Baofeng UV-5R | Part 3: MENU - How to Change Settings
How To Set Up and Operate the Baofeng UV-5R Transceiver
Welcome to How To Set Up and Operate the Baofeng UV-5R Transceiver, a tutorial for newcomers to HAM radio, scanning and transceivers.
Part 3: MENU - How to Change Settings
Now you can begin to customize the UV-5R to your specific needs. There are 40 (count 'em!) 40 different Menu Items which affect how the radio functions. Some are essential only if you are licensed to transmit. Many of the default options will not need to be changed. And there are a few that can make a big difference for any user.
Pressing the MENU key once will enter the Menu Mode, allowing the up and down keys to scroll through the 40 menu option items. If no keys are pressed after five seconds, the radio exits from Menu Mode.
I've found it helpful to think of the MENU key as a "confirm" key. Pressing the MENU key once opens the menu. Thereafter, the MENU key is used to confirm whatever changes you make.
The basic operation of using the MENU key consists of the following:
Press once to enter Menu Mode
Scroll up or down to desired menu item
Press MENU to open that desired menu item
Scroll up or down to change the setting for that item
Press MENU to confirm the chosen setting
Press EXIT to exit the Menu Mode
That's it! MENU, scroll, MENU, scroll, MENU, EXIT!
Once a menu item's settings have been confirmed by pressing the MENU key, you don't necessarily have to press EXIT. Instead, you can scroll up or down to another menu item, press MENU to open that item, make changes, press MENU to confirm and repeat.
If you finish making changes and do NOT press EXIT, no worries...the Menu Mode will self-exit on its own after about five seconds.
If you do press EXIT, the radio will remember the most recent menu item you had opened. Pressing the MENU key will open that most recent menu item.
There is a shortcut method of using the MENU key. Immediately after pressing the MENU key, enter the Option Number of the Menu Item you wish to change. There are 40 Menu Items, beginning with 0 and ending with 40.
For example, the Menu Item for Voice is 14. To open the Voice Menu Item in order to change from Chinese to English, you would follow this keypress sequence:
MENU, 14, MENU
To open the Beep Menu Item, follow this keypress sequence:
MENU, 08, MENU
It is possible to open the Menu Items numbered less than ten by simply entering the single digit:
MENU, 8, MENU
However...I've discovered a glitch in the system that could cause some confusion. The Menu Items numbered 1, 2 and 3 may be confused by the software with Menu Item numbers 11, 22, and 33! Let me show you how it can happen.
The Menu Item number for changing the Transmit Power Level is 2. I'm going to use the shortcut method to open that Menu Item, using the single-digit number "2":
MENU, 2, MENU
The software shortcut works fine.
But, look what happens if I repeat that same keypress sequence a second time:
MENU, 2, MENU
The display now shows Menu Item #22: MDF-B FREQ
Now, if I do it a third time, still exactly the same way, using the single digit, 2:
MENU, 2, MENU
The display shows Menu Item #2: TXL (Transmit Power Level)
The first time I opened the TXL menu with just the single digit, 2, it worked fine. The second time it opened a different Menu Item! The third time it worked fine again.
What's happening?
I think the radio is programmed to remember the last Menu Item accessed. But by entering the single digit, 2, when the display is already showing Menu Item #2, the software confuses Option #22 for Option #2.
Then, the third instance in some way resets the software confusion and allows the radio to correctly open Menu Item #2.
So, my recommendation is to make a habit of always entering two digits for the Menu Item Number. It will save you some frustration!
NOTE: This glitch occurs only for the Menu Item numbers 1, 2 and 3!
Let's practice!
Change the Voice to English: MENU, 14, MENU, scroll up or down to display ENG, MENU, EXIT
Change the Transmit Power Level to LOW: MENU, 02, MENU, scroll up or down to display LOW, MENU, EXIT
Change the Squelch Level to 1: MENU, 00, MENU, scroll up or down to display 1, MENU, EXIT