Experimental Baofeng RD-5R version

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VK3KYY
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Location: Melbourne, Australia

Experimental Baofeng RD-5R version

Post by VK3KYY » Sat Apr 11, 2020 11:35 am

Thanks to Dzmitry EW1ADG I'm pleased to announce that we now have an experimental version of the OpenGD77 for the Baofeng RD-5R / DM-5R (Tier 2 version)

Note.
This firmware will not work with the old Baofeng DM-5R which is a Tier 1 radio. It only works with some of the newer Tier 2 version of the DM-5R and the RD-5R (which seems to be identical to the newer DM-5R)

Dzmitry did the initial port, and I have spent about 2 weeks, cleaning up Dzmitry's code and making the entire code base more generic.

To do this, there have been some minor graphical position changes on some of the less critical screens, like the RSSI screen and the Battery screen.
However the main screens e.g. the Channel mode and VFO mode screens etc, should be identical in revised version of the firmware.

Hence I've also posted the latest versions of the GD-77 and DM-1801 firmware for people to test, so that I can know whether the integration of RD-5R support has definitely not caused any problems with the GD-77 etc.

FYI.

The RD-5R has one key drawback, because the volume - On / Off control, actually switches the power to the whole radio on and off.
So its not possible to save the settings when the operator turns the radio off. Unlike the GD-77 and DM-1801, where the CPU actually turns the radio off, after the operator has turned the radio off, (after its saved the settings)

Hence every time a change is made by the operator e.g. change channel or frequency, the RD-5R must immediately write this change to the EEPROM.
Luckily the EEPROM has around 1,000,000 write cycles, so I don't think its likely that anyone could wear out the EEPROM, but it still is not ideal from the hardware design standpoint



The RD-5R / DM-5R firmware can be loaded using the official firmware loader or using the Firmware loader in the last OpenGD77 release
See the Assets section in https://github.com/rogerclarkmelbourne/ ... /R20200411

I've no idea what format codeplug the RD-5R uses. I suspect its a lot different from the OpenGD77 format.
So anyone who wants to give this a try will need to upload a new codeplug using the OpenGD77 CPS.

See https://github.com/rogerclarkmelbourne/ ... /R20200315


The firmware seems to be stable on my RD-5R, but should be considered as highly experimental.

Update 16th April

I have noticed that I get a lot of audio noise if I try to use the RD-5R on FM when its in the charger. This is likely to also have a problem on DMR, so I recommend that the radio is not used when its in the charger.
If you need to run the radio as a hotspot, in the charger, you should check how much FM modulation audio is produced, and possibly use a better PSU or better charge controller

Update 21st April

Note.
FM broadcast band reception ( 88Mhz - 108Mhz) is no supported, because the RD-5R does not have the additional IC needed to receive on that band.

Update 5th May

There is something seriously wrong with the PA, causing Tx power to be very high and also PA current to be too high
I have asked Dzmitry to investigate

IU1MCR
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Location: Italy Novara - JN45hk

Re: Pre-release 11th April

Post by IU1MCR » Sat Apr 11, 2020 4:21 pm

Hi Roger,
RD-5R : when in VFO mode, if you change squelch the next erase of the screen (Squelch etch) erase also the first line of dot of "> RA 134.275 MHZ"
IU1MCR Eugenio
73 & Happy Easter

n1id
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Nov 30, 2019 12:30 pm

Re: Experimental Baofeng RD-5R version

Post by n1id » Sat Apr 11, 2020 5:26 pm

I found out I had a rd-5r I purchased a couple years ago or so and wasn't using. The firmware loaded fine and your opengd77 CPS also worked fine. Thanks. That was a surprise

do1hsp
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Nov 25, 2019 9:46 am

Re: Experimental Baofeng RD-5R version

Post by do1hsp » Sat Apr 11, 2020 8:30 pm

I tried it with my RD-5R. THANKS for that Easteregg! :-)

While testing I noticed a very bad reception on my radio. Struggling with MMDVMCal I noticed, that the RD-5R is about 1400 Hz (!) above the programmed Frequency. Fixing that in my MMDVM would make all other radios not working anymore.

My question/request: would it be possible to get a feature to set a general frequency offset right in the radio, that would effect all programmed frequencies?

Thanks for all your effort!

73 de Ole DO1HSP

VK3KYY
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Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: Experimental Baofeng RD-5R version

Post by VK3KYY » Sat Apr 11, 2020 9:03 pm

I have similar frequency calibration problems with my RD-5R, but I presumed it was just bad calibration of my radio.

I don’t have an accurate freq counter. I think it’s resolution is only 1kHz , but I will try to compare the Tx freq on FM with the official firmware.

Possibly there needs to be an adjustment in the firmware, because on the GD-77 and Baofeng DM-1801, the Reference Oscillator freq value of 1000, means the crystal oscillator is perfect and no offset is required.

But perhaps in the RD-5R they use a different value to represent perfect calibration

VK3KYY
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Re: Experimental Baofeng RD-5R version

Post by VK3KYY » Sat Apr 11, 2020 9:15 pm

n1id wrote:
Sat Apr 11, 2020 5:26 pm
I found out I had a rd-5r I purchased a couple years ago or so and wasn't using. The firmware loaded fine and your opengd77 CPS also worked fine. Thanks. That was a surprise
LOl.

VK3KYY
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Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: Pre-release 11th April

Post by VK3KYY » Sat Apr 11, 2020 9:21 pm

IU1MCR wrote:
Sat Apr 11, 2020 4:21 pm
Hi Roger,
RD-5R : when in VFO mode, if you change squelch the next erase of the screen (Squelch etch) erase also the first line of dot of "> RA 134.275 MHZ"
IU1MCR Eugenio
73 & Happy Easter
Ok.

I will fix this.

Did you find any other graphics problems?

F6CYK
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Joined: Sat Nov 16, 2019 9:09 pm

Re: Experimental Baofeng RD-5R version

Post by F6CYK » Sun Apr 12, 2020 12:05 am

Hello everyone!
A big thank you to Roger VK3KYY and to Dzmitry EW1AD for this really fine job and for these unexpected Easter eggs in this period of confinement.
So I tested the experimental version of OpenGD77 for the Baofeng RD-5R (Tier 2 version).
I installed it without any problems and I did not notice any really annoying display problems during my first tests with the exception of the problem reported by IU1MCR.
Like DO1HSP I noted a significant shift in the transmission frequency of around 900 Hz above the programmed frequency, which is annoying with the MMDVM used with other equipment.
In addition, in hotspot mode, the RD-5R picks up upon receipt of a local transmission to switch to transceiver mode.
Thank you again for the work done!
73 'fm F6CYK / Pierre-Antoine "Tony".

VK3KYY
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Re: Experimental Baofeng RD-5R version

Post by VK3KYY » Sun Apr 12, 2020 12:59 am

F6CYK wrote:
Sun Apr 12, 2020 12:05 am
Hello everyone!
A big thank you to Roger VK3KYY and to Dzmitry EW1AD for this really fine job and for these unexpected Easter eggs in this period of confinement.
So I tested the experimental version of OpenGD77 for the Baofeng RD-5R (Tier 2 version).
I installed it without any problems and I did not notice any really annoying display problems during my first tests with the exception of the problem reported by IU1MCR.
Like DO1HSP I noted a significant shift in the transmission frequency of around 900 Hz above the programmed frequency, which is annoying with the MMDVM used with other equipment.
In addition, in hotspot mode, the RD-5R picks up upon receipt of a local transmission to switch to transceiver mode.
Thank you again for the work done!
73 'fm F6CYK / Pierre-Antoine "Tony".
There does seem to be an offset with the frequency calibration.

I have tried to change the calibration of the Reference Oscillator, but I think probably the best thing I can do, is modify the firmware so it always adjusts the frequency down around 1kHz

But the value does not seem to be consistent.

My radio was definitely transmitting above the frequency I wanted, but I don't know how far above.

I looked in the calibration, and the Reference oscillator was set to 1007, which is quite high, as all my other radios are normally around 990, and 1000 is the theoretical ideal value if the radio hardware was perfect and needed no adjustments

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kd2lh
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Re: Experimental Baofeng RD-5R version

Post by kd2lh » Sun Apr 12, 2020 1:04 am

I have the experimental RD-5R firmware up and running on my Baofeng DM-5R.

I has operated in normal HT mode, and I now have it setup on Hotspot mode.

Is there room between the "CC:1" and "1W" for the hotspot frequency display? There is blank space there right now.

The only problem I have had is the same as experienced with the GD-77 and DM-1801 when you try and use the radio mounted antenna instead of a remote antenna. The Baofeng USB cable is just as unshielded...

Just completed a QSO with AF6MQ, and he's about to load his RD-5R radio with OpenGD77 too.

Marc KD2LH

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