[aprssig] new IGate software

[Lee Bengston]

On Wed, Jun 15, 2011 at 10:15 AM, Dave <dave at g8kbv.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> On 13 Jun 2011 at 23:21, Lee Bengston wrote:

>> Fyi, after a year I decided to give this a try.  It works fine in
>> Debian Squeeze (installed with the posted deb packages).  I've got it
>> talking to a TH-D7A(G) in kiss mode, and it's connected to a Keyspan
>> USB to serial adapter hanging off a little Acer "Revo" 1600 NetTop
>> computer - basically a very small desktop computer that uses a netbook
>> motherboard and an Intel Atom CPU.  I like the logging - very valuable
>> when first getting the software up and running.  Nice work - something
>> small running in the background is exactly what I wanted.  Also,
>> thanks to the people on this and the Xastir list that have pointed out
>> that Keyspan usb to serial adapters are Linux friendly.
>>
>> Lee - K5DAT

> Beware the infamous D7 data buffer problems.  If you get seemingly weired
> lockups where the TNC in the radio just stops responding, or stops
> decodning packets, you need to power cycle the radio.  It's much worse on
> a busy chanel, if the RF chanel is quiet, they can run for days.  If
> busy, it's an achievement if they last an hour.
>
> OK for testing your software, but not good enough to be put "into
> service" as it were

Thanks for the info.  So far it's been fine, but I'm not in a very busy area.

>
> Also re the USB<>Serial adapters.  It's not the adapters that are "Linux
> Friendly", just that someone before you has done the work and the system
> recognises them for what they are, so uses known good drivers, or has
> support built into the kernel somewhere.
>
> What's worth knowing, is what chipset they use.  FTDI, Prolific, SiLabs
> etc...?

I'm well aware of all that.  I have an "I/O Connect" usb to serial
adapter that I use at work, and it has a Prolific chipset and is
detected as such in Linux.  People have reported problems with
Prolific based usb to serial adapters in both Linux and MacOSX.
Keyspan is detected as Keyspan.  I think support for mine is built in
to the kernel because I didn't have to do install a driver.  I think
it's fair to refer to these things as "Linux friendly" or not - that's
just speaking in higher level terms as opposed to referring to the
details of the drivers or chipsets.

Lee - K5DAT