[chirp_users] Chirp won't read CSV files correctly

[Eric Vought]

On Feb 27, 2016 11:33 PM, "Tom Hayward" <tom at tomh.us> wrote:
>
> I'm having a hard time understanding why you need Excel in the first
> place. It sounds like you are a relatively new user of Chirp, yet
> using third party software to edit Chirp files is arguably one of the
> most advanced things you can do with Chirp.

I am a fairly advanced user of Chirp myself at this point, but to me it is
easy to understand how a new user gets stuck in this mess because I've done
it myself as a new user often enough. If the point of using the CSV files
is and only is what you state (an internal intermediate format), then there
is a mismatch between that and what a new user expects it to be. CSV files
in many tools, including other 2-way radio tools, are an INTERCHANGE
format. In particular, you can get CSV files with channel settings from
other 2-way radio programming tools and sometimes as published with
standards, repeater lists, or communications plans (e.g. the NIFOG CSVs).
They often come in organized in different bands and zones.

A new user staring at a bunch of unprogrammed radios and a bunch of data
from different sources is going to wonder how to get the data into the
radio, preferably without having to hand program several hundred channels
plus the non-standard customizations Bob and George want. They see that
CHIRP uses CSV files, they know that have a pile of CSV files from/this or
that source and they see a match made in heaven. How do I make a laydown
that stuffs all of my NIFOG UHF simplex mutual-aid channels on top of the
SKYWarn and ARES repeater channels form local group and maybe be able to
listen to MURS or GMRS or whatever.

The logical thought process is that I can pull these files into something
(often Excel or OO), do some adding, deleting, and moving of rows and spit
out a bigger CSV with what I want to build my image. Preferably, you want
some automation (which CHIRP does not provide) so that when one piece
changes, you don't have to do the whole process over as well as maybe the
chance to maintain the laydown and the table in the communications plan
from one source. That is usually a forlorn hope, especially to somone not
versed in UNIX Command-line tools for taking apart and recombining inputs
from several sheets (John gets Zone C like Jane, but his transmitter is
locked; John's Zone M is management and logistics using some group codes
the other radios wont have,  etc). But is a very reasonable expectation.

One of the best ways I have found to get close is to script transformations
in Python so that I am at least using the same CSV library Chirp is using
internally to minimize incompatibility. It would be extremely helpful
however, if Chirp had a slightly more robust format *intended* for
interchange and manipulation.
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