CHIRP

Ellen Strnod wrote:

Thank you, Jim, for this information. I know this is outside of CHIRP, but I'm hoping maybe you know the answer to this... I installed the Baofeng Tech software and downloaded the data from the radio with it. A screen grab of the squelch settings page from it is attached. The first table (under 130-179 MHZ) appears to be analogous to the CHIRP squelch settings page, except that it appears that 0 is not set to 0 for some reason (these are factory settings, I'm pretty sure.) Do you know if the values under the "open" column would be the same numbers I would put in on CHIRP for a BF-F8HP (like, 0 for Squelch 0, something really low for Squelch 1 (like maybe 1 or 2), etc.? Would these apply then to any channels/frequencies used (as with the H/T models)? Thanks!

It would appear that the "Open" table would be analogous to the CHIRP settings for the BF-F8HP. The 0 on the BF-F8HP is set to 0 because 0 is forced to be wide open (absolutely not squelch). I would suspect that SQL 0 on the UV-50X2 is a legitimate squelch setting and be used just like the other 9 settings.

Since the values show in your screen capture are all higher than the factory settings for a BF-F8HP, I would suspect that these values are different. What I would to would be to backup the factory settings (write them down or, as you already have, take a picture). That way you can always get back to factory and start over if you need to.

What I do is experiment by adjusting the value for the middle setting (SQL Level 5) to a value that is only tight enough to never un-squelch under most circumstances. Once I am satisfied, I step down and up from there with my other setting. This put my daily squelch setting in the middle but allow me to go looser or tighter as conditions require.

If you want to discuss this further, contact me direct via email.

Jim KC9HI

Thank you, Jim. This update is not to discuss Squelch optimal settings, but to make a final comment on my request for adding functionality to CHIRP for programming the Squelch values for the UV-50X2, after having had a chance to try the Baofeng Tech software: The software does appear to allow changes to these values but has the following shortcomings:

1) UHF values (under "400-480 MHZ") show level "0" for all 10 levels (I think this could be just a display problem in the app but is the least of my worries).
2) The software does not load existing squelch values from the radio (as in after an update; see discussion below).
3) The software does not load squelch values from a stored .dat (backup on computer) file.

Because of this, there is a) no starting point for updates (visible from a radio if one does not have a log of prior settings made), and b) no tangible feedback of successful update of the squelch values (other than a "successful" popup in the app when an upload to the radio is done). When the Baofeng Tech app is launched, the same original values for squelch always appear, and are only changeable manually during a session. It would be GREAT to be able to download, manipulate, back up and upload changes to these values back to the radio, and be able to independently (anyone with the radio and CHIRP) download and tweak these settings at a later time (as is do-able in CHIRP for other BaoFeng radios).

Thank you for your attention,
Ellen

Ellen Strnod wrote:

Thank you, Jim. This update is not to discuss Squelch optimal settings, but to make a final comment on my request for adding functionality to CHIRP for programming the Squelch values for the UV-50X2, after having had a chance to try the Baofeng Tech software: The software does appear to allow changes to these values but has the following shortcomings:

1) UHF values (under "400-480 MHZ") show level "0" for all 10 levels (I think this could be just a display problem in the app but is the least of my worries).
2) The software does not load existing squelch values from the radio (as in after an update; see discussion below).
3) The software does not load squelch values from a stored .dat (backup on computer) file.

Because of this, there is a) no starting point for updates (visible from a radio if one does not have a log of prior settings made), and b) no tangible feedback of successful update of the squelch values (other than a "successful" popup in the app when an upload to the radio is done). When the Baofeng Tech app is launched, the same original values for squelch always appear, and are only changeable manually during a session. It would be GREAT to be able to download, manipulate, back up and upload changes to these values back to the radio, and be able to independently (anyone with the radio and CHIRP) download and tweak these settings at a later time (as is do-able in CHIRP for other BaoFeng radios).

Thank you for your attention,
Ellen

I would add and additional shortcoming.

4) The "engineering" software only runs under Windows

Jim KC9HI