Hi All.

Well...

I eventually set to, and upgraded this system from LMDE5 to LMDE6.

:~$ uname -a
Linux hp-compaq-sfdt 6.1.0-23-amd64 #1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Debian 6.1.99-1 (2024-07-15) x86_64 GNU/Linux

CPU is a 4 core Intel device.? 8G of RAM, two monitors, wired LAN, and (currently) 3 Audio devices.

Of course, some "Foreign" stuff (VirtualBox among others, VM's archived of course) had to be moved out, and some other "third party" libs etc removed prior to, and as part of the upgrade, but overall it completed, the system boots, is stable and auto updates when needed...

I did have to edit a config file though, to prevent it stalling when trying to do something with polkitd or whatever, after that it completed, cleaned up after itself etc, and all was fine.
See:- for details.? (btr is not me by the way.)

I've been using it now for general purpose needs for a few days now without any issues...

But...

The new OS (LMDE6) uses PipeWire for audio management.?? As a result, though pavucontrol still exists and works, I've lost the ability to rename the audio devices.? (I have several, many same/similar models for different radios etc.)

(Fldigi still works as before, just fine, after I re-educated it to use the correct sound interface!)

I found that the entry in ~/.Profile that specified "pactl load-module module-device-manager" (added by myself to enable device renaming under LMDE5) was not loading that module, as it presumably does not exist under the new OS.? It was also preventing the command line tools such as pactl and wpctl from connecting to their associated "servers"? (Timeouts etc from the command line.)

Removing that entry, now when one right clicks on a device in pavucontrol, you get the popup that says "Rename Device", but of course it doesn't do anything.

So..? I started searching how to enable, or rename devices under Pipewire etc.?? Have to say, I'm more confused now than ever before, as there seems to be a lot of contradictory or just plain wrong advice that is "recent".

None of the recomended examples I found lead anywhere, specified folder paths not existing, or just resulting in errors when tried.

OK, so how does one "Reliably" rename audio devices under Pipewire, in terms that us mere mortals will understand?? I.e. a "User Manual".


man pactl returns the usual stuff, but I guess most of it is now out of date or just plain wrong.

But...
:~$ man wpctl
No manual entry for wpctl

It's all too new to be documented for us the users I guess?


Other info...

:~$ pactl --version
pactl 16.1
Compiled with libpulse 16.1.0
Linked with libpulse 16.1.0


wpctl doesnt have a simple version only query, but you can use the "status" keyword and get:-

:~$ wpctl status
PipeWire 'pipewire-0' [0.3.65, dave@hp-compaq-sfdt, cookie:600179427]
?└─ Clients:
??????? 31. pipewire??????????????????????????? [0.3.65, dave@hp-compaq-sfdt, pid:1414]
??????? 33. WirePlumber???????????????????????? [0.3.65, dave@hp-compaq-sfdt, pid:1413]
??????? 34. WirePlumber [export]??????????????? [0.3.65, dave@hp-compaq-sfdt, pid:1413]
??????? 69. Cinnamon Volume Control Media Keys? [0.3.65, dave@hp-compaq-sfdt, pid:1548]
??????? 70. Cinnamon Volume Control???????????? [0.3.65, dave@hp-compaq-sfdt, pid:1680]
??????? 71. Muffin????????????????????????????? [0.3.65, dave@hp-compaq-sfdt, pid:1680]
??????? 72. PulseAudio Volume Control?????????? [0.3.65, dave@hp-compaq-sfdt, pid:2712]
?????? 112. xdg-desktop-portal????????????????? [0.3.65, dave@hp-compaq-sfdt, pid:3042]
?????? 113. wpctl?????????????????????????????? [0.3.65, dave@hp-compaq-sfdt, pid:7783]

Audio
?├─ Devices:
?│????? 42. Audio Adapter?????????????????????? [alsa]
?│????? 43. SoundBlaster MP3+?????????????????? [alsa]
?│????? 44. Built-in Audio????????????????????? [alsa]
?│
?├─ Sinks:
?│????? 32. SoundBlaster MP3+ Analog Stereo???? [vol: 1.00]
?│????? 48. Built-in Audio Analog Stereo??????? [vol: 0.40]
?│? *?? 51. Audio Adapter Analog Stereo???????? [vol: 0.40]
?│
?├─ Sink endpoints:
?│
?├─ Sources:
?│????? 49. Built-in Audio Analog Stereo??????? [vol: 1.00]
?│? *?? 50. SoundBlaster MP3+ Analog Stereo???? [vol: 0.79]
?│????? 52. Audio Adapter Mono????????????????? [vol: 0.40]
?│
?├─ Source endpoints:
?│
?└─ Streams:
??????? 73. PulseAudio Volume Control
???????????? 85. input_FL??????? < Sound Blaster MP3+:monitor_FL??? [active]
???????????? 86. monitor_FL
???????????? 87. input_FR??????? < Sound Blaster MP3+:monitor_FR??? [active]
???????????? 88. monitor_FR
??????? 74. PulseAudio Volume Control
???????????? 79. input_FL??????? < C-Media USB Headphone Set:monitor_FL??? [active]
???????????? 80. monitor_FL
???????????? 81. input_FR??????? < C-Media USB Headphone Set:monitor_FR??? [active]
???????????? 82. monitor_FR
??????? 75. PulseAudio Volume Control
???????????? 89. input_FL??????? < Sound Blaster MP3+:capture_FL??? [active]
???????????? 90. monitor_FL
???????????? 91. input_FR??????? < Sound Blaster MP3+:capture_FR??? [active]
???????????? 92. monitor_FR
??????? 76. PulseAudio Volume Control
???????????? 83. input_MONO????? < C-Media USB Headphone Set:capture_MONO??? [active]
???????????? 84. monitor_MONO
??????? 77. PulseAudio Volume Control
???????????? 93. input_FL??????? < ALC662 rev1 Analog:monitor_FL??? [active]
???????????? 94. monitor_FL
???????????? 95. input_FR??????? < ALC662 rev1 Analog:monitor_FR??? [active]
???????????? 96. monitor_FR
??????? 78. PulseAudio Volume Control
???????????? 97. input_FL??????? < ALC662 rev1 Analog:capture_FL??? [active]
???????????? 98. monitor_FL
???????????? 99. input_FR??????? < ALC662 rev1 Analog:capture_FR??? [active]
??????????? 100. monitor_FR

Video
?├─ Devices:
?│????? 40. HD USB Camera?????????????????????? [v4l2]
?│????? 41. HD USB Camera?????????????????????? [v4l2]
?│
?├─ Sinks:
?│
?├─ Sink endpoints:
?│
?├─ Sources:
?│? *?? 45. HD USB Camera (V4L2)
?│
?├─ Source endpoints:
?│
?└─ Streams:

Settings
?└─ Default Configured Node Names:


Should that throw any light on the issue...

I've culled some of the sound hardware for now for brevity, but generally there are two SoundBlaster devices, and several CMedia chipset devices.?? Prior to the upgrade, they were "renamed" to relate to what radio (or other audio kit) they were connected to for audio I/O, that was stable, reliable and very convenient.

So who else has come across this issue with pipewire etc, and can help point me in the right place to re-enable renaming of audio devices?


All the best.

Dave G0WBX.




--
Created on and sent from a Unix like PC running and using open source software:

开云体育

Dave,

wpctl is part of WirePlumber (.) Is the associated d?mon running? ()

The ArchWiki—usually an excellent vade mecum— offers some advice on device renaming at . However, there is also a warning at the top of section 2 () that

This article or section is out of date. Reason: WirePlumber's configuration format is changing

which is a tad worrying. It quotes a reference which explains that the format is changing from LUA to JSON. () If you're still with me, the good news is that section ArchWiki 2.1 starts off by talking about “PipeWire-flavored JSON objects”, but then talks of LUA. So that wiki, until updated, is probably best thought of as providing inspiration. More accurately, the wiki describes, AFAICT, WirePlumber version 0.4. The blog describes what WirePlumber version 0.5 will look like, with some very useful looking hints along the way. (N.B. No-one said that this would be easy, now did they?)

Personally, I've not experimented with this, but expect to have to shortly when installing Ubuntu 24.04.1 on a local test machine. One might note that the change to PipeWire came from Debian 12 (bookworm) upon which Ubuntu 24.04 is largely based, and of course so is LMDE 6, as noted at .

It looks like a learning experience for both of us. At least pavucontrol now offers in-built loopbacks, labelled Audio Pro (or is it Pro Audio?), a definite improvement from setting them up by hand, as it were.

73, I feel your pain—be grateful it's not OSS!

Robin, G8DQX

P.S. Technically Ubuntu is based on Debian Sid, in turn based at the moment on Debian bookworm, should one be overly pedantic.

I found that the entry in ~/.Profile that specified "pactl load-module module-device-manager" (added by myself to enable device renaming under LMDE5) was not loading that module, as it presumably does not exist under the new OS.? It was also preventing the command line tools such as pactl and wpctl from connecting to their associated "servers"? (Timeouts etc from the command line.)

Hello Robin.

Thanks for the reply.

Yes, I'd found that Arch wiki (and a couple of others) and likewise found it rather less than, err...? "Informative", due to the part documented changes (leaving both LUA and JSON info mixed in and incomplete.? For a novice in such matters that's utterly useless.) Hence the earlier question.

No, wpctld is not running, but wpctl exists as a command line tool, but there are no manpages entries for that, and too much conflicting information online as to how to use it.

Off out doing other non radio / computer stuff today.

73 All.

Dave G0WBX.


--
Created on and sent from a Unix like PC running and using open source software:

Adrian,

thanks for the correction. One notes that Trixie is on version 1.2.3 of PipeWire and version 0.5.something of WirePlumber. Time to let things settle, and to take a deep breath.

Robin, G8DQX

P.S. very jealous of your call!