1. Install CHIRP

CHIRP is a free, open-source tool for programming analogue amateur radio. It supports a large number of manufacturers and models, as well as provides a way to interface with multiple data sources and formats.

This tutorial demonstrates installation for GNU/Linux. For Microsoft Windows there is a .exe file to do a similar function.

• To download go to https://chirp.danplanet.com/projects/chirp/wiki/Home
• From the Download the latest CHIRP-next build here link download the Python Wheel version.
  • Example chirp-20230906-py3-none-any.whl is the current version.

Assuming the file downloads to the downloads directory.

~$ cd ~/Downloads

~/Downloads $ ls
chirp-20230906-py3-none-any.whl

~/Downloads $ python3 -m pip install chirp-20230906-py3-none-any.whl

Run Chirp

~$ chirp

2. Repeater Network

Download the RepeaterNetwork for Ireland.

To create a subset of the RepeaterNetwork for a smaller area such as the MidWest, export the repeater network as a Comma-Separated Values (CSV) file.

Open the CSV file with a spreadsheet program such as LibreOffice Sheets and remove all but the target repeaters. Make updates as necessary.

The following table gives an explaination for the CHIRP columns, with typical values.

3. Connect the Retevis RT-95 radio to CHIRP

Remove the handset and replace with the programming lead via the RJ45 socket. Connect the other end to the USB port on the computer.

Download from the radio (it may be a good idea to default the radio first).

Select the port and the radio, and click OK

The radio display will indicate that the PC is reading the configuration from its memory.

If it was defaulted there will be an empty spreadsheet shown.

4. Import CSV and upload to the radio

Import the MidWest-RepeaterBook.csv file and it will overwrite the configuration for the Retevis RT-95 radio.

Upload the configuration to the Retevis RT-95 radio. The radio display will show a PC WRITE message.

Replace the programming cable with the handset and work the channels as required.