Radio Frequency Inquiry Using UV-82

[KiedSun]

New member here. Glad to join. Been lurking the last couple days and figured, what the hell....

First of, thanks for reading. I'll try and keep it short and to the point. I recently bought myself a GMRS license so I could tinker a bit while I wait to take the tech. class ham test.

I bought a UV82, and a set of the BF-888 radios. My intention is to use the UV82 as a local scanner. However, I have run my head thru the wall trying to figure why I am not picking up any of my local frequencies.
I can access the weather noaa frequencies no problem. When I scan a signal is picke up, the radio receive led glows green indicating there is a transmission, but, no audio.

I have the chirp software and the cable to program. that is pretty straight forward for the most part. So in my attempt to problem solve, I connected the BF888 to the programmer to reveal those frequencies in the radio. I then took a couple of the frequencies and typed them into the UV82. I was able to communicate with those radios receive and transmit.

I have no idea if I'm maybe just overlooking the simplest of the simplest. My novice hinders me from such.

I am trying to listen in on my local police channels and fire. The state is Wisconsin, Manitowoc County.
The frequencies I am trying to access are -

156.24000 WQOH255 RM 151.4 PL MTFIR1 Fire Dispatch FMN Fire Dispatch

155.49000 KSA693 M 432 DPL ManitowocPD3 Police Car to Car Ch 3 FM Law Talk

I appreciate you taking your time to read and offer your insights.

 

[sparklehorse]

I'm not familiar with your area at all, but looking at the Radioreference database for your county it looks like quite a lot of your Public Safety communications are taking place on the county P25 digital trunked radio system:

Manitowoc County Public Safety Trunking System, Manitowoc, Wisconsin - Scanner Frequencies

There is also a site in your county for the state WISCOM system:

Wisconsin Interoperable System for Communications (WISCOM) Trunking System, Statewide, Wisconsin - Scanner Frequencies

It's possible some of your local agencies have migrated to that system and that fact is not reflected in the database yet.

If they are operating on one or both of these systems you will not be able to monitor them with your Baofeng as it is not a digital receiver, nor can it track trunked radio systems.

It's also possible they still use some or all of the conventional frequencies listed in the database, and there is some other issue preventing your reception. Have you tried programming in ALL of the listed frequencies, or just the two you mention? I would try them all. Also, you could ask a moderator to move this thread to the Wisconsin forum where someone with local knowledge of the systems in your area can be of more help.

.

 

[KiedSun]

Thanks for the informative reply. I have not tried programming all of the frequencies. Just the two I have mentioned. I will give it a shot. Thanks again for your time.

Mods if you feel this can be moved and would receive a better look in the Wisconsin forum, could you please move it.

 

[k9wkj]

if the radio is lighting up and no audio, ill wager the receive tone squelch is turned on
if the systems are still analog. even then you would hear the digital grind

 

[Aero125]

I have the chirp software and the cable to program. that is pretty straight forward for the most part. So in my attempt to problem solve, I connected the BF888 to the programmer to reveal those frequencies in the radio. I then took a couple of the frequencies and typed them into the UV82. I was able to communicate with those radios receive and transmit.

Those Baofeng radios are not legal to transmit on any frequency you are not licensed for. It sounds like you are trying to use some of the sample frequencies that are factory programmed in the radio, not a good idea and very illegal. Those radios are also not certified for use on GMRS either, You should hold out until you get your ham license and use them on the proper frequencies. Also CHIRP has a 'TX inhibit' box to check when using radios for receive only, that may prevent the local PD from knocking on your door asking questions.

 

[KiedSun]

I understand the legality. Thanks. I only did this exercise to make sure the radio was not defective. My use for the radio is only as a scanner. As for the bf888 we use them at work. Never had any problems from local law enforcement and we interact with them regularly. Thanks for offering your insight. It is much appreciated.

 

[SteveSimpkin]

Can you post a sample CHIRP file of your current UV-82 configuration?
Someone here may be able to see what is wrong by looking at that configuration.

 

[nd5y]

The radio could be bad.
One of the common problems with Baofengs is the low quality speaker/mic/programming jacks.
The internal switches in the jacks can get dirty or fail and stick in the wrong position causing a loss of speaker or mic audio.
Press and hold the monitor button and see if you hear static or audio. That will probably tell you if it is a hardware or programming problem.

 

[KiedSun]

Thank you everyone for your time and patience. I ended up programming some frequencies from my area as suggested by sparklehorse. A couple notes, I was able to get audio from the fire dispatch. However, the transmissions were scarce and in some instances it seemed like I was always catching the tail end of what was being relayed.

The radio could be bad....Press and hold the monitor button and see if you hear static or audio. That will probably tell you if it is a hardware or programming problem.

When I press the monitor button on a frequency that the radio is receiving all I hear is static.Sometimes it's a hard rumbling static. Other times it's a soft white noise.

Can you post a sample CHIRP file of your current UV-82 configuration?
Someone here may be able to see what is wrong by looking at that configuration.

Absolutely. Here is a screenshot of how the radio is configured as of now.