[chirp_users] Chirp as a "portable app".

[Tycen Stafford]

Speaking of portable CHIRP: Using the command-line chirp clone (
https://github.com/tylert/chirp.hg/ - same developers as CHIRP?) and a
Raspberry Pi I put together a really simple portable CHIRP updater.  I
manage my CHIRP image file for my QYT-KT8900 mobile radio on my laptop and
save the files to a Dropbox directory.  Then, I shared that specific image
file and grabbed the Dropbox share link.  Next I cobbled together a small
script to run on the Raspberry Pi (runs out of cron on reboot)  that does a
wget of the latest image file from Dropbox and runs the command-line
chirp.hg - then shuts down.  No soldering or GPIO work needed.

So, my workflow is: 1) make any changes I want on CHIRP on my laptop, then
save the file (which gets uploaded to Dropbox).  2) Go out to my car and
turn on my phone's hotspot feature.  3) Plug in the Raspberry Pi (which has
a USB wifi adapter and has previously been joined to my phone's wifi) and
wait for it to boot, wget the latest image and upload it to the radio
(which I can see based on the radio's LEDs and reboot when done - all the
while I can be headed down the road).  After that I know the Raspberry Pi
has been issued a shutdown command so I safely unplug it and put it back in
the glovebox (I also have it email me right before shutdown so I know when
a new email pops up on my phone it is safe to unplug it).

I just got a $10 Raspberry Pi Zero W - so my "portable" updater will get
even smaller and have wifi built in.  Future ideas would be to add some
buttons for different radios (like my Baofeng HT I keep in the car) and
maybe "re-update" button or a manual shutdown button.  A person could
really go crazy with a OLED/LCD screen and buttons to select various images
(maybe for different geographical regions or different scenarios - FRS/GPRS
channels included/excluded, etc.). You could also get a USB hub (or use a
Raspberry Pi 2 or 3 with multiple USB ports) and have it update multiple
radios in one pass.

I'm hoping to get a blog post up about it soon with more detail (although I
need to setup a blog, first).

-Tycen K7TYC



On Thu, Mar 23, 2017 at 8:08 AM, Jim Unroe <rock.unroe at gmail.com> wrote:

> On Thu, Mar 23, 2017 at 9:38 AM, Nigel A. Gunn  G8IFF/W8IFF
> <nigel at ngunn.net> wrote:
> > Anybody else realised that Chirp is already a "portable app".
>
> I take advantage of it all the time. It allows me to easily go back in
> history to test older versions of CHIRP.
>
> > The windows version can be installed to a thumb drive (put it in it's
> own directory). The only thing it will write to your Windows drive is a
> dummy start menu entry. Run it by clicking on Chirp/chirpw.exe .
>
> I use the "ZIP" version instead of the "EXE" installer version.
>
> > For Linux, unpack the archive into it's own directory. Go to that
> directory. Execute by double clicking share/chirp.desktop and select
> "Launch Anyway". At least on my computer.
>
> The Windows "ZIP" version works exactly the same way.
>
> > I noticed someone raised this as a query on the website and the question
> was misunderstood by the developer who replied.
>
> Most of the time when someone asks about a "portable" version, they
> are asking for a version to run on an Android laptop or phone.
>
> Jim KC9HI
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