Baofeng Button Fix, by TreadCarefully

In my opinion, the worst feature(s) of the Baofeng UV-5R and variants is the ability to inadvertently turn on the FM radio and LED. This article steps through the process of disassembling a radio and disabling the Call and Monitor buttons by removing their dome switches.

Obviously, there will be no more random Toby Keith in the field, and you will have to manage your squelch setting a little better, but that seems like a fair trade for not potentially giving away your position at the worst possible time.

If you have a radio that is ‘locked’ to the ham frequencies and wish to open it to the radio’s full capacity, you must open the radio before following this procedure. To open the radio, hold the PTT, Moni and VFO buttons down while turning on the radio. FACTORY on the display indicates the radio is unlocked.

I’m sure this procedure will nullify your ‘warranty’ and it’s probably illegal somewhere. It could break your radio or make it explode, and if it does, it’s on you.

Tools:

Xacto knife or similar

Small Philips head screwdriver

Small flat head screw driver

T9 Torx driver (T9 is sloppy but T10 doesn’t fit)

Small needle nose pliers

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Step 1: Remove battery and antenna.

We will disable two of these three buttons.

Step 2: Remove two bottom screws with the T9 Torx.

Step 3: Remove two top screws with the T9 Torx.

Top and bottom screws are different lengths.

Step 4: Remove two bracket screws with screwdriver.

Be careful of the battery latch, it is sprung and will jump away. The spring itself is captured

Step 5: Remove clip and screw. It’s tempting to just throw these away but they are the only reasonable way to dummy cord the radio, so I keep them.

Step 6: Unscrew antenna mount nut. I have used a small screwdriver on the last couple of radios but a pair of needle nose pliers might be necessary. Use the tip to engage a notch on the nut and push counter-clockwise around the circumference.

Step 7: Pull the volume knob straight off and unscrew the knob nut like the antenna mount nut.

Step 8: Remove the display bezel by prying off with a small screwdriver. The bezel pops off easily from the screen but can get caught around the VFO button.

On assembly, the bezel is (probably) first inserted below the VFO button, via a tab, pressed around the button, then pressed onto the screen. So, inserting  a small screwdriver below the VFO button and pushing up (towards top of radio) to unseat the tab may be necessary (picture below shows my screwdriver on the side of the VFO button, not the bottom). Be careful if you want to keep your radio pretty.

Step 9: The innards will now come loose from the case. Use a thin bladed screwdriver or knife to pry the main printed circuit board (PCB) out from the bottom of the radio. Lift the board, then slide up and away towards the bottom of the radio.

The antenna port, volume potentiometer and LED are attached to the PC board and have to slide downward to come out of the housing.

The rubber port cover hangs the board up a bit so finesse the board and cover off at the same time without tearing the cover.

The speaker is mounted on the case and wired directly to the PCB. Don’t pull the case away from the PCB too far.

Step 10: Inspect the side of the main board and note three dome switches. Pushing the metal dome completes the circuit beneath the dome. The domes themselves are thin pieces of foil.

Use a sharp blade or Exacto knife to scribe the circumference then get under the dome and peel it away from the board.

The top and bottom domes come off. The middle dome (PTT) obviously stays

Reassemble the radio by reversing steps 1 through 9. Take care that the keypad lines up properly in the case and that the port cover reseats properly.