Baofeng UV0-9G and Radioddity DB-25G Programming Issues

[WROR417]

Hello all,

I hate to beg for help in my first post but I'm at a loss trying to program two radios.

First, let me give some background. As a retired IT guy, I have tried to stay away from Microsoft products in my personal life. I loved them when I was supporting them because they kept me employed, but I didn't want to support myself through all of the MS issues when I got home. For that reason I have been a happy, problem free Apple user for years.

Well, these two radios use programming software that only run on Windows, So I installed Windows 10 on my MacBook Pro using Parallels. The install went fine and other than the typical hours spent upgrading and patching a new Windows install, I was relatively pain free. I then installed the radio software and that's where the trouble started. The Baofeng software installed and opened fine, but when I try to download from the radio, it sits on "Handshake" until I close the program. The Radioddity software was more troublesome. Each time I tried to open it, it failed due to dependency problems. It kept locking for .ocx files. I rounded each file up and registered them until the program finally ran. Now when I try to read from that radio, I get Com Port errors. Sometimes I can get the program to recognize com3 but even then it will stall trying to download the config from the radio. 

My guess is my issues stem from running Windows 10 on top of MacOS, but I wondered anyone else experienced an issue like this and if you resolved it? Since it's affecting both radios, I'm sure it's something to do with the Windows install and the complexities running one OS on top of another.

 

Thanks,

Scott

[MichaelLAX]

25 minutes ago, WROR417 said:

My guess is my issues stem from running Windows 10 on top of MacOS, but I wondered anyone else experienced an issue like this and if you resolved it? Since it's affecting both radios, I'm sure it's something to do with the Windows install and the complexities running one OS on top of another.

No!

More after dinner…

[MichaelLAX]

Where's @donmontalvowhen you need him?!? 

  

[WyoJoe]

6 hours ago, WROR417 said:

My guess is my issues stem from running Windows 10 on top of MacOS, but I wondered anyone else experienced an issue like this and if you resolved it? Since it's affecting both radios, I'm sure it's something to do with the Windows install and the complexities running one OS on top of another.

Scott,

I'm certainly not a Mac user, so I can't comment on that or the use of "Parallels," but I think both of the radios you're trying to program may be supported by Chirp, a free (open source) application that can run natively on MacOS, Linux, or Windows. I personally use it on Linux with almost no issues. I think I encountered the "handshake" error once, and later realized that I had a com port issue or something like that.

I've also had success with several radio programming applications running on Linux using the Wine suite to emulate Windows. It generally works best if choosing an older version of Windows to emulate, such as Windows 7 or even XP. It doesn't work as well in Windows 10 mode however.

[MichaelLAX]

3 hours ago, WyoJoe said:

Scott,

...I think both of the radios you're trying to program may be supported by Chirp, a free (open source) application that can run natively on MacOS..

A peek at the supported radios on CHIRP's home page indicates that indeed, the Mac version of CHIRP will program the Radioddity DB-25G; but it currently does not support the Baofeng UV-9G.

And the features in CHIRP may not include all of the options that are listed in the Windows version for the DB25-G.

So, yes, download Mac CHIRP and see how you do with the DB25-G and let's keep working with Windows for the UV-9G and ultimately the DB25-G as well.

Here is a subset of the CHIRP list for Baofeng:

[WyoJoe]

5 hours ago, MichaelLAX said:

A peek at the supported radios on CHIRP's home page indicates that indeed, the Mac version of CHIRP will program the Radioddity DB-25G; but it currently does not support the Baofeng UV-9G.

I was reading the "issues" page for Chirp, and there is a thread there about the Baofeng UV-9G. I believe the UV-9G support is either very new or still experimental/in development. The discussion there was happening in the last few days, and from what I read, they got it working, although I wouldn't expect to see an official UV-9G module added until the next release at the earliest.

I am certainly not an expert on Chirp or the differences between versions for various operating systems, but I think for the most part, once a module has been written for a particular radio, it will generally work across the different OS platforms.

[MichaelLAX]

1 hour ago, WyoJoe said:

I was reading the "issues" page for Chirp, and there is a thread there about the Baofeng UV-9G. I believe the UV-9G support is either very new or still experimental/in development. The discussion there was happening in the last few days, and from what I read, they got it working, although I wouldn't expect to see an official UV-9G module added until the next release at the earliest.

I am certainly not an expert on Chirp or the differences between versions for various operating systems, but I think for the most part, once a module has been written for a particular radio, it will generally work across the different OS platforms.

I think Scott is confused enough about the use of CPS Codeplug Software and his two new radios, to subject him to an experimental version of CHIRP before it has been "officially" released.

As someone who writes Codeplugs for the PAPA System exclusively on my Macintosh (using Windows in Parallels when needed), I suggest that we keep our focus for Scott on CHIRP for Mac for the DB25-G (now that you have pointed out its availability) and Windows in Parallel for the UV-9G

My guess at this point is that he has "driver" issues in Windows, regardless of whether Windows is running on a Mac or on a PC.

[WROR417]

Thanks to MichaelLAX for all of the help over the weekend. Unfortunately we were unable to get the programming software working, but he got me further than I would have on my own. Maybe I just need to find a cheap old Windows Laptop to do my programming.

I will keep working on this issue if only for my pride. I hate for technology to beat me!

Thanks also for the posts by others. I have been using Chirp on my Mac for other radios, but  it will not recognize the DB25-G on either Mac, or Windows. I think we narrowed the problem down to the chipset used in both the DB25-G and Baofeng programming cables. I just need to find the right combination of software and drivers.

[tcp2525]

Sounds like you don't have the right com port selected. I run all my Windows based programming software in a VM as I am a Linux user. They all work fine. Some want you to manually select the correct com port.

[MichaelLAX]

3 hours ago, tcp2525 said:

Sounds like you don't have the right com port selected. I run all my Windows based programming software in a VM as I am a Linux user. They all work fine. Some want you to manually select the correct com port.

Scott: Do you have more than one COM option to select; maybe this is the problem?

9 out of 10 times these problems, in my experience, are driver problems.  Scott and I went down that road but to no avail.

FWIW: A good resource for this is Miklor

As noted by @tcp2525above, who also runs Windows in a Virtual Machine, I am convinced this is not the problem.

I also hate to be defeated in these issues and this would be the first time: So, Scott, feel free to text me to keep going, especially if you come across any new information!

A myGMRS friend, @Papatree, also has the DB25-G and I will consult with him when he returns from his weekend vacation with family.

[WROR417]

Success!!!…Well, sort of.

Both programming apps are now functioning perfectly although I feel like I bypassed defeat buy installing Windows 10 on what was my Linux box in my garage. I first installed the Baofeng software and the UV-9g connected and I was able to download the configuration. Great!

Now, the Radioddity software was another story. I consulted Radioddity Support and they said to run the program as an Administrator. No Luck. I kept getting the same Missing File or Dependency errors. The files in question are:

MSCOMCTL.ocx

MSCOMM32.ocx

MSFLXGRD.ocx

These files are ActiveX files and the same ones my Windows installation through Parallels on my Mac were showing as missing. I downloaded the files, dropped them in the Windows\syswow64 directory and then registered them. The files came up one by one each time I tried to install the Radioddity SW. I would get so far through the install and it would error for a different missing file. With the Parallels install, after I added these files, the SW still wouldn’t let me download the radio’s config, but on the standalone Windows install, it docked and downloaded from the radio perfectly. 

So, the bottom line is, after wasting hours of MichaelLAX’s time and mine, a standalone install of Windows and some added files solved the issue.

FYI…Chirp just released a new version that now supports the Baofeng UV-9G. I updated mine and it too works great. Unfortunately, even though the Radioddity SW now works, I still can’t get Chirp to recognize the DB25-G. Now big issue though as the Radioddity SW is now functioning.

I know this is long winded, but I figured putting all of the here might help someone else with similar issues.

Thanks again to MichaelLAX and everyone else who posted with suggestions.

Scott

[MichaelLAX]

You're welcome: Success is always the goal!

As I mentioned earlier, although I have installed Windows 10, all of my codeplug software that I have used personally and to help others that requires Windows has worked in my install of Windows XP in Parallels on my Mac.

I did get similar problems as you with my attempt to mimic your situation by attempting to run the DB25-G software in Windows 10; but I continue to be able to run it successfully in Windows XP.

Good news about CHIRP and the UV-9G!

[WROR417]

1 hour ago, MichaelLAX said:

You're welcome: Success is always the goal!

As I mentioned earlier, although I have installed Windows 10, all of my codeplug software that I have used personally and to help others that requires Windows has worked in my install of Windows XP in Parallels on my Mac.

I did get similar problems as you with my attempt to mimic your situation by attempting to run the DB25-G software in Windows 10; but I continue to be able to run it successfully in Windows XP.

Good news about CHIRP and the UV-9G!

Knowing ActiveX is a common vector for malware, I wonder if using the basic Home version of Windows 10 eliminates the ActiveX files to limit user’s exposure to infection. 

[MichaelLAX]

I try to know as little Windows as possible.

I've always been a Mac guy since its release and an Apple ][ guy before that.

However, professionally I had to learn how to get my Macs to be able to communicate in a MSDOS and then Windows world.

In the PowerPC era, I purchased SoftWindows to run (slowly) on my Mac and it included a licensed copy of Windows XP.

When Macs migrated to the Intel Platform, I was able to extract that copy of XP from that program, and continue to install it, first in Bootcamp and then in Parallels.

A little known fact is that you are allowed to install and run Windows 10 without actually having to buy a license.

[MichaelLAX]

A shout-out to @WyoJoefor being on top of CHIRP availability! 

[WyoJoe]

13 hours ago, MichaelLAX said:

A shout-out to @WyoJoefor being on top of CHIRP availability! 

Thank you Michael. I didn't know when the newest version would come out, but I saw it today and see that it now includes the Baofeng UV-9G. If only they would add support for the GM30/P15UV/TD-H5 triplets... and the DB20-G/AT-779UV/RA25 triplets, too!

I'm still waiting for those to be added.

[billwil]

Now that you got the software working for the db25, have you noticed that anything you program in to it above channel 30 (at least for repeaters) doesn't actually allow you to transmit? I've been working with Radioddity support on this issue and no total confirmation yet (description suggests it should work as expected but it doesn't for me). I would be interested in your experiences on that.

That said, the issue with the unregistered ActiveX controls appears to stem from the fact that there is no installer for the software. They are just zipping up an executable that is the software itself. At least some of the other radioddity software has installers, so I'm guessing you could figure out what other similar software they provide would register these controls correctness and install that first before trying to run the db25 exe. For example, the db20 software is installed as one would expect. I haven't tested it yet, but installing that before trying to run the exe might work. In my case I tried it on 3 windows 10 machines and a windows 11 machine and had the same problem on all; I had to manually register the control files to get it to work also. Be careful where you get these old 32 bit control files as there is a lot of malware out there posing as legitimate controls or dlls that people download and register themselves doing half the crackers' work for them.

I've reported all of this in detail to Radioddity. I might have to return the db25 if the below channel 31 to TX bug is replicatable and not easily fixed as that renders it less useful for some of my use cases. I might try the db20 to see if it has the same issue (I doubt it does).

Good luck with your radios.

Sent from my SM-G998U1 using Tapatalk

[WyoJoe]

17 hours ago, WROR417 said:

Both programming apps are now functioning perfectly although I feel like I bypassed defeat buy installing Windows 10 on what was my Linux box in my garage.

I can't say for sure that you'd have been okay using Linux instead, but that's how I've been running my CPS software for my radios. I just tried downloading and installing the DB-25G software on my Linux machine, and it installed and ran under Wine, but I didn't try up- or down-loading to a radio as I don't have that model radio. It sure looks like it'll work, though.

As for Chirp, it runs natively on Linux, so that's what I use for quite a few different models of radios. I then use factory software for the ones Chirp doesn't support. I've only found one or two CPS applications (for Windows) that don't work in Linux.

[billwil]

9 hours ago, WyoJoe said:

I just tried downloading and installing the DB-25G software on my Linux machine, and it installed and ran under Wine, but I didn't try up- or down-loading to a radio as I don't have that model radio. It sure looks like it'll work, though.

Was it an actual install or did you just unzip the executable and run it?  I was pleading with them to replace that download with an actual install package instead of the app executable...so thinking maybe they did.  I will check later if you don't recall.  One more question...do you have other installs from Radioddity on that Wine instance?  Wondering if the OCX libraries might have already been registered from other installs.  Thanks.

[MichaelLAX]

I noticed your request to Radioddity but when I downloaded it, it was still RAR, which I used The Unarchiver on my Mac to extract. 

[billwil]

Thanks for the response @MichaelLAX.  I'm a little lost, then.  Where did you download the RAR?  When I go to the Radioddity support download page here: Radioddity Download and find the DB25-G near the bottom, it's a zip file.  Or did you download that some time ago?  Maybe a different site?  If you still have the RAR (or the extracted contents of the RAR), is it an install package or a simple executable for the app?  Will be difficult to tell without running it as they most likely will both be .exe files...but if you know, would be another data point.

Thanks.

 

[MichaelLAX]

My mistake: I just checked and it did download as a ZIP file and the same program, The Unarchiver, unzipped it for me.

My answer yesterday was from memory and remembering that The Unarchiver did the extraction, my memory was incorrect about it being an RAR file.

 

[WyoJoe]

8 hours ago, billwil said:

Was it an actual install or did you just unzip the executable and run it?  I was pleading with them to replace that download with an actual install package instead of the app executable...so thinking maybe they did.  I will check later if you don't recall.  One more question...do you have other installs from Radioddity on that Wine instance?  Wondering if the OCX libraries might have already been registered from other installs.  Thanks.

I'm pretty sure I ran the unzipped executable file, but I didn't get any errors when I did so. I also do have other Radioddity software installed within Wine, so that could account for the OCX libraries. I'm not sure if I have them or not, but as mentioned, I didn't get any errors running the DB25-G application. I can't read and write to a radio, though, so it's possible I'd get errors at those steps.

[dabanner]

On 12/14/2021 at 3:06 AM, billwil said:

Now that you got the software working for the db25, have you noticed that anything you program in to it above channel 30 (at least for repeaters) doesn't actually allow you to transmit? I've been working with Radioddity support on this issue and no total confirmation yet (description suggests it should work as expected but it doesn't for me). I would be interested in your experiences on that.

That said, the issue with the unregistered ActiveX controls appears to stem from the fact that there is no installer for the software. They are just zipping up an executable that is the software itself. At least some of the other radioddity software has installers, so I'm guessing you could figure out what other similar software they provide would register these controls correctness and install that first before trying to run the db25 exe. For example, the db20 software is installed as one would expect. I haven't tested it yet, but installing that before trying to run the exe might work. In my case I tried it on 3 windows 10 machines and a windows 11 machine and had the same problem on all; I had to manually register the control files to get it to work also. Be careful where you get these old 32 bit control files as there is a lot of malware out there posing as legitimate controls or dlls that people download and register themselves doing half the crackers' work for them.

I've reported all of this in detail to Radioddity. I might have to return the db25 if the below channel 31 to TX bug is replicatable and not easily fixed as that renders it less useful for some of my use cases. I might try the db20 to see if it has the same issue (I doubt it does).

Good luck with your radios.

Sent from my SM-G998U1 using Tapatalk
 

I have found the same thing.  The mic will not key to transmit on repeater channels above 30.  I also cannot upload to memory spaces 8-14.  I can add channels to the software but it will not write to the device in those spaces.   I have returned my first radio for exchange and the second exhibits the same behavior.   I am starting to believe there is a bug in the firmware on the radio.  My response from support so far is to read the manual and download the software.  I think I'm going to cut bait here and find another radio.  

[WRPD822]

I am also finding that I cannot transmit on any channels above 30. If support does not find a solution I will be returning this radio and choosing another brand. If they have a solution I will post it here for others. 

WRPD822

[WyoJoe]

On 1/3/2022 at 11:55 AM, dabanner said:

I have found the same thing.  The mic will not key to transmit on repeater channels above 30.

 

8 hours ago, WRPD822 said:

I am also finding that I cannot transmit on any channels above 30.

Is the situation the same if using both factory software and Chirp?