Quansheng HT  adding CW

SOME BACKGROUND INFO FIRST.

Above we see a picture of a Quansheng UV-K5 handheld rig. The term UV-K5 refers to the case style and not the internal circuitry. Other case styles can be the UV-K6 or UV5R Plus (not to be confused with the Baofeng UV5 which is a totally different rig !)

And they come in three sub-types. Version 1/2/3's which denotes what MCU / controller is used to hold the firmware. V1's have no identifiers. V2's have a sticker under the battery or are laser engraved and only sold briefly. V3's also include a sticker or laser engraved marking. This page deals ONLY with V1 models and the PTT as a key or an external straight key.

Now then here's some important info, these rigs are amazing value but there's a few issues with them that are a bit annoying if you are a perfectionist. The manufacturer for some reason despite having now sold these rigs for a good three years - still cannot fix some firmware bugs. These bugs are that the three RF power output level settings are not quite right. For example low power might be 2.3 Watts, Mid power = 3 Watts, high power is 5W or a bit more. Not exactly useful or professional. Also the squelch settings are not very useful, and they are set way too high for ordinary use.  That's why we have to use a firmware like IJV that allows us to write the correct settings to the area of the EEPROM that stores the values. You can write custom values to suit your preferences. I like to have Low = 500mw / Mid = 2.5w / High = 5w and then have my squelch set at say -125dbm at level 1 , - 123db for level 2 etc.

When we are satisfied with our choices, we have two options. We can continue to use the IJV firmware or move on to the NR7Y version. But note - IJV firmware has in my opinion far too many menus to make daily operation simple, and on CW it's initial transmission cuts off the first one second of your Morse symbol, a bit like how VOX on voice can sometime work. The NR7Y firmware is much simpler to use in my opinion and has perfect CW break in.

ADDING CW MODE USING NR7Y FIRMWARE.

Firstly identify your radio version and make sure that it's a V1.

Download some firmware called IJV this one and save it to yor disk, unzip to get the .bin file called firmware_IJV_v2.9.R5.bin

Using a web browser that supports SERIAL USB (MS Edge / Chrome / Chromium / later Firefox versions from about mid 2026) navigate to this website (or any other site that offers Quansheng V1 flashing). Or this one which will also allow your calibration file to be saved just in case anything goes wrong. (Always ensure that you have selected the correct version family before ever pushing that flash button !) The N7SIX flasher has an annoying habit at the time of writing of resetting the radio family version so be warned.

Connect the programming cable to the PC USB first.

Select the saved IJV firmware on the web browser flasher (the .bin file).

Switch on Quansheng rig whilst holding PTT (Screen will be blank).

Insert the programming cable into the speaker mic socket. Some older cables sold some years ago don't seem to work so it's best to purchase a newer one.

Now flash the .bin file to the rig, that takes about 40 seconds.

Reboot rig and do a full reset from the main menu.

Now the hard and long bits. Enter the secret menu using switch on but holding PTT+Upper function key,that the one just below the PTT.

Navigate to the menu where it says DUALRX and turn it off (in service mode it's a hidden gateway for EEPROM writing).

Navigate to TxpCal - Calibration of power levels. We must select a power level H/M/L from VFO mode and using the TxpCal(68) option assign the desired power level, repeating the process for each level. We must assign the levels for both UHF-H/M/L and VHF-H/M/L by selecting a frequency within the UHF or VHF range and performing the configuration. In channel mode each channel can have specific power values assigned. Use a suitable power meter for this.

SqlGli -   Glitch threshold, must be performed on every squelch setting for both VHF and UHF. Try 14.

SqlNoi - Noise threshold same as above,  try value 75.

SqlRss  Signal strength threshold, start with -124dbm and use 1db increments for each squelch setting.

EVERY ENTRY IS ONLY WRITTEN WITH A CORRECT MENU EXIT. THIS WILL DRIVE YOU CRAZY.

Some hours later you will have completed this. Verify every step or you will not be amused. 

Flash the NR7Y firmware .bin file  from here to the rig using the same browser flashing tool.

Hooray, we're now finished.

The NR7Y firmware as seen above offers an uncomplicated and straight forward access to the normal basic FM features of the rig as well as being able to operate the CW mode. The V1.2 version of the firmware uses traditional s-meter values (no false noise floor readings). Full break in is provided.  There is no broadcast FM receiver in this firmware.  However the receiver is opened up for AM/FM/CW/SSB use from 18-1300Mhz. On CW mode you can use Function + 7 key to select bandwidth filters. The 1.7Khz is the best. 

There is what is called a MIC BAR which is an audio level meter which is used on FM voice. Note that this is a measurement of the mic input level only and  is not affected by the wide/narrow settings of mic gain levels.

Switch the rig on and we get a familiar screen but the rig has CW menu's added.First thing is to set the rig to enable an external straight or / PTT to be used, so navigate to  CWKmod and select MODE A.

Then navigate to CWkin and also select PTT / Handkey.

The other options are easily understood, like setting the mode for CW / STEP SIZE.

On CW mode there are four keyer memories that store about 46 characters each and can be played or replayed with a user defined delay. Useful for auto CQ calls, beaconing etc. A simple press of the EXIT key will kill the transmission and you can revert to manual keying. The memories can only be programmed by using either an external iambic keyer or by using the rigs PTT + Side key as a basic iambic  paddle key (set via menu). The keying speed is taken from the Morse Practice facility, accessed by a long press on the 5 key.

Above - two calibration menus available via the "secret menu", the battery voltage calibration and the frequency calbration (if needed). And don't forget to set the mic gain so that you have good FM audio. Here's a short demo of the rig on CW using the basic PTT key.  As usual, you perform everything that is described here at your own peril ! Normally there's no problems but I have had a few instances when things have got a little corrupt. Usually writing a good calibration file to the EEPROM is the answer, or flashing a firmware with some preset values like F4HWN (v1) or EGZUMER 0.22 in order to easily get some values in, and then reuploading the NR7Y firmware does the trick. (Just saying).

Below - Apart from using the rigs own PTT as a key it is also possble to use an external straight key.  It involves hacking a cable by removing part of the 2.5mm plug. This looks like it would deliberatly not engage with the internal speaker connector, thus allowing all audio including the CW sidetone to appear through the internal speaker.  It works perfectly. There are no modifications to perform to the rig or special cables to make. I used a small handheld Dremel cutting disk to remove the unwanted part of the 2.5mm plug. Original upper graphic courtesy of the IJV firmware documentation.

As a bonus, the microphone still works and audio is still sent via the rigs internal speaker,but the loudspeaker part of the microphone is redundant.

Is it all worth it - yes ! Here's a little story. It's Sunday 6th September 2026 and we're still having the UK's most glorious summer since records began.  On that day there just so happens to be the RSGB 2m Backpackers Contest, all modes max power 10 Watts. It only runs for 4 hours. So I decided to take the Quansheng out with me and give away a few points. Nothing special for equipment - just the Quansheng HT, a telescopic whip antenna and an old speaker microphone that I had converted to be a straight key as per the above description.

Tuning around the band revealed some CW only contesters, a CW club net on 144.075Mhz and plenty of SSB stations. I arrived late to the party with only about 90 minutes left so I was in headless chicken mode quickly scanning up down the band to make some quick QSO's just to prove a point. I made several cross mode QSO's where I was sending CW and the other operator was on SSB. There was a station in Amiens in France (approx 110 miles away) on SSB who heard me but said that he does not understand Morse. Typical QSO range was 40 miles just using 5w and the telescopic antenna. The speaker mic key performed pretty well too. 

The contest itself was most friendly and relaxed, superb operators that gladly made cross mode QSO's. As a pleasant bonus there were some eating apple trees along the sea front that you can just grab a few to munch on a hot summers day and you can see the wooden operating bench overlooking the seafront. 

For UK operators it's worth scanning the GB2RS downloadable texts to see what contests are happening and also the club news sections often publicise 2m CW club and practice nets. And don't forget that this rig runs on 70cms too.

Adding the Putikeeg. If you feel that you need to connect a traditional straight key to the rig then I can recommend those little Putikeeg ones from China. These tiny keys are pretty good quality and are about USD$30 delivered at the time of writing. I made a simple adapter cable as per the wiring diagram above.  Here's a video, and you can see that I've deliberately chosen to transmit on high power and have the cable close to some RF, no strange effects or rig lock up's. The cable is straight wiring, no internal rig mods, no funny resistor networks, and just the part with the 2.5mm chopped off.

USEFUL FREQUENCY INFO

2m CW calling - 144.050MHz

70cm CW/SSB centre of activity - 432.200Mhz

RSGB Bandplan info -HERE