The Most Hackable Handheld Ham Radio But

All proper, confession time. I don’t use my handheld ham radio for way more than eavesdropping on the subway dispatcher when my practice rumbles to a mysterious halt in a darkish tunnel. However even I couldn’t assist however hear the thrill surrounding a brand new handheld, Quansheng’s UV-K5.

It caught my consideration partly as a result of for over a decade, Baofeng has been the title in Chinese language handhelds. In 2012 Baofeng made waves with its UV-5R radio, upending the sleepy handheld-transceiver market. Previous to the 5R, the value tag of the most cost effective VHF/UHF handheld was a bit north of US $100. The 5R offered for 1 / 4 to a 3rd of that. Hams groused concerning the 5R’s so-so technical efficiency—after which purchased a pair anyway, so that they’d all the time have a radio of their automotive or office.

Now it’s Quansheng that’s making a splash. The UV-K5, launched final 12 months, is perhaps essentially the most hackable handheld ever, with a small military of devoted hams including a raft of software-based enhancements and new options. I needed to have one, and $30 later, I did.

Like Baofeng’s 5R, Quansheng’s K5 as a radio transceiver is high quality. (I’m utilizing K5 right here to discuss with each the unique K5 and the brand new K5(8) mannequin.) The important thing technical distinction between the 5R and K5 is a seemingly minor design alternative. With Baofeng’s 5R, the firmware resides in read-only reminiscence. However Quansheng shops the K5’s firmware in flash reminiscence and made it potential to rewrite that reminiscence with the identical USB programming cable used to assign frequencies to preset channels.

This function has opened the door for enhancements to the K5 which might be properly past what Quansheng gives out of the field. Hopefully, this design will encourage different radio makers to supply extra assist for modders, in flip bringing extra innovation to the VHF and UHF radio bands.

Quansheng most likely considered its design purely by way of fixing software program bugs or adjusting for regulatory adjustments—it gives a free set up software for importing official firmware releases to the radio. However the prospect of an updatable radio dangled an irresistible temptation for people to start out reverse engineering the firmware and {hardware} so they may attempt writing their very own code. Modifications up to now have typically taken the type of patches to the official firmware, relatively than wholesale rewrites. With the official firmware taking over a lot of the radio’s 64 kilobytes of flash reminiscence, such mods have to suit into lower than 3 KB. And the CPU is just not brimming with compute energy—it’s a 48-megahertz, 32-bit ARM-based processor with 8 KB of RAM. Nonetheless, I discovered the outcomes spectacular.

For instance, one mod installs a reasonably refined graphical spectrum analyzer: You possibly can regulate the bandwidth, set a threshold for tuning into detected peaks mechanically, and specify frequencies to disregard, amongst different issues. One other mod permits you to alternate textual content messages between K5s. Different mods enhance the K5’s means to obtain AM indicators, which means you’ll be able to, say, eavesdrop on aviation bands extra clearly. And there are many enjoyable little mods that do issues like change up the system fonts or substitute the start-up message with a line-art picture of your alternative.

Updatable firmware dangled an irresistible temptation for people to start out reverse engineering…

Putting in many of those mods is ridiculously simple. Usually at this level in a Fingers On article that includes hacking some shopper electronics, issues get fairly heroic as I futz with the {hardware} or unravel a software-installation enigma. However not this time.

A modder often known as whosmatt has created a Internet-based patcher/flasher for the K5 that allows you to choose a choice of mods from a menu. It then combines them with the official firmware to create a customized picture for importing (so long as you don’t exceed the whole quantity of reminiscence).

In truth, when you’re utilizing Chrome, Edge, or Opera, you don’t even want to make use of Quansheng’s installer to add the firmware: You possibly can replace the radio’s flash reminiscence immediately from the browser through the built-in Internet Serial API and the USB programming cable. (The directions say this can work solely on Linux and Home windows, however I used to be capable of do it utilizing a Mac as properly.) Internet Serial may do with some improved error dealing with, although. The primary USB programming cable I used was a bit flaky, however the place Quansheng’s installer would halt and flag a communications error with a failed add, Internet Serial would silently crash and take the entire Home windows working system with it.

There are much more K5 mods obtainable than are in whosmatt’s on-line patcher. If you wish to play with these or begin writing your individual mods, Python-based toolchains exist to help you.

This block diagram of the UV-K5 is predicated on the work of Phil McAllen. Hams have reverse engineered many particulars of the radio’s {hardware} and software program.James Provost

After all, permitting unfettered modding of the K5’s transceiver does increase the opportunity of abuse. For instance, the Quansheng firmware blocks transmitting on the aviation band, to forestall unlawful and unsafe interference. However this block may be eliminated by a patch (though to be a big risk, you’d possible want an amplifier to spice up the K5’s 5-watt sign).

Nevertheless, hams have all the time had the flexibility to behave badly, with or with out firmware blocks. Such blocks are handy for guarding in opposition to unintended abuse, however the fact is that until problematic indicators are persistent sufficient to permit a transmitter’s location to be triangulated, newbie radio should proceed to depend on an honor system, whether or not meaning not jamming a neighbor’s TV or transmitting on forbidden frequencies.

Lots of the most enjoyable makes use of of ham radio at present contain digital processing, and that processing is often executed utilizing a pc related to a transceiver. With embedded controllers turning into ever extra highly effective, the K5 modding scene factors towards a future the place extra processing occurs in-radio and the place you’ll be able to add new capabilities the best way apps are added to smartphones. Right here’s hoping producers embrace that future!