Instructions

UVMOD Patcher & Flasher

This tool lets you customize the original firmware for the Quansheng UV-K5, UV-K6, UV-K5(8), and UV-5R Plus handheld radios. To flash the firmware, you need a compatible programming cable and the necessary drivers.

Usage

  1. Select the desired mods and customize as needed. Refer to the description of each mod for usage instructions.
  2. On the right side, you can select your radio model, but you can also leave it on "Patch for all radios", which creates a universal firmware that bypasses the version check.
  3. Click "Patch" and watch the console output, it will show errors and also the final size. If you get an oversize warning, you will have to deselect mods that add extra memory and try again.
  4. Click "Save" to download the finished firmware file.

Flashing directly with UVMOD

Modern Chromium-based browsers such as Chrome, Edge, and Opera have a built-in API that allows UVMOD to flash the firmware directly to the radio. This is the easiest way to flash the firmware, but it only works on Windows and Linux.

On Windows, you need the driver for the programming cable. Typically these cables use ch340, ch341 or cp210x chips. On linux, the driver is usually included.

  1. Connect the programming cable to your computer and ensure the proper drivers are installed. It should show up as a com port.
  2. On your radio (still disconnected and turned off), hold down PTT (large button on the side) and turn on the radio while still holding PTT. Now the flashlight should turn on while the rest of the radio stays dark. Your radio is now in bootloader mode.
  3. Connect the programming cable to the radio.
  4. Click "Flash directly" and wait for the process to finish. You can watch progress in the console.
  5. All done, all your settings should still all be intact.

Flashing with the official software

If you use Windows, you can use the official updater tool. You can download it directly from UVMOD using the link in the console window.

  1. Connect the programming cable to your computer and ensure the proper drivers are installed. In the device manager, it should show up as a com port.
  2. Start the updater tool, select the com port, and click connect.
  3. Load the customized firmware as the program file.
  4. On your radio (still disconnected and turned off), hold down PTT (large button on the side) and turn on the radio while still holding PTT. Now the flashlight should turn on while the rest of the radio stays dark. Your radio is now in bootloader mode.
  5. Connect the programming cable to the radio. The "Update" button in the updater tool should now become available.
  6. Click update and wait for the tool to finish.
  7. All done, all your settings should still all be intact.

Hidden Mods

There are some mods that are not listed in the mod list for safety reasons, which can be enabled here. Please consider the following warnings:

  • ONLY USE TX MODS IF YOU UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT OF HARMONICS, AND HAVE THE EQUIPMENT TO APPROPRIATELY FILTER THEM!
  • DO NOT - UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES - TRANSMIT ON THE AIR BAND OR INTEFERE WITH OTHER CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE!
  • Transmitting on illegal frequencies can result in heavy fines or even jail time.
  • The radio hardware is only designed for VHF and UHF, poorly so. Enabling TX on other frequencies does not change that fact. On frequencies outside of the VHF and UHF bands, the radio will have a very low output power and a very high SWR, which can damage the radio. Even worse, the radio will output a LOT of harmonics, on the outer parts of the spectrum, the harmonics even get stronger than the carrier signal. For example, transmitting on CB bands will transmit useless amounts of power on CB (microwatts), while emitting significant amounts of power on several other frequencies, many of which are illegal to transmit on.
  • You take full responsibility for your actions!

If you agree to these warning and terms, you may now show the hidden mods by clicking here.

The mods will show up on the mod list with a red border and title.

Apps

Flash usage: up to 2770 Bytes

Adds an application to the firmware. Some apps are started with the flashlight button. Due to very limited space available, you can only select one app:

Battery icon

Flash usage: 0 Bytes

Changes the battery icon to a more normal looking variant.

Custom Bootscreen

Flash usage: up to 1024 Bytes

Changes the bootscreen of the radio to an image, displayed for 2 seconds on startup. The PONMSG setting in the menu is ignored, custom bootscreen is always shown. Images are automatically compressed by removing blank space on top and bottom. Make a narrow banner if you need to save space.

Skip Bootscreen

Flash usage: 0 Bytes

Skips the bootscreen and instantly goes to the main screen on powerup.

Font

Flash usage: 0 Bytes

Changes the font to one of the following custom fonts:

Negative Display

Flash usage: 0 Bytes

Inverts the colors on the display.

Disable Freq Copy Timeout

Flash usage: 0 Bytes

Prevents freq copy and CTCSS decoder from timing out with "SCAN FAIL", allowing both functions to run indefinitely until a signal is found.

Disable TX completely

Flash usage: 0 Bytes

Prevents transmitting on all frequencies, making the radio purely a receiver.

Enable TX everywhere

Flash usage: 0 Bytes

DANGER! Allows transmitting on all frequencies. Only use this mod for testing, do not transmit on illegal frequencies!

Enable TX everywhere except Air Band

Flash usage: 0 Bytes

DANGER! Allows transmitting on all frequencies except air band (118 - 137 MHz). Only use this mod for testing, do not transmit on illegal frequencies!

Custom TX Range

Flash usage: 0 Bytes

DANGER: This mod replaces the TX Disabled check with a simple function that either blocks a range of frequencies and allows all else, or vice versa. It can be used to do the same as 'Enable TX everywhere except Air Band', or it could also be used to make the radio only TX on PMR466. The preset values below are set to block Air Band and allow everything else.

Backlight Duration

Flash usage: 0 Bytes

Sets a multiplier for the backlight duration.

Menu strings

Flash usage: 0 Bytes

Changes text in the settings menu. The displayed JSON contains every string with offset, description and size. Only edit the string and dont use more characters than allowed by the size.

Increase Mic Gain

Flash usage: 0 Bytes

Gives the microphone gain an additional boost, making the microphone generally more sensitive.

Roger Beep

Flash usage: 0 Bytes

Changes the pitch of the two roger beep tones. Tone 1 plays for 150ms and tone 2 for 80ms. The defaults in this mod are similar to the Mototrbo beep. The maximum is 6347 Hz.

Enable SWD Port

Flash usage: 0 Bytes

If you don't know what SWD is, you don't need this mod! Allows debugging via SWD. You will need to solder wires to the main board of the radio and connect them to specialized hardware.

Custom Frequency Ranges

Flash usage: 0 Bytes

Changes the frequency range limits.

You can customize the frequency ranges here. Make sure they are in the correct order and don't overlap. The maximum range is 18 MHz to 1300 MHz, and there is a gap from 630 - 840 MHz, where the chip cannot receive or transmit due to a hardware limitation.

Frequency Steps

Flash usage: 0 Bytes

Changes the frequency steps.

NOAA Frequencies

Flash usage: 0 Bytes

The NOAA scan feature is unique because it can scan in the background, all the time. However, most people dont need the weather alerts or dont have NOAA in their country. This mod lets you change the frequencies so you can use the NOAA scan function for something else, but keep in mind that the radio needs the 1050hz tone burst to open squelch. The values below are pre-set to the first 10 PMR446 channels.

AM RX on all Bands

Flash usage: 0 Bytes

For some reason, the original firmware only allows the AM setting to work on band 2. This mod allows AM to work on any band.

FM Radio Frequencies

Flash usage: 0 Bytes

Changes the FM radio frequency range

AIR COPY Frequency

Flash usage: 0 Bytes

Changes the frequency used by AIR COPY. The default value is 410.025 MHz.

LCD Contrast

Flash usage: 0 Bytes

Changes LCD contrast to any value from 0 to 63 (higher is darker). The default value is 31

Using stock v26 firmware