Getting started

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Getting started

This page is a quick orientation guide for first-time users of the firmware. It does not replace the full documentation, but it should help you find the right page faster and avoid the most common mistakes.

First 5 minutes

If you only want to program a frequency, test the radio, and save it:

1. Select the active VFO with F + 2 A/B.
2. Switch that VFO to frequency mode with F + 3 VFO/MR.
3. Enter a frequency with the keypad.
4. Open the menu with M and adjust the basic items you need (Step, Power, tones, offset, bandwidth, Mode, TXLock).
5. Save the setup with ChSave if you want to keep it as a memory channel.
6. Switch back to channel mode with F + 3 VFO/MR when you want to browse saved channels.

If you need to view or control the radio from a browser, inspect RF activity, flash firmware, back up calibration, or upload a custom boot logo, use UV Studio. It combines K5Viewer and UVTools2 in one interface. If you prefer programming memories from a computer, use the CHIRP driver provided with each firmware release. See Programming with CHIRP for the dedicated Fusion workflow.

If you already know the firmware and only want the main changes prepared for v5.6.0, see Recent changes.

Warning

Do not use Quansheng CPS. It overwrites custom settings.

Common tasks

Start scanning frequencies

1. Switch a VFO to frequency mode.
2. Set the starting frequency.
3. Set the frequency step with menu Step.
4. Long-press * SCAN.

For a limited scan range, load the lower and upper limits into the two VFOs, long-press 5 NOAA to enable ScnRng, then long-press * SCAN.

For the full scan behavior, scan lists, priority scan, and DCS / CTCSS scan, see Scanning.

Start scanning memory channels

1. Switch to channel mode.
2. Assign channels to a scan list with menu ScList, or by long-pressing 5 NOAA.
3. Long-press * SCAN.

The firmware supports 24 scan lists, plus ALL.

See Scanning for the full scan-list behavior.

If you cannot transmit

Check these items first:

1. Make sure Mode is FM and not AM or USB.
2. Check whether the frequency is inside the selected F Lock plan.
3. If the frequency is outside the selected band plan, check whether TXLock is set to OFF.
4. Look for a small padlock next to the channel or VFO name.

If that still does not explain it, see Troubleshooting.

Save battery

The two main menus to know are:

• BatSav for the active/sleep ratio during normal operation
• SetOff for deep sleep after a period of inactivity

See Radio operation for battery display, battery type, and calibration, and Radio operation for the detailed behavior of sleep mode.

Model differences

This firmware targets the UV-K1 and UV-K5 V3.

The most visible day-to-day difference in the documentation is navigation:

• UV-K5: navigation is usually described with UP / DOWN
• UV-K1: navigation is usually described with LEFT / RIGHT

The hidden-menu option SetNav controls this navigation style.

Some screenshots and examples use UV-K5 terminology first, but the same feature usually exists on UV-K1 with the equivalent navigation keys.

Core concepts

These terms appear throughout the wiki:

• VFO mode: you type frequencies directly and adjust live settings before saving them
• Channel mode / memory mode: you browse saved memory channels
• Main VFO: the active upper or lower line, marked by ►
• F Lock: the main TX band plan
• TXLock: an extra per-channel TX permission when a frequency is outside the selected F Lock plan
• Scan list: one of the 24 memory-scan groups, or ALL
• ScnRng: scans only between the frequencies currently loaded into the two VFOs
• SetOff: inactivity timeout before deep sleep
• POnMsg: startup display mode, including the optional custom boot logo
• MO, DW, DWR, XB: RxMode abbreviations shown in the status bar

Where to go next

• Radio operation for VFO/channel usage, status bar, F Lock, TXLock, and sleep behavior
• Recent changes for the main user-visible changes in recent releases and the current development branch
• UV Studio for live viewing, RF activity, firmware flashing, calibration backup/restore, and custom boot logos
• Programming with CHIRP for computer programming with the dedicated driver included in each release
• Scanning for frequency scan, memory scan, ScnRng, and DCS / CTCSS scanning
• Menu for every menu item and the hidden menu
• Button functions for shortcuts, long presses, and programmable keys
• Fox Hunt and Beacon for signal-strength-assisted direction finding and the periodic Morse beacon
• Advanced features for Air Copy, RescueOps, the standalone K5Viewer and UVTools2 tools, Resume Mode, the built-in game, and TX-on-all-bands research features
• Spectrum analyzer for bandscope-style scanning
• FM broadcast radio receiver for the broadcast FM feature
• Troubleshooting for common problems and quick checks