This past week, I purchased my first ham radio in 20 years. Researching posts on this multireddit I created of various subreddits dedicated to Ham Radio, I learned a lot about the current state of ham radio and some ways to get back into the hobby. I would like to share the results of programming my new Baofeng UV-5RH on my Mac running OS X Yosemite 10.10.2.
- Chirp Software Manual
- Rugged Radio Programming Software
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- Chirp Radio Software Windows 10
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Jan 07, 2018 HAM Radio Crash Course - Baofeng UV5R Family Radio Programming and Settings Part 1 - Duration: 38:57. Ham Radio Crash Course 482,906 views. About Chirp A fun Dashboard Widget for Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.5 that allows you to quickly and easily keep tabs on your microblogging, Web 2.0 life. With Chirp, you can quickly view your friends’ latest updates, and post links, updates, or even send direct messages to your friends. May 28, 2020 A Mac version of Chirp is available on the Chirp website. In spite of all the Mac specific help provided, I have not been able to install it on my MacBook running High Sierra. I've already heard the other options - install Parallels / Windows, buy a cheap PC or use a Raspberry Pi, but I KNOW someone out there has gotten it to run on a standard Mac. Mac OSX and Linux users are recommended to use a Virtual Machine to run our Windows programming software. Software I recommend CHIRP, to program your BaoFeng, so this post will refer to that software. CHIRP is available for Windows, Mac OS and Linux. Jun 23, 2017 Similar Software for Mac. Install Pd on Mac OSX; Install WireOver on Mac OSX; Install CLion on Mac OSX; Install Zipeg on Mac OSX; Install Zoom.us on Mac OSX; Install YY on Mac OSX; Install Zoho Docs on Mac OSX; Install ZeroTier One on Mac OSX; Install Zotero on Mac OSX; Install Zed on Mac.
The UV-5RH is a cheap, Chinese made ~$30 2-meter & 70cm ham radio. It seemed like a low risk way to get back into the hobby. Reviews generally say it is an ok radio, especially for a beginner. While certainly no Yaesu VX-6R, it does exactly what I need: getting me on the radio. If it turns out to be a junk radio in the long run or if my interest drops again, I’m only out less than $100.
One of the early tips I read early on is that programming a Baofeng is a frustrating experience. For a geek who takes pride in UX, this concerns me a lot. To counter this, it was suggested that I use a special USB cable to connect the Baofeng to my computer, where the application CHIRP allows for fairly easy programming of the radio.
Of course, it isn’t as simple as buying any Baofeng USB cable. There are apparently many cheap ($8-10) USB cables that use cloned or reverse engineered chipsets. This leads to a lot of driver incompatibility issues, flakey connection issues, etc. I found many blog and forum posts (which I won’t link to) mentioning various drivers to install to work around these problems, but I was not going to settle for that. I don’t have the time and patience to deal with driver issues (that’s why I have a Mac) and I don’t like the thought of downloading drivers from some random web site.
So I researched a bit and came across a genuine FTDI USB cable that can connect to Baofeng radios. Reviews said that no drivers needed to be installed manually for Macs and many versions of Windows, as the OS automatically recognized the cable.
Taking a $20 risk, I bought the cable and was rewarded with a plug and play experience in OS X 10.10.2 Yosemite. My Mac immediately recognized the cable according to the System Report (Apple Menu –> About this Mac –> System Report –> USB) as shown in this screenshot:
Now that I had the correct USB cable, I installed the latest daily build of CHIRP, which according to some posts I read was needed depended on the firmware build installed on the Baofeng UV-5R-2. The daily builds also enable new settings you can program, including setting the Squelch.
When I launch CHIRP, I plug the special USB cable into my Baofeng UV-5R-2. I then select the Radio menu and click on “Download From Radio”:
You are then asked for the basic settings to interface with the radio. Select the Port, which should be a usbserial option or similar (may be named differently depending on what USB cable you use):
And then select the Vendor and Model of the radio you want to sync. In my case, the UV-5R.
Then your Mac will download the memory of the Baofeng right into CHIRP, using what it calls “cloning”:
Since you may be a new ham (or a long absent ham, like me), you probably don’t know what repeaters are in your local area. On that same Radio menu I mentioned above, you can import data from various repeater directories (I use RepeaterBook) right into the Baofeng UV-5R.
Once you are read to upload your configuration changes, it’s a simple click on the Radio menu and selecting “Upload To Radio”. After a moment or two, you’re radio is programmed.
So for ~$50, I have a cheap 2-meter and 70cm radio that so far has been working fairly well even with the stock antenna. After getting used to the clunky menu system, I can hear repeaters as far as ~19 miles away from Manchester, NH, which is rather impressive performance. I’ll probably try to contact someone today and test out the signal strength.
I’ve also already ordered a new antenna for the radio for $15, a Nagoya NA-701 that is supposed to help out a bit more with reception. That is arriving today, so I’ll give it a try and report back on it. A good solid antenna will be needed when I go hiking in the mountains this summer. If this turns out to be a decent handheld rig for $75, that will keep my occupied for awhile!
Parts List:
Software List:
- KK7DS Python Runtime for OS X
- Latest daily build of CHIRP for OS X.
Updated 2019-06-13: Fixed Amazon links again.
Updated 2017-06-17: Updated Amazon links, added Parts and Software List to bottom of post.
This article is for blind and vision-impaired amateur radio operators interested in using CHIRP to edit channel information stored in VHF/UHF radios. CHIRP is a free programming tool developed and distributed by Dan Smith, KK7DS, for Windows, Linux, and MacOS operating systems.
The website has a list of radio models that CHIRP supports, including D-STAR radios. The software version 0.3.1 works with radios produced by 10 different companies.
The documentation is clear and well-organized. It includes frequently-asked questions, and it has a professional-quality system for reporting and tracking problems and feature requests.
What CHIRP Does
CHIRP is a programming tool designed to edit most of the settings stored in the channel memory of UHF/VHF radios. It can also create new channels on the Wouxun radio, but that capability might depend on the radio.
Blind and vision-impaired hams can use CHIRP to make programming changes that are not accessible via a small radio display screen. Also, editing an existing channel with CHIRP is often more convenient than deleting and reprogramming a channel using internal radio menus.
![Chirp software for mac Chirp software for mac](/uploads/1/1/8/9/118935894/715157941.jpg)
What CHIRP Will Not Do
CHIRP does not support all functions and features of every radio. It is not designed to replace the internal menus for configuring functions such as the squelch level and VOX.
Using CHIRP with a Screen Reader
The easiest way to use the Windows version of CHIRP with a screen reader is to use an Excel spreadsheet program to read and edit data that you exported from CHIRP in a .csv file. The Documentation has a link to a step-by-step description of how to create a .csv file that Excel can read and how to get the data back into a radio.
The Linux version is directly accessible with the free Orca screen reader bundled with Ubuntu. Unlike the Windows version of CHIRP, no separate speadsheet program is necessary with the Linux version.
Orca is a basic screen reader that (with the default configuration) works automatically with CHIRP as you navigate the table of radio channel data using the arrow keys. The Orca keyboard shortcuts are not required.
If you want Orca to speak the column heading when it reads data, such as 'frequency 146.78000' or 'tone 103.5,' change the Table Rows preference from 'Speak Row' to 'Speak Cell.' (Preferences Dialog > Speech Tab > Table Rows section > Up Arrow to select Speak Cell.)
In the Mac OSX version, radio channel data are not accessible with the Voice Over screen reader. Also, a mouse or other pointing device is required to navigate and edit the table of data. For example, to change a tone you double-click on the current tone setting, hold the mouse button down, and drag the cursor to make a selection from a list of tones in a popup menu.
Choosing What To Display
There are two choices for how CHIRP displays transmitted CTCSS access tones and DTCS codes:
1. Hide Unused Data. Dan Smith, KK7DS, added this option in the View Menu so blind and vision-impaired hams can read from the CHIRP window more easily. For example with this option, stored CTCSS tones and DTCS codes are hidden for 'No Tone' mode channels.
2. Show Unused Data (default setting). In most radios you can program each channel with a CTCSS access tone and a DTCS code for future use. Transmission of the tone or code can then be turned on or off 'in the field' using a control on the radio. (Wouxun radios are an exception—stored CTCSS tones and DTCS codes are always active.) If you do not select 'Hide Unused Data,' the stored CTCSS and DTCSS data are displayed whether or not the channel is programmed to open in a mode that uses them. Note that showing unused data causes Chirp to display meaningless numbers in the CTCSS and DTCS columns of channels with no programmed tone or code.
Using CHIRP
Figure 1 shows the program window for a Wouxun KG-UVD1P radio when 'Hide Unused Data' is selected.
Figure 1. CHIRP with 'Hide Unused Data' selected.
Chirp Software Manual
Figure 2 shows the channel data with 'Hide Unused Data' deselected. Every channel has a tone and DTCS code listed.
Figure 2. CHIRP with 'Hide Unused Data' not selected.
To edit a channel if you are not using a screen reader: Click on the cell you want to edit and either choose an option from the drop-down menu or type the entry, depending on the column. Save the edited file to your PC as a backup, and load it into the radio memory (Radio → Upload to Radio).
In most cases, the editor in CHIRP will be all you need, but in case you have a very large file, you can export it to a spreadsheet, where scripts and formulas can be used for editing and option to make CHIRP easier for blind and vision-impaired hams to use.
Rugged Radio Programming Software
Thanks also to Jeremy, W0JRL, for pointing out that CHIRP is accessible with Orca.
Author Information
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Peter DeNeef, AE7PD, is an Extra Class amateur radio operator in the U.S. This website has no ads or conflicts of interest. Jd 6400 service manual.
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Email: HamRadioAndVision 'at' gmail 'dot' com
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rev. 3/2/2019