Bryan Gonderinger, AFW Larger screen & keyboard! Complicated - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Bryan Gonderinger, AFØW

Larger screen & keyboard! Complicated programming processes Some features not accessible via radio Multiple radios Traveling

Radio Simplex Repeater / Std. Offset Repeater / Other Offset Baofeng UV‐5R 45 77 52 Yaesu FT‐60R 18 26 29 YaesuVX‐3R 4* 11* 14*

Keystrokes required to program:

• Simplex: 146.580 MHz into channel 99
• Repeater / Std. Offset: 146.700 MHz, ‐600 kHz, CTCSS

123.0 Hz into channel 99

• Repeater / Any Offset: 146.700 MHz TX, 146.100 MHz RX,

CTCSS 123.0 Hz into channel 99

* Requires additional manipulation of rotary control

Baofeng UV‐5R

Channel Names Power On Message Also squelch levels, scan skip

Same Different

http://K5ehx.net 137 repeaters on UV‐5R = ~10500 keys!

Cable(s) Computer Software Free: CHIRP (Windows, Mac, Linux) Pay: RT Systems (Windows Only, ~$25) Manufacturer (if available)

▪ May be free (Kenwood, Baofeng) ▪ Likely only supports Windows ▪ Functionality is varied

No standard ‐ some work on multiple radio

models

Manufacturer’s cables are a good bet (but $$) RT Systems software requires their cables (~$30) Beware cheap import cables! (counterfeits) May be able to build your own See CHIRP Guide to Programming Cables:

http://chirp.danplanet.com/projects/chirp/wiki/CableGuide

Upload / download config from radio Add / delete / change memory channel information Copy / paste between radios / configurations Change “radio settings” (LCD colors, messages, etc.) Save radio configuration (memories and settings) Import / export memory channel information

Text files (CSV, etc.) Web services (Radio Reference, Repeater Book, etc.)

Free (open source) No cable restrictions Supports multiple radios Developed and supported by volunteers Sometimes new radios added quickly, sometimes not

Requires RT Systems cables (but no cable issues) Different software needed for different radios

User interface similar for each radio Have to pay for each additional radio software

Professional company in Broomfield (since 1995) Purchase includes tech support (which is supposed to

be very good)

Not available for all radios Functionality and user interfaces differ widely Likely do not support interoperability features

Download directly from web services Copy / paste from other software

RT Systems and CHIRP program radios, they

are not meant for direct control (like Ham Radio Deluxe)

Some mobile and desktop radios are also

supported

RT Systems has a survey going to gauge

interest in Mac versions

CHIRP

http://chirp.danplanet.com/projects/chirp/wiki/Home

Supported Radios / Functionality:

http://trac.chirp.danplanet.com/chirp_daily/LATEST/Model_Support.html

CHIRP Use with Baofeng UV‐5R:

http://www.miklor.com/COM/UV_CHIRP.php

RT Systems

https://www.rtsystemsinc.com/

“It depends”

What sort of computer / operating system do you use? Do you have different types of radios you want to program? Are radio(s) supported by the various software packages?

RT Systems cables may have issues with CHIRP

(have not personally experienced any yet)

The $ you save by buying cheap cables can be

quickly lost when you have to spend time troubleshooting driver issues

Make sure you have backups of radio config before

changing

Have heard of people having issues with CHIRP (radios bricked)

There’s a warning that pops up whenever you write

to radio saying they’re not responsible. ☺

For Baofeng, have heard there are different

firmware versions – writing a config from one version to a radio with another can cause radio to “brick” (but believe I saw a recovery procedure)

Have heard of people having issues with CHIRP (radios bricked) – cont’d

Workaround is to always read from the exact radio

you want to program, then copy over any channels into that config, then write it – that way, you’re using the right “memory image” for its firmware

I’ve programmed 20+ Baofengs for the club and

have not run into any issues when following this process

CHIRP doesn’t support my radio!

CHIRP is written and supported by volunteers They add support for radios they own first They are likely to add support for other radios if

manufacturers or owners ship them a unit for use when developing

Support is by trial‐and‐error, so actual radio is

required, and it’s fairly involved

You can do it yourself if you want – it’s Open Source!

CHIRP doesn’t support my radio! – cont’d

Some commercial radios (i.e. Motorola) require

special programming interfaces / software and are unlikely to be supported

(did not present this at club meeting)

Used at a receiver to suppress audio in

absence of a desired input signal

Can be “opened” to allow all signals through Verify that no one is using frequency Different functionalities: Carrier Squelch Continuous Tone‐Coded Squelch System (CTCSS) Digital‐Coded Squelch (DCS)

Mutes receiver audio in the absence of a

sufficiently strong signal

“Threshold” is typically adjustable on

amateur radios

Can be used on a radio system to separate

groups of radio users sharing a frequency

Each group will use matching tone settings and

• nly hear transmissions from other group

members

Not “private” Users will “step on” transmissions already taking

place if they do not monitor channel first

Continuous Tone‐Coded Squelch System Also called “Tone Squelch,” “PL Tone,”

“Private Line,” or “Channel Guard”

A sub‐audible tone is transmitted along with

voice

~50 different tones Tone is generally filtered by receiver and can

“unlock” a repeater or unmute a receiver

Usually listed as frequency: “Tone: 79.7 Hz”

Digital‐Coded Squelch Also called “CDCSS,” “DPL Tone,” “Digital

Private Line,” or “Digital Channel Guard”

A sub‐audible bitstream is transmitted along

with voice (23 data bits, 134.4 bps)

83 different codes (more “groups”) Tone is generally filtered by receiver and can

“unlock” a repeater or unmute a receiver

Usually listed as : “Code: 274”

Tones can be sent and received Sending a tone means your radio is adding the tone

to “open” a repeater, or a repeater is adding the tone to open the squelch on your radio

Receiving a tone means your radio is requiring a

tone to open the squelch and unmute the received audio

LARC repeater requires tone to access, and sends

tone on output (tone requirement bypassed during Thursday night net)

Tone Mode Description Value Column (none) No tone/code xmitted, receive squelch open or carrier n/a Tone CTCSS tone xmitted, receive squelch open or carrier Tone TSQL CTCSS tone xmitted, receive squelch tone‐coded to same tone ToneSql DTCS DCS code xmitted, receive squelch coded to same code DTCS Code Cross (see next slide) Column Description DTCS Rx Code DCS code used for receiver squelch in DTCS mode DTCS Pol DCS polarity (N=normal, R=reverse), first char=xmit, second=receive

http://chirp.danplanet.com/projects/chirp/wiki/MemoryEditorColumns

Cross Mode Description Tone‐>Tone Xmit tone: Tone, Receive tone: ToneSql Tone‐>DTCS Xmit tone: Tone, Receive DCS code: DTCS Rx Code DTCS‐>Tone Xmit DCS code: DTCS Code, Receive tone: ToneSql ‐>Tone Xmit: no tone/DCS code, Receive tone: ToneSql ‐>DTCS Xmit: no tone/DCS code, Receive DCS code: DTCS Rx Code DTCS‐> Xmit DCS code: DTCS Code, Receive : no tone/DCS code DTCS‐>DTCS Xmit DCS code: DTCS code, Receive: DCS code: DTCS Rx Code

Above behavior is used when Tone Mode is set to Cross