diff --git a/src/dmr_bs.c b/src/dmr_bs.c
index 8d2775b..bdab262 100644
--- a/src/dmr_bs.c
+++ b/src/dmr_bs.c
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
 //processing voice and/or data on both BS slots (channels) simultaneously
 void dmrBS (dsd_opts * opts, dsd_state * state)
 {
-  char * timestr;
+  char * timestr = NULL;
   
   int i, dibit;
   char ambe_fr[4][24];
@@ -549,14 +549,12 @@ void dmrBS (dsd_opts * opts, dsd_state * state)
     ncursesPrinter(opts, state);
   }
 
-  //both here and at bottom SHOULD be okay with the NULL check, if not, disable this one
+  //
   if (timestr != NULL)
   {
-    //debug
-    // fprintf (stderr, " FREE: 1; ");
     free (timestr);
+    timestr = NULL;
   }
-  // else fprintf (stderr, " NO FREE: 1; ");
 
  } // while loop
 
@@ -604,14 +602,12 @@ void dmrBS (dsd_opts * opts, dsd_state * state)
    
  }
 
- //second free
+ //
  if (timestr != NULL)
- {
-  //debug
-  // fprintf (stderr, " FREE: 2; ");
-  free (timestr);
- }
-//  else fprintf (stderr, " NO FREE: 2; ");
+  {
+    free (timestr);
+    timestr = NULL;
+  }
 
 }
 
@@ -923,6 +919,10 @@ void dmrBSBootstrap (dsd_opts * opts, dsd_state * state)
     dmr_reset_blocks (opts, state); 
   }
 
-  if (timestr != NULL) free (timestr);
+  if (timestr != NULL)
+  {
+    free (timestr);
+    timestr = NULL;
+  }
 
 }
diff --git a/src/dmr_ms.c b/src/dmr_ms.c
index dacba16..a5e70f4 100644
--- a/src/dmr_ms.c
+++ b/src/dmr_ms.c
@@ -374,7 +374,11 @@ void dmrMS (dsd_opts * opts, dsd_state * state)
  state->dmr_ms_rc = 0;
  state->directmode = 0; //flag off
 
- if (timestr != NULL) free (timestr);
+ if (timestr != NULL)
+ {
+  free (timestr);
+  timestr = NULL;
+ }
 
 }
 
@@ -618,7 +622,11 @@ void dmrMSBootstrap (dsd_opts * opts, dsd_state * state)
 
   //errors due to skipping other slot
   // cach_err = dmr_cach (opts, state, cachdata);
-  if (timestr != NULL) free (timestr);
+  if (timestr != NULL)
+  {
+    free (timestr);
+    timestr = NULL;
+  }
 
   skipDibit (opts, state, 144); //skip to next TDMA slot
   dmrMS (opts, state); //bootstrap into full TDMA frame
@@ -689,6 +697,10 @@ void dmrMSData (dsd_opts * opts, dsd_state * state)
     state->dmr_stereo_payload[i+66] = 1; ////set to one so first frame will fail intentionally instead of zero fill
   }
 
-  if (timestr != NULL) free (timestr);
+  if (timestr != NULL)
+  {
+    free (timestr);
+    timestr = NULL;
+  }
 
 }
diff --git a/src/dmr_pdu.c b/src/dmr_pdu.c
index 38bc16e..f814027 100644
--- a/src/dmr_pdu.c
+++ b/src/dmr_pdu.c
@@ -260,8 +260,16 @@ void dmr_lrrp (dsd_opts * opts, dsd_state * state, uint8_t block_len, uint8_t DM
         if (!source) fprintf (pFile, "%08lld\t", state->dmr_lrrp_source[state->currentslot]); //source address from data header
         if (source) fprintf (pFile, "%08d\t", source); //add source form decoded audio if available, else its from the header
         
-        if (timestr != NULL) free (timestr);
-        if (datestr != NULL) free (datestr);
+        if (timestr != NULL)
+        {
+          free (timestr);
+          timestr = NULL;
+        }
+        if (datestr != NULL)
+        {
+          free (datestr);
+          datestr = NULL;
+        }
       }
 
       if (pot_report)
diff --git a/src/dsd_file.c b/src/dsd_file.c
index 32c09fa..6f4ecaa 100644
--- a/src/dsd_file.c
+++ b/src/dsd_file.c
@@ -409,8 +409,16 @@ void openMbeOutFile (dsd_opts * opts, dsd_state * state)
   fprintf (opts->mbe_out_f, "%s", ext);
 
   fflush (opts->mbe_out_f);
-  if (timestr != NULL) free (timestr);
-  if (datestr != NULL) free (datestr);
+  if (timestr != NULL)
+  {
+    free (timestr);
+    timestr = NULL;
+  }
+  if (datestr != NULL)
+  {
+    free (datestr);
+    datestr = NULL;
+  }
 }
 
 void openMbeOutFileR (dsd_opts * opts, dsd_state * state)
@@ -463,8 +471,16 @@ void openMbeOutFileR (dsd_opts * opts, dsd_state * state)
   fprintf (opts->mbe_out_fR, "%s", ext);
 
   fflush (opts->mbe_out_fR);
-  if (timestr != NULL) free (timestr);
-  if (datestr != NULL) free (datestr);
+  if (timestr != NULL)
+  {
+    free (timestr);
+    timestr = NULL;
+  }
+  if (datestr != NULL)
+  {
+    free (datestr);
+    datestr = NULL;
+  }
 }
 
 void openWavOutFile (dsd_opts * opts, dsd_state * state)
diff --git a/src/dsd_frame_sync.c b/src/dsd_frame_sync.c
index 924469c..315d21a 100644
--- a/src/dsd_frame_sync.c
+++ b/src/dsd_frame_sync.c
@@ -36,7 +36,11 @@ printFrameSync (dsd_opts * opts, dsd_state * state, char *frametype, int offset,
   if (opts->verbose > 2)
     //fprintf (stderr,"g: %f ", state->aout_gain);
 
-  if (timestr != NULL) free (timestr);
+  if (timestr != NULL)
+  {
+    free (timestr);
+    timestr = NULL;
+  }
 
 }
 
diff --git a/src/dsd_gps.c b/src/dsd_gps.c
index 7a6b4d9..45d90d5 100644
--- a/src/dsd_gps.c
+++ b/src/dsd_gps.c
@@ -135,8 +135,16 @@ void lip_protocol_decoder (dsd_opts * opts, dsd_state * state, uint8_t * input)
       fprintf (pFile, "\n");
       fclose (pFile);
 
-      if (datestr != NULL) free (datestr);
-      if (timestr != NULL) free (timestr);
+      if (timestr != NULL)
+      {
+        free (timestr);
+        timestr = NULL;
+      }
+      if (datestr != NULL)
+      {
+        free (datestr);
+        datestr = NULL;
+      }
 
     }
 
@@ -246,8 +254,16 @@ void nmea_iec_61162_1 (dsd_opts * opts, dsd_state * state, uint8_t * input, uint
     fprintf (pFile, "\n");
     fclose (pFile);
 
-    if (datestr != NULL) free (datestr);
-    if (timestr != NULL) free (timestr);
+    if (timestr != NULL)
+    {
+      free (timestr);
+      timestr = NULL;
+    }
+    if (datestr != NULL)
+    {
+      free (datestr);
+      datestr = NULL;
+    }
 
   }
 
@@ -371,8 +387,16 @@ void nmea_harris (dsd_opts * opts, dsd_state * state, uint8_t * input, uint32_t
     fprintf (pFile, "\n");
     fclose (pFile);
 
-    if (datestr != NULL) free (datestr);
-    if (timestr != NULL) free (timestr);
+    if (timestr != NULL)
+    {
+      free (timestr);
+      timestr = NULL;
+    }
+    if (datestr != NULL)
+    {
+      free (datestr);
+      datestr = NULL;
+    }
 
   }
 
@@ -501,8 +525,16 @@ void harris_gps(dsd_opts * opts, dsd_state * state, int slot, uint8_t * input)
     fprintf (pFile, "\n");
     fclose (pFile);
 
-    if (datestr != NULL) free (datestr);
-    if (timestr != NULL) free (timestr);
+    if (timestr != NULL)
+    {
+      free (timestr);
+      timestr = NULL;
+    }
+    if (datestr != NULL)
+    {
+      free (datestr);
+      datestr = NULL;
+    }
 
   }
 
@@ -714,8 +746,16 @@ void apx_embedded_gps (dsd_opts * opts, dsd_state * state, uint8_t lc_bits[])
         fprintf (pFile, "\n");
         fclose (pFile);
 
-        if (datestr != NULL) free (datestr);
-        if (timestr != NULL) free (timestr);
+        if (timestr != NULL)
+        {
+          free (timestr);
+          timestr = NULL;
+        }
+        if (datestr != NULL)
+        {
+          free (datestr);
+          datestr = NULL;
+        }
 
       }
 
diff --git a/src/dsd_ncurses.c b/src/dsd_ncurses.c
index 7ba5d43..1686993 100644
--- a/src/dsd_ncurses.c
+++ b/src/dsd_ncurses.c
@@ -654,11 +654,19 @@ void ncursesMenu (dsd_opts * opts, dsd_state * state)
         print_menuc(test_win, highlightc);
         if (choicec == 2)
         {
-          char * timestr  = getTime();
-          char * datestr  = getDate();
+          char * timestr = getTime();
+          char * datestr = getDate();
           sprintf (opts->wav_out_file, "%s %s DSD-FME-DECODED.wav", datestr, timestr);
-          if (timestr != NULL) free (timestr);
-          if (datestr != NULL) free (datestr);
+          if (timestr != NULL)
+          {
+            free (timestr);
+            timestr = NULL;
+          }
+          if (datestr != NULL)
+          {
+            free (datestr);
+            datestr = NULL;
+          }
           openWavOutFile (opts, state);
         }
         if (choicec == 3)
@@ -1954,8 +1962,8 @@ ncursesPrinter (dsd_opts * opts, dsd_state * state)
   int c = 0;
 
   //for filenames (no colons, etc)
-  char * timestr  = getTime();
-  char * datestr  = getDate();
+  char * timestr = getTime();
+  char * datestr = getDate();
 
   //NOTE: Any times associates with call history are stored
   //in the array and need to be set by passing those values into
@@ -3813,8 +3821,16 @@ ncursesPrinter (dsd_opts * opts, dsd_state * state)
         printw ("%s ", datestrCH);
         printw ("%s ", timestrCH);
 
-        if (datestrCH != NULL) free (datestrCH);
-        if (timestrCH != NULL) free (timestrCH);
+        if (datestrCH != NULL)
+        {
+          free (datestrCH);
+          datestrCH = NULL;
+        }
+        if (timestrCH != NULL)
+        {
+          free (timestrCH);
+          timestrCH = NULL;
+        }
 
         if (lls == 28 || lls == 29)
         {
@@ -3891,8 +3907,16 @@ ncursesPrinter (dsd_opts * opts, dsd_state * state)
           printw ("%s ", datestrCHE);
           printw ("%s ", timestrCHE);
 
-          if (datestrCHE != NULL) free (datestrCHE);
-          if (timestrCHE != NULL) free (timestrCHE);
+          if (datestrCHE != NULL)
+          {
+            free (datestrCHE);
+            datestrCHE = NULL;
+          }
+          if (timestrCHE != NULL)
+          {
+            free (timestrCHE);
+            timestrCHE = NULL;
+          }
 
           printw ("LCN [%2lld] ", call_matrix[j][1]);
           if (state->ea_mode == 1)
@@ -4847,8 +4871,16 @@ ncursesPrinter (dsd_opts * opts, dsd_state * state)
 
 
   //allocated memory pointer needs to be free'd
-  if (timestr != NULL) free (timestr);
-  if (datestr != NULL) free (datestr);
+  if (timestr != NULL)
+  {
+    free (timestr);
+    timestr = NULL;
+  }
+  if (datestr != NULL)
+  {
+    free (datestr);
+    datestr = NULL;
+  }
 
 } //end ncursesPrinter
 
diff --git a/src/dsd_time.c b/src/dsd_time.c
index d67e305..87ac97d 100644
--- a/src/dsd_time.c
+++ b/src/dsd_time.c
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
 //get HHmmss timestamp no colon (file operations)
 char * getTime()
 {
-  char * curr = (char *) malloc(7);
+  char * curr = calloc(7, sizeof(char));
   time_t t = time(NULL);
   struct tm * ptm = localtime(& t);
   sprintf(curr,"%02d%02d%02d", ptm->tm_hour, ptm->tm_min, ptm->tm_sec);
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ char * getTime()
 //get HH:mm:ss timestamp with colon (Sync/Console Display)
 char * getTimeC()
 {
-  char * curr = (char *) malloc(9);
+  char * curr = calloc(9, sizeof(char));
   time_t t = time(NULL);
   struct tm * ptm = localtime(& t);
   sprintf(curr, "%02d:%02d:%02d", ptm->tm_hour, ptm->tm_min, ptm->tm_sec);
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ char * getTimeC()
 //get HH:mm:ss timestamp with colon (Ncurses Call History)
 char * getTimeN(time_t t)
 {
-  char * curr = (char *) malloc(9);
+  char * curr = calloc(9, sizeof(char));
   struct tm * ptm = localtime(& t);
   sprintf(curr, "%02d:%02d:%02d", ptm->tm_hour, ptm->tm_min, ptm->tm_sec);
   return curr;
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ char * getTimeN(time_t t)
 //get YYYYMMDD without hyphen (file operations)
 char * getDate()
 {
-  char * curr = (char *) malloc(25);
+  char * curr = calloc(25, sizeof(char));
   time_t t = time(NULL);
   struct tm * ptm = localtime(& t);
   sprintf(curr,"%04d%02d%02d", ptm->tm_year+1900, ptm->tm_mon+1, ptm->tm_mday);
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ char * getDate()
 //get YYYY-MM-DD with hyphen (Sync/Console Display)
 char * getDateH()
 {
-  char * curr = (char *) malloc(27);
+  char * curr = calloc(27, sizeof(char));
   time_t t = time(NULL);
   struct tm * ptm = localtime(& t);
   sprintf(curr, "%04d-%02d-%02d", ptm->tm_year+1900, ptm->tm_mon+1, ptm->tm_mday);
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ char * getDateH()
 //get YYYY-MM-DD with hyphen (Ncurses Call History)
 char * getDateN(time_t t)
 {
-  char * curr = (char *) malloc(27);
+  char * curr = calloc(27, sizeof(char));
   struct tm * ptm = localtime(& t);
   sprintf(curr, "%04d-%02d-%02d", ptm->tm_year+1900, ptm->tm_mon+1, ptm->tm_mday);
   return curr;
diff --git a/src/edacs-fme.c b/src/edacs-fme.c
index 58a5261..351bc51 100644
--- a/src/edacs-fme.c
+++ b/src/edacs-fme.c
@@ -440,8 +440,8 @@ void edacs(dsd_opts * opts, dsd_state * state)
   state->edacs_f_mask = (1 << state->edacs_f_bits) - 1;
   state->edacs_s_mask = (1 << state->edacs_s_bits) - 1;
 
-  char * timestr; //add timestr here, so we can assign it and also free it to prevent memory leak
-  char * datestr;
+  char * timestr = NULL;
+  char * datestr = NULL;
   timestr = getTime();
   datestr = getDate();
 
@@ -2135,8 +2135,17 @@ void edacs(dsd_opts * opts, dsd_state * state)
   }
 
 
-  if (timestr != NULL) free (timestr);
-  if (datestr != NULL) free (datestr);
+  if (timestr != NULL)
+  {
+    free (timestr);
+    timestr = NULL;
+  }
+  if (datestr != NULL)
+  {
+    free (datestr);
+    datestr = NULL;
+  }
+  
   fprintf (stderr, "\n");
 
 }
diff --git a/src/p25p2_frame.c b/src/p25p2_frame.c
index fcda2cb..6c329af 100644
--- a/src/p25p2_frame.c
+++ b/src/p25p2_frame.c
@@ -874,7 +874,12 @@ void process_P2_DUID (dsd_opts * opts, dsd_state * state)
 		fprintf (stderr,"%s ", timestr);
 		fprintf (stderr, "       P25p2 ");
 		
-		if (timestr != NULL) free (timestr);
+		if (timestr != NULL)
+		{
+			free (timestr);
+			timestr = NULL;
+		}
+
 
 		if (state->currentslot == 0 && duid_decoded != 3 && duid_decoded != 12 && duid_decoded != 13 && duid_decoded != 4)
 		{