[chirp_users] BF-A58S Tri-band and Chirp

[Jim Unroe]

On Sat, Jul 11, 2020 at 8:22 AM Mark Thompson <bigpimp347 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Just bought a Tri-band version of the A58S,
> and although Chirp downloads from radio in either A58, A58S or even UV-5R-XYZmk3Turbo whatever it is.
> when i download the radios stock configuration i see VHF and UHF frequencies including 220Mhz.

Baofeng used to have different firmware series and "magic" strings
(the string recognized by the radio to initiate the cloning process)
for the various radio models. CHIRP could use these differences to
keep the radio models separated by their features and capabilities.
Back in 2014 when they began introducing the HN5RV style firmware, the
got away from this. Nearly any newly introduced model uses the same
HN5RV firmware version and "magic" string. Unfortunately, this makes
it impossible for CHIRP to differentiate between many models that it
has never seen before. This also puts the burden of the user to select
the correct model to get the correct support for the radios features.

UV-5R like radios: 2 power levels & 2 bands
BF-F8HP like radios: 3 power levels & 2 bands
UV-5RX3 like radios: 2 power levels & 3 bands
UV-82 like radios: 2 power levels & 2 bands
UV-82HP like radios: 3 power levels & 2 bands
UV-82X3 like radios: 2 power levels & 3 bands
BF-A58 like radios: 2 power levels & 2 bands
BF-A58S like radios: 2 power levels & 3 bands

For example...
If BF-A58 is selected, the CHIRP supported bands are
130.000000-180.000000 MHz
400.000000-521.000000 MHz

If BF-A58S is selected, the CHIRP supported bands are
130.000000-180.000000 MHz
200.000000-260.000000 MHz
400.000000-521.000000 MHz

> but Chirp only says this radio is VHF and UHF and not 220Mhz.

CHIRP doesn't "say" how many bands your radio has. I assume you are
referring to the band limits shown on the Settings -> Other Settings
menu panel. CHIRP shows exactly what the radio provides to it. A band
with the lower limit set to 130 and an upper limit set to 260.
[130]
[260]
And a second band with the lower band limit set to 400 and the upper
band limit set to 520.
[400]
[520]

> so when i download all seems good.

Because all is good.

> configuration only shows as dual band.

No it doesn't. It shows the band limits how they are configured in the
radio's memory. And for clarification, the band limits setting only
affects what frequencies can be entered via the keypad into the VFO.
It has absolutely nothing to do with what frequencies that can be
programmed into the channels (unless you are programming channels from
the radio's keypad).

>
> my issue is although i can ad 220Mhz frequencies to the memories, i dare'nt upload in case the radio goes to VHF and UHF only and i lose the 220Mhz.
> will it lose 220Mhz if i upload as a dual band and not tri-band ??

There is no way for CHIRP to change your radio from a 3 band model to
a 2 model. As long as you don't change the band limits as shown above,
your radio will always cover the factory frequencies. If you are that
worried about it, use the factory programming software.

> wil the tri-band frequencies install although Chirp say's it's dual band ??

As long as you choose a model that supports 3 bands (BF-A58S or
UV-82III), CHIRP will support 3 bands.

>
> any one ??
> thanks..
>

Jim KC9HI