a way to turn off one band and its associated frequency display to make the radio act as a single-band UHF radio or a single-band VHF radio?
I bought the cable and cd from a vendor on ebay. Then found the CHIRP software and used it to program my 5R. Nothing to explain why the default setting for the squelch is 5. Not having a SQ. control is unusual indeed. Whether or not you use tone squelch on the receive side, a default setting seems to be 88.5, even for the simplex channels. Hope that isn't really the case. Otherwise it was pretty simple using CHIRP software to put the channel frequencies in place. Now to figure out how to or how does the channel scan process work? Clear as mud!
Thank you for the article...drove me nuts trying to enter frequencies manually.
Now that I have all the frequencies, how can tell the actual frequency of a saved channel?
73 KK4ZFT
After watching the (How To )video on you tube and Google it was very simple and then the instructions made since I have the UV5R great little transceiver
Hi, could you be a little more specific? When you say you could not get it "to work", do you mean you could not enter the frequency into the radio, or you simply could not receive anything on it?
I can't get 155.610 frequency to work?
Omg help! I’m trying to program this Baofeng radio to my local Police
In Broward Country Florida!!
Please help!
Thank you.
Debbie
Rick, your step by step instruction is the best I've seen so far. However, my Baofeng UV-5R still is not picking up the repeater.
I feel sure the problem is with the confusion over which frequency your referring to in each step that mentions "frequency."
Please replace the various uses of "frequency" with "repeater input frequency" or "repeater output frequency" as appropriate, to remove all ambiguity in steps 7,12,13, and 14.
I'm optimistic that I'll finally get on the air after that.
Ron
Thank you for your step by step walk through. Tried the disc that came with radio, and website listed in packaging, as well as reading the manual, all to no avail. Your accurate and concise directions had me up and running within minutes. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU !!!!!
Can someone walk me through programming the UV-5R for satellites, no matter what I try I keep screwing it up, I tried simplex per the above instructions then I tried repeater per the above instructions, I can receive signal but cannot transmit I will give example frequency for AO92
Uplink is 435.3500 Downlink is 145.8800. I know it’s operator error but I cannot get the steps above to work. Thanks for any help
All your radios need to be programmed to the same band and frequency to communicate with one another.
I have 3 Baofeng UV-5R and a Mitex General . How do I get them to communicate with each other?
The Baofeng UV-5R operates on frequencies between 136-174 MHz on the VHF band and 400-512 MHz on the UHF band. You were attempting to program the UV-5R for a frequency range it does not support.
I was trying to program the UV-5r but our local fire department frequency only has two numbers before the period like 46.23400 and I can't find anyway to program it in can anybody help me
So is there a basic " walkie talkie use for dummies" out there? I 'm still stumped even with the new expanded manual I downloaded. It's like you have to take some technical class before you're allowed to use a walkie talkie. I say that in all fun and total confusion. It does the basic that I wanted it to do, but I feel like I'm missing out on all the neat things it could do.