The crappy stock software worked fine but Chirp would have the Ack error every time. I had the exact same problem with my new 27 menu item UV-B5. Both will cost more but it may be worth the extra money for some. Another solution is to get a programming cable with an FTDI chip in it. These will run fine with the automatically installed latest Prolific driver. There are sources for programming cables with genuine Prolific chips in them. The website has links to these drivers and instruction on how to install them. Because of this, you will have to go into Device Manager to select the older one. Vista and above in most cases will upgrade the driver to the latest none-the-less. When you have a programming cable with an unauthorized copy of the Prolific chip in it (most USB programming cables) and you are running Windows, you MUST INSTALL AN OLDER DRIVER. No matter what USB programming cable you get, it will require a compatible driver or NO SOFTWARE WILL WORK. It will still have an unauthorized copy of the Prolific chip in it. Having an 'official' programming cable means nothing. I will respond to this issue if it is still open, or if not I'll send you an email. I will let you know what it ends up being for your reference (though it may be several weeks before I get a new one). I will hold on to the existing cable I have so that when I order another one, I will be able to test whether it was indeed the radio or the cable. I am going to hold on to the radio a couple more days to see if Baofeng responds and then send it back to Amazon. So, the radio seems to be getting the 'message', but has some kind of issue with it. But when I use either Chirp or the Baofeng software, whatever command is sent resets the radio every time. Also, when I send random characters (via a terminal emulator) to the radio, it doesn't do anything (as expected). The plug is fully seated in the jacks (there isn't a clearance issue on this particular radio). Thanks for taking the time to respond, especially when it is clearly not your software at issue here!

Baofeng uv-5b software