sailors like slackel 7.3

[djemos]

Sorry to bother.
One small question. Why do you recommend to make an msdos partition instead of gpt when proceeding to a "real install" on an external USB stick/SSD/HDD? For better compatibility?

No bother.
From what i remember when i create a gpt partition table in usb (/dev/sdb1) it could not appeared in the combo box to select it. When i create a msdos partition table then appeared in the combo box.
If i create an efi fat 32 partition (/dev/sdb1) and a linux ext4 partition (/dev/sdb2) then sdb2 appeared but after installation usb could not boot. Maybe, without to be sure, because there is already an EFI partition table in the pc or laptop where usb plugged in and sdb2 in usb is not bootable. Only EFI sdb1 can be signed bootable in this case.
You can check it also and see if i am right. I found this method with a msdos partition table, it is working for sure.

Note: Be sure to also create a swap partition. It is needed in linux.

[juliusse]

OK, I see what it could be.
I think sli would recognize the usb only if it has a boot flag.
And if you create a "classic gpt" partition with fat32 efi boot and ext4, the media then will not boot because there can be only one (as in highlander ) efi boot sequence on the same machine (like in a dual-boot). You're right about that, I've tried and in this case the usb don't boot.
Maybe I will later try a trick, but for the moment, I will go with the msdos partitioning in order to test the sailors' repo.( one step at time).
Thanks.

[juliusse]

Hi.
I had a long day, with only little time to test (I had to help a friend with a motor problem on his boat).
So I made a quick test on a persistent live of Slackel 7.3 openbox.
Machine, Lenovo ThinkPad x201, i5, 2gb of ram (bought second hand in 2008).
As I hadn't enough space on the stick, I couldn't perform a full

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 happy-sailing install

But I had time to test opencpn, rtl-sdr, rtl-ais.
The 3 are working at dock, opencpn load charts, rtl-sdr is functional, rtl-ais too, tomorrow I'll give a trial at sea.
Tomorrow I'll also make a test of the other programs, and see if someone could pass me a satellite phone to test wvdial.
During the weekend, I'll also perform a "real install" on a USB stick in order to be able to test the happy-sailing install (but honestly I think it will rock)

Something important. There is one package missing: gqrx-sdr
This is a very important package, if you have time to add it, there is a slackbuild but it would be nice to have it in the sailors repo. https://slackbuilds.org/repository/14.2/ham/gqrx-sdr/
Note that gqrx-sdr also need to be installed after rtl-sdr in order to perform correctly, and has gr-osmosdr and qt5 as dependencies


(Maybe you can see with the maintainer of the slackbuild if you encounter issues, but I've already successfully installed it with slapt-src so I think it's good)

Just for info, you said that gnuradio was a pain to compile, maybe you can see the slackbuild too, because I've never had issues installing it with slapt-src.

Thanks for all of this.

Julien

[djemos]

Did you tried to build gnuradio lately? After boost-1.7.3 upgrade on current? Some of the packages i have build for sailors could not build with slapt-src.
gqrx could not build also. Finally, I managed to build it, creating the SLKBUILD and patch it for boost-1.7.3
I have also build mpir needed as a build dependency. I think it also can be build without mpir, but it is looking for it at build time.

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sudo slapt-get -u
sudo slat-get -i mpir gqrx

[juliusse]

Ok, you're right, I didn't try to build it since the upgrade of boost, nor gqrx. I've tried today to build it from slapt-src and failed. Thanks.

gqrx is functional, as gnuradio. Maybe you could add mpir and gqrx to sailors repo and update your script in order to install them with

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happy-sailing install

, because for the moment they don't. (but they can be installed with slapt-get -i mpir gqrx)
You're right, gqrx can be built without mpir, but it's better to build with it.

Gpsd, rtl-sdr and rtl-ais are fully functional.

I've not tried to :"Just a note. Volk it is included in gnuradio binary as internal build. There is also a volk external package. If you install gnuradio first and then external volk, volk external package will replace volk internal package.
If you install volk first and then gnuradio then gnuradio internal build will replace external volk. I mention this so you can check if both are working."
for the moment, but I'll do it ASAP

muplex is not working, there is an issue because it needs yad and gksudo and xdg-open (dumb packages) I've thought that it would be nice because it has a GUI, but your can throw it out and forget it.
personally, I use kplex a cli tool for sure , but better and very up-to-date, even with new naval standards, and relatively simple to use with a bit of RTFM( and don't need special librairies)
http://www.stripydog.com/kplex/kplex.html
So I think it would be better to replace muplex with kplex in the repo.

This afternoon, I will give a sea trial, in order to check if opencpn is fully operational, normally it would, and be back to you this evening.

[djemos]

muplex removed.
kplex added. (kplex use /etc/kplaex.conf and /usr/lib/systemd/system/kplex.service) See if it works i do not think it has to go to /usr/lib64/systemd/system/kplex.service)
happy-sailing upgraded to install all packages.

[djemos]

I removed muplex but why it is not working?
xdg-open is installed by default on slackel openbox.
download muplex rebuild and yad and check
run
/usr/bin/muplex
Then edit /etc/muplex.conf as you like
and run again muplex
sudo /usr/bin/muplex start

[juliusse]

Hi!
I've spent the entire weekend sailing, and was at anchor during the nights, so, I had all the time needed to make the sea trial. So nice
First, everything is functional, I've not see any bugs, nor malfunctions (for the moment )
I've tested kplex and it works fine. One thing however, kplex do not have a usr/lib/systemd/system/kplex.service file, kplex don't need systemd to work, the only usefull file is /etc/kplex.conf
I'm now waiting for a friend who have a satellite phone, and check if wvdial is OK, but I'm sure it will be like the rest.

The problem with muplex was tis one. At lauch, muplex was requesting yad, xdg-open and gksudo.
I will try today to reinstall muplex and yad, but honestly, just for curiosity, because kplex works and kplex is a way more superior toll than muplex.
I will also try the volk/gnuradio thing, which I've not for the moment.

I rapidly saw another post during the weekend, that seemed to be erased about Linux proportion on sailing boats, what was it?

[djemos]

It was just curiosity. Nothing important.
I asked how do you know that "the proportion of Linux users in the sailors' community is way bigger than the rest of population".
I think most sailors use commercial software and windows than linux.
You talk about sailors close to you? Friends?

[juliusse]

This assumption is based on my experience and what I see in boats.
Even if there is a lot of devices, tablets and commercial software, every boat has a computer inboard.
The most used navigation software is opencpn, OpenSource and free. The commercial ones are way too expensive and do the same.
Hardware talking, of course, windows stay at the first place. But, as the majority of people try to recycle old laptops for marine usages, at a moment, they are forced to try Linux because w$ have issues, lags and so on. And the expensive marinized PC are running on Linux most of the time (image experiencing a FBSOD in the middle of the Atlantic, not a good publicity for the retailer...)
Moreover, with the growing usage of raspberries, the proportion is more and more important.
I would say that a good 15% of people are using Linux on a sailboat. Yes, it's not the majority, but it's far more than in the rest of population.