Problem with antenna on 1 of 2 radios

Started by jdavidboyd, March 18, 2017, 11:45:14 PM

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jdavidboyd

I have 2 Baofeng UV-5Rs.  I can swap the stock 7" antennas between them, and both xmit and recv fine.  I can attach a 14.5" antenna to 1 of them, and it works fine, but if I put it on the other, I recv no signals.  It's as if it's not making any connection.
How do I determine what the problem might be?  A visual inspection shows all connectors on the 3 antenna looking identical. 
Any ideas?
What's so funny about peace, love, and understanding?

gil

Hello, it has to be a connector issue, very weird, especially if the longer antenna always works on the other radio. Probably a short...

Gil

jdavidboyd

Quote from: gil on March 21, 2017, 04:43:38 AM
Hello, it has to be a connector issue, very weird, especially if the longer antenna always works on the other radio. Probably a short...

Gil
Seems to be.  With the working regular antenna that came with it, if I put my finger on the antenna and gently push in one of several directions, the incoming signal shuts off, as if the antenna has been removed.  It's strange, as the antenna is down tight, and it doesn't look as if pushing/pulling the antenna would be able to move it any at the connector.
I've emailed the company where I bought it for an RMA, but I'm not hopeful, as I bought it on Feb 11, so it's been over a month....
What's so funny about peace, love, and understanding?

gil

You can buy a replacement antenna on Ebay for probably $2...

Gil

jdavidboyd

Quote from: gil on March 21, 2017, 06:35:09 AM
You can buy a replacement antenna on Ebay for probably $2...

Gil
Sadly, it's not the antenna, as two short antenna exhibit the same behavior, and the long doesn't work at all.
What's so funny about peace, love, and understanding?

gil

Those Baofeng work great when you find a good one. Sometimes it takes more than one try... My third one was the ticket.

Gil

Quietguy

Quote from: jdavidboyd on March 21, 2017, 06:33:40 AMWith the working regular antenna that came with it, if I put my finger on the antenna and gently push in one of several directions, the incoming signal shuts off, as if the antenna has been removed. 

I haven't pulled a Baofeng apart to verify this, but it sounds suspiciously like the antenna connector is soldered directly to the edge of the printed circuit board and the connection is broken.  Since flexing the working antenna loses signal it sounds like it normally makes contact but any movement breaks the connection.  The odd antenna may fit slightly different from the stock antennas and deflect the connector enough to cause the problem.  This was a problem with the old Icom W32A dual band handhelds; an impact to the antenna could break the circuit connection and cause intermittent operation.

If you are comfortable with a soldering iron you can attempt to take it apart and touch up the connection or circuit traces leading to the connector.  At the price of a Baofeng you don't have much to lose.  If you transmit with the connection broken you may fry the output anyway.

Wally