My Pi Journey

[VK5PJ]

wow... that's some real progress you two, congrats 4RF and 4MIL...

[VK4MIL]

wow... that's some real progress you two, congrats 4RF and 4MIL...

Thanks to you Pete for sparking the interest in this little project and all the ongoing updates on information

[VK5PJ]

okay, so now on to my IC-7100 which has inbuilt USB. I have removed all the other 'devices' so I have effectively a clean slate USB wise.

Here is how it looked before I unplugged my devices for the IC-910 connection, with my Soundblaster-USB and serial port for CAT and PTT plugged in.

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pi@vk5pj-pi:/etc $ lsusb
Bus 001 Device 006: ID 0403:6001 Future Technology Devices International, Ltd FT232 USB-Serial (UART) IC
Bus 001 Device 008: ID 041e:30d3 Creative Technology, Ltd Sound Blaster Play!
Bus 001 Device 005: ID 046d:c52b Logitech, Inc. Unifying Receiver
Bus 001 Device 007: ID 0424:7800 Standard Microsystems Corp. 
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0424:2514 Standard Microsystems Corp. USB 2.0 Hub
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 0424:2514 Standard Microsystems Corp. USB 2.0 Hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

then with all the USB devices removed (except for my wireless keyboard.mouse combo)

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pi@vk5pj-pi:/etc $ lsusb
Bus 001 Device 005: ID 046d:c52b Logitech, Inc. Unifying Receiver
Bus 001 Device 007: ID 0424:7800 Standard Microsystems Corp. 
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0424:2514 Standard Microsystems Corp. USB 2.0 Hub
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 0424:2514 Standard Microsystems Corp. USB 2.0 Hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

okay so lets now plug in the IC-7100 and turn it on

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pi@vk5pj-pi:/etc $ lsusb
Bus 001 Device 015: ID 10c4:ea60 Cygnal Integrated Products, Inc. CP210x UART Bridge / myAVR mySmartUSB light
Bus 001 Device 014: ID 08bb:2901 Texas Instruments PCM2901 Audio Codec
Bus 001 Device 013: ID 10c4:ea60 Cygnal Integrated Products, Inc. CP210x UART Bridge / myAVR mySmartUSB light
Bus 001 Device 009: ID 0451:2046 Texas Instruments, Inc. TUSB2046 Hub
Bus 001 Device 005: ID 046d:c52b Logitech, Inc. Unifying Receiver
Bus 001 Device 007: ID 0424:7800 Standard Microsystems Corp. 
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0424:2514 Standard Microsystems Corp. USB 2.0 Hub
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 0424:2514 Standard Microsystems Corp. USB 2.0 Hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

so now you see I have two serial ports (CP210x UART Bridge) and a Audio device (PCM2910 Audio Codec). This is quite neat as no drivers or extra software is needed to make any of the Icom's with a USB connection work. My IC-7600 works just the same as this.

The next challenge is selecting the correct ports in WSJT-X to make it connect to the 7100.

Will add some screen shots soon.

WSJT-X IC-7100 Radio settings



WSJT-X IC-7100 Audio settings

[VK4CRO]

I have updated the Pi and loaded WSJT_X but the program is 50% too big for my monitor
How to resize ?
A rs232 to usb cable ordered and a usb soundcard to connect my K3 to the R Pi
and hopefully i am up and running on hf and 6m
cro

[VK5PJ]

so is this all black magic and nothing really is working... here is 40 metres on my IC-7100 from the PI. Oh yes it has only a 50 MHz omni as an antenna when this shot was taken.



By the way, the curve of the screen edges is a dead give away that it's not taken from a windows 10 PC

[VK5PJ]

Hi Ron,
firstly what sort of monitor is connected to the PI and is it connected via a HDMI port on the monitor or via an adapter to a DVI connector?

If I go to the display setting menu on the PI (Raspberry Icon) then, 'Preferences' then 'Display Settings', it shows mine as being '1824x984' pixels. The PI usually goes to around the maximum it detects the monitor can support, can you tell us what yours shows at the moment?

WSJT-X will take up a fair chunk of screen space as the fonts used force it to be a bit chunky. I have posted a view of my PI doing FT8 but will send you via email a full screen shot of my PI.

I have updated the Pi and loaded WSJT_X but the program is 50% too big for my monitor
How to resize ?
A rs232 to usb cable ordered and a usb soundcard to connect my K3 to the R Pi
and hopefully i am up and running on hf and 6m
cro

Peter.

[VK5PJ]

Hi Ron and others,
in WSJT-X there is an option to change the fonts from the normal 12 dot size down to a smaller value. I have on mine just chosen a font size of 8 for both the main screen and decoded text. You find this gets you bye until you find a bigger monitor.

[VK5PJ]

Add a file manager with a difference, some that are getting on in years with IT exposure may remember a DOS based file manager called 'Nortons Commander' there was also 'Xtree' and 'Xtree Gold' that brought a GUI look to file management back in the DOS days. On Linux there is 'Midnight Commander' or mc for short.

I have used mc for a long time now on almost every linix system I come across it gets installed and used, some may ask why would I install a console based file manager? It is simple, it allows me to view and set file/folder ownerships and permissions in a friendly way, it has an inbuilt file view and editing tool when you need to make a quick or in-depth file edit. It can help copy, move rename or delete files or folders, its a bit like a swiss army knife for the Terminal user.

It might not be for everyone's liking but I will add it to my journey log.. mc can be installed by the normal GUI 'add remove programs' (searching for mc gives you a long list to scroll through and its near the end of the list) or via the Terminal session in one quick command

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pi@vk5pj-pi:~ $ sudo apt-get install mc

At any point in terminal session you can type 'mc' and it will fire up for you. along the top is a menu: "Left, File, Command, Options and Right" in the File menu you can display or change the file ownership 'chown' or change the access permissions to it 'chmod' The display of these two operations is displayed in a simple and clean way making it relatively easy to understand and alter.

here is a URL to a handy web site that explains all about midnight commander: https://www.linode.com/docs/tools-refer ... commander/

enjoy..

[VK4EMS]

Another happy "PI" customer I am now also operational ! worked Rick VK4RF on the w/end on 6m and 2mwsjt-x msk144, jt65 VK4EMS

[VK5PJ]

Hi Mark (4EMS),
glad to hear you have had success, I must admit I have been suprised by the number of Op's giving a PI a go. If not for the rising cost of mains power I would probably still be on my Windows PC and missing out on the world of PI.

If others have suggestions on things to try or would like me to explore other app's on a PI, I am open to suggestions but hope this thred has given them some confidence to explore.

The other HAM app that most should consider installing is FLdigi so you can use the many RTTY derivitives it has.

[VK4EA]

My PI experience has been very positive so I thought I would share my experiences so far. A little off topic as I have not really used the PIs for a front end device as described in previous posts.

The VK4RRC 70cm DStar repeater gateway is a R PI 3 running Jessie and the Western Digital Group distribution for ircddbgateway.

The VK4RMG ATV repeater streaming is a R PI 3 running the BATC Portsdown disto - https://batc.org.uk/live/vk4rmg

My irrigation system at home is a R PI 3 running OpenSprinkler with an interface card driving the solenoids, clever stuff.

In progress on my bench is a multiband ATV transmitter based on a R PI 3 and the BATC Portsdown software and modulator board, works very nicely.

And thanks to R PI 3’s I was able to prototype my recently completed Master thesis ideas using open source software.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[VK4CRO]

my PI talking to my K3 but no go with the usb soundcard so far
but getting there .
73 Cro

[VK5ZT]

Hmmm seems like a few Pi owners about.

My collection:
Pi3B
Pi2B
Pi zero
Pi ZeroW
OrangePi Lite

All run Raspbian Stretch.

The Pi ZeroW does almost permanent duty as part of a weather balloon tracking system using VK5QI's software, a decent SDR dongle and a pre-amp.

The Pi2B has recently been built into a television transmitter. This is a system I am building for the local club. The HDMI output feeds a DVB-T modulator/amplifier.
The GPIO connector is used to manage the system which also has a 23 cm FM transmitter and a 3.4 GHz FM receiver. Its not a dedicated repeater but a remote station (which can repeat) to be located
at the club repeater site linked to my house via a 5.8 Ghz wi-max link....it's just another device on my network. The Pi plays test cards when the station is switched on but can be commanded by a web interface
to do a variety of other things including switching video sources and streaming video from the net.

Interesting things I found along the way:
- The Pi has a dazzling array of video modes, settable in the config.txt file in the boot folder. Worth a look for video issues. (By the way, composite video is now on the 3.5mm socket on later Pis)
- You can write video and pictures straight to the frame buffer using a program called fbi....check it out.
- I can run SSH, a GUI running in the PI RAM using VNC on the PC while fbi is running a slideshow out the Pi HDMI.
- For SSH work (and a lot more) a program called MobaXterm is highly recommended. When connected, you can navigate the Pi directory structure in the left hand sidebar, open files, edit, copy etc...GUI like.
- I use Apache to serve the control webpage(s). Fixed IP addresses and security software.
- The transmitter also has touch-tone management in case of lost net connection or Pi issues, but I have implemented this using an Arduino and tone decoder connected to a 2m radio also in the system.

Hardware wise it has been pretty easy. Just a few relay and interface boards to build. Lots of HDMI cabling and assorted boxes! Hardest bit is getting a linear enough amplifier to deal with DVB-T with any amount of power
The biggest challenge has been the software which,in varying degrees, uses code in Python, PHP, HTML, C++ and Javascript, of which C++ and HTML are the only things I have used previously. I regard myself as barely above rank amateur at coding.

The later Pis are pretty neat and will run any of the common AR software available in Linux. The Pi3B I have is destined to live in my radio van as the resident computer for most AR purposes and net connection.
The Pi3B can run warm when worked hard...the newer P3B+ attempts to mitigate this as well as a speed increase. I have added heatsinks to the chips in mine.

I live in a world of never ending projects......

Cheers

Tim VK5ZT

[VK4RF]

Have been playing around with the Pi and a 7" touch screen. Here is a couple of Screenshots taken with Pi using WSJT-X on the 2mtr and 70cm beacons.

[VK5PJ]

Hello Pi people
just a short update, its now late November, the PI here has been going 24/7 since first configured with WSJT-X in late September, no hiccups and no annoying windows updates to deal with (shouting out "thankyou Jesus" like they do on the movies ). Have two radios connected, WSPR on 144 MHz (IC-910) and WSPR/FT8 on 50 MHz (IC-7100). The only shabby part if having to share a single monitor between the windows PC and the PI but hey that's just me being to scabby to buy a new monitor (maybe that's my xmas present to me?).

Hope the other PI users are enjoying the fruits of their labours..

[VK6AKT]

Hi Peter
Thank you for your tutorial on using a Pi,it was very easy to set up.
Now using a Pi3B for WSJT-X and it works great with my IC7610 .
I have also loaded Fldigi and have got it working but have yet to try it out on air.

Cheers
Ken VK6AKT

[VK2CSW]

Hello Pi people
Hope the other PI users are enjoying the fruits of their labours..

I see what you did there...

[VK3ZTE]

I have a Raspberry pi-top CEED and have been trying to download and install WSPR ".deb" files from the WSTJ homepage. I get close, but keep getting the message that "Authentication is required to install untrusted software". Trouble is I don't have a password. Any thoughts would be very welcome.

Grant Symons
VK3ZTE

[VK5PJ]

Grant,
um at some point you may have set a password for the 'pi' user of your PI or it is still set to the factory default (google that one for the answer) oh okay, The default user is pi , and the password is raspberry (see here https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentati ... e/users.md )

so you will need to:

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$ sudo dpkg -i debfile

it will ask you for a password, this is the one for the 'pi' user

https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/view ... hp?t=27915

Peter

[VK3ZTE]

Thanks Peter. You have reset my flagging memory - I now seem to remember the PW being 'raspberry' but I now have a new problem :- having done a system update (might or might not be relevant), am now getting a 'Failed to install file' message. Back to the drawing board. It's al fun cheers Grant