Hi all,
In case you haven't been seeing the activity lately, much progress is being made on the py3 branch in github:
https://github.com/kk7ds/chirp/commits/py3
Thanks to a lot of help from @sv1 and @KC9HI, all of the drivers are now at least syntax-compatible with python3, running automated tests, and progress is being made to test (with real hardware) as many as possible to iron out remaining incompatibilities:
https://github.com/kk7ds/chirp/blob/py3/tests/Python3_Driver_Testing.md
As of today, about 38% have been tested, so we've got some work to do. I think it's unrealistic to get all of them tested in the short term, but we should at least shoot for the major brands and popular models as much as possible. So, the first call for help item is:
1. If you have a radio in that list not marked as tested, please test and record it in tests/py3_driver_testers.txt with a PR
At the end of this email is a list of radios we have leads on for testing. Feel free to claim one of those, but the real prizes are the major models not on that list.
Next up is UI parity. I've been doing a lot of work on the wx UI lately and I'm pretty happy with it, so much that I've been using it exclusively for my personal programming for a while now. There are still some gaps missing that I need to take care of, and my current todo list is wrapped up here:
https://chirp.danplanet.com/versions/21
There are some things I'm not planning to pull into the new UI at all, and some things that can come later. So, the second call for help item is:
2. Please test the new UI, help brainstorm what needs to be implemented (or fixed) before we start looking for more regular users to start using it
I've got one-off test builds here:
https://trac.chirp.danplanet.com/chirp_next/
and will continue to generate those regularly until we get to the point of doing them automatically. The new macos build is much better than it has ever been, IMHO. It feels very native and will have universal2 intel/arm support the next time I roll it. Testing the bundled builds is important for sure, but getting a development environment running is also easier. You pretty much just need a recent python3 (3.10 recommended) and:
$ pip install -r requirements.txt
...should get you there. Please file issues for things you find, and select "chirp-py3" for "target version" and "chirp version" to help keep track of bugs only in the py3 version.
I've been keeping the py3 branch in sync with changes to master for several months and even though it's doable, it's majorly not fun. I think the light is visible at the end of the tunnel at this point, so I'd really like to make 2023 the year we freeze work on the current py2 branch and get people moving to the new stuff. I'd like to be able to start getting "power users" testing the new builds early next year, which hopefully will help fill out the model testing edges.
Thoughts on the plan?
If you've got a radio on the list that needs testing, please speak up here so we at least know which ones are potentially testable.
Thanks!
--Dan
List of drivers for which there is known likely tester already:
Abbree_AR-518 iradio_uv_5118.py AnyTone_OBLTR-8R anytone_ht.py AnyTone_TERMN-8R anytone_ht.py BTECH_GMRS-V1 gmrsvu1.py BTECH_GMRS-V2 gmrsv2.py BTECH_MURS-V1 mursv1.py BTECH_UV-50X3 vgc.py BTECH_UV-5X3 uv5x3.py Baofeng_BF-T1 bf-t1.py Baofeng_UV-6R uv6r.py Explorer_QRZ-1 th_uv88.py LUITON_LT-316 retevis_rt22.py LUITON_LT-580_UHF th9000.py LUITON_LT-580_VHF th9000.py LUITON_LT-725UV lt725UV.py MTC_UV-5R-3 uv5x3.py Radioddity_GA-2S h777.py Radioddity_R2 radioddity_r2.py Retevis_H777_Plus h777.py Retevis_RB15 retevis_rb15.py Retevis_RB17P retevis_rb17p.py Retevis_RB615 retevis_rb15.py Retevis_RT1 retevis_rt1.py Retevis_RT22 retevis_rt22.py Retevis_RT22FRS retevis_rt22.py Retevis_RT23 retevis_rt23.py Retevis_RT26 retevis_rt26.py Retevis_RT6 baofeng_wp970i.py Retevis_RT622 retevis_rt22.py Retevis_RT76P retevis_rt76p.py Retevis_RT85 th_uv88.py Retevis_RT87 retevis_rt87.py Retevis_RT9000D_136-174 th9000.py Retevis_RT9000D_136-174 th9000.py Retevis_RT9000D_136-174 th9000.py Retevis_RT98 retevis_rt98.py Rugges_RH5R-V2 rh5r_v2.py TDXone_TD-Q8A tdxone_tdq8a.py TID_TD-M8 retevis_rt22.py TYT_TH-UV88 th_uv88.py TYT_TH9000_144 th9000.py TYT_TH9000_220 th9000.py TYT_TH9000_440 th9000.py WLN_KD-C1 retevis_rt22.py Wouxun_KG-UV6 wouxun.py Yaesu_FT70D ft70.py Yaesu_FTM350 ftm350.py Zastone_ZT-X6 retevis_rt22.py