Block TX with UV-5R/Chirp

[PA141]

I have a co-worker that purchased a UV-5R with the intent of getting his license.  My base image also has public service and other channels programmed in.  Since he is new to radio, I want to eliminate any chance of accidental transmission outside of ham frequencies.  I have not found an option to selectively disable a transmit frequency.  There is an option to disable TX on VHF and/or UHF in general.  There are also settings for the frequency limits, but I suspect that will remove RX capability also.  Is there a setting that I am missing somewhere in Chirp?

Obviously I could remove all the non-ham frequencies, but it would be nice for him to be able to receive other services.  Worse case, I could enter a manual split frequency set to some oddball 2M simplex frequency, but that would be a major PITA.

[Borage257]

Set duplex to off and vfo tx to off

[UncleYoda]

Duplex off means transmit is still allowed on the receiving frequency, which could still get him in trouble.  EDIT: I am not sure; "off" may be different than blank, if you trust that but I can't test right now.  EDIT2: I checked one radio with "off" and the TX indicator lights do come on, but that's as far as I would go.

AFAIK, Chirp's special settings included, the "major PITA" way is the only way because regular UV5Rs do not support separate frequency ranges for TX and RX.  There are UV-5R-ish models like the GT-5R that only transmit on HAM while allowing you to put in non-HAM frequencies for receive only.

 

p.s.  I looked and I don't see a setting for VFO TX.  There is one for VHF and one for UHF, but it isn't clear if that just applies to VFO or channels as well.

[SteveShannon]

Desolder the PTT switch.

[OffRoaderX]

What would happen if he accidentally transmitted out side of ham frequencies? 

[SteveShannon]

  On 9/12/2023 at 4:58 PM, OffRoaderX said:

What would happen if he accidentally transmitted out side of ham frequencies? 

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Magic eight ball says: Nothing! 

Especially if it’s unintentionally done.

But if he made a habit of it, and made a nuisance of himself to the point where someone complained to the FCC, he would receive a letter.

[OffRoaderX]

  On 9/12/2023 at 5:15 PM, Sshannon said:

But if he made a habit of it, and made a nuisance of himself to the point where someone complained to the FCC, he would receive a letter.

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Would he though?

[SteveShannon]

  On 9/12/2023 at 5:17 PM, OffRoaderX said:

Would he though?

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I doubt that he would.  He seems to have a good heart. 

[WRQC527]

  On 9/12/2023 at 4:58 PM, OffRoaderX said:

What would happen if he accidentally transmitted out side of ham frequencies? 

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[SteveShannon]

  On 9/12/2023 at 5:20 PM, WRQC527 said:

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I bet that nobody has ever been jailed for FCC infractions.  I doubt it’s even possible.  Fines, yes, in extreme circumstances.

[WRQC527]

  On 9/12/2023 at 5:24 PM, Sshannon said:

  On 9/12/2023 at 5:20 PM, WRQC527 said:

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I bet that nobody has ever been jailed for FCC infractions.

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There's actually GMRS and amateur radio gangs in FCC prisons. They pretty much respect each other's turf, but every now and then... 

[SteveShannon]

  On 9/12/2023 at 5:32 PM, WRQC527 said:

There's actually GMRS and amateur radio gangs in FCC prisons. They pretty much respect each other's turf, but every now and then... 

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Smuggling in UHF antennas has certain advantages over HF.

[OffRoaderX]

  On 9/12/2023 at 5:24 PM, Sshannon said:

I bet that nobody has ever been jailed for FCC infractions.  I doubt it’s even possible.  Fines, yes, in extreme circumstances.

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Public FCC records show 3 or 4 mean letters and two fines (that so far have not been paid) since 2012 for non-business infractions for CB, ham, and GMRS. Zero prison-time or shot-dogs.

Not sayin that the FCC doesn't care... But......

[SteveShannon]

  On 9/12/2023 at 6:03 PM, OffRoaderX said:

Public FCC records show 3 or 4 mean letters and two fines (that so far have not been paid) since 2012 for non-business infractions for CB, ham, and GMRS. Zero prison-time or shot-dogs.

Not sayin that the FCC doesn't care... But......

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And for the most part, neither should we.  That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t make an effort to comply with the regulations, but we should not be so quick to condemn each other for failures to comply.

[OffRoaderX]

  On 9/12/2023 at 6:06 PM, Sshannon said:

That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t make an effort to comply with the regulations, but we should not be so quick to condemn each other for failures to comply.

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I agree 100%.. It just seems odd to me how "some people" go around telling fairy tales about what will happen if you even accidentally do anything out of compliance, and I have seen these myths and fairy-tailes get many n00bs overly-concerned or even fearful.

[SteveShannon]

  On 9/12/2023 at 7:15 PM, OffRoaderX said:

I agree 100%.. It just seems odd to me how "some people" go around telling fairy tales about what will happen if you even accidentally do anything out of compliance, and I have seen these myths and fairy-tailes get many n00bs overly-concerned or even fearful.

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For once I don’t feel like I’m in the “Some people” category.

[PA141]

  On 9/12/2023 at 4:04 PM, UncleYoda said:

Duplex off means transmit is still allowed on the receiving frequency, which could still get him in trouble.  EDIT: I am not sure; "off" may be different than blank, if you trust that but I can't test right now.  EDIT2: I checked one radio with "off" and the TX indicator lights do come on, but that's as far as I would go.

AFAIK, Chirp's special settings included, the "major PITA" way is the only way because regular UV5Rs do not support separate frequency ranges for TX and RX.  There are UV-5R-ish models like the GT-5R that only transmit on HAM while allowing you to put in non-HAM frequencies for receive only.

 

p.s.  I looked and I don't see a setting for VFO TX.  There is one for VHF and one for UHF, but it isn't clear if that just applies to VFO or channels as well.

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Thanks. 

I don't see VFO TX either in the latest Chirp-next.  Will test the non-standard split option when his radio arrives.  This will hopefully be adequate to remove the possibility of transmitting on a public service frequency. 

[WRUU653]

I do not have this particular Boofwang (nod to Randy) but when I use chirp on another Baofeng I can and do use the duplex off selection in Chirp to prevent keying up on frequencies I want locked out. Yes, it works for my radio at least and to clarify I put it in the OFF position in Chirp as opposed to leaving it blank. 

[PA141]

  On 9/12/2023 at 11:15 PM, WRUU653 said:

I do not have this particular Boofwang (nod to Randy) but when I use chirp on another Baofeng I can and do use the duplex off selection in Chirp to prevent keying up on frequencies I want locked out. Yes, it works for my radio at least and to clarify I put it in the OFF position in Chirp as opposed to leaving it blank. 

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Thank you. 

This works on a radio received today.  The offset on the radio displays as +- above the frequency and disables transmit.