[chirp_users] Icom IC-2100H, Excel spreadsheet, csv files, chirp-next-20240111-win64

[Ken Hansen]

Have you opened an issue on CHIRP website? That is the proper way to bring something to the attention of the CHIRP team.

I find your descriptions hard to follow, more a case of information overload than a lack of information.

If I understand your issue correctly, it seems you are reporting issues with CSV export/import, a facility the CHIRP team discourages using (as noted in 1a).

Here's what I would suggest to isolate the source of your problems:

1) Open CHIRP, load a valid img file, the EXPORT the contents to a CSV file.

2) Shut down CHIRP.

3) Open CHIRP, choose to make a new file, then IMPORT the previously saved CSV file.

That should work as expected, no issues.

Then I'd repeat the above, adding the following between step 2) and 3):

2.5) Open the CSV file previously created, change NOTHING, then save the CSV file.

(This will identify if Excel is modifying the CSV file format or contents.)

It should work as expected, no issues.

Then, as another test, repeat the above again, this time adding the following between step 2) and 3):

2.5) Open the CSV file and add one proper channel (inside 2m band), then save the CSV file.

(This will identify if your entry in Excel is causing the issue.)

It should work as expected, no issues.

And, finally, repeat the above again, this time adding the following between step 2) and 3):

2.5) Open the CSV file and add one RX only channel outside the 2m band, say a NWS WX channel, then save the CSV file.

(This will identify if the software is blocking an out-of-band channel. The Icom "guarantee" about frequency range is in regards to receiver performance specifications out-of-band.)

It should work as expected, no issues.

This process, tedious as it may seem, is, in my opinion, the best way to isolate the source of your issue - prove the Export/Import function works, then confirm Excel isn't reformatting/modifying the CSV file, then confirm your adding rows properly, then confirm out-of-band channels are accepted correctly by the radio.

Good luck - I have 2x IC-2100H radios and am interested in seeing this process work properly.

Ken, N2VIP

> On Jan 11, 2024, at 08:45, Rich NE1EE <TheDustyKey at imaginarian.org> wrote:
> 
> GM, all,
> Thanks for this bit of testing. I intend to do my best to keep track of this topic, because I need to be clear in my docs to the ARES group.
> 
> As an erstwhile software engineer and programmer, I expect that the record reading routine instantiates a record structure populated with defaults, then proceeds to read the csv, filling in any valid data found. That would seem to create only valid complete records.
> 
> I've been using chirp-next, so that accounts for some of my success. I see that I am not using
> URCALL,RPT1CALL,RPT2CALL,DVCODE
> but I have
> ,,,,
> at the end of each line. I am using MS Office 2010, which I have been using for years, though I see that there have been updates to it that I have accepted.
> 
> 1. In the spreadsheet, I CLEAR all unused cells...I don't just leave them "apparently" empty. I Save As csv file. (all these files are available upon request)
> 
> 1a. I open an img file from the 2100H, then IMPORT the csv (it IS an option, even if the popup says it isn't recommended), it appears that the img is updated SOMEWHAT correctly. Some memory lines are left blank, and I dont't see why...the csv lines look fine to me. If chirp sees too many commas in a row, does it get tired of processing nothing, and skip the rest of the line? Because I have this
> 
> 4,EROCK4,147.465000,,,,,,23,NN,23,Tone->Tone,FM,5.00,,50W,EAST ROCK VOICE ONLY,,,,
> 
> and it is skipped.
> 
> 2. If I choose to OPEN the csv file, the result is the same...I have blank lines in the csv file tab in chirp.
> 
> 3. I then filled (spreadsheet) Offset, rToneFreq, cToneFreq with valid data, even though those fields are not used. For example, if a channel is simplex, there is no offset. If no tone option is specified, no tone value is needed. Hence CLEARing the fields in the spreadsheet, rather than leaving them "blank". If I don't CLEAR them, I get spaces twixt commas. I don't know how chirp handles those.
> 
> 4,EROCK4,147.465000,,0.600000,,88.5,88.5,23,NN,23,Tone->Tone,FM,5.00,,50W,EAST ROCK VOICE ONLY,,,,
> 
> 3a. I then opened the csv in chirp. The import stopped at line 23, but I suspect that is because the rest of the channels don't match the 2100H freq range (154.9..162.475). I'll check the specs. BUT now all the formerly blank lines are filled.
> 
> 3b. I copied lines 1..23 from the csv tab to lines 1..23 in the ing tab, and it seems that all lines are correct. *** Unsed fields (see #3 above) are showing blank, as expected. I havna had a chance to load it into a 2100H and then read it, to see how that looks. BUT it seems that chirp is making some decisions I don't understand. I havna run into this before, because I tend to fill all fields, whether used or not, with defaults.
> 
> 4. I checked the 2100H specs. The RX is listed as
> 136–174 MHz, BUT
> *Guaranteed 144–148 MHz only.
> 
> Nonetheless, the deleted lines contain what seems to me to be valid data.
> 
> 73 Rich NE1EE
> The Dusty Key
> On the banks of the Piscataqua
> 
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