newbie question - hamlib and gMFSK

newbie question - hamlib and gMFSK

[N5NW Marty]

I have finally successfully installed gMFSK and hamlib, but gMFSK
doesn't seem to recognize that hamlib exists.  No options for
configuration under preferences.

Hamlib works, as I can use rigctl and query the TS-570DG and get
frequency and mode.

Any thoughts?  I'm trying to move completely away from the Microsoft
environment in the shack, and this seems like a critical step.  I am
very much the newbie with linux - not much beyond the
./configure|make|make install stage.  I'm using Mandrake 9.2 in a triple
boot environment (DOS/Win98/Linux).

If there is a more appropriate forum for the question, please advise.

de N5NW (Marty)
Bellbrook (Dayton), Ohio

Re: newbie question - hamlib and gMFSK

[Martin Ewing]

Marty,

Hi.  I'm relatively new to the ham/linux game myself, but I have a 
pretty long experience with hamming and Linux separately.

The general state of Linux stuff for ham radio is primitive, IMO.  The 
linux-ham group apparently originated to serve the "ham" extensions to 
the Linux kernel -- mainly AX.25 -- which are now pretty dated.  (The 
group will correct me if I'm wrong!)  However, this group may be a good 
way to reach the "right" kind of folks.  You may also have discovered 
http://radio.linux.org.au .

Hamlib seems to be an effort to make a device-independent layer between 
rigs, with various interfaces, and rig-control software.  Coverage is 
incomplete, and there don't seem to be many software packages built to 
use hamlib.

I have been using KPSK and gMFSK with some success, and also jLog 
software (Java).  These are all self-contained packages with their own 
audio and/or rig interfaces -- no relationship to hamlib.

I have written some Python-based software to operate the PSKmeter device 
and for Orion rig control (www.aa6e.net/aa6e), but again no connection 
with hamlib.

The reality seems to be that the intersection of Linux and ham radio is 
a great place to be if you're a programmer or experimenter, but the vast 
ham market share is in the Windows world.  It takes a pretty farsighted 
developer to put in lots of time to make advanced (user friendly, device 
independent, multi-mode) software for Linux when nearly all the 
potential users are on Windows.  So, we have MixW, MultiPSK, etc. for 
Windows and nothing similar AFAIK in Linux.

I wish it were otherwise, and I'm doing my small part.

73, Martin, AA6E

N5NW Marty wrote:

>I have finally successfully installed gMFSK and hamlib, but gMFSK
>doesn't seem to recognize that hamlib exists.  No options for
>configuration under preferences.
>
>Hamlib works, as I can use rigctl and query the TS-570DG and get
>frequency and mode.
>
>Any thoughts?  I'm trying to move completely away from the Microsoft
>environment in the shack, and this seems like a critical step.  I am
>very much the newbie with linux - not much beyond the
>./configure|make|make install stage.  I'm using Mandrake 9.2 in a triple
>boot environment (DOS/Win98/Linux).
>
>If there is a more appropriate forum for the question, please advise.
>
>de N5NW (Marty)
>Bellbrook (Dayton), Ohio
>
>
>-
>To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-hams" in
>the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org
>More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
>
>
>
>  
>

Re: newbie question - hamlib and gMFSK

[Andrea Borgia]

Martin Ewing wrote:


> I have been using KPSK and gMFSK with some success, and also jLog 
> software (Java).  These are all self-contained packages with their own 
> audio and/or rig interfaces -- no relationship to hamlib.

Hold it, timeout ;-)

gMFSK does indeed use hamlib to display true frequencies in the 
waterfall display and to send accurate qso data to xlog, that also 
supports hamlib.


> I have written some Python-based software to operate the PSKmeter device 
> and for Orion rig control (www.aa6e.net/aa6e), but again no connection 
> with hamlib.

I tried to think of a reason to include this work into hamlib, but I 
guess pretending a PSKmeter is a rig simply won't fly.


> potential users are on Windows.  So, we have MixW, MultiPSK, etc. for 
> Windows and nothing similar AFAIK in Linux.

Try the latest gMFSK: while perhaps not as "spiffy" as MixW, it does 
work quite well, it is free&free (as in, GPL) and its author is very 
responsive to suggestions and bugreports.


B73,
Andrea.

-- 
Homepage: http://andrea.borgia.bo.it     /    Amateur radio: IZ4FHT
A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
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A: Top-posting.
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Re: newbie question - hamlib and gMFSK

[Martin Ewing]

Sorry! I wasn't aware of that option in gMFSK. (It's nice to read the 
freq., but not essential.) Hamlib 2.3 apparently doesn't have Orion 
support, which is what I need. I took a quick look at the code to see 
what to do to add a new rig, but it's not completely trivial. I wonder 
if it wouldn't have been possible to implement most of a rig's 
personality in a higher-level way -- in table- or rule-driven form. 
(Like sendmail -- not! :-)

The hamlib / gMFSK / xlog philosophy looks like a good one, as long as 
we are in the "Unix" world. One might wish for a true cross-platform 
solution, but that's harder.

Cheers,
Martin

Andrea Borgia wrote:

> Martin Ewing wrote:
>
>
>> I have been using KPSK and gMFSK with some success, and also jLog 
>> software (Java). These are all self-contained packages with their own 
>> audio and/or rig interfaces -- no relationship to hamlib.
>
>
> Hold it, timeout ;-)
>
> gMFSK does indeed use hamlib to display true frequencies in the 
> waterfall display and to send accurate qso data to xlog, that also 
> supports hamlib.
>

Re: newbie question - hamlib and gMFSK

[Curt, WE7U]

On Sat, 1 May 2004, Martin Ewing wrote:

> Hi.  I'm relatively new to the ham/linux game myself, but I have a
> pretty long experience with hamming and Linux separately.
>
> The general state of Linux stuff for ham radio is primitive, IMO.


> It takes a pretty farsighted
> developer to put in lots of time to make advanced (user friendly, device
> independent, multi-mode) software for Linux when nearly all the
> potential users are on Windows.  So, we have MixW, MultiPSK, etc. for
> Windows and nothing similar AFAIK in Linux.
>
> I wish it were otherwise, and I'm doing my small part.

I take very slight offense to your comments.  ;-)

Have you seen Xastir, which is one of the premier APRS apps, which
runs on multiple OS'es?  Yea, we run on Windows now too, but only
through the Cygwin emulator, so it is really still a Unix app under
the hood.

    http://www.xastir.org

You can compare it to the other APRS apps here:

    http://www.eskimo.com/~archer/aprs_capabilities.html

--
Curt, WE7U			    archer at eskimo dot com
Arlington, WA, USA		http://www.eskimo.com/~archer
"Lotto:    A tax on people who are bad at math." -- unknown
"Windows:  Microsoft's tax on computer illiterates." -- WE7U
"The world DOES revolve around me:  I picked the coordinate system!"

Re: newbie question - hamlib and gMFSK

[Martin Ewing]

Curt,

Sorry to give any offense, slight or otherwise. My remarks came from a 
search for keyboard/digital Linux software for PSK, RTTY and related 
modes. I just don't find anything that compares feature-wise with 
leading Windows apps. That's not surprising, given that the Linux market 
is small and that we Linux folks are likely to want software that is 
"free as in beer" and "free as in speech".

[Personally, I'd be willing to pay for good Linux products. However, if 
I develop Linux-specific ham software, it won't be for profit or for 
glory in the larger ham world.]

I confess to near total ignorance of APRS, but I'm glad to hear of good 
work being done there.

In a way you prove my point, however. I wouldn't count Cygwin support as 
"Windows compatibility". [Although I have claimed that Python support 
is. Go figure.] IMO, we need to use wxWidgets (wxwindows.org) or similar 
cross-platform GUI framework to get apps that work nicely across 
Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms. (Java is an alternative, too.) We can 
handle the GUI part, but does anyone have a cross-platform soundcard 
strategy?

73, Martin, AA6E

Curt, WE7U wrote:

>On Sat, 1 May 2004, Martin Ewing wrote:
>
>  
>
>>Hi.  I'm relatively new to the ham/linux game myself, but I have a
>>pretty long experience with hamming and Linux separately.
>>
>>The general state of Linux stuff for ham radio is primitive, IMO.
>>    
>>
>
>
>  
>
>>It takes a pretty farsighted
>>developer to put in lots of time to make advanced (user friendly, device
>>independent, multi-mode) software for Linux when nearly all the
>>potential users are on Windows.  So, we have MixW, MultiPSK, etc. for
>>Windows and nothing similar AFAIK in Linux.
>>
>>I wish it were otherwise, and I'm doing my small part.
>>    
>>
>
>I take very slight offense to your comments.  ;-)
>
>Have you seen Xastir, which is one of the premier APRS apps, which
>runs on multiple OS'es?  Yea, we run on Windows now too, but only
>through the Cygwin emulator, so it is really still a Unix app under
>the hood.
>
>    http://www.xastir.org
>
>You can compare it to the other APRS apps here:
>
>    http://www.eskimo.com/~archer/aprs_capabilities.html
>
>--
>Curt, WE7U			    archer at eskimo dot com
>Arlington, WA, USA		http://www.eskimo.com/~archer
>"Lotto:    A tax on people who are bad at math." -- unknown
>"Windows:  Microsoft's tax on computer illiterates." -- WE7U
>"The world DOES revolve around me:  I picked the coordinate system!"
>
>
>
>  
>

Re: newbie question - hamlib and gMFSKX

[Curt, WE7U]

On Wed, 5 May 2004, Martin Ewing wrote:

> Sorry to give any offense, slight or

;-)  I was just kidding.  Just making sure you knew of other quality
stuff that's out there.


> I confess to near total ignorance of APRS, but I'm glad to hear of good
> work being done there.

You should try Xastir hooked up to an internet port just to see
what's out there.  I'm involved in firenet also, where we have an
alternate network that we use to plot both APRS trackers and
weather/fire/river gauges, quakes, etc.  firenet.us port 2023.
Your map will really light up if you connect there.


> In a way you prove my point, however. I wouldn't count Cygwin support as
> "Windows compatibility". [Although I have claimed that Python support
> is. Go figure.] IMO, we need to use wxWidgets (wxwindows.org) or similar
> cross-platform GUI framework to get apps that work nicely across
> Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms. (Java is an alternative, too.) We can
> handle the GUI part, but does anyone have a cross-platform soundcard
> strategy?

We have a Java application at work that our group wrote.  Runs on
Solaris, WinNT, Linux, and now WinXP.  Wonderful language for our
automated testing.

I agree with you that Cygwin isn't Windows compatibility.  It's a
hack.  A useful hack, but a slow one.  Most Windows people won't go
through the hassle, but for Unix people who are stuck on Windows at
work, or have other restrictions here and there, it's a useful tool.

I'm not sure that Xastir could try for a native Windows port without
a heck of a lot of work.  We use so many of the Unix system calls
that aren't supported well (or at all) on Windows.  We're
multi-threaded too.  Currently we use the Motif widget set, and it
would be a big hassle to even change to a new widget set.  I'm the
main GUI guy (and threads guy, and mutex locks guy, and topo map
guy).

Soundcard... Depends on what you're after.  We support some limited
uses of AGWPE.  We can also use the soundcard interface to do
packet.  Windows people can also use AGWPE.

If you're talking someone universal uses other than packet, can't
help you there.  Sorry.

--
Curt, WE7U			    archer at eskimo dot com
Arlington, WA, USA		http://www.eskimo.com/~archer
"Lotto:    A tax on people who are bad at math." -- unknown
"Windows:  Microsoft's tax on computer illiterates." -- WE7U
"The world DOES revolve around me:  I picked the coordinate system!"

cross-platform sound (was newbie...)

[Martin Ewing]

Curt, WE7U wrote:

> AA6E wrote:
>
>> We can
>>handle the GUI part, but does anyone have a cross-platform soundcard
>>strategy?
>>    
>>
>
>...
>Soundcard... Depends on what you're after.  We support some limited
>uses of AGWPE.  We can also use the soundcard interface to do
>packet.  Windows people can also use AGWPE.
>  
>
I was wondering what it would take to write a cross-platform soundcard 
application for PSK31, RTTY, etc.

I have found PortAudio (www.portaudio.com), which might be an API to 
build upon.

-Martin

Re: newbie question - hamlib and gMFSK

[Stephane Fillod]

Hi Martin,

On Sat, May 01, 2004, Martin Ewing wrote:
> Hamlib seems to be an effort to make a device-independent layer between 
> rigs, with various interfaces, and rig-control software.  Coverage is 
> incomplete, and there don't seem to be many software packages built to 
> use hamlib.

http://hamlib.org/app.html

It's up to you to add more ;-)

> I have been using KPSK and gMFSK with some success, and also jLog 
> software (Java).  These are all self-contained packages with their own 
> audio and/or rig interfaces -- no relationship to hamlib.

gMFSK relies on Hamlib. I'd be happy to help authors of KPSK/jLog/..
to integrate with Hamlib.

> I have written some Python-based software to operate the PSKmeter device 
> and for Orion rig control (www.aa6e.net/aa6e), but again no connection 
> with hamlib.

Next version of Hamlib will have basic support for the Orion rig,
I've just added it in CVS of Hamlib tonight :-)

Do you want to be the maintainer of this backend?

FYI, Hamlib has also a Python wrapper.


73,
Stephane - F8CFE

Re: newbie question - hamlib and gMFSK

[Andrea Borgia]

N5NW Marty wrote:


> I have finally successfully installed gMFSK and hamlib, but gMFSK 
> doesn't seem to recognize that hamlib exists.  No options for 
> configuration under preferences.

hamlib support can be enabled/disabled from the preferences panel only
if gMFSK has been built with hamlib option turned on. Quoting from
memory, the ./configure script in gMFSK sources automatically detects
hamlib's presence during build, but you might always add --enable-hamlib
to be on the safe side.


> Any thoughts?  I'm trying to move completely away from the Microsoft 
> environment in the shack, and this seems like a critical step.  I am

My ham radio activity is supported entirely by Linux: hamlib, xlog (with
hamlib support), gMFSK (with hamlib support) plus cwdaemon for fun and
occasionally the soundmodem to test the ax25 connection to my club's
cluster node. I have installed qsstv also, but it didn't interest me 
enough to bother to really test it.


> very much the newbie with linux - not much beyond the 
> ./configure|make|make install stage.  I'm using Mandrake 9.2 in a
> triple boot environment (DOS/Win98/Linux).

Nothing bad with being a newbie, but you're past that stage if you're 
already comfortable with building from sources 8-)


> If there is a more appropriate forum for the question, please advise.

I think this list is appropriate enough, but just in case you want
something a bit more focused you should try xlog-discussion and
hamlib-developers (see websites for links).


B73,
Andrea.

-- 
Homepage: http://andrea.borgia.bo.it     /    Amateur radio: IZ4FHT
A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
A: Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on usenet and in e-mail?