Project

General

Profile

FAQ » History » Version 57

Dan Smith, 01/07/2023 11:43 PM

1 50 Dan Smith
# Frequently Asked Questions
2 1 Dan Smith
3
{{>toc}}
4
5 50 Dan Smith
## General use
6 12 Dan Smith
7 50 Dan Smith
### What is it?
8 12 Dan Smith
9 52 Dan Smith
CHIRP is a FREE cross-platform, cross-radio programming tool. It works on Windows MacOS, and Linux. It supports a growing list of radios across several manufacturers and allows transferring of memory contents between them.
10 12 Dan Smith
11 50 Dan Smith
### Is my radio supported?
12 17 Dan Smith
13 26 Dan Smith
If it's listed on the [[Wiki|front page]], then it is. If it is not listed, then it is not supported. If you're interested in getting support added, please see [[FAQ#How-can-I-get-my-radio-supported-by-CHIRP|How can I get my radio supported by CHIRP]].
14
15 50 Dan Smith
### My radio is on the web page, but not in CHIRP. Why?
16 26 Dan Smith
17 46 Dan Smith
If your radio is listed on the [[Wiki|front page]] as supported, but is not available in CHIRP, you are likely running an older version from before it was added. Go to the download page and get the latest version.
18 26 Dan Smith
19 17 Dan Smith
20 50 Dan Smith
### Will this replace the OEM software?
21 12 Dan Smith
22
Maybe. CHIRP's focus is to support reading and writing the memory channels of as many radio models as possible. This provides the ability to exchange your programming information between dissimilar radios. It does not focus on supporting every single knob and setting that each radio supports. Doing so would severely limit the amount of developer time available to supporting a wider-range of models.
23
24 50 Dan Smith
### How do I program split TX/RX configurations?
25 12 Dan Smith
26 1 Dan Smith
If your radio supports it, you can choose _split_ in the _Duplex_ column. This causes chirp to treat the _Offset_ column as the transmit frequency. In such a configuration you could, for example, receive (_Frequency_ column) on 146.52MHz and transmit (_Offset_ column) on 446.00MHz.
27
28 50 Dan Smith
### What are "stock configurations"?
29 1 Dan Smith
30
These are canned frequency plans, some of which are built into chirp. These include standard US calling frequencies, the channelized 60m frequencies, etc. They can easily be opened or imported into your radio from the _File_ and _Radio_ menus.
31
32 50 Dan Smith
### Can I add new stock configurations?
33 12 Dan Smith
34
Yes! Adding your group's frequency plan to the stock configurations can make it very quick and easy to program new radios. Further, putting various configurations into the stock list can make switching your radio between multiple functions or geographical regions easy. Simply save a CSV file into the stock configurations directory and restart CHIRP to have it show up in the list. On windows, go to _Start_ -> _Run_ and type:
35 50 Dan Smith
```
36
%APPDATA%\CHIRP\stock_configs
37
```
38 12 Dan Smith
39
On MacOS or Linux, the path is:
40
41 50 Dan Smith
```
42
~/.chirp/stock_configs
43
```
44 14 Dan Smith
45 50 Dan Smith
### Why can't I upload my CSV file?
46 14 Dan Smith
47 12 Dan Smith
CSV files are generic and not specific to any one radio. Your radio needs an exact copy of its memory to be uploaded to it, and will not accept CSV data. So, you must first download a copy of your radio's contents, modify them in some way, and then upload those contents back to the radio. In order to get CSV data into your radio, you should download, import the CSV file, and then upload back to the radio. See the [[Beginners_Guide]] for more information.
48 1 Dan Smith
49 50 Dan Smith
### I get "application configuration is incorrect" when I try to run CHIRP
50 19 Dan Smith
51 1 Dan Smith
The full error message as seen by the user is: "Application cannot run because application configuration is incorrect"
52 22 Dan Smith
53
This is a problem with your Windows XP machine and its standard libraries. Most users seem to be able to resolve this issue by downloading the "Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 SP1 Redistributable Package":http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/confirmation.aspx?id=5582.
54 1 Dan Smith
55 15 Dan Smith
If the above does not help you, Google for this error message and you will find many such problem reports with myriad other applications, as well as suggested fixes, depending on what the root cause of your problem is.
56 16 Dan Smith
57 50 Dan Smith
### Can I adjust the port settings for improved communications reliability?
58 16 Dan Smith
59
No, this is a common misconception. Please refer to this more detailed page on the topic: [[FAQ_Adjusting_The_Serial_Port_Settings_In_Windows]]
60
61 50 Dan Smith
### How do I upgrade to a newer version of CHIRP?
62 25 Dan Smith
63
Nothing special is needed. Just download the newer version and install it. The install will replace the old version automatically. This applies to the daily builds as well.
64 32 Dan Smith
65 50 Dan Smith
### Is CHIRP safe to use with my radio?
66 45 Dan Smith
67
The CHIRP development team takes radio safety seriously. We receive no help from the vendors or manufacturers of the radios, and as such our drivers are developed by reverse-engineering. There is some risk involved in that, but everything carries some amount of risk (like buying the cheapest possible programming cable from questionable eBay vendors to program your expensive radio with). As with anything that is widely deployed and used by regular people, over time urban legends have developed about CHIRP, how it works, and how it is or is not dangerous to use. The internet gives anyone a soap box to stand on, and it places everyone on an equal footing, regardless of their actual level of understanding of the thing they're talking about. CHIRP comes with no warranty (or cost!) and you are always using it at your own risk. However, here are some facts from the people that have developed it that you can use to draw your own informed conclusions:
68
69
 * Developers are taking the most risk by writing the drivers and testing them against their own radios. No developer has ever permanently damaged their radio (or if they did, they didn't tell anyone about it)
70 1 Dan Smith
 * We write the drivers to behave exactly as we observe the official software (or cloning routines) to behave
71
 * No manufacturer or vendor has ever approached us and asked us to remove support for their radio from CHIRP, or to make any changes to the driver for increased safety
72
 * Some large vendors actually choose to *rely* on CHIRP exclusively as their programming tool, not releasing (or supporting) the manufacturer's software at all
73
 * Many thousands of users around the world use CHIRP every day, including individual users, resellers, and professional fleet managers
74
75
### What is the license for CHIRP?
76
77
CHIRP is released under the GPLv3 license, which you can "view here":https://chirp.danplanet.com/projects/chirp/repository/entry/COPYING
78
79
## Operating System Issues
80 55 Dan Smith
81
### I'm a blind ham. Can I use CHIRP with a screen reader?
82
83
CHIRP uses a cross-platform graphical toolkit and several non-native widgets. This lets it run on all platforms unchanged and provide the spreadsheet-like interface needed to lay out memories and other data. Some aspects of the window are visible to a screen reader, so basic navigation may be possible. However at this time, several parts of the window appear blank to the screen reader. There are no plans to change this.
84
85
**Please do not ask about this issue as it has been covered many, many times on the mailing list!**
86
87
### What platforms (OSes) does CHIRP support?
88
89
Currently only Windows, Mac, and Linux are supported. See the [[Download]] page for more information. _Note_ that there are no plans to support iOS or Android at this time due to major technical limitations.
90 51 Dan Smith
91
### My virus scanner tells me CHIRP is a virus!
92
93
CHIRP is not a virus and does not contain any virus or malware contents. Modern virus scanners are, in large part, "guessers". They contain a ton of heuristic rules that try to guess when something is malicious, and largely rely on commercial signature systems (which cost money for developers) to eliminate false positives on important software. CHIRP does not participate in these systems for a variety of reasons and as such is always a candidate for an incorrect guess.
94
95 56 Dan Smith
**Recommendation:** Tell your antivirus provider that the file is not a virus! They won't know if you don't tell them and especially if you're paying for their services, make them get it right!
96
97 51 Dan Smith
The CHIRP build system runs in a protected sandbox from a clean system image every single night and the downloads are self-hosted in a private location. Nothing is a guarantee, but you can feel comfortable telling your virus scanner to trust CHIRP downloads you get from this website.
98
99 50 Dan Smith
## Cables
100 1 Dan Smith
101 50 Dan Smith
### What kind of cable do I need?
102 1 Dan Smith
103 3 Dan Smith
Usually the cable supplied by your radio manufacturer is the highest quality cable you can find. However, it's usually also the most expensive, and is often bundled with software which you may not want or need. There are many 3rd party cables available and they should all work just fine for the most part. Check eBay and "KawaMall":http://www.kawamall.com for cables. Also check the [[CableGuide]] page, which has details about potential pitfalls and some information about cables that are compatible with multiple radios.
104 1 Dan Smith
105 8 Dan Smith
When shopping on eBay, look for the sellers that are regular merchants, and that have fixed price items and full stores of merchandise.  Here are some recommended common cables:
106
107 57 Dan Smith
* "Yaesu VX-7R cable":http://stores.ebay.com/KAWAMALL-RAD/Other-/_i.html?_nkw=vx7+cable&submit=Search&_fsub=1&_sid=55765193 (works for VX-6R, ICOM IC-Q7A) - $18
108
* "Yaesu VX-8R/DR cable":http://stores.ebay.com/KAWAMALL-RAD/Other-/_i.html?_nkw=vx8+cable&submit=Search&_fsub=1&_sid=55765193 - $23
109
* "Yaesu FT-7800 cable":http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=yaesu+7800+programming+cable&_sacat=0&_odkw=yaesu+7800+cable&_osacat=0&_trksid=p3286.c0.m270.l1313 (works for 7900, 8800, 8900, etc) - $14
110
* "OPC-478 clone cable":http://stores.ebay.com/KAWAMALL-RAD/Other-/_i.html?_nkw=opc-478&submit=Search&_fsub=1&_sid=55765193 (most ICOM, some Alinco radios) - $14
111 8 Dan Smith
112
Check "KawaMall":http://stores.ebay.com/KAWAMALL-RAD and "Valley Enterprises":http://stores.ebay.com/Valley-Enterprises for other options. See the [[CableGuide]] for more information about which cable to use for your radio.
113
114 50 Dan Smith
### What if my computer does not have a serial port?
115 1 Dan Smith
116
For the most part, USB-to-Serial adapters work without problems. These attach to a USB port and create a virtual serial port that software can use as if it was a regular port. Some adapters are very poor quality and can cause you issues, so if you are experiencing difficulty, you may want to try a different one.
117
118
Without a doubt, the highest quality (and most expensive) adapters come from KeySpan, but you may find that it is worth the money for quality.
119
120
On Windows, determine the COM port that is assigned to the adapter by going into _Device Manager_ and looking under _Ports_.
121
122 50 Dan Smith
### Can I use a USB cable?
123 2 Dan Smith
124 1 Dan Smith
Typically, yes. These cables simply have a USB-to-Serial adapter integrated into the cable itself, and are easier to manage and hook up. Follow the same procedures as if you were using a separate adapter.
125
126 2 Dan Smith
*NOTE:* Recently, RTSystems has been selling "Version 4" of their software with a "New USB Cable". It appears that they have specifically designed the cable to be incompatible with other software packages. Beware that if you bought this "new" cable from them you may be unable to use it with CHIRP!
127 30 Mike Agner
128 50 Dan Smith
### How can I access Device Manager in Windows?
129 1 Dan Smith
130 31 Mike Agner
The answer is dependent on what flavor of Windows you are using. Here are a few common methods:
131
* *XP:*    Start > Control Panel >System > Hardware > Click on the Device Manager button.
132 1 Dan Smith
* *Vista:* Control Panel > System and Maintenance > Device Manager
133 31 Mike Agner
* *Win7:*  Control Panel > System and Security > System > Device Manager
134
* Click on _Start_ in the Taskbar then _Run_ and enter _devmgmt.msc_ in the resulting box 
135
* Press the Windows key+R, in the resulting menu type _devmgmt.msc_
136
* Click _Start_ --> Right click on _My Computer_ and select _Properties_, click the _Device Manager_ link on the left.
137 30 Mike Agner
* Press the Windows key + pause/break key
138
* Set up a .bat file with the following using Notepad or Wordpad. When you want to run this, right click on it, select Run as Administrator (Vista, Win7)
139 1 Dan Smith
<pre>
140 30 Mike Agner
set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1
141
cd %SystemRoot%\System32
142 1 Dan Smith
start devmgmt.msc
143 30 Mike Agner
</pre>
144
145 50 Dan Smith
### How can I use Device Manager in Windows to diagnose an error?
146 30 Mike Agner
147
See the "USB Cables and Drivers":http://www.miklor.com/COM/UV_Drivers.php page on the Miklor website which has extensive information on drivers and how to use Device Manager to diagnose errors
148 1 Dan Smith
149 50 Dan Smith
### What if I need to use a COM port other than what is in CHIRP's list?
150 1 Dan Smith
151
You can type anything into the box you need, so if your adapter is assigned to (for example) port 15, simply type +COM15+ into the box and you should be off and running.
152 4 Dan Smith
153 50 Dan Smith
## Transferring data between radios
154 7 Dan Smith
155 50 Dan Smith
### I have two different radios, how do I transfer data between them?
156 7 Dan Smith
157 5 Dan Smith
CHIRP provides the ability to transfer data between incompatible radios by means of the +Import+ and +Export+ functions. For example, if you have opened a Yaesu VX-8 in CHIRP, you can use the +Import+ function and specify an image from an Icom 2820. A dialog box will open asking you which of the memories from the Icom 2820 you want to import into your VX-8. When the import is complete, you can upload the result to your VX-8. See the [[Beginners_Guide]] for more details about this process.
158 1 Dan Smith
159 50 Dan Smith
## Connecting with your radio
160 5 Dan Smith
161 50 Dan Smith
### Should I put my Alinco, Icom, or Kenwood radio into clone mode first?
162 5 Dan Smith
163 1 Dan Smith
No, these radios are well-designed and allow the software to place them into clone mode automatically. This is far more reliable than manipulating the radio by hand and synchronizing the software. Simply plug in your programming cable, power on the radio, and instruct CHIRP to read it.
164 6 Dan Smith
165 50 Dan Smith
### Should I put my Yaesu radio into clone mode first?
166 1 Dan Smith
167 44 Daniel Clemmensen
This depends on the type of Yaesu radio.
168
169 1 Dan Smith
Almost all older Yaesu radios do not respond to commands over the serial port and must be manually manipulated. Start CHIRP with the cable plugged in and the radio in the intermediate clone mode (usually entered by powering the radio on with one or more buttons pressed). When downloading from the radio, put CHIRP into download mode (where it is waiting on the radio) before initiating the clone out from the radio. When uploading, put the radio into clone receive (or clone wait) mode before initiating the upload from CHIRP.
170
171
Newer Yaseu HTs (FT-4, FT-65, FT-25) do not need to be placed into clone mode manually. CHIRP can put the radio into clone mode and can also operate if the radio is already in clone mode, e.g., if you first download from the radio, then modify your setting in CHIRP, and then upload back to the radio. CHIRP cannot command the radio to leave clone mode, so you must power the radio off after the CHIRP session.
172 6 Dan Smith
173 50 Dan Smith
### What is a live radio?
174 1 Dan Smith
175
Most of the radios supported by CHIRP are programmed by downloading an entire "image" or "snapshot" of the radio's memory, manipulating it, and then uploading it back to the radio. These are called "clone-mode radios". Live mode radios instead communicate with the computer by sending and receiving individual memories one at a time. That means that when you use CHIRP to program them, changes are sent to the radio immediately instead of held until an upload.
176 27 Dan Smith
177 50 Dan Smith
### No serial ports are listed for download
178 1 Dan Smith
179 27 Dan Smith
If you go to download from your radio and find no options in the serial port drop-down box, one of two things is happening:
180
181
1. Your computer has no serial ports
182
2. You are using a USB-to-serial cable and the proper drivers are not installed. 
183 1 Dan Smith
184 27 Dan Smith
Most people will fall into #2 above. Install the drivers that came with your cable or USB adapter and try again.
185 10 Dan Smith
186 50 Dan Smith
## Giving or Getting Help
187 21 Dan Smith
188 8 Dan Smith
If you have a question about anything, please join the CHIRP "mailing list":http://intrepid.danplanet.com/mailman/listinfo/chirp_users and ask your question there. Please do not contact the author or developers directly!
189 1 Dan Smith
190 8 Dan Smith
The mailing list has the latest discussion traffic and news about CHIRP.
191 11 Dan Smith
192 50 Dan Smith
### Can I report a bug or request a feature?
193 8 Dan Smith
194 11 Dan Smith
Have you found a bug or do you have a good idea for a future release? Please help out by reporting it! The "issue tracker":/projects/chirp/issues provides a way for users to report bugs, generic issues, and request features. Please read [[How_To_Report_Issues|How to report issues]] first!
195 10 Dan Smith
196 50 Dan Smith
### Can I help?
197 1 Dan Smith
198 10 Dan Smith
If you are developer, please see the [[Developers]] page for details on how you can contribute. If you're not a developer, but are good at breaking things, then please file bugs and submit reports.  If you can write documentation, please volunteer to help with that as well. Many folks have loaned their radios for the purposes of getting support for them added to CHIRP. Please see the [[Honor_Roll|Honor Roll]] for that list of people and be sure to thank them if their generosity resulted in support for a model you use!
199
200 21 Dan Smith
If you are multi-lingual, please consider translating CHIRP into another language. No developer skills are required for this and it helps make CHIRP accessible to more people around the world. If you are interested in helping with this, please "open a new issue":http://chirp.danplanet.com/projects/chirp/issues/new for the translation and a developer will contact you with more details.
201 10 Dan Smith
202 50 Dan Smith
### Can I donate some money?
203 10 Dan Smith
204 1 Dan Smith
Of course, developing and maintaining the CHIRP software and website is not free. Monetary donations are always appreciated and can be made via the "Donate" link on the [[download|download]] page. These donations go towards hosting costs of the website, as well as to purchasing new radios, programming cables, etc. for the furtherance of the software.
205 10 Dan Smith
206 50 Dan Smith
### How can I get my radio supported by CHIRP?
207 10 Dan Smith
208 20 Dan Smith
In order to add support for a new radio model to CHIRP, a developer needs to reverse engineer the clone protocol and memory format of the radio.  This can often be done in a relatively short period of time, but requires physical access to the radio itself.
209
210
If you're interested in loaning your radio for this process, please follow these steps:
211
212 50 Dan Smith
1. Look at the [[Wiki|front page]] to make /sure/ that it is not already supported
213
1. Look at the current set of "new model requests":http://chirp.danplanet.com/projects/chirp/issues?query_id=15 to see if it has already been requested. If it has, do *not* open another issue, but feel free to post comments and pledges to help in that item
214
1. If neither of the above applies, then open a "new request":http://chirp.danplanet.com/projects/chirp/issues/new
215 23 Dan Smith
216 43 Dan Smith
*Please note* that there are many new models hitting the market each month. The chinese radio manufacturers crank them out at unbelievable rates. Many of these are copies of the same model, but often changed in very tiny but incompatible ways. As a volunteer-fueled project, we can't possibly address every model that shows up. Everyone wants their radio to be supported, but we have to address the models that are the most popular and which have developer support. If you are in the market for a radio, it is highly recommended that you check the CHIRP model support list before making a purchase. At the beginning of 2016, there were *over 300* requests to support new models in CHIRP pending in the issue tracker.
217 42 Dan Smith
218 50 Dan Smith
### I am a vendor with a new radio for sale. How can I get it supported in CHIRP?
219 41 Dan Smith
220
Please see [[InformationForVendors]].
221
222 50 Dan Smith
## Using the Mailing List
223 23 Dan Smith
224 50 Dan Smith
### Should I subscribe from my arrl.net address?
225 23 Dan Smith
226 49 Dan Smith
No. Most people use their arrl.net alias purely for receiving, not sending. Using your arrl.net alias will make it difficult for you to send to the list, and more importantly, difficult for you to unsubscribe later when you forget that you used that alias in the first place. This creates a large amount of trouble for the list admins, which have to manually unsubscribe users that don't understand the problem they have created for themselves.
227
228
For this reason, *arrl.net addresses are not allowed to join the list*. Use your real email address when subscribing.
229 23 Dan Smith
230 50 Dan Smith
### Why was my mail to the list rejected as a non-member post?
231 24 Dan Smith
232
See the answer to the question above. If you send an email to the list from an address other than the one you subscribed from, the list will reject your post. Please re-subscribe the proper address or change the address you are sending from.
233
234 50 Dan Smith
### How do I unsubscribe?
235 23 Dan Smith
236
Every email you receive from the list contains a few links at the bottom that allow you to manage your email delivery preferences, including removing yourself from the list. For reference, that link takes you "here":http://intrepid.danplanet.com/mailman/listinfo/chirp_users. Please *do not email the list or list owner asking to be unsubscribed*.
237
238 50 Dan Smith
### How do I change my email delivery preferences?
239 23 Dan Smith
240
Please see the answer above about unsubscribing.
241 28 Dan Smith
242 50 Dan Smith
### What if I forgot my password?
243 28 Dan Smith
244
Use the following tool, which will email you your password:
245
246
http://intrepid.danplanet.com/mailman/options/chirp_users
247 40 Dan Smith
248 50 Dan Smith
### Why am I getting warnings about "excessive bounces"?
249 40 Dan Smith
250
In most cases, this is because your ISP is using a new spam-fighting strategy called DMARC. This strategy breaks many of the decades-old rules of email delivery, including most mailing lists. They're choosing to optimize their workload instead of delivering everything to you and letting you decide what is spam and what isn't. In order to work around this, the chirp mailing lists would have to introduce some acrobatics to try to appease these new filters, which would compromise the experience for others and be more work for the mailing list admins. At this time, we don't have plans to enable such workarounds.
251
252
If you are suffering from this problem, please contact your ISP and ask them to deliver your mail. Since that is unlikely to result in any different behavior, we recommend you switch to another ISP or mail provider for chirp emails. People seem to have no problems with Google's free GMail service.
253
254
Sorry for this inconvenience. It sucks, we know. We wish there was something reasonable we could do about it.
255 48 Dan Smith
256 50 Dan Smith
### Why is my aol.com or yahoo.com address banned from joining the list?
257 48 Dan Smith
258
Unfortunately, these ISPs have decided to reject all mail from the mailing list. This happens because people that use these services subscribe to the list, and then later decide they don't want to be subscribed. Instead of following the instructions _at the bottom of every message_ to unsubscribe, they instead mark all the mails as junk. This tells the ISP that the CHIRP mailing list server is sending large amounts of spam, and thus they block it outright. This is a false positive, and caused by CHIRP users themselves, but alas the ISPs in question are completely non-responsive about remedying the situation. If the mailing list allowed you to sign up, you wouldn't be able to receive any of the mail, and because the aol and yahoo servers reject everything, it just clogs up the CHIRP server until it is manually cleaned out.
259
260
So, sorry to say, but if you want to subscribe to the mailing list, you'll need to use another ISP.