Ubuntu Manpage: grig - graphical user interface for the Ham Radio Control Libraries (hamlib)

NAME

       grig - graphical user interface for the Ham Radio Control Libraries (hamlib)

SYNOPSIS

       grig [OPTION]...

DESCRIPTION

       Grig is a simple Ham Radio control (CAT) program based on the Ham Radio Control Libraries.
       It is intended to be highly generic  presenting  the  user  to  the  same  graphical  user
       interface regardless of which radio is being controlled.

       Grig  does  not  store  any radio configuration, instead it takes a number of command line
       options.

       -m, --model=ID
              select radio model number; see --list

       -r, --rig-file=DEVICE
              set device of the radio, eg. /dev/ttyS0

       -s, --speed=BAUD
              set transfer rate (serial port only)

       -c, --civ-addr=ID
              set CI-V address (decimal, ICOM only)

       -C, --set-conf=par=val[,par2=val2]
              set additiional configuration parameters

       -d, --debug=LEVEL
              set hamlib debug level (0..5)

       -D, --delay=VALUE
              set delay between commands in msec (see below)

       -n, --nothread
              use timeout calls instead of thread (see below)

       -l, --list
              list supported radios and exit

       -p, --enable-ptt
              enable ptt control

       -P, --enable-pwr
              enable power status control

       -h, --help
              show a brief help message and exit

       -v, --version
              show version information and exit

       Example: Start grig using YAESU FT-990 connected to the first serial port, using 4800 baud
       and debug level set to warning:

            grig -m 116 -r /dev/ttyS0 -s 4800 -d 3

       or if you prefer the long options:

            grig --model=116 --rig-file=/dev/ttyS0 --speed=4800 --debug=3

       It is usually enough to specify the model ID and the DEVICE.

       If  you  start  grig  without  any options it will use the Dummy backend and set the debug
       level to 0 (RIG_DEBUG_NONE). If you do not specify the transfer rate for the serial  port,
       the  default  serial speed will be used by the backend and even if you specify a value, it
       can be overridden by the backend. If you omit  the  radio  device  (port)  grig  will  use
       /dev/ttyS0 or localhost if the selected radio is RPC-rig.

DEBUG LEVELS

       0    No debug, keep quiet.
       1    Serious bug.
       2    Error case (e.g. protocol, memory allocation).
       3    Warnings.
       4    Verbose information.
       5    Trace.

       Grig  has  its own debug message handler, which will manage messages from hamlib too.  The
       messages are printed to STDERR by default but they can be redirected to a file.   In  bash
       shell you would write something like:

            grig [options] 2> grig.log

       You  can  then  use  the Message Window in the View menu to view these messages. The debug
       messages printed by grig a formatted in a structured way with each  line  containing  both
       time,  source  and  level  of the message. Each field is separated with ;; so you can also
       import the log file into a spread sheet for further analysis.

FEATURES

       Grig 0.8.1 supports the most commonly  used  CAT  command  implemented  by  hamlib.  These
       include  frequency,  mode,  filter  and  various  level settings. Please note that not all
       features have been thoroughly tested since I don't have  access  to  any  modern  high-end
       radios.  Therefore,  comments  regarding  success  or failure in using grig will be highly
       appreciated.

KNOWN BUGS AND LIMITATIONS

Buffer Overflow in Radio
By default, grig tries to execute rig commands as fast as possible in order to
achieve an almost real-time remote control experience. This strategy has turned out
to cause problems with some radios, probably because these radios acknowledge the
reception of a command before executing them, whereby the next command will be sent
before the previous one has terminated. To avoid any possible buffer overflow in
these situations, one can try to experiment with the -D or --delay command line
argument, which will put the specified delay in between each executed command. The
default value is 10 milliseconds and the smallest possible value is 1 millisecond
(if one specifies 0 millisecond on the command line, the default value will be
used). If you find a value which is better for your radio than the default value,
please let us know about it.

Daemon Never Starts on FreeBSD
There have been reports on that the new, thread-based daemon process is never
started on FreeBSD, while the old, timeout-based daemon worked fine. It is
therefore possible to choose the two ways to run the daemon process. The default is
the new thread based daemon, but if you use FreeBSD and nothing seems to work after
start-up you can select the timout-based daemon with the -n or --nothread command
line option.

Connection Settings
Once you have started grig you can not change the radio settings (model, device,
speed). You will have to restart the program if you want to change any of these
settings.

Multiple Radios
Grig can control only one radio at the time. There are, however, no problems in
starting several instances of grig as long as they do not try to control the same
radio. An exception to this is the RPC-rig backend in which case the rpc rig daemon
will act as a server while grig or any other hamlib frontends will act as a
clients.

Power OFF State
On some radios, grig does not cope very well with the power off state. It is yet
not known whether this is a bug in the hamlib backend or in grig and we will
definitely appreciate your input. The situation gets even more complicated due to
the fact that different radios behave in a different ways when they are powered
OFF; some of them will continue to respond to remote commands, while others will
not. Even the same radio, like the FT-817, can behave differently depending on
whether it is powered from internal batteries or external power supply. Grig tries
to handle this mess by suspending all rig commands while in power OFF state. Only
the power ON command will be sent to the rig. By default, the power status control
is disabled and must explicitly be enabled using the -P or --enable-pwr command
line switch.

PTT Control
Similar to the power state, the PTT has caused strange behaviour on some radios.
Consequently, it has been disabled by default but can be enabled using the -p or
--enable-ptt command line arguments.

AUTHOR

       Written by Alexandru Csete, OZ9AEC.

REPORTING BUGS

       Report bugs to <groundstation-developer@lists.sourcforge.net>.
       Bugs  related  to  hamlib  should  be  reported  directly  to  the  hamlib  developers  at
       <hamlib-developer@lists.sourceforge.net>.

COPYRIGHT

       Copyright © 2001-2006 Alexandru Csete.
       This  is  free software; see the source for copying conditions.  There is NO warranty; not
       even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.