Baofeng Baofeng BF-F8TD - Scanning frequencies stops on NOAA ONLY

[chriscovs]

Hello friends, could use a bit of help here. I am not an amateur operator (yet), just want to scan for available frequencies, not talk (duplex set to off).

So I just bought a pair of Baofeng BF-F8TD 8 watt HAM radio/scanner/walkie talkies. I only want to scan and receive the following for safety awareness for the FAM.

• Local Police, Fire, EMS and other emergency good-to-knows
• NOAA weather
• FRS,GMRS,MURS
• Area repeaters to hear the HAM pros broadcasting (local repeaters pulled from Radioreference.com with subscription)

Unfortunately all I am picking up is NOAA radio WX1PA7. I've used CHIRP to upload these entries into my radio, scanned for channels in different places while driving and it just scans in a loop until I'm back to NOAA radio. I am attaching my CHIRP entries loaded onto my radio, including some from the settings tab.

Any suggestions as to why I cannot get any of the bullet-pointed broadcasts above? I've attached a zipped Word doc with CHIRP entries as they are today.

I appreciate your input and feedback. I'll actually Paypal someone a fair support fee if they can fix this thing. I'm about to throw it in a wood chipper.

Thanks!
Chriscovs
Email - covs@yahoo.com

 

[Cognomen]

Try locking out the NOAA channel(s). NOAA is continuously broadcasting, so if there is no traffic on the other channels at the exact time you start scanning, your radio will stop on the first busy NOAA channel it finds.

Btw, if your duplex is set to OFF, then you will be able to transmit on the frequency you're tuned to.

 

[Cognomen]

I don't know if your radio can do this, but put the weather channels into a different zone (bank), and only switch to that zone when you want to hear weather.

 

[nd5y]

Baofeng radios don't have banks or zones.
You can't lock out or nuisance delete channels from the keypad.
If you manually add a channel via the keypad or programming software then the channel is automatically in the scan list.
You can only add or remove channels from the scan list in programming software.
In CHIRP you have to make sure all the memory editor columns are visible and enable Skip (S) for each channel that you don't want to scan.

MemoryEditorColumns - CHIRP

Redmine

chirp.danplanet.com

 

[chief21]

And keep in mind that, depending on where you live, many of those frequencies might not be very active. Ham repeaters are (usually) most busy during morning and afternoon drive times. Also remember that, when scanning, the radio samples each frequency for only a brief time before moving on. If there is no traffic heard during that brief time, the radio continues scanning. Finally, the more frequencies to be scanned, the longer each cycle takes... and the Baofengs scan very slowly!

 

[chriscovs]

Thanks for all your replies. I think I need to rephrase my question/concern. Let's take NOAA out of the equation, being it is the only station my radio scanner will pick up.

Since I'm using CHIRP to import from stock config and other CHIRP preloads + pulling common RadioReference frequencies from my County, why can I not hear what the station it stops on? only noise (with green light indicating a good frequency grab).

Shouldn't an 8 watt Baofeng BF-F8TD be able to grab basic frequencies? Above I've attached the zip file with my configs. Can someone possibly have a look at that to rule out (or in) a possible programming problem?

Thanks much,
Chriscovs

 

[nd5y]

What kind of noise? Maybe what you think is noise is digital transmissions which the Baofeng isn't capable of receiving.
Post a link to the county database page that you are trying to use.

 

[alcahuete]

Shouldn't an 8 watt Baofeng BF-F8TD be able to grab basic frequencies?

The 8 watts is transmit power. It has absolutely nothing to do with receive.

 

[chief21]

Shouldn't an 8 watt Baofeng BF-F8TD be able to grab basic frequencies? Above I've attached the zip file with my configs. Can someone possibly have a look at that to rule out (or in) a possible programming problem?

A few comments...
#1 The TX power rating of your radio has NO bearing on its ability to receive. I would also suggest that you disable any ability to TX before you could possibly interfere with legal users. Hint: the Duplex setting in CHIRP does not disable the transmit capability;
#2 Regarding your listed frequencies, the FRS frequencies are all low-power channels and it's not likely that you would hear distant users, especially if you're only relying on the small antenna on your handheld;
#3 The listed GMRS frequencies are duplicates of some of the listed FRS frequencies and do not include any of the main GMRS repeater channels;
#4 Many of your frequencies show TSQL or DTCS values. Since such settings are not required for RX only, you should set every channel to CSQ (carrier squelch) so that you would hear anything on that frequency;
#5 Since I am not familiar with your area, I cannot comment on any of your local ham repeaters or public safety (PS) frequencies. I did, however, notice that most of the apparent PS frequencies are VHF or UHF and, while they might still be active, be aware that many PS agencies are abandoning their older radio systems in favor of larger countywide or areawide trunked radio systems, some of which might be digital.
#6 And speaking of digital, your Baofeng is not capable of receiving any type of digital signal.
#7 Rather than blindly downloading lists of frequencies, my suggestion would be to seek out other radio hobbyists in your area to confirm active frequencies of your interest;
#8 Finally, don't expect too much from the receiver in the Baofeng. They can often be overloaded by strong signals not at all related to what you wish to hear.

 

[nd5y]

Hint: the Duplex setting in CHIRP does not disable the transmit capability;

It does on memory channels (but not VFO mode) on radios that support it like Baofengs.
Setting Duplex to OFF disables transmit for that channel.