The Baofeng UV-17 is a fun HT to play around with. I posted a review on this HT titled: Baofeng UV-17???. The question marks are my cute attempt to express the confusion that exists on the various models of the UV-17. I’m pretty sure the info in this post would apply to all variants of the UV-17, and likely apply to a good many HTs out there by varying manufacturers.
After only several weeks of light use, I turned the HT on one day and the Up/Down buttons and two columns on the left side of the numeric keypad stopped working. Being I’m a highly experienced US military trained Electronics Technician, I knew exactly what to do… I banged it against the table until It started working 🙂 Unfortunately, that “fix” didn’t last very long.
At least I knew it was probably a connection problem like a cold solder joint, or pinched cable and not a firmware or component failure problem… Whew!
Needing to take it apart to have a look-see, I ordered a X-Key to remove the castellated retaining rings under the antenna and knob. It can probably be done without this tool using a pick, or a pair of needle nose. But, this $5 tool makes it a lot easier.
I was lucky that just opening up the unit moved something just enough to make it start working again. I didn’t want to damage it by dismantling it further… If it works, don’t…. So I just slapped it back together. So far it’s been working fine.
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