1. Understanding & Using CHIRP (and Liking It) Devin L. Ganger, WA7DLG devin@thecabal.org Saturday, March 26 th, 2016

2. Agenda Meet WA7DLG Meet CHIRP Demo 1: CHIRP meets Baofeng UV-5RA Demo 2: CHIRP meets Yaesu FT-857D Demo 3: CHIRP meets Repeaters Pro Tips Obligatory Audience Participation

3. Meet WA7DLG …mostly harmless.

4. Hi, I’m Devin! Professional 20+ years in IT – Windows, UNIX (Solaris, not Linux, you weirdo), Networking Messaging Architect for Atos (supporting Disney) Blogger, author, presenter, trainer Personal Wife Stephanie, daughter Treanna, son Alaric, cat Marcus Karate, gaming, writing (sci-fi), hiking & camping, model trains, model rockets Soccer fan, Seattle Sounders FC Amateur Radio Technician: August 2015 General: January 2016 My shack: Baofeng UV-5RA handheld Yaesu FT-857D, SignaLink USB, Ham Radio Deluxe 6.x Homemade UHF/VHF J-pole (YAY TECH GROUP!) Currently deploying my first real HF antenna (Aerial-51 404UL on 12m Spiderpole)

5. Meet CHIRP Hello? Is it me you’re looking for?

6. What is CHIRP? Open-source application to program radio features and memories Cost: free (you can donate) Platform: Windows, Mac OS X, Linux (IOS & Android not now, probably not ever) Supported radios: most that can be programmed (check the home page) May not fully replace proprietary software (check the site) Does not try to access every setting/feature Much support is experimental Often result of reverse engineering, so can be buggy Home: http://chirp.danplanet.com/projects/chirp/wiki/Homehttp://chirp.danplanet.com/projects/chirp/wiki/Home FAQ: http://chirp.danplanet.com/projects/chirp/wiki/FAQhttp://chirp.danplanet.com/projects/chirp/wiki/FAQ

7. Adding CHIRP in your shack Get a radio Download and install CHIRP on your computer Operating system Laptop vs. desktop Available ports Get an appropriate cable – don’t cheap out OEM cable is usually highest quality (and highest $$$) 3 rd -party vendor cables may not work (I’m looking at you, RTSystems) Direct to serial, direct to USB, serial to USB converter – all okay Reputable vendors on Amazon, eBay

8. Let slip the dogs of war…er, CHIRP

9. Windows and Mac OS X

10. Linux (shine on, you glorious weirdo)

11. Daily Build

12. Save to disk, don’t run it yet

13. Go to the Downloads folder…

14. Right-click, select Properties

15. Now, double-click and install Will show as an untrusted publisher – this is okay Your one option: which folder to install it to? Start the program from the CHIRP folder Tip: if you’re going to use it often, pin it to your menu/taskbar

16. New Best Friend

17. Demo 1:CHIRP meets Baofeng UV-5RA The first one’s free…

18. Demo 2: CHIRP meets Yaesu FT-857D “Upwardly mobile” doesn’t have to be a swear word

19. Demo 3: CHIRP meets Repeaters Change the scheme, alter the mood! Electrify the boys and girls!

20. Pro Tips You can be a badass too!

21. Pro tip: Per-radio instructions

22. Pro tip: Log it or it didn’t happen Document what’s in the configuration Export to spreadsheet Word/text document Email to yourself Entry in your journal Always export your configuration before you change it!!! Always export your configuration before you change it!!1!!eleventy-one!!11! Save early, save often Use long, descriptive file names Use a different folder for each radio Backup your configuration folders (USB, cloud, whatever)

23. Pro tip: Plagarize! …but please, call “research!” (as Tom Lehrer would say) Swap working configuration files with friends (match radios) Pull memories from one radio to another (not settings) Look up your radio at the CHIRP website WA7LAW mailing list (or other clubs) CHIRP mailing list: http://chirp.danplanet.com/projects/chirp/wiki/FAQ#Using-the-Mailing-List You can even email me directly as a last resort

24. Pro tip: Check your chipset! Not all cables are made equal Make sure your cable is a generic cable (again, RTSystems, I’m looking at you) Only a few chipset manufacturers Affects all kinds of cables Some chipsets get cloned…a lot! Prolific – usually the cheapest cables FTDI – a little higher price Cloned chipsets may not be supported by current drivers May simply be disabled in OS… …or actively brick the cable/device Require contortions to install on newer OS versions Liable to have bugs/stability issues Your time and good experiences are worth a few more $$

25. Pro tip: Don’t update CHIRP often Notice CHIRP doesn’t have an auto-updater? New versions: Fix bugs Add support for new radios Remove features sometimes (often for good reasons) If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

26. Pro tip: Older versions

27. Pro tip: ignore “Developer functions” There’s a reason they are disabled by default Enable them only if you need them Disable them when you’re done

28. Obligatory Audience Participation aka Questions & Answers

29. Thank you! Download this deck: http://www.devinonearth.com/