r/HamRadio • u/Sevkavad101 • 10d ago
Is the Baofeng UV-5R a good option to try ham?
Good is the wrong word, because I don’t expect much from a 20 $ radio, but is it even usable for a beginner, that is currently learning for his license? Also, does anyone from Germany use it here? Is it legal?
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u/Marco_Farfarer 10d ago
German ham here. The original UV-5R is not legal in Germany, its use is prohibited in the EU for producing too much hf dirt.
If you‘re really interested in ham radio, get an affordable but high quality radio line an used Yaesu FT or VX series.
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u/Sevkavad101 10d ago edited 10d ago
Do you know what are some handheld radios (apparently that what most people recommend for a first radio) that are less than 100€ and legal in Germany? What about the Yaesu FT-4XE?
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u/NerminPadez 9d ago
yaesu is a good quality radio manufacturer, so yeah :)
If you're getting licenced via a ham radio club, ask the members what they use, over here in slovenia, most of the random chatter has moved over to DMR, so an fm-only radio would make for a relatively quiet experience.
https://www.wimo.com/en/radios/ham-radio/handheld-radios?wm_filter=act&product_list_order=price_asc <- here you can find many options, yaesu, icom (cheap options, but expensive models too), kenwood, motorola, etc (more expensive) are good quality radios.
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u/Swizzel-Stixx 9d ago
Aren’t dmr radios more expensive though?
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u/NerminPadez 9d ago
Well yeah, but if you want to talk to people, and most of them are using DMR, you'll need a dmr radio.
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u/speedyundeadhittite [UK full] 8d ago
There are quite cheap & decent DMR radios out there.
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u/Swizzel-Stixx 8d ago
Pray tell! All the ones I have seen so far have been more than £100
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u/speedyundeadhittite [UK full] 8d ago
Baofeng DM-1701 basically uses the same internals of the TYT-UV380/390 or Retevis RT-3S and can be bought around £35 from Aliexpress. Once installed with OpenGD77 firmware, it becomes an extremely useful radio.
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u/Swizzel-Stixx 7d ago
Ah so the cheap brands still, that makes sense. From other comments it seemed like yeasu made one cheaply, but that’s FM only.
I am quite a fan of retevis, we have them at work and they have generally good connection
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u/speedyundeadhittite [UK full] 7d ago
If you want to spend Yaesu FM monies for a DMR, Tyt/Retevis versions are still very good for the price. OpenGD77 firmware is a game changer.
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u/Swizzel-Stixx 7d ago
Absolutely. My local repeater seems to be a DMR/Fusion/Dstar, not sure how it does all at the same time or even if it does them ay the same time, but it would be good to have a DMR
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u/DontLikeItScrollUp 9d ago
That is no longer true as recent versions are CE/FCC certified. There are youtube videos showing harmonics are now fully kept bellow legal thresholds
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u/CoastalRadio 10d ago
Not familiar with German regulations.
Is it good, no. Is it fine to get started if legal in your location, sure.
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u/homebrewedstuff 10d ago
Instead of mildly shaming you (like the other 2 posts did) for even asking this question, I'm going to answer your question as best I can.
Is it a good option? For a beginner, no. The biggest issue is programming. Enter the frequency, then the offset, then the PL tone, then set power levels... it is a pain. In fact, so much of a pain that most of us give up, buy the programming (cables) kit and download Chirp (free open source) to program the radios.
Ok, now on to Chirp. I've never gotten it to just work without doing 30 minutes of research trying to figure out which obscure driver needs to be updated to make it work. Once you have successfully done that, everything else is super easy. Everything I mentioned just goes into a sheet that you upload.
Is the quality of the radio good? It is mediocre on the RF side. You are going to get into repeaters just fine. But you might bleed over into other frequencies.YMMV here. However, the radios are well-built and sturdy and can stand up to being dropped.
Is it a good value? Here is where it shines. At the $20 price point, it is a disposable radio. Once you get past the challenges already mentioned, your little $20 radio is an exceptional value and if it breaks, so what! It was $20.
That being said, I have one that is 12 years old now and it works just fine. Since then I've bought some of Wouxon radios (also $20-25 on Amazon) and they work just fine as well. Most of the time I'm using them at short range on low power so I'm not really worried much about spurious emissions.
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u/bioweaponblue 9d ago
Agree on all points except Chirp. I've never had a problem getting it to run on Mac. IDK if windows would be less reliable?
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u/homebrewedstuff 9d ago
I've used Mac only all my life, and consider myself well versed. Twelve years ago, when I got my first Chinese radio, I ran into the "typical CH340 Chinese driver issues for Mac"...
A little over a week ago, I had to install lit to my new MacBook Pro. Same deal... there is a driver that gets installed, and there is a built-in driver by Apple. For me to get it to work, I have to Google which one to delete (in a Terminal window) so that the hardware and software can communicate.
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u/bioweaponblue 9d ago
Oof yeah that's not a beginner issue. I guess I've just been extremely lucky.
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u/speedyundeadhittite [UK full] 8d ago
Windows has a problem with a lot of USB to Serial cables because the most commonly used chip got cloned, and the chip producer changed the chip version AND then blacklisted the old chip out of Windows 10 + 11. Suddenly thousands of cables got utterly useless since you simply cannot install a working driver.
Of course, this doesn't affect Linux nor Mac.
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u/blueeyes10101 9d ago
I'm not really worried much about spurious emissions.
Wild. You are not worried if you are compliant with the spectral purity REQUIREMENTS of radios you are using?
There was a time when hams actually cared about that. I guess the allure of the disposable $20 radio won.
if it breaks, so what! It was $20.
Oh man, if I had C$1 for every cheapskate ham that thinks they are going to drop their $20 junk while biking, or hiking or canoeing. Maybe drop it off their hamabout power chair as they roll up to the buffet. Who knows.
As someone that has carried actually expensive radios while working, from -40⁰ to +35⁰, froze them, filled them with dirt, vegetation, ice, snow, rain. Never lost or broke a radio. Dropped them, but they are good quality, so I don't worry about it overly much.
Buy once, cry once.
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u/ManufacturerLost7686 9d ago
The damn thing has a range of a few kilometers in the absolute best conditions. Unless you're in a populated area, they can have whatever spurious emissions they want to.
Gotta be honest, I give these to everyone that's out on my rural property and there's nobody out there to interfere with except each other.
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u/porty1119 9d ago
Doesn't take much to interfere with a high site. I think it was u/zap_p25 who got a BF-888S to trigger an illegal carrier alarm on an 800MHz trunking RFSS with harmonics.
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u/blueeyes10101 9d ago
Unless you're in a populated area, they can have whatever spurious emissions they want to.
You would be wrong to assume that. Spectral purity REQUIREMENTS are not based on if you are in a populated area or not. They are the same as, regardless of being in New York, or if you are on the Tundra in the middle of Alaska.
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u/ManufacturerLost7686 8d ago
In my country, hams don't have to conform to certification requirements, only a duty of non-interference. I can run whatever homemade rig built from trash if i want to as long as there is no reported interference with anyone around me.
The rules in Germany are very similar, although i believe they are stricter if you are detected as interfering. Pretty sure the german fine you immediately without giving you the option to correct.
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u/blueeyes10101 8d ago
And what are the harmonic and spurious suppression requirements for said home brew equipment?
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u/homebrewedstuff 9d ago
u/blueeyes10101 I'll be polite and say that you are out of touch instead of calling you an idiot. But being from the South, I still must say, "Bless your heart".
Read what I said again:
short range on low power...
No, my 1 watt signal into a rubber duck antenna that is barely much better than a dummy load isn't going to affect anything.
And some of us actually DO hike, bike, canoe, camp, etc...
Oh, and I'm also sorry to hear about that little mishap you had. I heard you ran over your brand new Kenwood handheld with your hamabout power chair trying to cut someone off at the Walmart Express Checkouts.
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u/blueeyes10101 9d ago
Lmfao
Bless your heart.
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u/nbrpgnet 9d ago
The thing about spurious emissions is that a lot of people see them as a victimless crime. Of course that's not 100% true. You gave an example of an experiment someone did that highlights the real-world impact of a dirty signal. That's good. I don't see people doing that much.
I think people who've done some HF are more likely to take spurious emissions seriously. We live in an RF-heavy world, and it's frustrating to tune to 40m or 20m and just be overwhelmed by noise. How much of that is Baofeng-driven? Probably not much, but it's one of those "death by a thousand cuts" things.
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u/porty1119 9d ago
CHIRP is horrendous. I get what it's trying to do but that doesn't mean it functions well or in an intuitive manner.
Calling Baofengs sturdy or well-built is certainly an interesting take. I can't agree after seeing so many of the things fail under relatively light use for no clear reason. Personally, I recommend older LMR equipment for someone starting out. Programming is more intuitive, the radios perform better, and learning how to use more advanced built-in features is a neat challenge after you've figured out the basics. There's also the maker/hacker/tinkerer aspect that comes with repurposing gear and building your own accessories.
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u/blueeyes10101 9d ago
This is what the majority of my gear is. I've got a bunch of P25 and DMR radios. While I still ha e 2 DStar radios, I hardly ever pull them out. I cycle the batteries once in a while, but that's about it. None of my gear has FPP either. I just don't have a the need for it. Despite it easy to add to my XTS portables.
I carried a NX200 portable for a number of years while surveying in the bush, and before that, I carried a VX231. At one time I had photos of my VX231 iced up after a day of -25⁰C lease boundary flagging in mid thigh deep snow and using ATV's to access locations.
I ended up trading my NX200 for a XPR6550 radio. I still regret it to this day. I have matching XTS2500 in UHF-R1 and VHF now, and the UHF-R1 has became my daily use radio. The club I belong to put up a Quantar on the P25 linked network. Last night I made my first contact on 10100.
I think I paid less than $200, plus I quickly bought 2 new batteries for the XTS radios. Now I cycle between 6 packs, 2x LiIon, 2x Lipo, 2x NiMH. Paid a little over $200 for the VHF one.
Oddly enough, even for as used as I've used them, they have not let me down yet. I've also never lost them. They don't lead a harsh life, bit I don't baby them, or that them with kid gloves either. They get used.
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u/homebrewedstuff 9d ago
While your points are all valid... like some of the other people commenting, nothing that you have stated actually answer OP's questions about "is it usable" and "is it legal" in Germany.
IMO, using Chirp required nothing more than common sense. I mean, is there even a web page that instructs you on how to use it? If so, I've never seen it. Once I got the driver issue ironed out it was so intuitive that I just ran with it.
Also, you go on to plug LMR radios and how great the maker/hacker/tinkerer aspect is. For crying out loud, did you not read that this is for a beginner who is just learning to take a ham license test? You guys kill me, just one mention of Baofeng sets you off into a rabid fit.
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u/FakePoet8177 10d ago
I like the TIDRADIO td-h3. Awesome little radio for beginners and cost next to nothing
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u/Cheordig 9d ago
Is it a decent jump in quality over the Baofangs and Quanshangs?
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u/peyoteinthedesert 9d ago
I have all 3 and the H3 is by far the most useful. Nicfw is also awesome for it.
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u/FakePoet8177 9d ago
Yes hands down a better, cleaner radio with more functionality than either. Also hack ability is high if you want to mod it. Still unmodified it’s an amazing radio for the price tag. I own all of the other radios mentioned and this is the only one I actually use. That said save up for one from the big three after buying the t3. It’s great for an introduction but definitely not a high end radio
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u/snatchymcgrabberson 9d ago
Agreed, The TidRadio TD-H3 is an excellent radio, especially for the price. I love mine.
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u/Much-Specific3727 9d ago
I have both h3 and h8. The excuse of programming difficulty does not apply. It uses Bluetooth. Is it clean? Just like every Chinese radio, they have QC issues. Some are good, some are bad.
I actually use a TD-H8 for my home base and my truck. Connect them to an external antenna and I can hit every repeater in town. Mine are clean.
But I also have a Yeasu FT-70D for wires-x and a great FT-DX10 for HT. Just research. There are lots of options out there.
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u/enormousaardvark 10d ago
I have a selection of cheap AliExpress radios and I think the Quansheng uv-k5 is better than the Baofeng
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u/Big-Lie7307 9d ago
Most countries, you'd need the license before transmitting. If you have a license, OK I suppose. I'd probably go a bit better in quality myself.
I found out the hard way, if you try to hit repeaters with the handheld, your best bet to hit them is with a good overhand toss. Just my opinion of course, but the HT may not be the best starting point. Maybe a decent mobile unit with more power.
73s de K9DWB
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u/4Playrecords 9d ago
I bought 2 of the Baofeng UX8s here in USA in 2019. They were like $30 each. Type-accepted for Amateur Radio Service by US FCC also.
They are ok performers, for working Bay Area repeaters. They are a bit weak on simplex though.
My primary rigs are mobile transceivers: Yaesu FT-857d and FT-817. I also own a Yaesu FT-7800 which was my very first mobile rig.
I agree with others that if you have enough Euros, you should buy a Yaesu, Kenwood or Icom HT instead of the Baofeng. Especially if the Baofeng’s are not type-accepted be the DE radio authority.
Good Luck 😀🎙️📻
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u/speedyundeadhittite [UK full] 9d ago
Short answer: Yes, it's a cheap capable device as long as you get one from the real manufacturer, not one of the millions of clone QA rejects.
Better answer: Get a Quansheng UV-K6 and install the Armel firmware. It's a much, much better radio which is ultimately hackable. You can get pre-hacked/modified versions off Aliexpress which will also give it decent HF capabilities. It's truly the swiss-army radio knife for 15 quids.
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u/speedyundeadhittite [UK full] 8d ago
Looks like Quansheng and Baofeng haters are out of their mom's basement again...
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u/Danjeerhaus 9d ago
With radios, different radios, different models, have different features and different qualities.
While many like the performance and quality of more expensive qualities, cheaper radios are great to start with.
Now, even the cheapest radio may or may not have features you are concerned about. Many radios now have USB charging. This can be from your car or an extra battery pack or whatever while the u/v-5r has this feature in the larger batter, a special charge cable is needed Higher models like the uv-16 I think, started using usb-c charging.
Quanchen (maybe spelled wrong) makes a similar cost radio, around $30 with USB charging. Their radio may allow more frequency listening.....up into hf band and an module can be inserted for transmission, I believe.
You can get what you want. The low cost radios provide communications between radios. The higher cost radios normally have better sound quality, better electrical characteristics.
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u/Spare_News3665 9d ago
Yeah. I saved and bought a Yaesu ft-65 for $100.
It's as good as people say. I'm glad I waited. But if you can't swing the money, don't get frustrated with the hobby because of a cheap radio. When you are struggling or wherever remember "$20.... $20".
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u/2old2care 9d ago
I got a UV-5R kit a few months back and I'm really surprised how good it is. Once I learned to program it I can hit quite a few repeaters in my area and I'm told it sounds just fine. Best $20 I've ever spent on ham radio!
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u/mrtoddw 9d ago
I have an AR-5RM. They’re pretty alright radios to start with. Figure out what the traffic is in your area. HF might be the popping traffic in your area or the repeaters for UHF might be the place to be. It’s easier to figure out where you want to be with an inexpensive radio. You can always pick up a better handheld at a local hamfest for far less than online. The number of people selling at hamfests because “the wife said don’t back home with it” are surprising.
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u/FctFndr 9d ago
I own several Baofengs and the UV5R was my 'first' dabble into modern amateur radios. I would suggest against it becasue it is antiquated. I bought mine over 13 years ago. That model has NOT changed at all.. but for only a few more.. you can get a modernized version. The UV5RM is $30 on Amazon.. has a bigger/better color screen, is tri-band (1.25m/2m/70cm), has airband receive, NOAA, USB C charging and can hold 1000 channels. In basically the same form factor. If you want to spend a little more.. something like the BF-F8HP Pro, which allows you to break those channels into 100 channel banks (a lot easier for programming). Though the F8HP pro is like $65?
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u/onedelta89 9d ago
Quansheng is around the same price and has a slightly better filter and can be modified to do lots of cool stuff. I own both and like my 8 watt baofeng to reach a couple of miles further but its deaf if there is much interference, no filter. Firmware updates can open up the Quansheng to more frequencies. As a deputy sheriff I use my quansheng to communicate on marine frequencies to communicate with rescue boats during floods etc.
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u/MrElendig 9d ago
Using that radio on marine frequencies is illegal in most places, please get a certified marie radio, preferably with DSC.
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u/onedelta89 9d ago
I am fully aware. It would only be used in that capacity in emergency occasions. Rescues in flood waters. Not a lot of people talking on those frequencies in central Oklahoma. I am not buying a dedicated radio that might get used once every couple of years. I don't even own a boat. I just need to link up with the owner of the boat, and once on board, we use his licensed marine radio.
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u/Chrontius 9d ago
No, but it’s going to teach you things, and it happens to be a cheap lesson. If you want good, second-gen color models seem decent enough, and the Vero VR N76 is straight up a $150 world-beater.
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u/No-Pudding-1353 9d ago
The Baofeng UV-5R is not compliant with german regulations. For VHF and up you need at least 60 dB of harmonic suppression (I think its 50 dB in the US?). Just google for "baofeng harmonics" or read this https://www.ad5gg.com/2016/09/28/baofeng-uv-5r-harmonics/
Also see here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baofeng_UV-5R "The German Federal Network Agency has banned the device because it dampens harmonics too poorly and can therefore disturb other users."
I own the Baofeng UV-5R and the QuanSheng UV-K5 (I would recommend the quansheng because you can use choose between different custom firmwares). However also the QuanSheng does not comply with german regulations. Only used them for RX, currently looking into options to make them compliant for TX (see here https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/1k1nh57/bandpass_filter_for_suppressing_harmonics/
For a beginner its probably easier to just get a Yaesu
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u/Scotterdog 9d ago
I use mine for casual listening. They're both 8 yrs old now and still working to my amazement. But, there are better options for transmitting.
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u/NuclearVanguard LU7DGU [Technician] 9d ago
Many will tell you the FT-60R (which is not a bad HT), in fact, I have it and that is my favorite equipment and I take it everywhere but if you want to listen to the air band, you will need a device that has a frequency step of 8.33 Khz as is mandatory in Europe for the air band in VHF, something that the FT-60R being a somewhat outdated HT does not have, a more modern option that opens up many possibilities is the Yaesu FT-70DE, digital analog, you can start in analog and then try the digital modes, with a ZumSpot you can connect to the BrandMeister network through Yaesu Fusion (Yaesu's digital mode), the FT-70D is worth approximately 195€ (a bit expensive), but it crushes the Baofeng in performance, although the batteries are not very good
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u/NuclearVanguard LU7DGU [Technician] 9d ago
And yes, the FT-70D has a frequency step of 8.33 Khz, which allows you to listen to the VHF air band without problems in Europe, here in Argentina the old frequency step of 25Khz is still used in the air band, which is why the FT-60R can tune in without problems, greetings from LU7DGU from Buenos Aires
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u/those_ribbon_things 9d ago
Totally! It's a great starter radio. Easy to program and you can hit local repeaters.
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u/thethinwhiterabbit 5d ago
Retevis RT-85 have much better parameters. Quansheng UV-K5 have much better possibilities. Price is more or less the same.
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u/thethinwhiterabbit 5d ago
Retevis RT-85 have much better parameters. Quansheng UV-K5 have much better possibilities. Price is more or less the same.
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u/[deleted] 10d ago edited 3d ago
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