The dark side of duplex

elton

elton

Well-Known Member
Joined
19 Oct 2005
Messages
17,482
Location
Durham, England
www.boatit.co.uk
Do you ever wonder what's being said by the boat calling the lock on channel 80? Or any of the duplex channels come to that?

I do, but I'm not advocating illegal use of the airwaves. It's very naughty and you'd get sent to prison. But seriously, much worse than listening, would be to broadcast as a shore station, and interfere with legitimate traffic.

However, I bought this fantastic little radio, the Baofeng UV-5RE. Available from the likes of eBay and Amazon from about £20.

I soon realised it could possibly serve as a backup handheld for the boat, and as well as the marine Short Range channels, it could also operate on PMR channels, and many others. Now then, it's not type approved, and therefore not legal for use on these channels. eg it way exceeds the maximum permitted power for PMR.

Although the radio can be programmed to behave as required, it can be very, very tedious to enter all the parameters for any particular requirement. So I investigated sensible options.

First I bought a 12V charging cable off eBay for about £2. It's a bit clunky because it has to be plugged into the base station, but it does the job.

Next I bought a USB lead, again off eBay. It requires careful use, otherwise I suspect it can destroy USB ports or computers. In particular the radio must be powered off, before the cable is plugged in. You have been warned.

Next I downloaded and installed "Chirp" the universal radio programming application. http://chirp.danplanet.com/projects/chirp/wiki/Download

Finally, I needed a suitable Chirp file. There may be a file available from somewhere, containing the European marine channels, but I couldn't find it. So I downloaded a file from here https://radiofreeq.wordpress.com/20...iness-weather-marine-ham-channel-frequencies/
and modified it to suit my purposes. In particular, by removing all the stuff I don't need, and adjusting the marine channels from US to European.

Remember, it can be illegal to use this radio in a manner not specified by OFCOM.
 
GHA said:
Not quite, OK on the ham bands if you are a licensed ham, which probably accounts for a lot of sales, they're very popular capable radios in ham land . :cool:
Click to expand...

I think that's right. When I bought the radio I was so enthused, I went and joined the local ham radio club, and found that almost everybody has one, one of its relatives. It's my intention to sit at least the first two ham exams, which look fairly simple.
.
 
It has always irritated me that the Channel for talking to marinas is duplex, as it would often be helpful to hear others talking to the marina, and avoid trying to transmit when the channel is busy.

However a solution is to tune another radio, H/H ?, to US Ch 80A as suggested above. However that if you do this on the radio you are using to try and communicate with the marina, they will hear you but you won't hear their reply so you will be worse off, you need two separate radios for this to work.

Int Ch 80 :-Ship transmits on 157.025 Shore on 161.625
US Ch 80A:- both transmit on 157.025
 
I've got one of those Baofeng radios, they are really good. Strictly they are illegal for PMR as they output 1w on low power which is way over the legal limit, plus PMR requires a fixed antenna. I suspect they are illegal for the marine band too as they aren't an approved radio. You can use them on the ham radio bands with a foundation licence, which is legal. You can also use them legally on the business frequencies with a licence. For £20 they are fantastic.
 
matthewriches said:
Would you mind sending me the CHIRP file? I have made a file up but can't quite get a few channels to work for some reason. Wanted to check if it is the radio or my error!

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Ok, try this. Copy and paste it into a .csv file, then upload it to the radio. Good luck.

0,COASTGU,156.000000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,S,,,,,
1,TELEPHO,156.050000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
2,TELEPHO,156.100000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
3,TELEPHO,156.150000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
4,PORT OP,156.200000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
5,PORT OP,156.250000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
6,SAFETY,156.300000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
7,PORT OP,156.350000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
8,COMMERC,156.400000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
9,CALLING,156.450000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
10,COMMERC,156.500000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
11,VTS,156.550000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
12,PORT OP,156.600000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
13,BRIDGE,156.650000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
14,PORT OP,156.700000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
15,PORT OP,156.750000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
16,DISTRES,156.800000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
17,SAR,156.850000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
18,PORT OP,156.900000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
19,SHR-SHP,156.950000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
20,PORT OP,157.000000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
21,PORT OP,157.050000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
22,PORT OP,157.100000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
23,TELEPHO,157.150000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
24,TELEPHO,157.200000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
25,TELEPHO,157.250000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
26,TELEPHO,157.300000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
27,TELEPHO,157.350000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
28,TELEPHO,157.400000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
60,TELEPHO,156.025000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
61,PORT OP,156.075000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
62,PORT OP,156.125000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
63,PORT OP,156.175000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
64,TELEPHO,156.225000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
65,PORT OP,156.275000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
66,PORT OP,156.325000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
67,BRIDGE,156.375000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
68,SHP-SHP,156.425000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
69,PORT OP,156.475000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
71,PORT OP,156.575000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
72,SHP-SHP,156.625000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
73,PORT OP,156.675000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
74,PORT OP,156.725000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
77,SHP-SHP,156.875000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
78,SHR-SHP,156.925000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
79,SHR-SHP,156.975000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
80,SHR-SHP,157.025000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
81,PORT OP,157.075000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
82,PORT OP,157.125000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
83,TELEPHO,157.175000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
84,TELEPHO,157.225000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
85,TELEPHO,157.275000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
86,TELEPHO,157.325000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
87,TELEPHO,157.375000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
88,TELEPHO,157.425000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
101,PMR 1,446.006250,,0.000000,Tone,67.0,88.5,023,NN,NFM,5.00,,,,,,
102,PMR 2,446.018750,,0.000000,Tone,67.0,88.5,023,NN,NFM,5.00,,,,,,
103,PMR 3,446.031250,,0.000000,Tone,67.0,88.5,023,NN,NFM,5.00,,,,,,
104,PMR 4,446.043750,,0.000000,Tone,67.0,88.5,023,NN,NFM,5.00,,,,,,
105,PMR 5,446.056250,,0.000000,Tone,67.0,88.5,023,NN,NFM,5.00,,,,,,
106,PMR 6,446.068750,,0.000000,Tone,67.0,88.5,023,NN,NFM,5.00,,,,,,
107,PMR 7,446.081250,,0.000000,Tone,67.0,88.5,023,NN,NFM,5.00,,,,,,
108,PMR 8,446.093750,,0.000000,Tone,67.0,88.5,023,NN,NFM,5.00,,,,,,
110,SAREMT,155.160000,,0.000000,Tone,127.3,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
111,HAM 42,146.420000,,0.000000,Tone,100.0,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
112,HAM 52,146.520000,,0.000000,Tone,100.0,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
113,HAM 55,146.550000,,0.000000,Tone,100.0,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
114,HAMUHF,446.000000,,0.000000,Tone,100.0,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
115,HAM U3,446.030000,,0.000000,Tone,100.0,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
116,2M CALL,145.500000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
126,M1,157.850000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
127,M2,161.425000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
 
elton said:
Ok, try this. Copy and paste it into a .csv file, then upload it to the radio. Good luck.

0,COASTGU,156.000000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,S,,,,,
1,TELEPHO,156.050000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
2,TELEPHO,156.100000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
3,TELEPHO,156.150000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
4,PORT OP,156.200000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
5,PORT OP,156.250000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
6,SAFETY,156.300000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
7,PORT OP,156.350000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
8,COMMERC,156.400000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
9,CALLING,156.450000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
10,COMMERC,156.500000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
11,VTS,156.550000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
12,PORT OP,156.600000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
13,BRIDGE,156.650000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
14,PORT OP,156.700000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
15,PORT OP,156.750000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
16,DISTRES,156.800000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
17,SAR,156.850000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
18,PORT OP,156.900000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
19,SHR-SHP,156.950000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
20,PORT OP,157.000000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
21,PORT OP,157.050000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
22,PORT OP,157.100000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
23,TELEPHO,157.150000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
24,TELEPHO,157.200000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
25,TELEPHO,157.250000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
26,TELEPHO,157.300000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
27,TELEPHO,157.350000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
28,TELEPHO,157.400000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
60,TELEPHO,156.025000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
61,PORT OP,156.075000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
62,PORT OP,156.125000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
63,PORT OP,156.175000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
64,TELEPHO,156.225000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
65,PORT OP,156.275000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
66,PORT OP,156.325000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
67,BRIDGE,156.375000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
68,SHP-SHP,156.425000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
69,PORT OP,156.475000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
71,PORT OP,156.575000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
72,SHP-SHP,156.625000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
73,PORT OP,156.675000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
74,PORT OP,156.725000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
77,SHP-SHP,156.875000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
78,SHR-SHP,156.925000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
79,SHR-SHP,156.975000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
80,SHR-SHP,157.025000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
81,PORT OP,157.075000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
82,PORT OP,157.125000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
83,TELEPHO,157.175000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
84,TELEPHO,157.225000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
85,TELEPHO,157.275000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
86,TELEPHO,157.325000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
87,TELEPHO,157.375000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
88,TELEPHO,157.425000,+,4.600000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
101,PMR 1,446.006250,,0.000000,Tone,67.0,88.5,023,NN,NFM,5.00,,,,,,
102,PMR 2,446.018750,,0.000000,Tone,67.0,88.5,023,NN,NFM,5.00,,,,,,
103,PMR 3,446.031250,,0.000000,Tone,67.0,88.5,023,NN,NFM,5.00,,,,,,
104,PMR 4,446.043750,,0.000000,Tone,67.0,88.5,023,NN,NFM,5.00,,,,,,
105,PMR 5,446.056250,,0.000000,Tone,67.0,88.5,023,NN,NFM,5.00,,,,,,
106,PMR 6,446.068750,,0.000000,Tone,67.0,88.5,023,NN,NFM,5.00,,,,,,
107,PMR 7,446.081250,,0.000000,Tone,67.0,88.5,023,NN,NFM,5.00,,,,,,
108,PMR 8,446.093750,,0.000000,Tone,67.0,88.5,023,NN,NFM,5.00,,,,,,
110,SAREMT,155.160000,,0.000000,Tone,127.3,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
111,HAM 42,146.420000,,0.000000,Tone,100.0,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
112,HAM 52,146.520000,,0.000000,Tone,100.0,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
113,HAM 55,146.550000,,0.000000,Tone,100.0,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
114,HAMUHF,446.000000,,0.000000,Tone,100.0,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
115,HAM U3,446.030000,,0.000000,Tone,100.0,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
116,2M CALL,145.500000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
126,M1,157.850000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
127,M2,161.425000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,,
Click to expand...

Will give it a go!
 
And they have a CE sticker on them (Note I did not say they were approved as anyone can print a sticker). Of course a CE sticker does not mean they are legal to use, just that it conforms to the health and safety and RF emissions requirements. As the RF emission requirements are all about what it transmits or interferes with outside of the programmed frequency it is not any sort of check that it fits in with any specific band plan.
 
mlines said:
And they have a CE sticker on them (Note I did not say they were approved as anyone can print a sticker). Of course a CE sticker does not mean they are legal to use, just that it conforms to the health and safety and RF emissions requirements. As the RF emission requirements are all about what it transmits or interferes with outside of the programmed frequency it is not any sort of check that it fits in with any specific band plan.
Click to expand...

Now, would that be a genuine CE sticker, or a "China Export" CE sticker? There's a difference - see http://www.icomuk.co.uk/News_Article/3794/17103/
 
From the manual..

3y0xBLl.jpg


m5g221O.png
 
What is the CHIRP file? I followed the link and found lots of detail but nothing that tells me what it does?

Is the Baofeng UV-5RE canalised or is it variable frequency, and is it just FM or also SSB? I guess you could use it to listen to channel zero when there is some sort of emergency on. Would be fascinating.
 
CHIRP is a piece of software that enables you to program the radio on your PC or MAC and then upload using a usb cable to the radio. Much quicker and easier and therefore less likely to make mistakes. You need the lead though for your appropriate radio.
 
It is an FM only radio covering 136-174mhz and 400-520mhz with 4w tx output power. You can program 99 channels and also scan the frequencies it covers. Chirps is software that allows a computer to set the channels to memory, although you can also do this manually.
 
Or just get a Scanner from Maplins, and you can listen in to Channel 0 too, interesting when there's a minor crisis being dealt with to hear coms between the lifeboat and helicopter for example. Mine is programmed for all the Marine frequencies by their channel number.

Until they introduced the digital system we used to listen to the local plod requesting DOB / POB details on various minor villains and other drunken idiots on a Friday or Saturday night.

We can still listen also to the aircraft frequencies for passing flights.
 
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