Programming your radio with CHIRP

CHIRP is a free software product that will allow you to program your radio from a file with a list of frequencies.  It is a reliable program on many analog radios but may have issues when trying to program newer, digitally capable products.  However, for most beginners with analog radios, CHIRP is a good, inexpensive choice.

Downloading and installing CHIRP

Check this link, Download and install CHIRP, for a brief summary about how to download and install CHIRP on your computer. 

In case the link to download CHIRP in this file does not work, you can click this one to get started, https://chirpmyradio.com/projects/chirp/wiki/Download#google_vignette.  Be careful, though, use the link to avoid downloading other programs from pop-ups that you don't want.

Programming CHIRP with an imported .csv file

Once you have CHIRP installed on your computer, you can follow these steps to program your radio from a .csv file. 

1.       Plug the programming cable into your computer first.  Note the COM port from the device manager.
2.       Plug the other end forcefully into your radio and make sure it is fully engaged.
3.       Select “Radio” from the menu bar, then select “Download from radio”.  Follow the instructions.
4.       If all goes well, you will see the contents of your radio on the screen.  If you wish, you should save this information on a .img file for future reference.
5.       Select “File” on the menu bare, then “Import” from the drop down menu.  It will ask you for the location of the .csv file you wish to import.  Locate the file and click OK.
6.       If you wish, you should save this information on a .img file for future reference.
7.       Note that CHIRP will replace the original contents with the new contents.
8.       Upload the new contents to your radio by selecting “Upload to radio” from “Radio” on the menu bar.  Follow the instructions.
9.       If all goes well, you will and the information upload was successful, turn off your radio, unplug the programming cable and turn the radio back on.
10.   Check for the accuracy of the upload.

Programming CHIRP with an image (.img) file

Once you have CHIRP installed on your computer, you can follow these steps to program your radio from a .img file. 

1.       An .img file in usually one that is on your computer or that you received from someone else, typically on a USB memory stick.
2.       Plug the programming cable into your computer first.  Note the COM port from the device manager.
3.       Plug forcefully the other end into your radio and make sure it is fully engaged.
4.       Select “Radio” from the menu bar, then select “Download from radio”.  Follow the instructions.
5.       If all goes well, you will see the contents of your radio on the screen.
6.       Click “File” on the menu bar, then select “Open”.  Navigate to the file you wish to upload and open the file.
7.       If all goes well, you will see the contents of the new file on a separate tab.  Copy the contents of the new file to the file you downloaded from your radio.
8       Upload the new contents of the first tab (where you downloaded from your radio) to your radio by selecting “Upload to radio” from “Radio” on the menu bar.  Follow the instructions.
9.       If all goes well, you will see the new information on the first tab and the upload was successful. 
10.  Turn off your radio, unplug the programming cable and turn the radio back on.
11.   Check the accuracy of the upload.

These are very brief summaries and may be hard to follow.  However, there are numerous CHIRP tutorials online that go into more details and you can see how it is done.  Here are two.  No recommendations so you may want to browse for others.

1.       How to Program GMRS Radios with CHIRP – Complete Beginner Tutorial (Repeaters, Frequencies & Setup)
2.       Using CHIRP to Program your Handheld Ham Radios, AD#38

The tutorials will tell you how to download from your radio (you must do this for any new radio), add, delete or modify the frequencies and upload the new file to your radio.  Many go into other details, so you can choose what you want to try.

CHIRP .csv flles

We have two .csv files.  The first is the "large" file with more than 127 memory channels.  It has the standard GMRS and GMRS repeater channels, ham emergency channels, Winlink channels, additional repeater channels, MURS and APRS channels.  It also has 220 band repeaters.  This is good for radios such as the Yaesu FT60 or FT-8900R.  The second is the "127" file with 127 memory channels.  The one is for most Baofeng HTs.  It has the standard GMRS and GMRS repeater channels, ham emergency channels and additional repeater channels.  It does not have the Winlink gateways because of the non-reliability of the Baofengs to do Winlink.

The "large" file:
The "127" file:
Note:  These files will be available sometime before Salmon Days.  We are working on correcting some errors.