Re: [Xastir] Xastir and soundmodem?

2008-12-06 Thread Steve Friis
It is a MacBook Pro2

Steve/WM5Z
Just because you say I'm paranoid doesn't mean they aren't watching us.



Jason KG4WSV wrote:
> On Sat, Dec 6, 2008 at 9:22 PM, Steve Friis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>   
>> There are 24 pins on one, and 4 on the other, plus there is a real RS232
>> port on the back.
>> 
>
> huh.  sounds like i've missed a mac model somewhere along the way.
>
> -Jason
> kg4wsv
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Re: [Xastir] Xastir and soundmodem?

2008-12-06 Thread Jason KG4WSV
On Sat, Dec 6, 2008 at 9:22 PM, Steve Friis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> There are 24 pins on one, and 4 on the other, plus there is a real RS232
> port on the back.

huh.  sounds like i've missed a mac model somewhere along the way.

-Jason
kg4wsv
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Re: [Xastir] Xastir and soundmodem?

2008-12-06 Thread Steve Friis
There are 24 pins on one, and 4 on the other, plus there is a real RS232 
port on the back. It does work as she has xastir running with a GPS just 
fine.

The connector is labeled as a printer. Next to is are two USB ports, the 
usual type, and she has two firewire connectors on the other side, along 
with a couple more USB ports. In the back is a port to dock the thing 
and I suppose it would have audio in/out, mouse, keyboard, video and 
charger/power. Not sure what else it might have.

Steve/WM5Z
Just because you say I'm paranoid doesn't mean they aren't watching us.



Jason KG4WSV wrote:
> On Sat, Dec 6, 2008 at 7:05 PM, Steve Friis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>   
>> It says it is a printer port in the book. It does have a weird connector
>> on it tho.
>> 
>
> I'll bet that's the old RS422 port, and the weird connector is an 8
> pin mini DIN (like PS/2 without the key).  With the right wiring it
> can be connected to RS232 devices.
>
> -Jason
> kg4wsv
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Re: [Xastir] Xastir and soundmodem?

2008-12-06 Thread Jason KG4WSV
On Sat, Dec 6, 2008 at 7:44 PM, Gary Huntress <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> Oh and this is Fedora 10 running in a VMWare virtual machine on a Mac :p

I find the fact it's on a VM impressive.  Are you using the native Mac
sound hardware?

-Jason
kg4wsv
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Re: [Xastir] Xastir and soundmodem?

2008-12-06 Thread Jason KG4WSV
On Sat, Dec 6, 2008 at 7:05 PM, Steve Friis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> It says it is a printer port in the book. It does have a weird connector
> on it tho.

I'll bet that's the old RS422 port, and the weird connector is an 8
pin mini DIN (like PS/2 without the key).  With the right wiring it
can be connected to RS232 devices.

-Jason
kg4wsv
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Re: [Xastir] Xastir and soundmodem?

2008-12-06 Thread Gary Huntress
I'm happy to report a little closure on this thread.   I am now receiving
data in xastir using soundmodem.The issues were permissions for the
xastir binary, audio levels, not having the "capture" device set to line-in
and umuted, and also patience.   Sometimes it's many minutes before I hear a
transmission.

It may not be perfect but all the pieces are working!

Oh and this is Fedora 10 running in a VMWare virtual machine on a Mac :p

Thx everyone!

Gary H.
KB1QOJ

On Sat, Dec 6, 2008 at 8:05 PM, Steve Friis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> It says it is a printer port in the book. It does have a weird connector
> on it tho.
>
> Val says she does use the USB port to connect to the printer. I thought
> she was using the printer port.
>
> We supply White Sands Missile Range, Sandia National Labs and Los
> Alamos. When we order, we buy what we want for us at the same time. We
> have to supply what they call COTS, or Comercial Off The Shelf.
>
> The desktops we assemble here, the laptops are always Dell, or Macs.
>
> I am by no means a computer expert. I know you have been around here for
> longer than I have on the Xastir group, and have always followed your
> advice.
>
> Steve/WM5Z
> Just because you say I'm paranoid doesn't mean they aren't watching us.
>
>
>
> Jason KG4WSV wrote:
> > On Sat, Dec 6, 2008 at 3:26 PM, Steve Friis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> >
> >> I actually have 2 new Dells here, and a Mac laptop. They all have a
> >> serial and a parallel port.
> >>
> >
> > I'd like to see that mac laptop with a parallel port.  Apple has, to
> > my knowledge, never used a parallel port on _any_ mac, much less a
> > laptop.  They used an RS422 serial connection for printing in the good
> > ol' days of the original Macintosh, and eventually migrated from there
> > to USB for printer attachment.
> >
> > There were some old mac desktops with DB25 SCSI connectors, though.
> >
> >
> >> As to the serial ports not available, you should have gotten a kit that
> >> connects those serial headers on the mother board to the DB9 connector,
> >>
> >
> > Dell currently has our bid, and that's an extra item that must be
> > ordered.  Maybe the non-education/government stuff is different.
> >
> > -Jason
> > kg4wsv
> > ___
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> >
> >
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Re: [Xastir] Xastir and soundmodem?

2008-12-06 Thread Steve Friis
It says it is a printer port in the book. It does have a weird connector 
on it tho.

Val says she does use the USB port to connect to the printer. I thought 
she was using the printer port.

We supply White Sands Missile Range, Sandia National Labs and Los 
Alamos. When we order, we buy what we want for us at the same time. We 
have to supply what they call COTS, or Comercial Off The Shelf.

The desktops we assemble here, the laptops are always Dell, or Macs.

I am by no means a computer expert. I know you have been around here for 
longer than I have on the Xastir group, and have always followed your 
advice.

Steve/WM5Z
Just because you say I'm paranoid doesn't mean they aren't watching us.



Jason KG4WSV wrote:
> On Sat, Dec 6, 2008 at 3:26 PM, Steve Friis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>   
>> I actually have 2 new Dells here, and a Mac laptop. They all have a
>> serial and a parallel port.
>> 
>
> I'd like to see that mac laptop with a parallel port.  Apple has, to
> my knowledge, never used a parallel port on _any_ mac, much less a
> laptop.  They used an RS422 serial connection for printing in the good
> ol' days of the original Macintosh, and eventually migrated from there
> to USB for printer attachment.
>
> There were some old mac desktops with DB25 SCSI connectors, though.
>
>   
>> As to the serial ports not available, you should have gotten a kit that
>> connects those serial headers on the mother board to the DB9 connector,
>> 
>
> Dell currently has our bid, and that's an extra item that must be
> ordered.  Maybe the non-education/government stuff is different.
>
> -Jason
> kg4wsv
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Re: [Xastir] Xastir and soundmodem?

2008-12-06 Thread Jason KG4WSV
On Sat, Dec 6, 2008 at 3:26 PM, Steve Friis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I actually have 2 new Dells here, and a Mac laptop. They all have a
> serial and a parallel port.

I'd like to see that mac laptop with a parallel port.  Apple has, to
my knowledge, never used a parallel port on _any_ mac, much less a
laptop.  They used an RS422 serial connection for printing in the good
ol' days of the original Macintosh, and eventually migrated from there
to USB for printer attachment.

There were some old mac desktops with DB25 SCSI connectors, though.

> As to the serial ports not available, you should have gotten a kit that
> connects those serial headers on the mother board to the DB9 connector,

Dell currently has our bid, and that's an extra item that must be
ordered.  Maybe the non-education/government stuff is different.

-Jason
kg4wsv
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Re: [Xastir] Xastir and soundmodem?

2008-12-06 Thread Alan Crosswell


Andrew Errington wrote:
>
> I could probably have found a web page with a better diagram of this circuit.
>
>
>   
http://www.baycom.org/~tom/pcf/ptt_circ/ptt.html

73
/a

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Re: [Xastir] Xastir and soundmodem?

2008-12-06 Thread Steve Friis
I actually have 2 new Dells here, and a Mac laptop. They all have a 
serial and a parallel port. The new computers bought last month for the 
shop also have both serial and Parallel ports.

As to the serial ports not available, you should have gotten a kit that 
connects those serial headers on the mother board to the DB9 connector, 
and this goes where a blank space is covering the PCI or AGP slots. Both 
of the low end PC's we just bought came with these. It was just a matter 
of plugging them in. The new high end PC, which we set up as a Linux 
server, came with 2 serial ports, set up the same way as the low end 
desktop units, and it also still has a parallel port too.

But, I bet the HP's and Gateways don't come with the kit though. 
Anything to save a buck. I bet you have to buy the kit from them to get 
it. If they don't have them, you should be able to find a vendor on line 
that will sell you the kits.

Steve/WM5Z
Just because you say I'm paranoid doesn't mean they aren't watching us.



Jason KG4WSV wrote:
> On Sat, Dec 6, 2008 at 2:05 PM, Steve Friis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>   
>> I don't think the parallel port is going away very soon,
>> 
>
> looked at a new laptop lately?  say, in the last 3 or 4 years?
>
> I'm surprised parallel ports seem to be lasting longer than serial
> ports.  USB is replacing both.
>
> What kills me are the motherboards that have serial ports, but they
> aren't wired to an available connector anywhere.
>
> I suspect a USB/rs232 adapter will work for soundmodem PTT purposes,
> unless it's particularly lousy.
>
> -Jason
> kg4wsv
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Re: [Xastir] Xastir and soundmodem?

2008-12-06 Thread Andrew Errington
I am using an NPN transistor to pull down PTT, controlled by the parallel
port.  I am not using an optoisolator for PTT, nor am I using isolating
transformers for the audio, because I am callous and evil.

It looks like this IIRC:

PC MIC  HT SPK

100n
PC SPK --||---+ HT MIC
  |
  <
  < 2k2
  <
 10k  |
LPT.0  --vvv-K  NPN
  |
GND---+ GND

I could probably have found a web page with a better diagram of this circuit.

Anyway, the whole thing cost a couple of dollars, and it worked.  The
laptop is an old Thinkpad 600E (dicky sound drivers), and I am using a
cheap Chinese HT, so I'm not in the hole for much if it goes bang.

What I *really* want to do is find a cheap USB audio adaptor with a
controllable LED on it.  They are available, but I don't actually have one
to play with.  I am sure it would be possible to hack the driver so that
the LED could be used to drive PTT, then you would have a single unit to
connect a radio to the PC.

73,

Andrew
ZL3AME

On Sun, December 7, 2008 04:33, Alan Crosswell wrote:
> I'm curious what hardware interfaces people are using these days for PTT
> for soundmodem?  So far, the old computers I use for aprsdigi are still old
> enough to have a parallel port so I use a 2n PTT setup, but pretty
> soon that's no longer going to be the case.  A long time ago I tried the
> VOX-based PTT ckt but was not successful with it.
> 73 de N2YGK
>
>
>
> Gary Huntress wrote:
>
>> Thanks to everyone for all the replies.I definitely needed to
>> change the permissions on the xastir binary, that helped.   The
>> permissions on /dev/soundmodem0 were already 777 so I didn't do anything
>> with that.
>>
>> FWIW, on the same box, I'm running an XP virtual machine with
>> soundmodem and it is receiving.   I shut down that VM and switch to
>> Ubuntu and I'm not
>> getting anything.I have to assume it's something with ALSA, the
>> various capture devices, or mixer settings.
>>
>> Thanks for the help.   I may just switch to a hardware TNC if I can
>> find a decent one supported by linux!
>>
>> Gary H.
>> KB1QOJ
>>
>>
>>
>> On Sat, Dec 6, 2008 at 2:49 AM, Andrew Errington <
>> [EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>>
>>
 I suspect if a few of us who have set it up before got together and
  wrote a step-by-step on the Wiki, we'd be able to keep it up to
 date from then on.  I've got many years under my belt with AX.25 on
 Linux (KISS
 TNC's attached to real serial ports).  I've only done
 soundmodem setups a few times and never set up transmit with it.

>>> Crikey.  I thought I was way behind the curve with a lot of catching
>>> up to do!  I've been busy in the last couple of weeks.
>>>
>>> I built a radio cable using the parallel port to control PTT and I
>>> was very pleased when it actually worked.  There were three issues I
>>> had to deal with:
>>>
>>> 1) Permissions on the soundmodem0 device.  I mentioned how I solved
>>> this, but Curt has give the correct answer, which I will have to do. 2)
>>> I was using a handheld radio with PTT combined with the mic. signal.
>>> I
>>> had to put a capacitor in the line from the PC audio out otherwise PTT
>>>  just pulled the audio signal straight to ground (many PTT circuits
>>> don't show this). 3) Tweaking the sound mixer settings to coax the
>>> audio driver to work properly.  For some reason the mic. input on the
>>> laptop doesn't work unless I turn the mic. boost switch on then off
>>> again.  I knew this was an issue on this laptop as I have the same
>>> problem with Skype.
>>>
>>> After that it Just Worked.  Thanks to the XASTIR dev. team for much
>>> coolness.
>>>
>>> 73,
>>>
>>>
>>> Andrew
>>> ZL3AME
>>>
>>>
>>> ___
>>> Xastir mailing list
>>> [email protected]
>>> http://lists.xastir.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/xastir
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>
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Re: [Xastir] Xastir and soundmodem?

2008-12-06 Thread Jason KG4WSV
On Sat, Dec 6, 2008 at 2:05 PM, Steve Friis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I don't think the parallel port is going away very soon,

looked at a new laptop lately?  say, in the last 3 or 4 years?

I'm surprised parallel ports seem to be lasting longer than serial
ports.  USB is replacing both.

What kills me are the motherboards that have serial ports, but they
aren't wired to an available connector anywhere.

I suspect a USB/rs232 adapter will work for soundmodem PTT purposes,
unless it's particularly lousy.

-Jason
kg4wsv
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Re: [Xastir] Xastir and soundmodem?

2008-12-06 Thread Steve Friis
I don't think the parallel port is going away very soon, but the serial 
port has all but disappeared on new mother boards. I just bought a new 
PC, and when I chose which model, I was careful to get a real serial 
port, but you do have to look if you want one.

Steve/WM5Z
Just because you say I'm paranoid doesn't mean they aren't watching us.



Alan Crosswell wrote:
> I'm curious what hardware interfaces people are using these days for PTT
> for soundmodem?  So far, the old computers I use for aprsdigi are still
> old enough to have a parallel port so I use a 2n PTT setup, but
> pretty soon that's no longer going to be the case.  A long time ago I
> tried the VOX-based PTT ckt but was not successful with it.
> 73 de N2YGK
>
>
> Gary Huntress wrote:
>   
>> Thanks to everyone for all the replies.I definitely needed to change the
>> permissions on the xastir binary, that helped.   The permissions on
>> /dev/soundmodem0 were already 777 so I didn't do anything with that.
>>
>> FWIW, on the same box, I'm running an XP virtual machine with soundmodem and
>> it is receiving.   I shut down that VM and switch to Ubuntu and I'm not
>> getting anything.I have to assume it's something with ALSA, the various
>> capture devices, or mixer settings.
>>
>> Thanks for the help.   I may just switch to a hardware TNC if I can find a
>> decent one supported by linux!
>>
>> Gary H.
>> KB1QOJ
>>
>>
>> On Sat, Dec 6, 2008 at 2:49 AM, Andrew Errington <
>> [EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>>
>>   
>> 
 I suspect if a few of us who have set it up before got together and
 wrote a step-by-step on the Wiki, we'd be able to keep it up to date from
 then on.  I've got many years under my belt with AX.25 on Linux (KISS
 TNC's attached to real serial ports).  I've only done
 soundmodem setups a few times and never set up transmit with it.
   
 
>>> Crikey.  I thought I was way behind the curve with a lot of catching up to
>>> do!  I've been busy in the last couple of weeks.
>>>
>>> I built a radio cable using the parallel port to control PTT and I was
>>> very pleased when it actually worked.  There were three issues I had to
>>> deal with:
>>>
>>> 1) Permissions on the soundmodem0 device.  I mentioned how I solved this,
>>> but Curt has give the correct answer, which I will have to do.
>>> 2) I was using a handheld radio with PTT combined with the mic. signal.  I
>>> had to put a capacitor in the line from the PC audio out otherwise PTT
>>> just pulled the audio signal straight to ground (many PTT circuits don't
>>> show this).
>>> 3) Tweaking the sound mixer settings to coax the audio driver to work
>>> properly.  For some reason the mic. input on the laptop doesn't work
>>> unless I turn the mic. boost switch on then off again.  I knew this was an
>>> issue on this laptop as I have the same problem with Skype.
>>>
>>> After that it Just Worked.  Thanks to the XASTIR dev. team for much
>>> coolness.
>>>
>>> 73,
>>>
>>> Andrew
>>> ZL3AME
>>>
>>> ___
>>> Xastir mailing list
>>> [email protected]
>>> http://lists.xastir.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/xastir
>>>
>>> 
>>>   
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>> 
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Re: [Xastir] Xastir and soundmodem?

2008-12-06 Thread Alan Crosswell
I'm curious what hardware interfaces people are using these days for PTT
for soundmodem?  So far, the old computers I use for aprsdigi are still
old enough to have a parallel port so I use a 2n PTT setup, but
pretty soon that's no longer going to be the case.  A long time ago I
tried the VOX-based PTT ckt but was not successful with it.
73 de N2YGK


Gary Huntress wrote:
> Thanks to everyone for all the replies.I definitely needed to change the
> permissions on the xastir binary, that helped.   The permissions on
> /dev/soundmodem0 were already 777 so I didn't do anything with that.
>
> FWIW, on the same box, I'm running an XP virtual machine with soundmodem and
> it is receiving.   I shut down that VM and switch to Ubuntu and I'm not
> getting anything.I have to assume it's something with ALSA, the various
> capture devices, or mixer settings.
>
> Thanks for the help.   I may just switch to a hardware TNC if I can find a
> decent one supported by linux!
>
> Gary H.
> KB1QOJ
>
>
> On Sat, Dec 6, 2008 at 2:49 AM, Andrew Errington <
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
>   
>>> I suspect if a few of us who have set it up before got together and
>>> wrote a step-by-step on the Wiki, we'd be able to keep it up to date from
>>> then on.  I've got many years under my belt with AX.25 on Linux (KISS
>>> TNC's attached to real serial ports).  I've only done
>>> soundmodem setups a few times and never set up transmit with it.
>>>   
>> Crikey.  I thought I was way behind the curve with a lot of catching up to
>> do!  I've been busy in the last couple of weeks.
>>
>> I built a radio cable using the parallel port to control PTT and I was
>> very pleased when it actually worked.  There were three issues I had to
>> deal with:
>>
>> 1) Permissions on the soundmodem0 device.  I mentioned how I solved this,
>> but Curt has give the correct answer, which I will have to do.
>> 2) I was using a handheld radio with PTT combined with the mic. signal.  I
>> had to put a capacitor in the line from the PC audio out otherwise PTT
>> just pulled the audio signal straight to ground (many PTT circuits don't
>> show this).
>> 3) Tweaking the sound mixer settings to coax the audio driver to work
>> properly.  For some reason the mic. input on the laptop doesn't work
>> unless I turn the mic. boost switch on then off again.  I knew this was an
>> issue on this laptop as I have the same problem with Skype.
>>
>> After that it Just Worked.  Thanks to the XASTIR dev. team for much
>> coolness.
>>
>> 73,
>>
>> Andrew
>> ZL3AME
>>
>> ___
>> Xastir mailing list
>> [email protected]
>> http://lists.xastir.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/xastir
>>
>> 
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Re: [Xastir] Xastir and soundmodem?

2008-12-06 Thread Gary Huntress
Thanks to everyone for all the replies.I definitely needed to change the
permissions on the xastir binary, that helped.   The permissions on
/dev/soundmodem0 were already 777 so I didn't do anything with that.

FWIW, on the same box, I'm running an XP virtual machine with soundmodem and
it is receiving.   I shut down that VM and switch to Ubuntu and I'm not
getting anything.I have to assume it's something with ALSA, the various
capture devices, or mixer settings.

Thanks for the help.   I may just switch to a hardware TNC if I can find a
decent one supported by linux!

Gary H.
KB1QOJ


On Sat, Dec 6, 2008 at 2:49 AM, Andrew Errington <
[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> > I suspect if a few of us who have set it up before got together and
> > wrote a step-by-step on the Wiki, we'd be able to keep it up to date from
> > then on.  I've got many years under my belt with AX.25 on Linux (KISS
> > TNC's attached to real serial ports).  I've only done
> > soundmodem setups a few times and never set up transmit with it.
>
> Crikey.  I thought I was way behind the curve with a lot of catching up to
> do!  I've been busy in the last couple of weeks.
>
> I built a radio cable using the parallel port to control PTT and I was
> very pleased when it actually worked.  There were three issues I had to
> deal with:
>
> 1) Permissions on the soundmodem0 device.  I mentioned how I solved this,
> but Curt has give the correct answer, which I will have to do.
> 2) I was using a handheld radio with PTT combined with the mic. signal.  I
> had to put a capacitor in the line from the PC audio out otherwise PTT
> just pulled the audio signal straight to ground (many PTT circuits don't
> show this).
> 3) Tweaking the sound mixer settings to coax the audio driver to work
> properly.  For some reason the mic. input on the laptop doesn't work
> unless I turn the mic. boost switch on then off again.  I knew this was an
> issue on this laptop as I have the same problem with Skype.
>
> After that it Just Worked.  Thanks to the XASTIR dev. team for much
> coolness.
>
> 73,
>
> Andrew
> ZL3AME
>
> ___
> Xastir mailing list
> [email protected]
> http://lists.xastir.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/xastir
>
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Re: [Xastir] Xastir and soundmodem?

2008-12-05 Thread Andrew Errington
> I suspect if a few of us who have set it up before got together and
> wrote a step-by-step on the Wiki, we'd be able to keep it up to date from
> then on.  I've got many years under my belt with AX.25 on Linux (KISS
> TNC's attached to real serial ports).  I've only done
> soundmodem setups a few times and never set up transmit with it.

Crikey.  I thought I was way behind the curve with a lot of catching up to
do!  I've been busy in the last couple of weeks.

I built a radio cable using the parallel port to control PTT and I was
very pleased when it actually worked.  There were three issues I had to
deal with:

1) Permissions on the soundmodem0 device.  I mentioned how I solved this,
but Curt has give the correct answer, which I will have to do.
2) I was using a handheld radio with PTT combined with the mic. signal.  I
had to put a capacitor in the line from the PC audio out otherwise PTT
just pulled the audio signal straight to ground (many PTT circuits don't
show this).
3) Tweaking the sound mixer settings to coax the audio driver to work
properly.  For some reason the mic. input on the laptop doesn't work
unless I turn the mic. boost switch on then off again.  I knew this was an
issue on this laptop as I have the same problem with Skype.

After that it Just Worked.  Thanks to the XASTIR dev. team for much coolness.

73,

Andrew
ZL3AME

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Re: [Xastir] Xastir and soundmodem?

2008-12-05 Thread Curt, WE7U
On Fri, 5 Dec 2008, Jason KG4WSV wrote:

> speaking from my own experience: soundmodem looks particularly
> attractive, especially to a novice who just dropped a bunch of $$ on a
> radio, as it appears one can get a TNC for "free".  As it turns out,
> soundmodem is probably _the_ most complicated and difficult way to get
> into packet/APRS barring building a TNC from discrete transistors.

I wouldn't have put it quite that strong, but yes, it can be
daunting, particularly if you're setting up AX.25 kernel networking
at the same time.  If you bypass that and just go with the Serial
KISS TNC setup for soundmodem instead, it's easier, but still not a
total breeze.

I suspect if a few of us who have set it up before got together and
wrote a step-by-step on the Wiki, we'd be able to keep it up to date
from then on.  I've got many years under my belt with AX.25 on
Linux (KISS TNC's attached to real serial ports).  I've only done
soundmodem setups a few times and never set up transmit with it.

For that matter I always thought the AX.25 HOWTO would do better as
a Wiki.  It's perpetually out of date.


> If you've got the patience and electronics knowledge, go for it.  I
> personally would drop Scott $32 for an OT1+ kit that can do KISS mode.

Or a TNC-X.

-- 
Curt, WE7U. archer at eskimo dot com
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!"
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Re: [Xastir] Xastir and soundmodem?

2008-12-05 Thread Jason KG4WSV
speaking from my own experience: soundmodem looks particularly
attractive, especially to a novice who just dropped a bunch of $$ on a
radio, as it appears one can get a TNC for "free".  As it turns out,
soundmodem is probably _the_ most complicated and difficult way to get
into packet/APRS barring building a TNC from discrete transistors.

When I tried it, I was a novice ham, but not a novice unix guy, and I
couldn't make it work. There are lots of variables/places to screw up.

If you've got the patience and electronics knowledge, go for it.  I
personally would drop Scott $32 for an OT1+ kit that can do KISS mode.

Having said all that, I just got a $39 linux box off ebay (can run on
12V, not sure about 13.8V) that I am considering setting up sound
modem on. |:

-Jason
kg4wsv
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Re: [Xastir] Xastir and soundmodem?

2008-12-05 Thread Andrew Errington

> (which you likely wouldn't have read if you installed from a binary
package).

Guess what...

:)

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Re: [Xastir] Xastir and soundmodem?

2008-12-05 Thread Tom Russo
On Sat, Dec 06, 2008 at 12:15:51PM +1300, we recorded a bogon-computron 
collision of the <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> flavor, containing:
> Hi,
> 
> I had the same problem.  My solution was to check and change the
> permissions on the file that 'soundmodem0' points to.
> 
> IIRC /dev/soundmodem0 is a link to /dev/pts/.  If you type ls
> -l /dev/soundmodem0 you will see where it points.  As root, change the
> permissions on the file pointed to to allow rw access.

Changing permissions of devices is probably not the best approach, although
on a system where there's only one user it might seem unimportant.

> Sorry I cannot be more specific, the laptop I was doing this on is packed
> away.  Obviously an automated solution is required, especially as the
> /dev/pts/xxx device is not always the same one.

The automated solution is as Curt suggests, to change Xastir so it actually
runs as root at the time it tries to access the sound modem (it then drops
that privilege) --- it's done with a single "chmod" command as documented
in step two of the "INSTALL" document for Xastir (which you likely
wouldn't have read if you installed from a binary package).

-- 
Tom RussoKM5VY   SAR502   DM64ux  http://www.swcp.com/~russo/
Tijeras, NM  QRPL#1592 K2#398  SOC#236http://kevan.org/brain.cgi?DDTNM
  In some cultures what I do would be considered normal. 
  -- Ineffective daily affirmation 
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Re: [Xastir] Xastir and soundmodem?

2008-12-05 Thread Andrew Errington
Hi,

I had the same problem.  My solution was to check and change the
permissions on the file that 'soundmodem0' points to.

IIRC /dev/soundmodem0 is a link to /dev/pts/.  If you type ls
-l /dev/soundmodem0 you will see where it points.  As root, change the
permissions on the file pointed to to allow rw access.

Sorry I cannot be more specific, the laptop I was doing this on is packed
away.  Obviously an automated solution is required, especially as the
/dev/pts/xxx device is not always the same one.

HTH,

73,

Andrew

On Sat, December 6, 2008 12:03, Norm VK3XCI wrote:
> Gary Huntress wrote:
>
>> Hi Everyone,
>>
>>
>> I can't emphasize how much of a novice I am at this and it's probably a
>> very beginner question.   I'm a new ham AND a new packet user.   I'm
>> trying to receive and display APRS data.  The platform is Ubuntu (hoary)
>> and I'm
> Garry,
> don't feel bad about not getting it to work! After several attempts I still
> haven't got it to work. In the end I gave up and used an old Tiny2 tnc!
>
> Both attempts have got to the same stage as you, seems it's a pretty
> common problem as the documentation is "thin" to say the least.
>
> BTW, I'd be happy to do some documentation If I could just get it to
> work
>
>
>
>> running Xastir 1.9.0.   I'm also using soundmodem 0.10.
>>
>> First I configured soundmodem as MKISS.   I started it and it created
>> interface sm0.  I went into interface control and I think the right type
>> is "ax25 tnc".  There is no device /dev/sm0 but since there is an
>> interface sm0 I just entered that for the device name.   I got "hard
>> fail" when I tried to bring it up".
>>
>> Then I realized (quite by accident) that if I configured soundmodem as
>> KISS,
>> then I get an actual /dev/soundmodem0 device.   So I selected "Serial
>> KISS
>> TNC", and entered /dev/soundmodem0, but again got a hard failure.
>>
>>
>> Can anyone guide me through configuring xastir and soundmodem?   All
>> help appreciated!
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>>
>> Gary Huntress
>> KB1QOJ
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>>
>>
>
>
> --
> Regards de Norm, VK3XCI
> Mildura on the Murray
> QF15bt
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Re: [Xastir] Xastir and soundmodem?

2008-12-05 Thread Norm VK3XCI
Gary Huntress wrote:
> Hi Everyone,
> 
> I can't emphasize how much of a novice I am at this and it's probably a very
> beginner question.   I'm a new ham AND a new packet user.   I'm trying to
> receive and display APRS data.  The platform is Ubuntu (hoary) and I'm
Garry,
don't feel bad about not getting it to work! After several attempts I 
still haven't got it to work. In the end I gave up and used an old Tiny2 
tnc!

Both attempts have got to the same stage as you, seems it's a pretty 
common problem as the documentation is "thin" to say the least.

BTW, I'd be happy to do some documentation If I could just get it to 
work



> running Xastir 1.9.0.   I'm also using soundmodem 0.10.
> 
> First I configured soundmodem as MKISS.   I started it and it created
> interface sm0.  I went into interface control and I think the right type is
> "ax25 tnc".  There is no device /dev/sm0 but since there is an interface sm0
> I just entered that for the device name.   I got "hard fail" when I tried to
> bring it up".
> 
> Then I realized (quite by accident) that if I configured soundmodem as KISS,
> then I get an actual /dev/soundmodem0 device.   So I selected "Serial KISS
> TNC", and entered /dev/soundmodem0, but again got a hard failure.
> 
> Can anyone guide me through configuring xastir and soundmodem?   All help
> appreciated!
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Gary Huntress
> KB1QOJ
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> 


-- 
Regards de Norm, VK3XCI
Mildura on the Murray
QF15bt
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Re: [Xastir] Xastir and soundmodem?

2008-12-04 Thread Curt, WE7U
On Thu, 4 Dec 2008, Gary Huntress wrote:

> First I configured soundmodem as MKISS.   I started it and it created
> interface sm0.  I went into interface control and I think the right type is
> "ax25 tnc".  There is no device /dev/sm0 but since there is an interface sm0
> I just entered that for the device name.   I got "hard fail" when I tried to
> bring it up".

There's more to this form of setup than what you did.  Look up the
Linux AX.25 HOWTO document.


> Then I realized (quite by accident) that if I configured soundmodem as KISS,
> then I get an actual /dev/soundmodem0 device.   So I selected "Serial KISS
> TNC", and entered /dev/soundmodem0, but again got a hard failure.

Yes, an alternate method but it doesn't use the kernel AX.25 drivers
in this case.  No matter if all you want is to connect Xastir to it.

The missing piece here is to grant read/write privileges to the
serial port, for the user or group that Xastir is running under.
Alternately you can do "chmod 7455 /usr/local/bin/xastir" as root,
which lets Xastir run as root when it needs to.  Xastir backs off to
normal user privileges when it doesn't.

-- 
Curt, WE7U. archer at eskimo dot com
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!"
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[Xastir] Xastir and soundmodem?

2008-12-04 Thread Gary Huntress
Hi Everyone,

I can't emphasize how much of a novice I am at this and it's probably a very
beginner question.   I'm a new ham AND a new packet user.   I'm trying to
receive and display APRS data.  The platform is Ubuntu (hoary) and I'm
running Xastir 1.9.0.   I'm also using soundmodem 0.10.

First I configured soundmodem as MKISS.   I started it and it created
interface sm0.  I went into interface control and I think the right type is
"ax25 tnc".  There is no device /dev/sm0 but since there is an interface sm0
I just entered that for the device name.   I got "hard fail" when I tried to
bring it up".

Then I realized (quite by accident) that if I configured soundmodem as KISS,
then I get an actual /dev/soundmodem0 device.   So I selected "Serial KISS
TNC", and entered /dev/soundmodem0, but again got a hard failure.

Can anyone guide me through configuring xastir and soundmodem?   All help
appreciated!

Regards,

Gary Huntress
KB1QOJ
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