CHIRP

The BF-F8+ is just another UV-5R variant. "Radio did not respond" means exactly that. CHIRP didn't get a replay from the radio.

CHIRP sends a "magic" string to the radio in order to initiate cloning. The radio did not reply with an "ack" after the "magic" was sent, hence the error.

LOG.info("Sending Magic: %s" % util.hexprint(magic))
for byte in magic:
    serial.write(byte)
    time.sleep(0.01)
ack = serial.read(1)

if ack != "\x06":
    if ack:
        LOG.debug(repr(ack))
    raise errors.RadioError("Radio did not respond")

If the "magic" sent by CHIRP was wrong for the radio, the radio wouldn't respond. Since the UV-F8+ is basically a UV-5R with a different LCD display, they are all programmed with the same OEM software used with the UV-5R. So the magic would be the same.

UV5R_MODEL_291 = "\x50\xBB\xFF\x20\x12\x07\x25"

If for the sake of argument the "magic" sent to the BF-F8+ was not what it expected to initiate cloning, there would be an OEM software specific to the BF-F8+ (as far as I know there isn't). You would have to locate that OEM software and use it to determine what the required "magic" is and then add it to CHIRP.

The most likely cause is a connection issue between the radio and the computer. The #2 cause of issues for these types of radio is the 2-pin plug is not fully engaged into the radio's socket. The #1 cause is an incompatible device driver has been installed but that is not the problem here.

Try pressing on the plug at the same time you are attempting the download.

You might also take a look at the Miklor FAQ regarding "Radio did not respond":http://www.miklor.com/COM/UV_ErrorMess.php#error1

Jim KC9HI

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