1528 lines
53 KiB
HTML
Executable File
1528 lines
53 KiB
HTML
Executable File
<!DOCTYPE html>
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<html lang="en"><head>
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<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
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<meta name="description" content="Documentation for Quisk">
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<meta name="author" content="James C. Ahlstrom">
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<meta name="keywords" content="quisk, sdr, software defined radio, ham radio">
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<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
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<title>Documentation for Quisk</title>
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<style type="text/css">
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* {
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margin: 0px;
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}
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body {
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padding: 0px;
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}
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ul.menu {
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padding: 20px;
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}
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div.menu {
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position: fixed;
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float left;
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background: #F9F9C9;
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overflow: scroll;
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width: 15%;
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height: 100%;
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padding: 5px;
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font-family: sans-serif;
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font-size: 16px;
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}
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div.contents {
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position: relative;
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float: right;
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overflow: scroll;
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width: 80%;
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height: 100%;
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padding: 10px;
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}
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</style>
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</head>
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<body>
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<div class="menu">
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<ul class="menu">
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<li><a href="#Welcome">Welcome</a></li>
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<li><a href="#Credits">Credits</a></li>
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<li><a href="#Installation">Installation</a></li>
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<li><a href="#Configuration">Configuration</a></li>
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<li><a href="#SoundCards">Sound Cards</a></li>
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<li><a href="#SDRIQ">SDR-IQ</a></li>
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<li><a href="#Perseus">Perseus</a></li>
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<li><a href="#Timing">Timing</a></li>
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<li><a href="#USBControl">USB Control</a></li>
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<li><a href="#CustomHardware">Custom Hardware</a></li>
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<li><a href="#ExtensionPackages">Extensions</a></li>
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<li><a href="#Digital">Digital Modes</a></li>
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<li><a href="#Hamlib">Rig Control and Logging</a></li>
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<li><a href="#VNA">VNA</a></li>
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</ul>
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</div>
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<div class="contents">
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<h1>
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<a id="Welcome"></a>
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Welcome to QUISK (December 2018)
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</h1>
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<p>
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This is Quisk, a Software Defined Radio (SDR). You supply an antenna and
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a complex (I/Q) mixer to convert the radio spectrum to a low IF. Then send
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that IF to your computer using the sound card, Ethernet or USB.
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The Quisk software will read the I/Q data, tune it, filter it,
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demodulate it, and send the audio to headphones or speakers.
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Quisk has a microphone input and a key input so it can operate as a
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complete transceiver. Quisk works with this hardware:
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</p>
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<br>
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<ul>
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<li>SoftRock connected to the sound card</li>
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<li>Many other SDR's connected to the sound card</li>
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<li>SDR-IQ connected by USB</li>
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<li>Perseus connected by USB</li>
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<li>N2ADR hardware connected by Ethernet and IP</li>
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<li>HiQSDR hardware connected by Ethernet and IP</li>
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<li>The Hermes-Lite project at <a href="http://hermeslite.com">hermeslite.com</a></li>
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<li>Quisk can be used as a pan adapter, and can control some radios</li>
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</ul>
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<br>
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Quisk is small and simple, and has been designed so that it is easy to
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change Quisk to suit your own hardware. Quisk rhymes with
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"brisk", and is QSK plus a few letters to make it
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easier to pronounce. QSK is a Q signal meaning full breakin CW
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operation,
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and Quisk has been designed for low latency. Quisk includes an input
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keying signal that can mute the audio and substitute a sidetone.
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<br>
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<br>
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Please read the file <a href="http://james.ahlstrom.name/quisk/CHANGELOG.txt">CHANGELOG.txt</a>
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for changes.
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<br>
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<br>
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When running Quisk for the first time, please press the "Help"
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button on the lower right.
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<br>
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<br>
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<h2 id="Credits">Credits </h2>
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Quisk was originally written by James Ahlstrom, N2ADR.
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<br>
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<br>
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Thanks to Leigh L. Klotz, Jr. WA5ZNU for configuration improvements,
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factoring
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out my eccentric hardware control, and adding panadapter and other
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hardware
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support.
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<br>
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<br>
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Thanks to Franco Spinelli for a fix for the H101 hardware.
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<br>
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<br>
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Thanks to Andrew Nilsson VK6JBL for adding support for SoftRock Rx and
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Tx.
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<br>
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<br>
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Thanks to Terry Fox, WB4JFI, for code to support the Charleston
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hardware.
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<br>
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<br>
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Thanks to Maitland Bottoms, AA4HS, for the sub-module linkage patches.
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<br>
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<br>
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Thanks to Philip G. Lee for adding native support for PulseAudio.
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<br>
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<br>
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Thanks to Eric Thornton, KM4DSJ, for adding async support for PulseAudio.
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<br>
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<br>
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Many others contributed to Quisk, and are mentioned in comments in the source code.
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<br>
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<br>
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<h2 id="Installation">Installation</h2>
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<p>
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Quisk is free open source software. It is hosted on the PyPi repository
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<a href="https://pypi.org">https://pypi.org</a>.
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It can be installed using the standard Python setup tools. See specific directions below.
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Python is available as a series 2.7 release or a series 3 release, and there are 32-bit and 64-bit
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versions of each. You can continue to use the Python you have. If you don't have Python, install
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the most recent 64-bit Python3. It is possible to have both Python 2.7 and Python3 installed,
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and then install Quisk on both. If you have both Python2 and Python3, you can start them with
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"py -2" or "py -3". See the Python documentation for the py launcher.
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</p>
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<br>
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<p>
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Note that the 32 and 64-bit versions of Quisk are for the 32 and 64-bit versions of Python.
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The machine archetecture (32 or 64 bit) does not matter. Quisk must agree with the Python version.
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But a machine with 32-bit archetecture will not run 64-bit software, so you will need 32-bit Python.
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If you have a 64-bit machine, you can use either 32 or 64-bit Python, but most software is changing to 64 bit.
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You don't have to worry about this, because when you run pip from Python, pip will choose the correct version
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of Quisk.
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</p>
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<br>
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<h3 id="g0.2.2">Windows Initial Installation</h3>
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<p>
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If you have Python, you can continue to use the version you have if it is recent.
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If you don't have Python installed,
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visit <a href="http://www.python.org/">http://www.python.org</a>
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and download the Windows installer for the most recent Python3. Use 64-bit for a 64-bit computer.
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To get there from python.org, click on "Downloads", then "Windows", then
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"Latest Python 3 Release". Under "Files" click on "Windows installer".
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The x86 is the 32-bit version and x86-64 is the 64-bit version.
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When installing, write down your install directory so you know where Python is located.
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There is an option to "Add python.exe to Path". It is best to select
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this option so that you can start python by just typing "python" instead of the whole path
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from your install directory. But don't do this if you have multiple versions of Python.
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</p>
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<br>
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<p>
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Next open a Command Prompt. This is located under "Windows System" on Windows 10; or use the
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search bar. Enter "python --version" and then "pip --version" to make sure that these programs are installed,
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and what version you have. If "python" is not found, it might not be on your Path.
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Try your_install_directory\python --version.
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For pip, it is your_install_directory\Scripts\pip --version. If you can find Python but not pip, you can run pip
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with "python -m pip".
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</p>
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<br>
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<p>
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First upgrade some Python modules to the newest version, then install Quisk. Enter these commands. The upgrade of pip
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gave error messages on my machine, but it worked anyway.
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</p>
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<br>
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pip install --upgrade pip
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<br><br>
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pip install --upgrade setuptools
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<br><br>
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pip install --upgrade wxPython
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<br><br>
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pip install --upgrade pyserial
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<br><br>
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pip install --upgrade quisk
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<br><br>
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<p>
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You should then be able to start Quisk with the command "quisk" or "your_install_directory\Scripts\quisk".
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To create a Quisk shortcut on your desktop, right-click an empty space and select "New" and "Shortcut".
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Use "your_install_directory\Scripts\quisk.exe" as the command and "Quisk" as the name. Create another shortcut for
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quisk_vna if you plan to use it. To install a newer version of Quisk, just use "pip install --upgrade quisk".
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You could check for newer versions of the other modules twice a year if you want.
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</p>
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<br>
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<p>
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To get started you must tell Quisk what kind of radio hardware you have. Press the Config button and select Radios.
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Then set your sound devices for that radio; the device for the radio speakers, the microphone and so forth. All configuration
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is (mostly) from the Config button. Ignore old directions and don't bother with a config file.
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</p>
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<br>
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<h3>Windows Quisk Upgrade</h3>
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To upgrade to a newer version of Quisk, use pip. Remember that if Python is not on your Path, you will
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need to type out the whole path.
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<br>
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<br>
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pip install --upgrade quisk
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<br>
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<br>
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<h3>Windows Uninstall Quisk</h3>
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pip uninstall quisk
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<br>
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<br>
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<h3 id="g0.2.1">Linux Initial Installation</h3>
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Most likely both Python2 and Python3 are already installed on your computer. Either the 32-bit or 64-bit
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version will work. On my Ubuntu machine, "python2" starts Python2 and "python3" starts Python3.
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Just "python" starts python2, but this will change as Python2 is phased out.
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Install these packages. Some of these can be installed from Python using "pip",
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but it is better to use your package manager because pip and the package manager do not coordinate.
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If newer versions of these packages become available, Linux will notify you.
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<br>
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<br>
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sudo apt-get install python-wxgtk3.0 ## Use this for Python2
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<br>
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sudo apt-get install python3-wxgtk4.0 ## Use this for Python3
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<br>
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sudo apt-get install libfftw3-dev
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<br>
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sudo apt-get install libasound2-dev
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<br>
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sudo apt-get install portaudio19-dev # Optional, if you want portaudio support
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<br>
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sudo apt-get install libpulse-dev
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<br>
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sudo apt-get install python-dev
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<br>
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sudo apt-get install libpython2.7-dev
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<br>
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sudo apt-get install python3-dev
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<br>
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sudo apt-get install libpython3-dev
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<br>
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sudo apt-get install python-usb
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<br>
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sudo apt-get install python3-usb
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<br>
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sudo apt-get install python-setuptools
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<br>
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sudo apt-get install python3-setuptools
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<br>
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sudo apt-get install python-pip
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<br>
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sudo apt-get install python3-pip
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<br>
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<br>
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Then install either or both versions of quisk. They will not interfere with each other.
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<br>
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<br>
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sudo python2 -m pip install --upgrade quisk
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<br>
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sudo python3 -m pip install --upgrade quisk
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<br>
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<br>
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This will install the Python files and all other files except for the C source. This is the easiest method
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if you do not want to work in C.
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If you have both Python2 and Python3 quisk, you can run either with these commands:
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<br>
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<br>
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python2 -m quisk
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<br>
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python3 -m quisk
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<br>
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<br>
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If you have only one quisk you can run it with the command "quisk".
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You can create a panel launcher on your desktop with the command to run Quisk.
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<br>
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<br>
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To get started you must tell Quisk what kind of radio hardware you have. Press the Config button and select Radios.
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Then set your sound devices for that radio; the device for the radio speakers, the microphone and so forth. All configuration
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is (mostly) from the Config button. Ignore old directions and don't bother with a config file.
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<br>
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<br>
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To edit the Quisk Python files you need to know where they are. To find out, import quisk and print it:
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<br>
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<br>
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<pre>
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jim@IntelNUC:~$ python
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Python 2.7.12 (default, Nov 12 2018, 14:36:49)
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[GCC 5.4.0 20160609] on linux2
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Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
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>>> import quisk
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>>> quisk
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module 'quisk' from '/usr/local/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/quisk/__init__.pyc'
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>>>
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</pre>
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<br>
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<h3>Linux Quisk Upgrade</h3>
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To upgrade to a newer version of Quisk, use pip:
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<br>
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<br>
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sudo python2 -m pip install --upgrade quisk
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<br>
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sudo python3 -m pip install --upgrade quisk
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<br>
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<br>
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<h3>Linux Uninstall Quisk</h3>
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sudo python2 -m pip uninstall quisk
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<br>
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sudo python3 -m pip uninstall quisk
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<br>
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<br>
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<h3>Linux Quisk Source Files</h3>
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The previous method using pip is simple, but will not install the C source files. If you want those proceed as follows.
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Go to <a href="https://pypi.org/project/quisk/">https://pypi.org/project/quisk</a> and under "Navigation"
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select "Download files". Download the quisk-x-x-xx.tar.gz file. This is the source file. The ".whl" files are for Windows.
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Change directory to where the file was downloaded, probably "Downloads", and uncompress and untar it.
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<br><br>
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cd ~/Downloads
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<br>
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tar zxf quisk-x.x.xx.tar.gz
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<br><br>
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Change directories to the Quisk directory:
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<br><br>
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cd quisk-x.x.xx
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<br><br>
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Now compile Quisk with the "make" command:
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<br><br>
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make quisk2 # for python2
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<br>
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make quisk3 # for python3
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<br><br>
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If "make" fails, you probably have missing packages or missing "-dev" packages. Try to figure out what is missing from the error messages.
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Now you can run quisk with the command:
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<br><br>
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python2 quisk.py
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<br>
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python3 quisk.py
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<br><br>
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At this point you have a choice of where to install Quisk. You could just rename the quisk-x.x.xx directory
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to a more convenient name, like "quisk" in your home directory, and run Quisk from there.
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This is convenient if you want to
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alter the Quisk code. Or you could install Quisk into the Python system.
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<br><br>
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python2 setup.py build
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<br>
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sudo python2 setup.py install
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<br><br>
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<h3 id="g0.2.4">Quisk Files</h3>
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<br>
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These are the Quisk files in the distribution:
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<br>
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<br>
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<ul>
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<li>quisk.py is the main program and is written in the Python
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language.
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Python is a powerful but easy to learn language, and I hope you have
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fun changing Quisk to make it do what you want. Python is also useful
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for general electronics calculations such as complex arithmetic. See
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www.python.org. Quisk.py uses the wxPython Python package to make the
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screen interface. </li>
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</ul>
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<ul>
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<li>help.html is the help file for quisk. Press the "Help" button. </li>
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</ul>
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<ul>
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<li>_quisk.so is the _quisk extension module for Linux, and _quisk.pyd is the extension module DLL used by Windows.
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<br>
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</li>
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</ul>
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<ul>
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<li>sdriq.so is the extension module needed for the SDR-IQ. It needs
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_quisk.so to be available when it starts. </li>
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</ul>
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<ul>
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<li>makefile is the makefile, and you must run "make" to create a new
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_quisk.so unless you use a Python installer that creates _quisk.so
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itself. </li>
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</ul>
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<ul>
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<li>setup.py is used by makefile and the Python installers. </li>
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</ul>
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<ul>
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<li>quisk_conf_defaults.py is the basic configuration file imported
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into
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all other configuration files. Read it (but don't change it) to see
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what you can change in your own quisk_conf.py. </li>
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</ul>
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<ul>
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<li>quisk_conf_*.py are various Quisk configuration files. Copy one
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of them
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to your own .quisk_conf.py and edit that file. I may publish new model
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files in the future, and you don't want your changes to be overwritten.
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</li>
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</ul>
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<ul>
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<li>quisk_hardware_*.py are various quisk hardware control programs.
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If you
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have custom hardware, import one of these files into your
|
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quisk_conf.py. Or copy one of them to your own quisk_hardware.py, edit
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that file, and import it in .quisk_conf.py. </li>
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</ul>
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<ul>
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<li>quisk.c, quisk.h are the files for the _quisk extension module
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used by
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quisk.py. The other C-language files are linked with these to make
|
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_quisk.so and _quisk.pyd.
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<br>
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</li>
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</ul>
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<ul>
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<li>sound.c is the general purpose sound code for all sources.</li>
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</ul>
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<ul>
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<li>sound_portaudio.c is the sound card access code for PortAudio. PortAudio is optional.</li>
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</ul>
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<ul>
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<li>sound_pulseaudio.c is the sound card access code for PulseAudio. </li>
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</ul>
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<ul>
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<li>sound_alsa.c is the sound card access code for the ALSA drivers.
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<br>
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</li>
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</ul>
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<ul>
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<li>sound_directx.c is the sound card access code for DirectX. </li>
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</ul>
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<ul>
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<li>is_key_down.c is the hardware key checker for the PC. I use
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Ethernet to
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send the key status, but there is code for the parallel port and dummy
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code too. </li>
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</ul>
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<ul>
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|
|
<li>sdriq.c, sdriq.h are the files that make sdriq.so and support the
|
|
SDR-IQ. </li>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
<ul>
|
|
|
|
<li>microphone.c reads the microphone audio and sends it to your
|
|
hardware
|
|
using Ethernet. Change it for other sound access.</li>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
<ul>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
<ul>
|
|
|
|
<li>docs.html is Quisk documentation. Look for other *.html and *.txt too.</li>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
<ul>
|
|
|
|
<li>portaudio.py is a utility program. Run it to list your PortAudio
|
|
devices. It is not used by the Quisk program. </li>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
<br>
|
|
<h2 id="Configuration">Configuration</h2>
|
|
The Quisk "Config" button brings up a number of status and configuration screens. When starting with Quisk, you need to create a named "radio"
|
|
and then set the configuration for that radio. You can have multiple radios to support several hardwares, or different settings
|
|
for the same hardware. Use the "Help with Radios" button for documentation. A special radio named "ConfigFileRadio" is always available.
|
|
It doesn't use the settings screens and takes all its settings from the configuration file.
|
|
|
|
When Quisk starts, it reads an initial configuration from the Quisk file quisk_conf_defaults.py.
|
|
Then it reads your configuration file if you have one. Then it reads settings from the configuration screens,
|
|
which are stored in the file quisk_settings.json.
|
|
You can set almost everything with the screens, but you can have a configuration file if you want.
|
|
For Linux, the default configuration file name is ".quisk_conf.py" in
|
|
your home
|
|
directory; that is, "~/.quisk_conf.py". For Windows, the default
|
|
configuration file name is quisk_conf.py in your My Documents folder.
|
|
<br>
|
|
<ul>
|
|
|
|
<li>Linux config
|
|
file:
|
|
~/.quisk_conf.py</li>
|
|
|
|
<li>Windows config file: My Documents/quisk_conf.py
|
|
<br>
|
|
</li>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
To help you get started,
|
|
there
|
|
are several configuration files included, such as
|
|
quisk_conf_model.py
|
|
for
|
|
sound card, quisk_conf_sdriq.py for SDR-IQ, and quisk_conf_fixed.py for
|
|
fixed
|
|
VFO such as SoftRock. Do not change any of the quisk_conf_*.py
|
|
files. Instead copy one of
|
|
these
|
|
files (but NOT quisk_conf_defaults.py) to your own config file.
|
|
Newer versions of Quisk will not overwrite your personal config file.
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
The file quisk_conf_defaults.py contains all Quisk's parameters, and you can read it to see what can be changed.
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
If you are controlling custom hardware, you will need to specify a
|
|
hardware
|
|
file in quisk_conf.py. The default is quisk_hardware_model.py. Look at
|
|
the
|
|
other quisk_hardware_*.py files. For example, quisk_hardware_fixed.py
|
|
is for
|
|
crystal controlled SoftRock. To use that hardware file, change your
|
|
quisk_conf.py to include:
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">import quisk_hardware_fixed as
|
|
quisk_hardware
|
|
<br>
|
|
</div>
|
|
<br>
|
|
There are comments in quisk_conf_model.py showing this change.
|
|
If none of the hardware files do exactly what you want, copy one of
|
|
them to
|
|
your own quisk_hardware.py, edit that file, and include this line in
|
|
quisk_conf.py:
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">import quisk_hardware
|
|
<br>
|
|
</div>
|
|
<br>
|
|
Newer versions of Quisk will not overwrite your
|
|
quisk_hardware.py. Your hardware file enables you to customize
|
|
Quisk without changing the Quisk program files.
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
Alternatively, you can define a class named "Hardware" in your config
|
|
file,
|
|
and that class will be used instead of a hardware file. This is
|
|
recommended
|
|
only for simple hardware needs. The class should start like this:
|
|
<br>
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<pre>from quisk_hardware_model import Hardware as BaseHardware
|
|
class Hardware(BaseHardware):
|
|
def __init__(self, app, conf):
|
|
BaseHardware.__init__(self, app, conf)
|
|
# Start your hardware control here.
|
|
# For ideas, see one of the other hardware modules.
|
|
</pre>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
Both the config file and your hardware file are written in the Python
|
|
language. Python is an easy to learn but powerful computer
|
|
language. Quisk can be adapted to different hardware because of
|
|
the power of Python.
|
|
<br>
|
|
<br>
|
|
<h2 id="SoundCards">Sound Cards </h2>
|
|
If you use a sound card for input, the quality of your sound card is
|
|
critical;
|
|
but you can start with the sound card you have. Check the Graph screen
|
|
with no input to see the noise floor. It should be as flat and as low
|
|
as
|
|
possible,
|
|
with no bump near zero Hertz. The 0dB line at the top of the Graph
|
|
screen
|
|
is the
|
|
maximum level, so if your noise floor is at -90 dB, you have that much
|
|
dynamic range. The IF (sound) input to the sound card should raise the
|
|
noise
|
|
floor only slightly to avoid losing dynamic range.
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
The sample rate determines how much of the band you can see on the
|
|
screen. My 96 kHz card shows a little over 80 kHz of bandwidth, from
|
|
-40 kHz to + 40 kHz centered at the VFO frequency. Generally you
|
|
would choose the
|
|
highest
|
|
rate available to get the most visible bandwidth. Be aware that a card
|
|
claiming to work at (say) 192 kHz may in fact play at that rate, but
|
|
only capture (record) audio at a lower rate. It is the capture rate
|
|
that matters.
|
|
Enter only the sample rate you know your raw hardware supports for
|
|
capture.
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
If you use the SDR-IQ or other hardware for input, you still need a
|
|
sound card for sound output. The quality of this card is not so
|
|
important, so try the one you have. Be aware that most sound
|
|
cards require the capture and playback rate to be the same when used
|
|
for both. Here are some sample configurations:
|
|
<br>
|
|
<ul>
|
|
|
|
<li>SoftRock Rx/Tx: Receive to card 1, Transmit to card 1 at the same
|
|
rate, radio sound to card 2 at 48 kHz, microphone input from card 2 or
|
|
3 at 48 kHz.</li>
|
|
|
|
<li>SoftRock Rx: Receive to card 1, radio sound to card1 at the same
|
|
rate; OR radio sound to card 2 at 48 kHz.</li>
|
|
|
|
<li>Other: Receive from SDR-IQ or other hardware, radio sound to card
|
|
1 at 48 kHz. Add a microphone to card1 at 48 kHz, or to card2 at
|
|
48 kHz.</li>
|
|
|
|
<li>Panadapter: There is no radio sound. Enter a null name ""
|
|
for the play device.
|
|
<br>
|
|
</li>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
If you buy a new sound card, make sure you know the
|
|
capture (recording) sample rates and the noise level. Sound cards
|
|
are usually specified over
|
|
the audio range up to 24 kHz or so. But we need low noise and
|
|
distortion
|
|
over the whole range.
|
|
<br>
|
|
<h3 id="g0.4.1">Linux Names</h3>
|
|
Quisk can use PulseAudio, PortAudio or ALSA to access your sound card.
|
|
Names can be a fragment of text from the device description. It is
|
|
better to use this text search rather than an index number, because the
|
|
index number can change if you plug and unplug USB sound cards.
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
The ALSA drivers use different names for the same sound card
|
|
to provide different access. The names "hw:0" and "hw:1" refer
|
|
to the raw hardware devices of the first and second sound card.
|
|
You should use the raw hardware if possible. If the raw devices don't
|
|
work,
|
|
use the "plughw" name. The ALSA name can also be a string
|
|
name. Here are some ALSA names:
|
|
<br>
|
|
<pre>"hw:0" # First sound card
|
|
"hw:1" # Second sound card, etc.
|
|
"plughw" # plug device
|
|
"default" # alsa default device
|
|
"alsa:NVidia" # Search for the name in the alsa device description
|
|
</pre>
|
|
Alsa names starting with "alsa:" are an extension to the normal alsa
|
|
names. They search for the text after the colon in the alsa
|
|
device
|
|
name. The alsa device names are shown on the config screen.
|
|
Or you
|
|
can start a terminal window and enter "aplay -l" for a list of play
|
|
devices, or "arecord -l" for a list of capture devices. See <a href="http://james.ahlstrom.name/alsa_names.html">alsa_names</a> for
|
|
more information.
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
The PortAudio interface is now optional. Many users are changing to PulseAudio.
|
|
You can run "python portaudio.py" in a terminal window to
|
|
see a list of available PortAudio names. Here are some PortAudio names:
|
|
<br>
|
|
<pre>"portaudio:(hw:0,0)" First sound card.
|
|
"portaudio:(hw:1,0)" Second sound card, etc.
|
|
"portaudio:NVidia" Search for the name in the portaudio device description.
|
|
"portaudio#1" Directly specified index.
|
|
"portaudiodefault" May give poor performance on capture.
|
|
</pre>
|
|
<h3 id="g0.4.2">Linux Sound Servers </h3>
|
|
Newer Linux systems are now shipping with PulseAudio enabled.
|
|
PulseAudio is a sound server, a program that takes control of your
|
|
sound cards, and controls usage by applications. The idea is that
|
|
your applications talk to PulseAudio, and PulseAudio talks to the sound
|
|
cards. Another example of a sound server is JACK.
|
|
You can control the
|
|
sound routing with the pavucontrol program. Remarkably, this is
|
|
not included with PulseAudio, and you will need to install the
|
|
pavucontrol package first.
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
Thanks to Philip G. Lee and Eric Thornton, KM4DSJ, Quisk now has native support for PulseAudio.
|
|
For PulseAudio devices, use the name "pulse:name" and connect the streams
|
|
to your hardware devices using a PulseAudio control program like pavucontrol. The name "pulse"
|
|
alone refers to the "default" device. The PulseAudio names are quite long;
|
|
for example "alsa_output.pci-0000_00_1b.0.analog-stereo". Look on the screen
|
|
Config/Sound to see the device names. There is a description, a PulseAudio name,
|
|
and for ALSA devices, the ALSA name.
|
|
Instead of the long PulseAudio name, you can enter a substring of any of these three strings.
|
|
An example is:
|
|
|
|
<pre>
|
|
# As seen on the Config/Sound screen:
|
|
CM106 Like Sound Device Analog Stereo
|
|
alsa_output.usb-0d8c_USB_Sound_Device-00-Device.analog-stereo
|
|
USB Sound Device USB Audio (hw:1,0)
|
|
|
|
# Use the default pulse device for radio sound:
|
|
"pulse"
|
|
# Use a PulseAudio name for radio sound:
|
|
"pulse:alsa_output.usb-0d8c_USB_Sound_Device-00-Device.analog-stereo"
|
|
# Abbreviate the PulseAudio name:
|
|
"pulse:alsa_output.usb"
|
|
# Another abbreviation:
|
|
"pulse:CM106"
|
|
</pre>
|
|
|
|
The PulseAudio code should not cause problems, but I am not sure what happens if PulseAudio is not
|
|
installed, or if you replace it with JACK. This config file option will turn off all but directly
|
|
entered "pulse:" names:
|
|
<pre>show_pulse_audio_devices = False
|
|
</pre>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
<h3 id="g0.4.3">Linux Problems </h3>
|
|
|
|
If Quisk appears to run but you get no sound input or output, you
|
|
may be having trouble
|
|
with your settings. Start Quisk and look at the graph. You should get a
|
|
moving
|
|
line display. Look at the Config screen. Interrupts should be
|
|
increasing and latencies
|
|
should fluctuate. If all this looks normal, but you get no sound
|
|
output, or you get only
|
|
white noise output, then you may need to change your settings with a
|
|
mixer program.
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
If you capture data with the sound card (no SDR-IQ) then you need
|
|
to set the "capture
|
|
device" to the line-in jack, and set the volume of the line-in to 100%.
|
|
To play sound,
|
|
you need to increase the volume of the playback device. Since a typical
|
|
sound card has
|
|
ten or twenty controls for all its analog and digital inputs and
|
|
outputs, it is a guessing
|
|
game to figure out which control to adjust.
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
Basically you start the alsamixer program (use "man alsamixer" first)
|
|
and adjust the volume
|
|
controls and capture device until Quisk works. It is wise to reduce or
|
|
mute unwanted inputs
|
|
to avoid adding extra noise.
|
|
Quisk does not do this for you. But once you have the controls set,
|
|
they will stay the same
|
|
and Quisk should keep working until you run another audio program that
|
|
changes them.
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
To make Quisk adjust the mixer controls when it starts, you need to
|
|
know the control id number.
|
|
Run the command "amixer -c 0 contents" (for card zero) and look at the
|
|
control ids, names
|
|
and values of all your controls. Figure out the control you need to
|
|
adjust. For a setable
|
|
option (on/off) the control value is one or zero. For a volume it is a
|
|
number from 0.0 to
|
|
1.0. Make a list of (device_name, numid, value) and add it to
|
|
mixer_settings in your
|
|
.quisk_conf.py file (see quisk_conf_defaults.py). I don't need to do
|
|
this on my computer
|
|
except for the microphone input on my second sound card.
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
If you really get stuck, try one of these commands (see the "man"
|
|
page):
|
|
<br>
|
|
<ul>
|
|
|
|
<li>alsamixer An ALSA mixer program with a curses interface. </li>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
<ul>
|
|
|
|
<li>amixer A character ALSA mixer. </li>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
<ul>
|
|
|
|
<li>aplay Play sound. </li>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
<ul>
|
|
|
|
<li>arecord Capture sound. </li>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
<ul>
|
|
|
|
<li>speaker-test Play sound to test your speakers. </li>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
And try to play an audio CD or run some other Linux audio program just
|
|
to see that you
|
|
have a working sound system.
|
|
If you can't get ALSA to work, you could try the PortAudio or PulseAudio interface by
|
|
just
|
|
changing the sound card names.
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
<h3 id="g0.4.4">Windows Names</h3>
|
|
To see what sound cards you have, use the Control Panel item Sound
|
|
Devices. There is a separate list for capture (recording) and
|
|
playback devices, and a specified default device for each. The
|
|
name of the default device is "Primary". To specify your sound
|
|
card name, use either "Primary" or a substring of the device
|
|
name. The search is case sensitive.
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
<h2 id="SDRIQ">SDR-IQ as Input </h2>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Quisk can use an SDR-IQ from RfSpace instead of a sound card as input.
|
|
Set up a radio of type SdrIQ. The SDR-IQ uses a serial port to connect to Quisk. When you plug it in,
|
|
it will create a USB serial port and connect to it.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<br>
|
|
<p>
|
|
On Linux the serial port has a name like /dev/ttyUSB0. Look in /dev or use "dmesg | tail" to figure out what port it is using.
|
|
Then enter that port as the "Serial port" on the Config/radio/Hardware screen. The serial ports are part of the "dialout" group.
|
|
Add yourself to the "dialout" group so you have permission to use the serial port. You also need a serial port USB
|
|
driver for the ft245 chip in the SDR-IQ, but Linux generally comes with a suitable driver.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<br>
|
|
<p>
|
|
On Windows the "Serial port" name is not used, and Quisk will search for the port in use.
|
|
On Windows 10, you should see a device "SDR-IQ" in Device Manager in the "View/Devices by Container" tab.
|
|
In earlier versions of Windows, port names are COM1, COM2 etc. and use the "USB Serial Converter" driver.
|
|
Windows should find this driver by itself.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<br>
|
|
<h2 id="Perseus">Perseus as Input </h2>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Quisk can use an Perseus HF receiver from Microtelecom instead of a sound card as input.
|
|
Set up a radio of type Perseus. The Perseus uses a native USB interface to connect to Quisk.
|
|
The Quisk perseuspkg extension relies on <a href="http://github.com/Microtelecom/libpserseus-sdr">libperseus-sdr</a>
|
|
open source library to manage Perseus hardware and receive the I/Q samples stream.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<br>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Follow the instruction into GitHub repository to compile and install the library.
|
|
On Suse distribution the library is available as binary package.
|
|
Next compile the perseuspkg using the command:
|
|
</p>
|
|
<br>
|
|
<pre>
|
|
make perseus3
|
|
</pre>
|
|
</br>
|
|
<p>
|
|
The several sample rates can be selected opening Config panel: in
|
|
the Config tab there is the Samples rates dropdown.
|
|
</p>
|
|
The input analog filter can be switched in using the button Wideband.<br>
|
|
The input attenuator is operate via the button RF, that allows to select
|
|
the four attenuator steps.<br>
|
|
The ADC commands for dithering and preamplifier are found on
|
|
left bottom corner as ADC Dither and ADC Preamp.<br>
|
|
</p>
|
|
<br>
|
|
<h2 id="Timing">Timing </h2>
|
|
<br>
|
|
There are several configuration parameters devoted to tuning; read the
|
|
file quisk_conf_defaults.py for documentation. For most users, Quisk
|
|
should run fine with the default settings. But if you use Quisk as part
|
|
of a QSK CW transmitter, you should reduce latency_millisecs to as low
|
|
a
|
|
value as possible. This will reduce latency, but increase the
|
|
likelihood of clicks and pops due to sound buffer underruns.
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
<h2 id="USBControl">USB Control </h2>
|
|
Many radio devices are now controlled through a USB interface. In
|
|
many cases, the interface is actually a serial port, and an external or
|
|
internal USB to serial converter is used. In other cases, the USB
|
|
is native, but requires a custom device driver. In still other
|
|
cases, the USB device announces itself as a standard device such as a
|
|
sound device or human interface device, and uses a standard operating
|
|
system built-in driver.
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
<h3 id="g0.7.1">Linux</h3>
|
|
Default USB permissions do not allow a non-root user to write to the
|
|
bus. You may find that Quisk will complain about lack of
|
|
permission to access the USB. You could test this by running
|
|
Quisk as root and seeing if that works; but this is not acceptable
|
|
except for testing. To change USB permissions, add a rule to
|
|
/etc/udev/rules.d/local.rules (for SoftRock on Debian and Ubuntu) like
|
|
this:
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTR{idVendor}=="16c0" ,
|
|
ATTR{idProduct}=="05dc", MODE="0666", GROUP="dialout"
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
This changes the USB device permissions to read/write for all users,
|
|
and changes the group to the "dialout" group. Default group
|
|
permissions are read/write, so if you are in the "dialout" group, you
|
|
don't need "MODE"; modify as appropriate. To load the new rule, you can either reboot or on Ubuntu use
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
sudo udevadm control --reload-rules
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
<h2 id="CustomHardware">Custom Hardware</h2>
|
|
<p>Quisk receives RF using your sound card or your SDR-IQ out of the
|
|
box. But if you have
|
|
custom hardware such as a VFO or
|
|
a transmitter, you need to describe your hardware to Quisk.</p>
|
|
First, Quisk has a transmit (Tx) frequency and a receive (Rx)
|
|
frequency. The transmit frequency is the one shown in the
|
|
frequency display, and shown by the tuning line on the graph and the
|
|
waterfall. The Rx frequency is always equal to the Tx frequency
|
|
except when the RIT (receiver incremental tuning) button is down or the
|
|
Split feature is in use.
|
|
The primary frequency in Quisk is the Tx frequency, even when you are
|
|
receiving.
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
Quisk has a "VFO" frequency. This is the RF frequency
|
|
corresponding to zero Hertz audio frequency, and is the frequency shown
|
|
at the center of the
|
|
graph display. For a SoftRock or a direct conversion receiver
|
|
(Tayloe detector, SDR1000-type hardware, etc.) this really is the VFO
|
|
frequency. But consider an AOR AR8600 receiver with a 10.7 MHz IF
|
|
output
|
|
to a pan adapter. For that case, the VFO is always 10.7 MHz since
|
|
that is the center point of the display, and signals at exactly 10.7
|
|
MHz are at zero Hertz audio. But to display the correct frequency
|
|
within Quisk, the VFO would be the tuning frequency of the AR8600.
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
When Quisk starts, it uses the hardware description in
|
|
quisk_hardware_model.py, but this file doesn't do much. It is
|
|
mostly useful as a model or starting point. To use a different
|
|
hardware
|
|
file, first create a custom file such as my_hardware.py. Look at
|
|
the various quisk_hardware_*.py for ideas. Then import your file
|
|
in your config file:
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
<pre> import my_hardware as quisk_hardware.</pre>
|
|
<br>
|
|
Suppose you have a crystal controlled SoftRock. A good model
|
|
hardware file is quisk_hardware_fixed.py. Copy
|
|
quisk_hardware_fixed.py to my_hardware.py, make any changes to
|
|
my_hardware.py, and import it in your config file.
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
At my shack, I control an AT-200PC antenna tuner, my SDR-IQ, my filter
|
|
boxes and my SSB transceiver (using Ethernet) all with Quisk. Take a
|
|
look at my n2adr subdirectory.
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
The quisk_hardware_model.py file shows the basics of hardware control.
|
|
There is an open() and close() function called once on startup and
|
|
shutdown. The ChangeMode() and ChangeBand() functions are called when
|
|
the user changes the mode or band with the corresponding buttons.
|
|
The HeartBeat() function is called at about 10 Hz by Quisk. You
|
|
can put code there to poll a serial port or to perform other
|
|
housekeeping functions (try to be efficient). The two remaining
|
|
functions deserve more documentation.
|
|
<br>
|
|
<br>
|
|
<h3 id="g0.8.1">ChangeFrequency(self, tune, vfo, source='', band='', event=None)</h3>
|
|
Quisk calls the ChangeFrequency() function when the user changes the Tx
|
|
frequency with a mouse click on the graph or waterfall, with the entry
|
|
box, with the band Up/Down buttons, etc. The "source" is a string
|
|
giving the reason for the change:
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
<table style="text-align: left; width: 896px; height: 190px;" cellspacing="2" cellpadding="2" border="1">
|
|
|
|
<tbody>
|
|
|
|
<tr>
|
|
|
|
<td style="vertical-align: top;">BtnBand</td>
|
|
|
|
<td style="vertical-align: top;"> A band button was pressed (the
|
|
string band is in the band argument)</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
|
|
<tr>
|
|
|
|
<td style="vertical-align: top;">BtnUpDown</td>
|
|
|
|
<td style="vertical-align: top;">The band Up/Down buttons were
|
|
pressed</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
|
|
<tr>
|
|
|
|
<td style="vertical-align: top;">FreqEntry</td>
|
|
|
|
<td style="vertical-align: top;">The user entered a frequency in
|
|
the
|
|
box</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
|
|
<tr>
|
|
|
|
<td style="vertical-align: top;">MouseBtn1</td>
|
|
|
|
<td style="vertical-align: top;">Left mouse button was pressed
|
|
(for the mouse, "event" is the handler event)
|
|
<br>
|
|
</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
|
|
<tr>
|
|
|
|
<td style="vertical-align: top;">MouseBtn3</td>
|
|
|
|
<td style="vertical-align: top;">Right mouse button was pressed</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
|
|
<tr>
|
|
|
|
<td style="vertical-align: top;">MouseMotion</td>
|
|
|
|
<td style="vertical-align: top;">The user is dragging with the
|
|
left button</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
|
|
<tr>
|
|
|
|
<td style="vertical-align: top;">MouseWheel</td>
|
|
|
|
<td style="vertical-align: top;">The mouse wheel up/down was used</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
</tbody>
|
|
</table>
|
|
<br>
|
|
Most of the time you will not care about the "source". You just
|
|
need to react to the user's action, perhaps by changing the hardware
|
|
VFO frequency. It is not necessary to actually make the change
|
|
requested. Just
|
|
adjust your hardware as required, and return the actual (tune, vfo)
|
|
that you want. Quisk will ignore its requested values and use
|
|
your actual values instead.
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
For example, suppose you have a crystal controlled SoftRock. The
|
|
VFO frequency is fixed at (say) 7.025 MHz. Then when
|
|
ChangeFrequency() is called, return (tune, 7025000). This will
|
|
fix your VFO frequency to the only one available.
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
Suppose Quisk calls ChangeFrequency() with vfo=7050000 and
|
|
tune=7100000, so the tune is 50 kHz above the VFO. Suppose that
|
|
is unacceptable because of (say) bandwidth limitations, so you want the
|
|
VFO closer to the tune. Set your hardware VFO to 7090000 instead,
|
|
and return (tune, 7090000).
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
Suppose Quisk is just controlling a receiver and the audio is
|
|
demodulated by the receiver and not by Quisk. Then the center
|
|
frequency is always the tuning frequency, and you would set the
|
|
receiver frequency to tune, and return (tune,
|
|
tune).
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
<h3 id="g0.8.2">ReturnFrequency(self)</h3>
|
|
When Quisk starts, it calls ReturnFrequency() to get the initial tune
|
|
and VFO. To display an initial frequency, return (tune, vfo) on
|
|
the first call.
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
Thereafter, Quisk calls ReturnFrequency() at a 10 Hz rate to poll for
|
|
frequency changes. You should almost always return (None, None)
|
|
to indicate that the frequencies have not changed since the last time
|
|
ReturnFrequency() or ChangeFrequency() was called. Returning
|
|
(None, None) is slightly more efficient than returning the actual
|
|
frequencies, and thus forcing Quisk to see if its frequencies are out
|
|
of date.
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
The only reason to return something other than (None, None) is if your
|
|
hardware can change frequency by itself; that is, other than in
|
|
response to ChangeFrequency(). For example, if your hardware is a
|
|
receiver with a tuning knob, and the user turns the knob, you must
|
|
return the new frequencies from ReturnFrequency() or else Quisk will be
|
|
unaware of the change.
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
<h3 id="g0.8.3">Adding Custom Hardware to the Config/Radios Screen</h3>
|
|
Once you write your own hardware file for your custom hardware, you still need to add it to the
|
|
list of available radio types, and add its configuration options to its Config/radios/Hardware screen.
|
|
First create a subdirectory of the Quisk directory with a name ending in "pkg"; for example,
|
|
"myradiopkg". Then put your hardware file in this subdirectory with the name "quisk_hardware.py".
|
|
You will need at least one configuration option to specify the hardware file name.
|
|
Add this code (all comments) near the top of quisk_hardware.py:
|
|
<pre>
|
|
|
|
# Define the name of the hardware and the items on the hardware screen (see quisk_conf_defaults.py):
|
|
################ Receivers MyRadio, The special radio that I own
|
|
## hardware_file_name Hardware file path, rfile
|
|
# This is the file that contains the control logic for each radio.
|
|
#hardware_file_name = 'myradiopkg/quisk_hardware.py'
|
|
|
|
</pre>
|
|
Of course, change the names of the radio and subdirectory as appropriate. Your radio of general type "MyRadio"
|
|
will now appear in the list of radios on the Config/Radios screen, and its configuration items will appear
|
|
on the Config/radio/Hardware screen. You can add additional items. See quisk_conf_defaults.py and the *pkg
|
|
subdirectories for examples.
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
<br>
|
|
<h2 id="ExtensionPackages">Extension Packages </h2>
|
|
Quisk comes with two extension packages. The freedvpkg package
|
|
supports FreeDV digital voice. The n2adr package
|
|
supports the hardware in my shack. There are other extension
|
|
packages available from third parties.
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
All extension packages are directories (folders) in the Quisk root;
|
|
that is, in the directory where quisk.py is located. This enables
|
|
Quisk to find extension modules, and extension modules to find each
|
|
other. You can install in a different place, but you will need to
|
|
know what you are doing.
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
Starting with Quisk 3.6 C-language extension modules are not linked
|
|
with _quisk.so. Certain symbols from _quisk.so are exported using
|
|
the Python CObject or Capsule interface. That simplifies linkage
|
|
and eliminates problems with module search paths. See the
|
|
documentation in import_quisk_api.c. This change was suggested by
|
|
Maitland Bottoms, AA4HS, and he also provided patches.
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
<h3 id="g0.9.1">Shared Libraries </h3>
|
|
|
|
The main Python extension module for Quisk is _quisk.so or _quisk.pyd.
|
|
It is a shared
|
|
library. To import it, it must be on the Python path. There are other
|
|
Python extension modules (shared libraries) for other hardware, for
|
|
example,
|
|
sdriq.so. Quisk works fine when all these modules are in package
|
|
subdirectories. If you want to put them somewhere else, be sure that the Python import mechanism can find them.
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
If you link your sub-packages against _quisk so you can use _quisk functions, be aware that your sub-package must be able
|
|
to find
|
|
_quisk.so at both compile and run time. You need to follow the Linux rules for searching
|
|
for
|
|
shared libraries. Try using the "ldd sdriq.so" command to see your
|
|
library
|
|
dependencies. Also try readelf -d sdriq.so.
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
For Quisk version 3.6 and newer, you should use the Python CObject or
|
|
Capsule mechanism instead of using the C linker to access _quisk
|
|
functions and data. Quisk will prepare an array of function and
|
|
data pointers and transfer them to your sub-module without using the C
|
|
linker. Only minimal changes to your sub-module are
|
|
required. The SDR-IQ module sdriq.so uses this method, and you
|
|
can use it as a model. See the file import_quisk_api.c for
|
|
documentation.
|
|
<br>
|
|
<h3 id="g0.9.2">New Packages </h3>
|
|
If you have more complex needs or want to distribute your code more
|
|
widely, you need to create a new Quisk package. That is easily
|
|
done by modeling your code after the existing packages. To create
|
|
a new package you need a subdirectory of the Quisk root to hold it,
|
|
perhaps "mypak". Then create these files in mypak:
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
<ul>
|
|
|
|
<li>__init__.py This file just consists of
|
|
the
|
|
character "#". Its existence identifies mypak as a Python package.
|
|
<br>
|
|
</li>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
<ul>
|
|
|
|
<li>makefile Only needed if you have C-language extensions.
|
|
<br>
|
|
</li>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
<ul>
|
|
|
|
<li>MANIFEST.in A list of files you want to
|
|
distribute in your package. This file often consists of just one
|
|
line: include *.c *.h *.py *.txt
|
|
*.html
|
|
*.so makefile
|
|
<br>
|
|
</li>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
<ul>
|
|
|
|
<li>README.txt This file is expected to
|
|
be
|
|
present.</li>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
<ul>
|
|
|
|
<li>setup.py This file
|
|
describes
|
|
your package. It contains the package name, author, C source
|
|
files and compiler options, etc. See <a href="http://docs.python.org/distutils/setupscript.html">http://docs.python.org/distutils/setupscript.html</a>
|
|
and use other packages as examples.
|
|
<br>
|
|
</li>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
<br>
|
|
To these files, you add all your Python files, C-language files and any
|
|
other files you need. If you have a hardware or widget file, they
|
|
should be named quisk_hardware.py and quisk_widgets.py. Longer
|
|
names are not needed because you are within a package. You should
|
|
include a sample quisk_conf.py too.
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
To compile C-language extensions (if you have any) enter "make".
|
|
To import your hardware and widgets files from other modules, use:
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
from mypak import quisk_hardware
|
|
<br>
|
|
from mypak import quisk_widgets
|
|
<br>
|
|
from mypak import myext as EXT
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
The setup.py file describes how to build your package. But it is
|
|
also used to distribute it. To create a mypak-1.0.tar.gz file in
|
|
the "dist" subdirectory, use:
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
python setup.py sdist
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
You can then put the file on your web page (for example). To make
|
|
your package available on PyPi.Python.org, first register with PyPi and
|
|
then use:
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
python setup.py register sdist upload
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
Python supports quite complicated packages; see the distutils
|
|
documentation.
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
<h3 id="g0.9.3">Installing Packages </h3>
|
|
Your package mypak will run on your machine as is. But when
|
|
another user gets mypak-1.0.tar.gz they need to install it.
|
|
Basically, they just put it in the Quisk root with the same name as on
|
|
your machine. Here is an INSTALL.txt:
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
Unzip and untar this archive at the root of the Quisk directory; that
|
|
is, where the file quisk.py is located. In this example, the
|
|
archive is named "mypak" and the path to quisk.py is
|
|
/home/jim/quisk/quisk.py.
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
mv mypak-1.0.tar.gz /home/jim/quisk
|
|
<br>
|
|
cd /home/jim/quisk
|
|
<br>
|
|
gunzip mypak-1.0.tar.gz
|
|
<br>
|
|
tar xf mypak-1.0.tar
|
|
<br>
|
|
# Make sure that directory mypak-1.0 exists before removing the
|
|
archive.
|
|
<br>
|
|
rm mypak-1.0.tar # tar file
|
|
is no longer needed
|
|
<br>
|
|
mv mypak-1.0 mypak # change to the correct name
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
<h2 id="Digital">Digital Modes </h2>
|
|
Quisk has a number of modes "DGT-" to receive and transmit digital
|
|
signals. The modes "DGT-U" and "DGT-L" decode the signal as upper
|
|
or lower sideband, and send the monophonic audio to the digital sound
|
|
device. The mode "DGT-IQ" does not decode the audio; the I/Q
|
|
samples are sent directly to the (stereo) digital sound device.
|
|
The bandwidth of the digital signals is set with the filter buttons as
|
|
usual, and the filter center is 1500 Hertz.
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
Digital modes require an external program such as Fldigi or wsjtx to decode the
|
|
received
|
|
audio and to generate transmit audio. There are two aspects, rig
|
|
control and audio transfer. Rig control is needed to synchronize
|
|
the transmit frequency between Quisk and Fldigi (or other program) and
|
|
to operate the PTT (push to talk). You can control Quisk using
|
|
either XML-RPC or Hamlib.
|
|
See <a href="#Hamlib">Rig Control and Logging</a> below.
|
|
<br>
|
|
<br>
|
|
Quisk has an additional audio input and output for digital
|
|
programs. They are named digital_input_name and
|
|
digital_output_name in the config file.
|
|
They are Digital Input and Digital Output on your radio's Sound configuration screen.
|
|
You need to set these names to a sound
|
|
device, and then set the Fldigi (or other program) sound card to the
|
|
same device. The sound device is not a real sound card; it is
|
|
some sort of loopback device, and is only needed because there is no
|
|
standard way of sending sound samples between two programs (yet).
|
|
The method to use for Quisk is the same as for other programs, and is
|
|
on the web. It works for any digital program, not just Fldigi.
|
|
<br>
|
|
<br>
|
|
If you use Windows, you need to purchase a Virtual Audio Cable
|
|
(VAC). Connect Quisk to one side, and your digital program to the
|
|
other. I haven't tried this, so I don't know the device names to
|
|
use, but it is straight forward.
|
|
<br>
|
|
<br>
|
|
If you use Linux, you can use the ALSA loopback device, or use
|
|
PortAudio, PulseAudio or Jack to route your audio. Using PulseAudio is the
|
|
easiest method because Quisk can set up the loopback devices when it starts.
|
|
Set Digital Input to
|
|
pulse:QuiskDigitalInput.monitor, and set Digital Output to pulse:QuiskDigitalOutput.
|
|
These names should be on the drop down list. If they are missing, make sure that
|
|
you didn't set "show_pulse_audio_devices" to False in your config file. Then restart Quisk.
|
|
In your digital program, connect the digital
|
|
input to QuiskDigitalOutput.monitor and the digital output to QuiskDigitalInput.
|
|
These names will be on the sound menu in wsjtx, and you should be receiving and transmitting digital data.
|
|
<br>
|
|
<br>
|
|
Fldigi only has a PulseAudio check box, and there is no way to set the proper device.
|
|
In this case, first install the program pavucontrol to control PulseAudio. This is a useful program to
|
|
control and understand PulseAudio even if you are not using digital. Set the Quisk devices as above.
|
|
Now start both Quisk and Fldigi, and then pavucontrol. The Playback and Recording screens in pavucontrol will
|
|
show the devices being used. Change the Fldigi playback to QuiskDigitalInput, and the Fldigi recording to
|
|
Monitor of QuiskDigitalOutput. Then everything should work. You do not need to use pavucontrol again because PulseAudio will
|
|
remember the settings.
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
If you don't have PulseAudio or don't want to use it, you can use the ALSA loopback device.
|
|
The ALSA loopback device works the same way as the Windows VAC. First
|
|
create the loopback device with the command "modprobe snd-aloop" (you
|
|
will need to be root). You can create the loopback device
|
|
when the system starts, but the way to do that depends on your version of
|
|
Linux. I added snd-aloop to /etc/modules. You could put the modprobe command in /etc/rc.local instead.
|
|
Restart Linux. Now you can enter "cat /proc/asound/cards" to
|
|
print out your sound cards, and you should see a "Loopback" card
|
|
listed. The cards are also shown on the Quisk config
|
|
screen. The Loopback card has one side that connects to Quisk and
|
|
another side that connects to your digital program. For the Quisk
|
|
side connect both Digital Input and Digital Output to Loopback,0.
|
|
Note that the Loopback card is full duplex, and handles both
|
|
input and output. There are actually eight loopbacks created at once,
|
|
but we are only using subdevice 0. For the digital program side, set the input and
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|
output to "Loopback,1". For Fldigi this is in the Audio / Devices
|
|
/ PortAudio menu. Your audio is now connected and you
|
|
should be able to receive digital signals. Be sure to test your
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transmit signal off the air. You may need to reduce power to
|
|
improve linearity.
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<br>
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<br>
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The sample rate for Quisk Digital Input (transmit audio) is fixed at
|
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48000 sps. The sample rate for Quisk Digital Output (received
|
|
audio) is the same as the rate sent to your speakers. The
|
|
Loopback device adopts the rate of the first program to use it.
|
|
So starting Quisk first and your digital program next should
|
|
work. Or you may need to set the appropriate rates. It is
|
|
probably best to set all sample rates to 48000 sps because the digital
|
|
signals are so narrow, and this make them easier to see.
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|
<br>
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|
<br>
|
|
<h2 id="Hamlib">Rig Control and Logging</h2>
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|
Digital mode and logging programs need to control Quisk to read and set the frequency and mode and to operate PTT.
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|
Quisk has three options for external control and they can all be used together to connect to multiple programs.
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|
See the Config/radio/Remote screen.
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|
See <a href="http://james.ahlstrom.name/hamlib.html">http://james.ahlstrom.name/hamlib.html</a> for more information.
|
|
<br><br>
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|
To connect an external program to Quisk using Hamlib, configure your program to use "Hamlib NET rigctl" (rig 2).
|
|
Then go to the Quisk "Remote" config screen for your radio and set
|
|
"IP port for Hamlib" to 4532. This assumes you are not using the rigctld daemon program. If you are,
|
|
set the Quisk port to 4575 and tell rigctld to control quisk on port 4575.
|
|
Now changing the frequency on one program will change the other.
|
|
Keying Quisk to key down (however you do that with your hardware) will
|
|
set the external program to Transmit. Pressing the PTT control in the external program will
|
|
also press the PTT button in Quisk.
|
|
<br><br>
|
|
You can also control Quisk from another program by using the XML-RPC method if this is available
|
|
in your program. Fldigi can use this method.
|
|
<br><br>
|
|
If your program only uses a serial port (N1MM+) then
|
|
use Hamlib with the rig set to "Flex" and connect to the Quisk serial port set on the Remote screen.
|
|
For Linux, Quisk can set up these ports itself, and they have names like "/tmp/QuiskTTY0". On Windows
|
|
you need a "Virtual Serial Port" that is set up by an external program. This is like the "Virtual Audio Cable"
|
|
needed for samples. An Internet search will turn up HDD Software, Eltima Software and many others. Set up a port pair,
|
|
and enter one name on the Quisk Remote screen and the other name in the external program.
|
|
<br>
|
|
<br>
|
|
<h2 id="VNA">Vector Network Analyzer</h2>
|
|
If you have my transceiver hardware from 2010 QEX, or the newer HiQSDR
|
|
hardware, or the Hermes-Lite you can use it as a vector network analyzer by using a
|
|
special program. You must be using FPGA firmware version 1.3 or
|
|
newer. Run the VNA program with "python quisk_vna.py" or use a
|
|
shortcut. The VNA program will not work with SoftRock or other
|
|
hardware. The "Help" button explains how to use it, and should
|
|
get you started. This VNA program enables you to analyze your
|
|
antennas without additional expense.
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
A calibration run must be taken before any data can be obtained.
|
|
The calibrations request a scan of data points every 15 killohertz from
|
|
zero to 60 megahertz, or a little over 4000 points. These data
|
|
are saved so that the scan frequencies can be changed without a new
|
|
calibration. For any start and end scan frequency the user
|
|
chooses, these saved calibrations are used with linear interpolation.
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
<h3>HiQSDR Internals</h3>
|
|
When running in VNA mode the two control bytes [18:20] are the 16-bit
|
|
non-zero VNA count "vna_count", the number of data points to
|
|
send. This locks the transmit and receive frequency to the
|
|
same value. The phases are also equal except for a fixed time
|
|
delay, which causes a linear change of phase with frequency. The
|
|
starting frequency is the receive frequency (actually phase)
|
|
rx_phase. Subsequent points have the transmit phase tx_phase
|
|
added to create a frequency scan. Specifically, after each data
|
|
point, the tx_phase is added to create the RF output at the next
|
|
frequency; then there is a pause of 65 microseconds to allow the
|
|
external device under test to stabilize; then 4096 data points are
|
|
added together to create the sample; then the sample is added to the
|
|
block of data to send by UDP. A sample of zero is sent after the
|
|
last data point, and the process repeats. The receiving software
|
|
must look for the zero sample that marks the start of a new scan.
|
|
The total number of points in the scan is vna_count, and blocks
|
|
received with a different length should be rejected.
|
|
Since the transmit and receive frequency are the same, the data points
|
|
are I/Q values at DC; that is, a complex number representing a voltage
|
|
and phase.
|
|
If vna_count is zero, the firmware is operating normally, and not in VNA mode.
|
|
<br>
|
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<br>
|
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</div>
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</body>
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</html>
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