[chirp_users] Baofeng 888s cable issue

Amnon Zohar
Mon Nov 21 08:26:31 PST 2016


High price of the "good" cables are actualy a rip off!

בתאריך 21 בנוב' 2016 6:25 PM,‏ "Amnon Zohar" <amnon.zohar at gmail.com> כתב:

> I bought cheap no problem.  Price gap worth the risk (to my mind)
>
> בתאריך 21 בנוב' 2016 6:22 PM,‏ "David Ranch" <chirp at trinnet.net> כתב:
>
>>
>> Great email Jim.  Any chances you can turn this into a FAQ answer on the
>> Chirp wiki?
>>
>> --David
>> KI6ZHD
>>
>>
>> On 11/21/2016 06:19 AM, Jim Unroe wrote:
>>
>> On Sun, Nov 20, 2016 at 10:37 PM, Garth Robinson<soundtek at vodafone.co.nz> <soundtek at vodafone.co.nz> wrote:
>>
>> Hi Jim,
>>
>> ..... so, how can one guarantee ( without dismantling the cable ) that there
>> is a genuine chip within the cable? I'm even suspect of the Baofeng cables.
>>
>> Garth. zl1tue  ..... an still shakin'
>>
>>
>> About 4 years ago I downloaded every version of Prolific driver for
>> Windows I could find. I installed them one by one from the most recent
>> to the oldest to find out exactly which driver was the absolute latest
>> that would work with a counterfeit Prolific chip. The answer was
>> v3.3.2.105. But although this driver works great with CHIRP, it is
>> incompatible with most programming software written for Chinese
>> radios.
>>
>> So my testing continued. It wasn't until I got to the Prolific
>> v3.2.0.0 driver that it would work with all of my programming
>> software. And it works with the latest Prolific chips as well.
>>
>> As you can see from the attached screen capture, I have 4 Prolific
>> drivers installed in my Windows 7 64-bit computer. I can switch
>> between these driver versions at will to determine if a Prolific type
>> chip is genuine.
>>
>> So if you have a programming cable with a Prolfic type chip, there is
>> no need to test if it is genuine or not. Genuine Prolific chips are
>> rare. Out of some 20+ Prolific type chip based cables that I have
>> here, I only have 2 that know are genuine.
>>
>> One came from a now out of business dealer. The description stated
>> that it contained a genuine Prolfic chip. It cost $10 more than the
>> non-genuine version that they also sold. The second came with (but was
>> purchased separately) a Wouxun KG-UV6D V2 radio that I purchased from
>> a USA dealer.
>>
>> So if you run Windows XP or above, the non-destructive test to
>> determine if the Prolific type chip in your programming cable isHey
>> genuine is pretty simple. Plug it into the USB port and wait for the
>> latest Prolific driver to install. Then try it out. then if it works
>> (not likely) it has a genuine Prolific chip. If it doesn't work (very
>> likely) it has a counterfeit chip.
>>
>> But if you already have the programming cable, it is too late to worry
>> about which type of Prolific chip is in it (genuine or counterfeit).
>> Just download, install and select the older Prolific driver (it works
>> for both).
>>
>> v2.0.2.1 Windows XP
>> v3.2.0.0 Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 and 10
>>
>> If the idea is to avoid the hassle of dealing with counterfeit
>> Prolific type chips, then note the following.
>>
>> A genuine Baofeng (the radio manufacturer based in China) programming
>> cable is virtually guaranteed to have a counterfeit Prolific chip.
>>
>> If the listing states that the programming cable only works with older
>> versions of Windows or states that it does not work with the latest
>> versions of Windows, it is a good bet that is will have a counterfeit
>> Prolific chip. The same goes for listings where there is no mention of
>> the chip the programming cable contains.
>>
>> So the best thing to do to avoid the driver hassle is to look for a
>> cable with an FTDI type chip. Even FTDI chips can be counterfeit, but
>> even the counterfeit chips currently work with the latest available
>> device drivers.
>>
>> Although I mostly use Prolific type chips here, I do have some with
>> genuine FTDI chips. My source for the last few has been Baofeng Tech
>> (the radio dealer based in the USA).
>>
>> Jim KC9HI
>>
>>
>>
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>> This message was sent to amnon at amnon.zohar at gmail.com
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>>
>
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