Trying again - SDR hardware and software

[WB4JFI]

Hey Sean, thanks for the quick reply.

I am now using Ubuntu, whatever the latest is (8.04/Heron?), on two
computers, and an older Ubuntu 7.0x version on my laptop.

For now, I would recommend a copy of QT 4.4.1 (with the 4.4.1 Eclipse
integration) and Eclipse 3.2.0.  If you cannot find all three, use the
latest: QT 4.4.3 with their latest Eclipse Integration, and Eclipse 3.2.1.

The problem that we are seeing with the latest combination is that custom
widgets cannot be added to the QT Designer widget menu.  You are supposed to
compile QT with a couple of special compile flags if you plan to add custom
widgets.  Unfortunately, that doesn't work right now, which TrollTech
acknowledges and says will be corrected in the next release.  Except, that
problem has been in the last couple of releases.

If you use Eclipse, you will also need Java, but not necessarily netbeans.
QT seems overkill, but it's what is available.  Frankly, Visual Studio 2008
Express editions are easier to use, but they limit you to Windows apps.
With Vista (especially 64-bit) having many driver problems, it seems like
Linux is becoming a good alternative.

BTW, John Melton has a Linux SDR GUI for the SDR-1000 or SoftRocks that is
Java-based.  It is receive-only at the moment, but he is working through
some transmit bugs in his code.

I'm not sure if the two other IDEs (Monkey Studio and EDYUK) will do Java, I
think they are C++ only.
Terry

  -----Original Message-----
  From: Sean Sheedy [mailto:sean at theSheedys.com]
  Sent: Friday, October 10, 2008 5:39 PM
  To: WB4JFI
  Cc: Tacos at Amrad.Org
  Subject: Re: Trying again - SDR hardware and software


  Thanks for the very informative post.


  I am very interested, but short on time.  However, I could stand a little
more development experience under Linux than the occasional make/make
install and vi, to put under my consulting belt if nothing else.  I use
Netbeans for Java ME work, and have an OpenMoko phone and three Sharp Zaurii
on the shelf waiting for me to get with the program.  I need to spend some
more time on Eclipse.


  Maybe I should start by setting up a development toolchain.  I will
probably install Linux as a vmware appliance on my Windows laptop rather
than a dual-boot arrangement.  What Linux distro are you using?  Which of
the three IDEs would you suggest I focus on?


  Sean AI4ID


  On Oct 10, 2008, at 5:16 PM, WB4JFI wrote:


    Try again, from WB4JFI instead of tfox...

    Hey guys.  Are we doin' anything as a group?  The election season is
almost
    over, it's time to be thinking about what to talk about at physical
Tacos
    and this forum besides politics, ancient radios, and the latest humorous
    finding on the Internet.  How about new radios?

    <snip>

     Also, Mel and I are playing with SDR software under Linux (and maybe
    Windows).  We are learning to use the QT GUI software, along with a
couple
    of IDEs.  QT is supposed to work on both Linux and Windows, so the same
    basic code would be usable on both platforms.  Reality is that while QT
will
    build the same GUI on both platforms, some of the IO will need to be
    different, due to the different approaches Windows (portaudio) and Linux
    (jack) takes.  We are using the no-cost, open-source version of QT,
which is
    full-blown but does not include company support.  See www.Trolltech.com

    Eclipse (www.eclipse.org) is an IDE that can have QT integrated into it,
and
    is also available for both Linux and Windows.  However, we have found
some
    inconsistencies with the most recent combination of QT/Eclipse
integration
    platforms.

    While waiting for these inconsistencies to be sorted out, I have started
    playing with QT on Linux, with a couple of other IDEs:  Monkey Studio
and
    EDYUK.  Both of these are available at no cost from www.qt-apps.org,
under
    the development section.  Both requiring compilation - via QT
ironically.

    It is important to note that when using the IDEs mentioned above, they
all
    use the same project source code tree, and do NOT require additional
special
    files.  So, a project can actually be built with any of the three, then
    another used to work on it, depending on the programmer's whim.  All
three
    also have full source code.  I have not tried Monkey Studio or EDYUK
under
    Windows yet, so I cannot guarantee they are cross-platform.  But, QT and
    Eclipse behave identically on Linux or Windows.

     <snip>?

    Is anybody else in AMRAD-land interested in working on SDR software?
Care
    to join us?

    Terry

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  Sean Sheedy
  sean at theSheedys.com
  home: 703-777-9009
  work: 703-898-0201


  39392 Crooked Bridge Lane
  Leesburg, VA 20175

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