Last month, I presented on making printed circuit boards at home at the Tricounty Amateur Radio Club meeting. I featured a board I had made to interface my Baofeng UV5R HT with a computer sound card. The board features an external VOX circuit (if you turn the squelch off the Baofeng, the VOX of the radio doesn't work properly). The external VOX circuit worked great until I plugged the unit into the radio. I had two problems:
In the meantime, I did get on APRS for the first time using the little circuit, using the internal VOX of the radio. It wasn't ideal, but it worked.
- The power out pin on the Baofeng interface couldn't power the external circuit. I didn't supply enough amps.
- Whenever the external VOX circuit keyed the radio, it quit working all together. It turns out that the RF coming out of the radio is interfering with the external VOX circuit. Which, I did not shield. I'll be adding a shield and trying again.
In the meantime, I did get on APRS for the first time using the little circuit, using the internal VOX of the radio. It wasn't ideal, but it worked.