Re: Does D-RATS need a map?
hi folks
John is doing a fantastic job porting the entire application to python3.
Although it's not fully ported, as of now it works quite stable on linux and windows. If??anybody wantd to test it , this can be done .
in general the new version?rely on the same config file you already?have for latest d-rats.
LINUX
to test it on linux, you need to have python3 installed (instructions as per your distribution) and then? it's enough?to download the code in a new folder and launch it. ?
>python3 ./d-rats.py
at first it will probably complain about the usual packages to install - (if you try pls pls keep your notes so we can enrich the wiki),
in case you want to use a new config file, this option should work: >python3?./d-rats.py --config ~/.d-rats-ev/d-rats2.config
in order to execute it with maximum verbosity to control what is happening: >python3?./d-rats.py --loglevel DEBUG
more info on available options here:
WINDOWS 10 TEST as of now, to test it on Windows 10 it is necessary to set up an environment? where the code is interpreted.
I don't?recall all the steps i did to get it working on windows (if you try pls pls keep your notes so we can enrich the wiki), the key step was to install Msys2 by following the instructions at
?while following this wiki:
then just download the d-rats code, unzip it into your "mysys home", in my case: "C:/msys64\home\mauri\
and launch it:
>python3?./d-rats.py --loglevel DEBUG
any bugs or suggestions. pls let's use the tracker:?
thanks anybody for helping. cheers maurizio
Il giorno lun 21 mar 2022 alle ore 14:20 John E. Malmberg < wb8tyw@...> ha scritto:
On 3/20/2022 5:19 PM, Patrick Connor via wrote:
> First, I would like to thank WB8TYW for his efforts to modernize
> D-RATS. His recent posts about the map jogged my memory. I have been
>? using D-RATS since the 2.x days. Some of the features built into
> D-RATS were just hacks by Dan as experiments that were not followed
> through to completion. That brings me to the question: Does D-RATS
> need a map? I always have an APRS client open at the same time I am
> using D-RATS. I would find it convenient to show D-RATS position
> reports on my APRS map, having all assets shown in one window. I
> suggest D-RATS can connect to APRS clients by emulating an APRS-IS
> server port, or an AGW or KISS over TCP port that APRS clients can
> connect to.
> I'm just thinking out loud here and would welcome any discussion.
Your welcome.
Current status:
The new fork is now python3 only.? ?I am slowly removing the python2
compatibility mode code.? I can not test pyton2 on windows any more.
The Map code is now fully functional in my the python_tyw branch of my
test fork.? Maurizio, IZ2LXI, has pointed out that some of the menus
imply that they can do things that they can not, but should.? So there
is a learning curve to using things.
Working in Maps are the USGS River data, Buoy data, and static data
points.? Also the points are now plotted accurately on the map at all
zoom levels as a bug fix.
If you have the current python geopy module installed, (Not availed as a
signed package for some platforms), you can now add points based on
addresses, city names, or zip-codes.? Old feature brought back to life.
So the map function will be there, but by default the map is not active.
So you are free to ignore it.
File and form transfers appear to work, and so are most the QST modes
working including RSS and CAP modes.
When the lands, it will
have communications tested for the serial ports and ratflectors.
It adds automatic re-connection to socket based ratflectors that get
disconnected, and it fixes an existing bug in KISS mode that removes
some noise from the Chat window.
No test feedback from Mac OS-X users yet.? The current "official" d-rats
release only has one feature disabled for Mac users, wl2k mode.? And the
reason in the comments for it being disabled is incorrect, it should be
trivial for a Mac OS-X programmer to get that re-enabled.
Everything else should work, but just has not been tested.? So we can
work with Mac OS-X testers to get that fully functional.
I have not tested AGW or W2LK modes yet in my fork.? I have not looked
at how to test them yet.? Quite a bit of network stuff, such as e-mail,
network GPS, etc., has not been tested yet.
I am not currently an APRS, AGW, or W2LK user, so I do not know how to
test them fully.? ?I was able to test the serial modes by connecting two
d-rats clients via serial cables.
Maurzio and I are tracking issues found with the fork at:
Enhancements are not a priority over just getting existing functionally
or existing bugs fixed.
One of the features deprecated form GTK-2 to GTK-3 is thread locking, it
is now a noop.? The explanation for the change is worded to indicate
that making GTK Calls directly from a thread has never been supported.
I have already removed some code in maps for that, but do not know if
anything else needs changing.? But the symptoms of that are random
messages to stderr, and various crashes including segmentation faults,
which we are still seeing.? ?I can go for days with out one of these
occurrences now, or one can happen overnight.
73
-John
wb8tyw@... or wb8tyw@... - Both go to the same inbox.
|
Re: Does D-RATS need a map?
On 3/20/2022 5:19 PM, Patrick Connor via groups.io wrote: First, I would like to thank WB8TYW for his efforts to modernize D-RATS. His recent posts about the map jogged my memory. I have been
using D-RATS since the 2.x days. Some of the features built into D-RATS were just hacks by Dan as experiments that were not followed through to completion. That brings me to the question: Does D-RATS need a map? I always have an APRS client open at the same time I am using D-RATS. I would find it convenient to show D-RATS position reports on my APRS map, having all assets shown in one window. I suggest D-RATS can connect to APRS clients by emulating an APRS-IS server port, or an AGW or KISS over TCP port that APRS clients can
connect to. I'm just thinking out loud here and would welcome any discussion. Your welcome. Current status: The new fork is now python3 only. I am slowly removing the python2 compatibility mode code. I can not test pyton2 on windows any more. The Map code is now fully functional in my the python_tyw branch of my test fork. Maurizio, IZ2LXI, has pointed out that some of the menus imply that they can do things that they can not, but should. So there is a learning curve to using things. Working in Maps are the USGS River data, Buoy data, and static data points. Also the points are now plotted accurately on the map at all zoom levels as a bug fix. If you have the current python geopy module installed, (Not availed as a signed package for some platforms), you can now add points based on addresses, city names, or zip-codes. Old feature brought back to life. So the map function will be there, but by default the map is not active. So you are free to ignore it. File and form transfers appear to work, and so are most the QST modes working including RSS and CAP modes. When the lands, it will have communications tested for the serial ports and ratflectors. It adds automatic re-connection to socket based ratflectors that get disconnected, and it fixes an existing bug in KISS mode that removes some noise from the Chat window. No test feedback from Mac OS-X users yet. The current "official" d-rats release only has one feature disabled for Mac users, wl2k mode. And the reason in the comments for it being disabled is incorrect, it should be trivial for a Mac OS-X programmer to get that re-enabled. Everything else should work, but just has not been tested. So we can work with Mac OS-X testers to get that fully functional. I have not tested AGW or W2LK modes yet in my fork. I have not looked at how to test them yet. Quite a bit of network stuff, such as e-mail, network GPS, etc., has not been tested yet. I am not currently an APRS, AGW, or W2LK user, so I do not know how to test them fully. I was able to test the serial modes by connecting two d-rats clients via serial cables. Maurzio and I are tracking issues found with the fork at: Enhancements are not a priority over just getting existing functionally or existing bugs fixed. One of the features deprecated form GTK-2 to GTK-3 is thread locking, it is now a noop. The explanation for the change is worded to indicate that making GTK Calls directly from a thread has never been supported. I have already removed some code in maps for that, but do not know if anything else needs changing. But the symptoms of that are random messages to stderr, and various crashes including segmentation faults, which we are still seeing. I can go for days with out one of these occurrences now, or one can happen overnight. 73 -John wb8tyw@... or wb8tyw@... - Both go to the same inbox.
|
Re: Does D-RATS need a map?
Hey Patrick, could you call me on XLX029C sometime to discuss your comments here. Dave N2KTO?
First, I would like to thank?WB8TYW for his efforts to modernize D-RATS. His recent posts about the map jogged my memory. I have been using D-RATS since the 2.x days. Some of the features built?into D-RATS were just hacks by Dan as experiments that were not followed through to completion. That brings me to the question: Does D-RATS need a map? I always have an APRS client open at the same time I am using D-RATS. I would find it convenient to show D-RATS position reports on my APRS map, having all assets shown in one window. I suggest D-RATS can connect to APRS clients by emulating an APRS-IS server port, or an AGW or KISS over TCP port that APRS clients can connect to.
I'm just thinking out loud here and would welcome any discussion.
73 de N3TSZ
|
First, I would like to thank?WB8TYW for his efforts to modernize D-RATS. His recent posts about the map jogged my memory. I have been using D-RATS since the 2.x days. Some of the features built?into D-RATS were just hacks by Dan as experiments that were not followed through to completion. That brings me to the question: Does D-RATS need a map? I always have an APRS client open at the same time I am using D-RATS. I would find it convenient to show D-RATS position reports on my APRS map, having all assets shown in one window. I suggest D-RATS can connect to APRS clients by emulating an APRS-IS server port, or an AGW or KISS over TCP port that APRS clients can connect to.
I'm just thinking out loud here and would welcome any discussion.
73 de N3TSZ
|
I've tried two different GPS units with no luck. It shows the satellites connected on U-center app when on Sensor API, but not Location API. Google maps is able to locate me as well. Both units appear to be working, except with d-rats. Any thoughts?
|
Re: Unable to connect 10060
Glen,?
? Years ago, I had a terrible time getting net info for my nets updated at dstarinfo.com -- and the entire net list back then (and still is) woefully out of date. So, what was originally a list of Echolink Nets started over 15 years ago, I expanded it to add D-Star and D-Rats Nets. I started it in PDF format, but that became too much work to update. Thanks to Gary, VA3GDZ (I think that's his callsign), he provided a template, and I converted it to Excel Net Spreadsheets of Selected D-Star, D-Rats, and Echolink Nets, available in the 4 main US time zones (Eastern, Central, Mountain, and Pacific). These are available off of the hyperlink on my bio on QRZ (a second hyperlink there allows folks to email me). It is so much easier to sort and display the updates with the spreadsheets.
? As far as I can tell, that net list is CURRENT....but folks need to advise me of any changes, additions, corrections, or deletions...because I can't know if they don't tell me. Unfortunately, I understand that some hams have "leeched/pilfered" the info...basically taking it, and calling it "their own", without giving me proper credit for it. As long as I'm given credit for the file (plus credit to Gary, VA3GDZ, for the spreadsheet form), they are free to share that info. Otherwise, they are guilty of plagiarism and theft.
? There are at least 200 monthly nets...and some nights, there can be at least a half dozen nets meeting at the same time. In short, "there are too many nets, and too little time to checkin to them". It has gotten to be such a mad rush that I'm now on the air ONLY for nets that I run. Sometimes, I'll check into the Illinois D-Star Net on Wednesday, as it's a laid back, slow paced net. But, things in my life outside of ham radio, as well as net burnout, are starting to have an effect on how much time I spend with ham radio, let alone my other hobbies.
? I've also attached a screenshot of ratflectors that I knew of were working recently, taken from my D-Rats setup. Recently, due to potential burnout, I've reduced my D-Rats involvement to just the St. Tammany Ratflector that you run...although I can switch to another one if needed. I also use that ratflector for checkins for the Arklatex D-Star Net on Tuesday evening on REF 48 B at 7:30pm Central Time.
Daryl, WX4QZ
|
This group has a Ratflector list in the Databases section. All members can edit this list. Feel free to update this list.
|
Re: Unable to connect 10060
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
DStarinfo has not maintained their lists of much anything for several years. The "repeater list" is loaded with repeaters that have been off the air for years, are only hotspots with VERY limited range, old reflector info, etc. Even when provided updated info it does not make it to their lists (we have a new, genuine Icom, high profile emcomm DStar repeater here and it remains unlisted despite at least two notices to DStarinfo. I don't think they are putting much effort into it any longer. Not that I really blame them... a lot of work. However, everyone seems to use that as a definitive source of info. Even Icom appears to load new radios with lists from that site.?
|
Re: Unable to connect 10060
Michael,
I agree that the list is messed up.??A better place to check for D-Star repeaters would probably be the Repeater Book site, although some of their stuff will inevitably be wrong also.??Repeaters and some reflectors go down and come back up again all the time.??Several of our local repeaters were knocked off line due to last year¡¯s hurricanes.??They are only now coming back and we are still trying to get an Internet feed to the tower site to get our three digital voice modes back.??People don¡¯t seem to realize just how expensive it is to keep these services going all the time.??Our antennas atop a 600¡¯ tower were bent and damaged.??It cost our club over $8,000.00 just to get an approved tower crew to climb the tower to effect repairs.??That is not including several hundred additional to purchase a new tower grade 2-meter antenna and then having to upgrade the liability insurance for them to do the work.??Luckily one of our guys is an electronics engineer who retired from working for NASA.??He has assisted in keeping the repeaters going and getting the repair work accomplished.
The finances to keep our stuff on the air included dues to the club, a number of dedicated members working to put on good hamfests to help raise money and several large donations from?anonymous donors in order to be able to get the repairs done.??Oh, and don¡¯t forget we have to pay tower rent and utilities also.??It is no wonder why these lists are so dynamic.??We have one repeater site that was apportioned and ready to be installed when the parish government lost a tax millage election and the funds to build a new EOC and tower facility had to be cancelled so they could keep other government services going.
Just remember, it is easy to gripe about stuff when you are not the one having to pay to maintain the whole thing.??Icom just knows who bought their equipment and were it was supposed to be going.??We had another D-star stack go down in the New Orleans area when the hospital their antennas were mounted on decided to expand by adding floors to the top of their facility.??The antennas were taken down and the system went dark for over a year due to ongoing construction.??One of their repeaters just came back on line a couple of weeks ago.
Each reflector is a large computer system that come with their own set of problems.??Lightning damage, failed hard drives, Internet connectivity being lost, etc.??Louisiana has one reflector stack located in the cloud for ARES use that is not publicized all that much in case we need it for an emergency.??Some may go down simply because the computer sucked up an OS update that requires someone to go in and reboot the machine before the computer will allow connections again.??It is never-ending.??These types of problems are so constant that those maintaining these lists probably are waiting for the repeater or reflector owners to contact them to say that the system won¡¯t be coming back before they would remove them from the list.
We actually got locked out of one city repeater site because a workman accidentally swapped the locks around on a gate the wrong way and turned something off in the site that was supposed to be kept running.??It took weeks before the city sent someone back out to the site to allow our repeater people to regain entry so they could fix the problem.??If we would have notified someone to take the repeater off the list, we would be calling back telling them to add it again a few days or months later.??Double work for the list maintainer.??We just need to hope that the trustees for the repeater or reflector that dropped off line will remember to notify people if they are taking the system offline permanently.
Cordially,
Glen - KG5CEN
|
Re: Unable to connect 10060
DStarinfo has not maintained their lists of much anything for several years. The "repeater list" is loaded with repeaters that have been off the air for years, are only hotspots with VERY limited range, old reflector info, etc. Even when provided updated info it does not make it to their lists (we have a new, genuine Icom, high profile emcomm DStar repeater here and it remains unlisted despite at least two notices to DStarinfo. I don't think they are putting much effort into it any longer. Not that I really blame them... a lot of work. However, everyone seems to use that as a definitive source of info. Even Icom appears to load new radios with lists from that site.?
|
Need BOUY numbers for testing (Was: Input needed for fixing Map Source Editor)
Now I am trying to get the buoy plotting to work.
For that I need actual BOUY numbers/names to input into the list box to work.
I have not figured out how to look up that information on the NDBC site.
My first few attempts have not resulted a lookup succeeding.
73,
-wb8tyw, John
|
Re: Input needed for fixing Map Source Editor
On 2/25/2022 5:47 PM, John E. Malmberg wrote: The map source editor in D-rats is currently unusable due to a change in the USGS servers that it was pulling data from. I actually managed to figure out how to get the USGS River data working in my fork. What I did not realize is that it was trying to look up pre-defined site numbers in the d-rats.config file and was then crashing due to differences in the python3 and python2 environments. I was expecting that the dialog was going to be to allow me to look up the site numbers, so the URL template looked completely wrong. It does look like the URL formats and options are changing though. The big problem was finding a USGS site number with the gauge data that was expected to be with the point. And then I discovered that the data now had different fields than what D-Rats was expecting. 73, -wb8tyw, John
|
Input needed for fixing Map Source Editor
The map source editor in D-rats is currently unusable due to a change in the USGS servers that it was pulling data from.
As I do not have any working examples of how it should work, I do not know how to implement a useful fix.
As near as I can tell, the "RIVER" code first pulled down a list
of river information, and then would get some information about the rivers.
The list water information now requires specifying the latitude and longitude of of where you want, and then selecting something from what was available.
I have no understanding of how to use the new data format and queries with d-rats.
I have not even started on seeing if the NDBC data from the ndbc data will work.
I will probably need to just disable the USGS map sources until I get information on how they should work.
73,
-John
wb8tyw
|
Re: Most active D-RATS channels?
Glen and all...
? The better place to get those files is off of a hyperlink on my QRZ page. With a risk of thunderstorms and severe weather here Monday and Tuesday of next week, I likely will be offline. There are over 200 monthly D-Star, Echolink, and D-Rats Nets (total) during the month...and some days, there are many as 6 nets meeting simultaneously.
? I mainly stay on the St. Tammany Ratflector, and although my status shows as Unattended, you can still send me an email, and I'll get it when I check the computer.
Daryl, WX4QZ
|
Re: Most active D-RATS channels?
Glen, Thanks for the info. I have only uses d-rats a few times during nets, but had wondered if there was ever any general use for ragchewing. I will definitely check out the ratflectors you listed. Have a great weekend! Mike AB7RU?
Most of the D-Rats ratflectors are used either as file servers/email drops, or are only in heavy use during nets.? The has a number of nets on it.? If you can catch WX4QZ online, usually on , he has a downloadable list that has a number of D-star and D-Rats nets that run during the week.? The ratflector is also pretty active and has a big file section.? A number of the ratflectors are more state-specific, and there are several in Georgia and out west.? I have the KG5CEN-1 station monitoring several ratflectors.? It runs on the same computer as? the StTammany ratflector and acts as the file server and mail drop for 4 systems.? If you see it as -1 it is usually unattended.? If you see the call without the -1 then I am live at the keyboard.
Cordially,
Glen - KG5CEN
|
Re: Most active D-RATS channels?
Most of the D-Rats ratflectors are used either as file servers/email drops, or are only in heavy use during nets.? The SEWX.ratflector.com has a number of nets on it.? If you can catch WX4QZ online, usually on StTammany.ratflextor.com, he has a downloadable list that has a number of D-star and D-Rats nets that run during the week.? The K3PDR.dstargateway.org ratflector is also pretty active and has a big file section.? A number of the ratflectors are more state-specific, and there are several in Georgia and out west.? I have the KG5CEN-1 station monitoring several ratflectors.? It runs on the same computer as? the StTammany ratflector and acts as the file server and mail drop for 4 systems.? If you see it as -1 it is usually unattended.? If you see the call without the -1 then I am live at the keyboard.
Cordially,
Glen - KG5CEN
|
Most active D-RATS channels?
Is there an equivalent of 30C on d-rats? A channel that has some consistent chat activity? Thanks, AB7RU
|
Re: Unable to connect 10060
Because he kept the domain name and is no intentions of letting the domain go. I talked to him about it when he was getting out of it. I was trying to take it over and keep it running.
N8MFN Hamilton Wireless Radio Club
On Fri, Feb 11, 2022 at 10:50 AM kb3co < kb3co@...> wrote: Glen,
Thank you for the info. I was beginning to think that I was having a personal problem here. But given what you have said about KB8PMY I am now wondering why this server is not listed on the page. And why doesn't the server follow the new standard for naming (that is, )? And while we are at it, if? has been down for more than a year why is it still listed on the page?
If I was new to D-Star and would encounter this cluster muck right out of the gate I might just throw my hands up and say nuts to this.
73,
Charlie
KB3CO
|
Re: Unable to connect 10060
Glen,
Thank you for the info. I was beginning to think that I was having a personal problem here. But given what you have said about KB8PMY I am now wondering why this server is not listed on the dstarinfo.com page. And why doesn't the server follow the new standard for naming (that is, name.reflector.com)? And while we are at it, if?ref.d-rats.com has been down for more than a year why is it still listed on the dstarinfo.com page?
If I was new to D-Star and would encounter this cluster muck right out of the gate I might just throw my hands up and say nuts to this.
73,
Charlie
KB3CO
|
Good Evening,
I have been working on a few things. I am trying to make it so that when you forward via 110 or 25. It will forward to a BPQ node. Then the nodes will do the rest. Send over ADROP, Winlink, VARAMODEM or how ever the bbs is setup. All the RF stuff has been working here. But I had to do something special things. I had to connect the repeater to my internal xlxd reflector. I can expose it out. Then I connect the BPQ node to the reflector and to repeater. I can bypass the xlxd reflector. But that might take a little work. I can let you know.
Been a little busy at the 4 letter word. LOL
N8MFN Hamilton Wireless Radio Club
|
Patrick Connor
Daryl Stout
Mike AB7RU
Glen Strecker
Charlie Martin