Baofeng Bf 888s Programming Software Mac

This article covers how to modify a Baofeng 888s radio for Allstar node. This particular radio is commonly used in Allstar nodes. The hardware and software of Allstar Nodes can have different configurations. But how to modify the radio remains much the same in each case

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How to modify a Baofeng 888s for Allstar. When you first acquire a Baofeng 888s it’s sixteen channels will already be preset to a selection of channels none of which will be suitable for amateur use. Your first task is to enter the frequencies and CTCSS tones you will want to operate with on your Allstar node, you also need to edit the basic settings section. You can do this using a program called Chirp which you can freely download on the internet. { See the two images above }

You will need a special programming cable to connect your 888s to your PC, these are available on Amazon, eBay and elsewhere. You are best to get one with an FTDI chip in it, they are a little more expensive but they will save you a lot of grief with Windows drivers.

A. On Chirp set the TX power to low. { We will tackle low power hardware mods later on }

B. Turn off the radio’s voice announcements. If you cannot do this with the Chirp software then you can do this by setting the radio to channel 10 and then turning it off and then turning it on again while holding down both the transmit and the upper red side button at the same time.

This is a vital step as you do not want your node transmitting these announcements all over the Allstar network once you get connected. So do not go any further until you are sure this is done.

C. For more information on programming the 888s visit www.miklor.com for concise and detailed information including the programming cable and cable drivers and much more.

D.Be sure to set up your radio properly as regards operating frequency and CTCSS tones and removing the voice prompts before moving on to the next section and physically modifying it in any way as it may not be possible to do so once you start hardware modifications.

Important Please read. If you are having difficulties programming your radio with Chirp, then please check out this blog post. I am having problems with the latest versions of the 888s as at October 2019, but there is a solution:LINK

Then gently prise of the two knobs with a flat blade screwdriver. This will expose three brass rings, gently unscrew them again using a small flat blade screwdriver.

Then gently pull the heat sink forward to expose the circuit board on the other side. If you detach the speaker wires in the process then this is not a problem, they are coming off anyway.

Then using a desolder pump desolder the two points marked in blue, { But see below first } these both have uprights and these need to be freed before you can detach the board. Finally, remove all the retaining screws visible on the board. You should now be able to gently lift the board free of the metal heat sink so you can see the underside. { But read step 6 first }

This is convenient as it only leaves you one point to desolder to free the board from the metal heatsink.

I always use white wire, it is good practice to colour code the wires in some way for this sort of project, it makes things easier later on.

To attach the COS wire, cut it to a suitable length of thin wire, strip a small amount of the insulation from the end to expose the bare wire, apply flux and tin it really well. Then apply flux to the IC leg in question, if you have a steady hand just hold the wire in place, if not then temporarily fix it in some way and then apply around two seconds of heat from your soldering iron to attach the wire to the leg of the IC.

This fixation can be fragile though so glue the wire in place with some superglue on the other side of the board, the white dot where the microphone was is a good place.

Important: This is the time to carry out the low power modification if you want a ” hot spot ” type node. Check this link for details: LINK

All that remains for you to do now is to reassemble the radio, put all the screws back in and solder up any points { Or point } which you previously desoldered, and the unit is now ready to be inserted into whatever type of node you are building.

The example wiring shown above is for connection to a modified CM108 sound fob, you can see the connection points for the white, black, red and yellow wires from the fob itself. The green wire is a ground wire.

Baofeng Bf-888s Programming Software Mac

I recently purchased some radios to use at the local community theatre. Sincewe’re a small, non-profit organization, we don’t have a lot of spare money lyingaround. The radios I previously purchase from Best Buy were terrible. The endof transmission beep was much louder than the transmission itself. So, I set outto see what how much the radios my work used cost as they’re vastly superior. Igot four Baofeng BF-888S for less than the two barely usable Cobras.

There is a drawback with the Baofeng BF-888S (Amazon Affiliate Link): They aren’t legal to use out ofthe box. They need a bit of programming. Fortunately, this is easier than it seems.

While I’ll include some instruction from a Gentoo standpoint, there is nothingparticular to the OS when it comes to actually programming the radios.

Baofeng Bf 888s Programming Software Mac Download

You’ll need a cable. I got the BTECH PC03 FTDI USB programming cable (Amazon Affiliate Link).

Once you have the items, you’ll need to make sure that you have a couple driversenabled in your kernel.

The configuration keywords are CONFIG_USB_SERIAL andCONFIG_USB_SERIAL_FTDI_SIO. After recompiling and install the kernel, reboot.

With the programming cable plugged into your computer, you should seesomething similar to the following:

You’ll need to add your user(s) to the appropriate group. As shown above onGentoo this is uucp.

Once, that’s done, installCHIRP.We’ll probably need to add a keyword unmask for the live ebuild.

Then, fire it up with chirpw.

Connect the radio to the programming cable, turn on the radio, and download theradio config (Radio > Download from radio). With my radios, the stockconfiguration look like so:

CHIRP includes some configurations, like “US FRS and GMRS Channels” found underFile > Open stock configs. You can copy and paste each of those entries intothe tab related to the BaoFeng.

One thing to note, is that the configuration offered by CHIRP is slightlyincorrect. According to the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (47 CFR §95.563 - FRS channels), all ofthose channels should have a mode of NFM for the narrow FM. So, be sure tochange the mode once you’ve copied it over. Additionally, all of the channels inthe 462 MHz range are permitted to transmit at2W, but we don’t have that kindof granularity with the BaoFeng BF-888S radios. We only have a choice of eitherlow or high power. Obviously, I’ve gone with low power since the radio isallegedly capable of transmitting at up to 5W.

I’ve elected to use all of the channels in the 462 MHz portion. I’ve leftlocation 16 unassigned to use as a scanning channel. However, this only workedon one of my radios. The others just produce an annoying, constant tone.

So, you should have something that looks like so:

Finally, upload the settings to the radio (Radio > Upload To Radio), andunplug it from the computer. Your radio is now mostly legal to use anywhere inthe US. (Its detachable antenna keeps it from being 100% legal without a license.)

I haven’t yet used these at the theatre I volunteer at, but we do use these sameradios at work. They have fantastic range and excellent clarity. I expectsimilar results in much smaller facility.

Baofeng Bf 888s Programming Software Mac Free

Here are the image/CSV produced by CHIRP: