[chirp_users] (None) Entries in Chirp

[Jim Unroe]

On Wed, Jan 6, 2021 at 8:34 AM <bwmoore at slidesnmoore.com> wrote:
>
> Yes, I am a wet-behind-the-ears Chirp user. I have read and studied the FAQ, WIKI, and documentation. I am running the latest version. I am working with on Baofeng UV-82. I have three minor questions to clarify my Chirp understanding.
>
> 1. On page https://chirp.danplanet.com/projects/chirp/wiki/MemoryEditorColumns, Loc is defined as the location or "channel number" of the memory. If I title this column "Loc" in my .CSV file, Chirp returns an Error Message file type not recognized. Changing the column name to "Location" solves the problem. What am I doing wrong with "Loc"?

The best way for you to understand what is required for a CSV file to
be compatible with CHIRP would be to look at one that was generated by
CHIRP. Simply program some valid channels into CHIRP using its
"spreadsheet style memory editor" and export its data to a CSV file.
An even quicker way would be to examine one of the "stock convig"
files that are included with CHIRP. They are nothing more than CSV
files stored in a "stock_configs" folder. Here are to memory rows from
the "NOAA Weather Alert.csv" file from the "stock_config" folder.

1,WX1PA7,162.550000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,
2,WX2PA1,162.400000,,0.000000,,88.5,88.5,023,NN,FM,5.00,,,,,

Most likely what is happening to you is that there is a mismatch
between the number for fields in a row. For example if one of the
commas at the end of row 1 is missing, when CHIRP is reading and
expecting the numeric data required for the "Loc" field, it will be
getting the "WX2PA1" fields data which would generate a " file type
not recognized" error.

>
> 2. I have two simplex frequencies that are included in my .CSV file. On the same URL above, The Duplex Column states the options for the Duplex entry on each channel. First on the list in (None) for Simplex operation. Using (None), Chirp returns an invalid entry.  I solved it by entering "off", importing the .CSV file and then changing the Chirp image Duplex entries to "(None). What am I doing wrong with entering (None) in the .CSV file?

"(None)" is just a visual representation for the human CHIRP's
"spreadsheet style memory editor". None means nothing. The field is
empty. It has no value in it (none). In other words it is 2 commas
with nothing in between. See the 2 side-by-side commas between the
"Frequency" fields and the "Offset" fields? That is the "(None)" for
the "Duplex" field.

>
> 3. I have five frequencies that do not use tones included in my .CSV file. On the same URL above, The Tone Mode Column states the options for entry on each channel. First on the list in (None). Using (None), Chirp returns an invalid entry.  I solved it by entering "TSQL", importing the .CSV file and then changing the Chirp image Tone entries to "(None). What am I doing wrong with entering (None) in the .CSV file?

Once again, like "Duplex", "(none)" in the "spreadsheet style memory
editor" means nothing is in the field. See the 2 side-by-side commas
between the "Offset" fields and the "rToneFreq" fields? That is the
"(None)" for the "Tone" field.

>
> I realize these are pretty "picky", but I am in a learning phase and really do read and work on trying to understand what is happening. Please realize that this post is not a complaint and I do want to know if I am doing something wrong. I do understand and realize that Chirp is a big and complicated work aimed at solving the problem for a varied set of hardware and a more than a usually educated set of users. I am amazed at how well it has preformed for me in a very short time.

I've never understood why someone would bother to mess around with
creating, editing and maintaining their channels outside of CHIRP with
CSV files. I maintain one native CHIRP Radio Images (*.img) file as a
"master" and import that "image" into a tab created from almost any
other "clone mode" radio that I want to have the same channel lineup.

>
> Thanks in advance, Billy
>

You are welcome and good luck.

Jim KC9HI