This is a mirror NTC's Debian package archives, or at least the ones that I was aware of. I have mirrors for (you can browse them):
FYI: The PocketCHIP uses both the CHIP and PocketCHIP repositories listed above. The PocketCHIP specific software is in its own repository.
To use these repositories all you need to do is update the applicable lines in your "/etc/apt/sources.list" files with my domain name. Example:
deb http://opensource.nextthing.co/chip/debian/repo jessie main deb http://opensource.nextthing.co/chip/debian/pocketchip jessie main
deb http://chip.jfpossibilities.com/chip/debian/repo jessie main deb http://chip.jfpossibilities.com/chip/debian/pocketchip jessie main
I made sure to use the same paths for file locations to make it easier on lesser experienced users. Remember the "pocketchip" line above will only be on PocketCHIP installs.
You will also want to update the applicable lines in your "/etc/apt/preferences" files with my domain name. Example:
Package: * Pin: origin opensource.nextthing.co Pin-Priority: 1050
Package: * Pin: origin chip.jfpossibilities.com Pin-Priority: 1050
There were two copies in my file. You just need one corrected copy. I left one copy of the original NTC section and altered the first with my repo domain name. If an "apt-get upgrade" breaks Pico-8 this change will fix it, after another "upgrade".
Unfortunately NTC did not allow browsing of their repository servers so it was up to me to guess what was available for mirroring. I used Debian's "apt-mirror" to mirror the repositories listed on my devices. This clones a repository by reading the package and release files pointed to by apt source definitions. This means that I can be missing stuff that might otherwise have been available on their server (old packages, repos not used by my devices, ...). It also means that the signing remained intact. So you can be cryptographically ensured that neither I nor anyone else has tampered with this mirror. It also means you won't need to install a new key on your CHIP. :-)
NOTE: I refreshed my archive shortly before the NTC repository fell off the iNet. Since it had been a few months since NTC had been operating I'm reasonbly sure these are the "Latest and Greatest".
I've had at least one person tell me that "apt-get" is telling them it doesn't recognize the key that my copies of the NTC repository are signed with (key ID 0483025E2847CC20). Since these are exact mirrors of the NTC stuff they are signed with the NTC private key, which I don't have. This means the signatures guarantee that the packages on here have not been tampered with by myself or anyone else. So its important to fix the key if its broken.
If you don't have network access (WiFi, USB, ...) and you haven't added an RTC your time and date could be way off. Please check / set your time (see "man date") and try "apt-get" again. If that doesn't fix it then move on to the next paragraph.
For any who still have problems with an apt-get warning you can download the NTC public key from here: NTC.pub. Copy it to your CHIP and you can import it using the "apt-key" command. Like so:
sudo apt-key add - < NTC.pub
Run that command from the directory where you put the file. Or you'll need to change the file name in the command.
Debian has archived v8 (Jessie). And as of Feb 2023 they have also archived the "security updates". CHIP's OS is based on Debian 8. When they "archive" a release they pull it from the servers it was originally on and move it to archive.debian.org. So far they have been good about maintaining the archive. You can find some really old stuff there. So I don't fear it will go away any time soon.
If your getting errors about missing "...Release..." files it would be caused by the archiving I mentioned. You'll want to adjust your "/etc/apt/sources.list" to something like:
deb http://archive.debian.org/debian/ jessie main contrib non-free deb-src http://archive.debian.org/debian/ jessie main contrib non-free deb http://archive.debian.org/debian-security jessie/updates main contrib non-free deb-src http://archive.debian.org/debian-security jessie/updates main contrib non-free deb http://archive.debian.org/debian jessie-backports main contrib non-free deb-src http://archive.debian.org/debian jessie-backports main contrib non-free deb http://chip.jfpossibilities.com/chip/debian/repo jessie main deb http://chip.jfpossibilities.com/chip/debian/pocketchip jessie main
Related to this, and the simpler scenario, some of the repos in use have an expired "InRelease" file. You'll get a messag like:
Release file for .../InRelease is expired ...
This can be fixed by adding this to the end of your "/etc/apt/apt.conf" file (if it doesn't exist create it):
Acquire::Check-Valid-Until "0";
Another problem that has arisen recently is that the signing keys for Debian's repository have expired. This technically can't be fixed... well at least not without a time machine. This doesn't seem to cause a problem other than the annoying message that the repositories can't be authenticated, followed by the typical "are you sure" prompt.
If you don't want to be bothered to answer "y" to those prompts you can add this line to your "/etc/apt/apt.conf" file:
APT::Get::AllowUnauthenticated "true";
Be aware that this basically turns off all repository authentication. But this is the environment we live in. :-(
If you find this resource of value please drop me a line. My contact info is available here.