u/Popular-Ad5171

Just released v1.5.0 of VUURWERK, my custom firmware for the UV-K5. The main feature is a VOX mode in the spectrum analyzer that scores every frequency for voice instead of raw signal strength, so carriers and data bursts stay flat while actual conversations show up as bars.

Arrow keys hop between them, PTT locks onto the one you are listening to, and when you exit the spectrum that frequency is set on your VFO so you can answer. Also added F then EXIT, which resets the current VFO to clean simplex by clearing RX and TX tones, repeater offset, reverse, and scrambler in one press. Useful when the radio shows a green RX light but stays silent, which is usually a leftover RX tone. This release also fixes a bug where exiting the spectrum could switch you to the other VFO, plus some audio path issues on exit.

Scanning is faster than stock and the manual was rewritten with screen diagrams for everything. https://github.com/Tokeloshe/vuurwerk-firmware/releases/latest and the boot screen should say v1.5.0 after flashing.

Field reports welcome. 73, KC3TFZ

Dropping an update if anyone's running VUURWERK or has been curious. Custom firmware I've been working on for my UV-K5. Big jump since the last public release (v1.2.4).

The spectrum analyzer got reworked: SIDE1 and SIDE2 step frequency up and down now, MENU is blacklist, STAR cycles modes with a label that flashes so you can actually see which mode you're in.

CTCSS scanner works. Pre-checks if there's a signal on the frequency before scanning, so dead air gives you a quick "NO SIGNAL" instead of a 30-second timeout. Locks onto tones in a few seconds now.

Battery indicator updates live during TX instead of freezing the moment you key up. There's a TX sag tracker on the About screen if you want to see how your pack is holding up over time. Flashlight auto-off after 30 minutes (10 on a low pack) so a pocket bump doesn't drain your radio overnight.

TX audio is cleaner, the 1 kHz whine from the backlight PWM is gone. Credit on the approach to kamilsss655 / NUNU who first bench-validated that fix.

Plus a bunch of small polish: boot self-check, backlight fade, scan rate readout, key gesture toasts, audible cues in voice-seek mode.

All in all my experience has been its much snapier and responsive than V 1.2.4 would like to hear your findings.

Repo: https://github.com/Tokeloshe/vuurwerk-firmware/releases/tag/v1.2.7

73, KC3TFZ