CHIRP: Program Your First Radio in 30 Minutes

Every new Technician asks the same question: “How do I program this Baofeng?” CHIRP is the answer for most Chinese handhelds and many mobile rigs. Here is the shortest safe path to a working channel list.

What you need

• CHIRP from chirp.danplanet.com
• USB programming cable matched to your radio (baofeng cables are not always interchangeable)
• A frequency list — East TN guide + CHIRP CSV or your club’s sheet

Steps

1. Install CHIRP and the cable driver; connect the radio powered off, then power on.
2. Radio → Download from radio — save a blank image backup first.
3. Open the CSV from local.php or build rows manually using the CHIRP cheat sheet.
4. Verify offset direction, tone mode, and cross mode for each repeater — wrong tones mean you transmit on the input without realizing it.
5. Upload to radio; test receive on NOAA weather first, then a local repeater with a quick kerchunk after you confirm you are on the output.

More detail for UV-5R-class radios: Baofeng guide. First net anxiety? Read surviving your first ham net.

Before you plug in USB

Install the correct CHIRP driver for your cable — counterfeit chips cause “radio not found” errors that waste an hour. Download stock image first; never upload without a backup file dated today.

Repeater programming mistakes

Most novice errors are tone and offset — not frequency. RX must be the repeater output. TX is offset from RX. If you hear silence, verify PL/CTCSS on both TX and RX columns.

Test sequence

1. Simplex 146.520 listen-only five minutes.
2. One repeater test on low power with full ID.
3. NOAA weather channel receive check.
4. Save labeled backup .img in go-kit USB stick.

Use the interactive CHIRP cheat sheet wizard on KI4TQN — it saves checklist progress in your browser.

East TN data

Download CHIRP CSV from East TN frequencies or slim go-bag sheet. Outside the region: RepeaterBook export for your county.

← All articles  ·  Start here  ·  Just licensed  ·  Free downloads  ·  Newsletter