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Programming Cables for CHIRP


Most cheap Chinese ham radio transceivers are a bit of a pain when it comes to programming all the channels and other parameters into them from the radio itself. A much easier way to do it is with a PC by using either the manufacturers software or a free piece of software called CHIRP, which is available for Windows, macOS and Linux. The only other thing that is required is a programming cable that goes between the radio and PC. Quite often a cable will come with the radio but if it doesn't, it will need to be purchased separately. They are all pretty much the same except for the plug that goes to the radio which will differ depending on the make and model you have. If you want to have a go at making your own it's not too difficult, you'll need a USB to TTL (UART) board, the appropriate connectors and a wiring diagram for your radio. I can't possibly show details for every radio available so have just listed diagrams for three of the more common types of which I own and can verify work. The UART board comes in many different flavours, with some having better compatibility than others, but the one I have uses the Silicon Labs CP2102 chip which seems to work fine and is available from Amazon. It will require a driver which can be downloaded here.




Baofeng / Quangshen / Retevis et al.

Note: Some websites show the above arrangement with what seems like the RXD & TXD connections reversed. It's really just a matter of perspective. The RXD pin of the CP2102 board goes to the TXD pin of the jack plug and vice versa. I just called them both 'DATA' to avoid confusion, but how they're connected in the above diagram works fine for me. If the data lines are accidentally reversed though, no damage will occur.



Anytone AT-778UV


Anytone AT-779 4M (66-88Mhz) as shown below






DISCLAIMER: As far as possible I have made sure that the above information is correct and have built and tested the cables myself to confirm that they work. Everything written and shown is for guidance only and I take no responsibilty for any 'bricked' radios. It's all at your own risk!