chirp-next

chirp-next is a radio-programming application: it talks to a handheld or mobile transceiver over a USB programming cable, downloads its current memory channels, lets you edit them in a spreadsheet-like grid, and writes the result back. It supports several hundred radio models across dozens of manufacturers, which makes it the standard way to manage channel lists without hand-entering frequencies on a tiny front-panel keypad — useful whenever an engagement or a CTF touches analog/digital handheld radios rather than pure SDR reception.

Chirp-next is a graphical Python application, launched into its own window from Security → Software Defined Radio → chirp-next — there’s no terminal help step, since it doesn’t print usage to a console.

Using it

1. Connect the radio via its USB programming cable and confirm the serial port it enumerates as (dmesg after plugging in is the quick way to check).
2. Download from radio (Radio menu) — chirp-next reads the radio’s memory over the cable and shows it as a table of channels: frequency, name, tone, offset, mode.
3. Edit the channel table directly in the grid — add, remove, or bulk-edit entries the way you would a spreadsheet. Import/export to CSV is supported for sharing or backing up a channel list.
4. Upload to radio to write the edited table back once you’re happy with it.

Radio-specific quirks (exact cable chipset, driver, and supported features) vary by model — chirp-next’s own radio-list page in the Help menu names what your specific model supports before you start.