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Xastir Frequently Asked Questions
The latest version of this FAQ is always available from the Xastir
project's Git repository on GitHub, at
<http://github.com/Xastir/Xastir/blob/master/FAQ>
For more details please see our documentation wiki at
<https://github.com/Xastir/Xastir/wiki>
The Questions
-------------
1. Background
1.1 What is Xastir?
1.2 How and why was Xastir created?
1.3 Why the name "Xastir"?
1.4 OK, so how does Xastir compare to other APRS(tm) clients?
1.5 How thoroughly tested is Xastir?
1.6 Whom do I contact for support?
1.7 Where can I submit Bug reports or feature requests?
1.8 Is there any more information on Xastir?
1.9 Where can I get Xastir?
2. General Technical Questions
2.1 "Why can't I...? Why won't...work?" What to do in case of problems
2.2 How do I submit a patch to the Xastir Development Group?
2.3 What's the best hardware/operating system/...
2.4 Why isn't there a binary for my platform?
3. Building Xastir
3.1 Why do I get error messages when running "bootstrap.sh"?
3.1a Why do I get strange warnings when I run bootstrap.sh?
3.1b Why are you even using a "bootstrap.sh" script when autoreconf exists?
3.2 Why won't Xastir compile with my system's cc?
3.3 I'm using gcc and I get some compilation errors, what is wrong?
3.4 Why isn't ImageMagick recognized and used during Xastir's
"configure" stage?
3.5 Why does compilation of map_geo or map_WMS fail with "invalid operands to binary <<" errors?
3.6 Why doesn't configure find GeoTIFF libraries? I have them installed!
4. Running Xastir
4.1 Why do I get wrong texts in menus or other places when using a
non-English language file?
4.2 I run Xastir under Linux, and I get an error about loading a shared
library.
4.3 I run Xastir under Linux, and try to set up an ax25 device, but get a
"Hard Fail" error on the interface. There is a "permission denied" error
in the terminal from which I started Xastir.
4.4 I run Xastir, and get on the air, but nobody else sees me on their screens.
4.5 I run Xastir, and get on the air, but none of the other stations
appear on my screen?
4.6 Who is this APX190 guy who all my stuff is getting sent to? Who are these
RELAY, WIDE and TRACE people digipeating packets, and why are they putting
different callsigns in the fields where their names used to be? Why
doesn't anyone answer me when I connect to them? HELP!!!
4.7 When weather alerts come in, the counties on my map don't highlight.
4.8 I have GeoTIFF support compiled and working, but when I select a map, it
gives me a -38 error converting the datum, and it doesn't display in the
right place.
4.9 Xastir runs slowly/loads maps slowly.
4.10 Why does Xastir seg-fault sometimes when indexing or loading
GeoTIFF images?
4.11 Why do I see "Character '\55' not supported in font"?
4.12 Why do I see strong blue tinting for the maps?
4.13 My config file got munged. How do I recover?
4.14 Why can't I set my position in Xastir correctly?
4.15 Why do I get black map images when I use ImageMagick?
4.16 Why does my MacOSX machine w/USB->Serial adapters hang?
4.17 Why do NumLock/ScrollLock/CapsLock interfere with mouse/keyboard operation?
4.18 How to I redirect serial ports from one computer to another?
4.19 I have Festival compiled in, but I can't get any speech, why?
4.20 ImageMagick gives me: "no decode delegate", why?
4.21 How do I get through an http proxy server with Xastir in
order to fetch maps?
4.22 Can I run multiple copies of Xastir at once?
4.23 Some station or config settings are not getting saved, why?
4.24 Why are my colors messed up when running via VNC?
4.25 Xastir can't find "xastir.rgb" or some other file. What's wrong?
4.26 Why can't I see station trails as stations move around?
4.27 Why don't the maps I installed show up in the Map Chooser?
4.28 Dialogs are tiny bullet-shaped windows with no handles. Why?
4.29 What about using Xastir with a TNC-X with built-in USB on a Mac?
4.30 Why do I get "Bitmap not found? /usr/share/xastir/symbols/2x2.xbm"
5. Features
5.1 Why doesn't Xastir include <insert your feature here>?
5.2 Why doesn't Xastir digipeat packets sent to the RELAY or
WIDE1-1 aliases?
5.3 How do I take a snapshot of my current view?
5.4 What is that yellow circle on my map?
5.5 How can I restart Xastir remotely/from a script/command-line?
The Answers
-----------
1. Background
1.1 What is Xastir?
Xastir is an APRS(tm) client program that uses amateur radio and Internet
services to convey GPS mapping, weather, and positional data in a graphical
application. It has been developed by and for amateur radio enthusiasts to
provide real-time data in an easy to use package.
1.2 How and why was Xastir created?
There were already several APRS(tm) client programs available to the
Mac/DOS world when Frank Giannandrea, KC2GJS decided to develop
a Unix client using X Window's and the Motif widget set.
From its meager beginnings, Xastir is now a very robust client that
meets the needs of the Ham community.
1.3 Why the name Xastir?
Xastir is an acronym for X Amateur Station Tracking and Information
Reporting. Besides it sounds much cooler that those other names ;)
1.4 OK, so how does Xastir compare to other APRS(tm) clients?
Being actively developed by and for Hams, Xastir is constantly being
improved upon to reflect the changing state of APRS(tm). Xastir has
all the functionality you would find in any other APRS(tm) client,
from any OS, and quite possibly some unique features.
1.5 How thoroughly tested is Xastir?
Xastir is currently in use by hundreds of Hams from around the world.
The Xastir Group maintains rigorous standards before releasing new
versions of our client. When bugs do show up, we release patches and
new versions as soon as they are available.
1.6 Whom do I contact for support?
This FAQ may answer many of users frequent questions. However, there are
two active mailing lists that users could use to help answer any other
questions. Both mailing list are by subscription only and can be accessed
through the Xastir web-site. See the top of this document for the
addresses. You must be subscribed in order to post messages.
1.7 Where can I submit Bug reports or feature requests?
The mailing lists are a good place to bring up bugs or feature requests.
Note that you must be subscribed in order to post messages. See above.
Another good place to document the request or bug in a more permanent
manner is the GitHub tracker: http://github.com/Xastir/Xastir/issues
1.8 Is there any more information on Xastir?
See the main Xastir web-site for more information. See the top of
this document for the addresses.
1.9 Where can I get Xastir?
Source code and binaries for several popular Linux distributions is
available through the Xastir web-site
2. General Technical Questions
2.1 "Why can't I...? Why won't... work?" What to do in case of
problems.
If are having trouble running the Xastir software:
1. Check the FAQ!
The latest version of the Xastir FAQ can be found on the
Xastir web-site. See the top of this document for the
addresses.
2. Ask on the "xastir" mailing list.
Many Xastir users and developers can be found roaming its
virtual halls, so it is suggested that you seek wisdom there.
The chances are good that you'll get your question answered
there. You must be subscribed in order to post messages.
2.2 How do I submit a patch to the Xastir Development Group?
The Xastir Development Group encourages patches from outside developers.
There are two main "types" of patches: small bug fixes and general
improvements. Improvements, modifications, and additions should
follow the instructions below:
In general, the current method by which we accept user
contributions is the github pull request. See README.GIT.md for some
links explaining the process.
2.3 What's the best hardware/operating system?
Anything that works for "you".
2.4 Why isn't there a binary for my platform?
The developers make sure that the software builds and works
correctly on the platforms available to them and available for
continuous integration testing on Github (Ubuntu Linux, Mac OS,
and FreeBSD at the moment); this does not necessarily mean that
your platform is one of them. In addition, the Xastir Project is
primarily source oriented, meaning that the distributing valid and
build-able source code is the purpose of a release, not making
sure that there is a binary package for all of the supported
platforms.
3. Building Xastir
3.1 Why do I get error messages when running "bootstrap.sh"?
The xastir build procedure requires automake 1.16 or later and
autoconf 2.60 or later. Using anything older than those will
not work.
3.1a Why do I get strange warnings when I run bootstrap.sh
The various configure.ac, acinclude.m4, and Makefile.am files that are used
by Xastir's autoconf'd build process were designed for automake 1.16
and autoconf 2.60. Using a much more recent version than those could
result in warning messages because the tools aren't strictly backward
compatible. Most of these warnings are harmless.
3.1b Why are you even using a "bootstrap.sh" script when autoreconf exists?
Xastir dates back to the mid- to late-1990s, when autoconf did not
have "autoreconf" and developers were expected to provide a
bootstrap script.
At this time, bootstrap.sh and "autoreconf -i" are basically the
same and you can use either method.
3.2. Why won't Xastir compile with my system's cc?
If Xastir won't compile on your system, it is probably due to
one of the following causes:
- The configure script doesn't recognize your system environment.
This might be either because it's completely unknown or because
the specific environment (include files, OS version, etc) isn't
explicitly handled. If this happens, you may need to port the
software to your OS yourself.
- Your systems C compiler is garbage.
Some operating systems include a default C compiler that is either
not ANSI C-compliant or suffers from other deficiencies. The
usual recommendation in cases like this is to acquire, install,
and use gcc.
- Your include files may be confused.
In some cases, we have found that a compiler installation or system
upgrade has left the C header files in an inconsistent state. Make
sure that your include directory tree is in sync with the compiler
and operating system.
- You haven't installed all the necessary libraries and include files.
Xastir depends on at least the X, and Motif include files.
Be sure these are installed before trying to compile the application.
Many Linux distributions name these packages <packagename>-dev or
<packagename>-devel.
A message like "*** Cannot find Motif include files" either means that
you are missing the development package for Motif/OpenMotif, or
that it is installed in a place where configure can't find it.
If you have the Motif libraries and
headers installed in a place where Xastir doesn't look for them, see
the references to the "--with-motif-includes" and
"--with-motif-libraries" configure options in the INSTALL file.
- Your operating system or compiler may be out of version.
Software vendors issue new releases for a reason; sometimes to add
functionality, but more often to fix bugs that have been
discovered. Try upgrading your compiler and/or your operating
system.
3.3 I'm using gcc and I get some compilation errors, what is wrong?
GCC parses your system header files and produces a modified subset which
it uses for compiling. This behavior ties GCC tightly to the version of
your operating system. So, for example, if you were running IRIX 5.3 when
you built GCC and then upgrade to IRIX 6.2 later, you will have to
rebuild GCC. Similarly for Solaris 2.4, 2.5, or 2.5.1 when you upgrade
to 2.6. Sometimes you can type "gcc -v" and it will tell you the version
of the operating system it was built against.
If you fail to do this, then it is very likely that Xastir will fail to
build. One of the most common errors is with readv, writev, or uio.h.
This is not a bug with Xastir. You will need to re-install GCC.
3.4 Why isn't ImageMagick recognized and used during Xastir's
"configure" stage?
Xastir's configure script looks for a program called Magick-config in
your default PATH. If it cannot find this program, it will skip building
with Magick support. The first thing you should check is whether this
program exists, and whether the directory where it lives is in your PATH.
You might have forgotten to install both ImageMagick and the
ImageMagick-devel RPM. Another possibility is that your particular RPM's
might not contain all of the library dependencies that you need, like
libcms or zlib. Check carefully through "config.log" to see if the
ImageMagick detection code says something like: "ld: cannot find -llcms",
"ld: cannot find -lz", or "ld: cannot find -ljpeg". Install the additional
libraries that it needs, and perhaps development packages for them as well.
NOTE: If the "spec" file for the ImageMagick/ImageMagick-devel RPM's had
the proper dependencies listed, you would have been asked to install all of
the dependent libraries before you could have even installed the
ImageMagick RPM's. Encourage your vendor to fix the "spec" files for those
RPM's to include all dependencies.
3.5 Why does compilation of map_geo or map_WMS fail with "invalid operands to binary <<" errors?
This is a problem with ImageMagick. In short, your ImageMagick
installation has been built with an option incompatible with
Xastir.
New versions of ImageMagick include experimental support for High
Dynamic Range Images (HDRI). This support changes the data type of
a Quantum (pixel value) from an 8- or 16-bit integer quantity to a
floating point. Xastir assumes that all pixel values are integer
types, and uses operations on those values based on that
assumption.
You have two choices for getting around this issue: rebuild
ImageMagick without HDRI support, or use GraphicsMagick instead.
3.6 Why doesn't configure find GeoTIFF libraries? I have them installed!
Some Linux systems place GeoTIFF header files in a directory the C
compiler doesn't search by default, and so configure doesn't find
them. This is commonly "/usr/include/geotiff". Add an option to
configure to tell the C preprocessor to look there and all will be
well:
/path/to/configure CPPFLAGS="-I/usr/include/geotiff"
4. Running Xastir
4.1 Why do I get wrong texts in menus or other places when using a
non-English language file?
The development is done mainly with the English language file, so
other languages may not be up to date.
Those texts like IC>PULDNMBC02 are placeholders for missing entries
in the language file. You can add the local meaning of that string
in the English language file to your language file. And send it to
the Xastir development team...
4.2 I run Xastir under Linux, and I get an error about loading a shared
library.
Xastir uses many shared libraries, including libax25,
libproj, libtiff, libgeotiff, libz, libjpeg, etc. These errors indicate
ld.so, the Linux dynamic linker, can't find the shared libraries.
* First, check that all the libraries are installed. Check the INSTALL
file for the locations to get these libraries if you've accidentally removed
one of them.
* Run "ldd /usr/local/bin/xastir". This will print out a list of libraries
that Xastir is looking for and the locations they are expected to be at.
* Check that the locations of the libraries are in /etc/ld.so.conf. This
should probably be set up by your Linux distribution, but if you've
added new library directories after install, you'll need to add them here.
4.3 I run Xastir under Linux, and try to set up an ax25 device, but get a
"Hard Fail" error on the interface. There is a "permission denied"
error in the terminal from which I started Xastir.
As mentioned in INSTALL and helpfile, Xastir must be setuid root to use
Linux ax25. This is required because Xastir needs the ability to edit its
source callsign, and use other advanced options that the Linux ax25 stack
restricts to root.
4.4 I run Xastir, and get on the air, but nobody else sees me on their
screens.
From a software standpoint, check that you have transmitting enabled
on your interface, and that the disable transmission "all" and "my
position" options in the Interfaces menu are not enabled. Check that ALTNET
support in File|Configure|Defaults isn't enabled.
Also check that your digipeater path is set reasonably; other
hams in your area could probably help with this, as the exact settings
depend on your setup and on your area's network. The other possibilities
are hardware problems: Is the output level on your TNC or soundcard
correct? Is PTT on your radio getting triggered? Is your TXdelay set
reasonably? All of these possibilities are beyond the scope of this FAQ.
An easy way to determine if your hardware works correctly is to try it on
conventional packet.
4.5 I run Xastir, and get on the air, but none of the other stations
appear on my screen?
Did you set up your TNC startup files correctly to remove any extra data
from the packet headers? Are you using the correct startup file? See
INSTALL.
Check that the Display Incoming Data windows is actually showing
data coming in. If not, check your radio's volume/squelch
levels and your cabling, both between the radio/TNC and between
the TNC/Computer.
Check that ALTNET support in File|Configure|Defaults is disabled.
If activated, it only shows stations transmitting TO the callsign
listed in the box. I sometimes set it to APX or APX190 in order to
see who's running Xastir/who's running the _latest_ Xastir. Set
it to "WEIRD" and you'll only see those transmitting to "WEIRD".
Check all of your Stations|Filter Data and Stations|Filter Display
settings. "Select Stations" and "Display Symbols" must be selected.
4.6 Who is this APX224 guy who all my stuff is getting sent to? Who are
these RELAY, WIDE and TRACE people digipeating packets, and why are
they putting different callsigns in the fields where their names used
to be? Why doesn't anyone answer me when I connect to them? HELP!!!
You must be used to conventional packet. APRS(tm) is inherently
different from conventional packet. There are many online
resources that explain the basics of APRS(tm), but I'll try to
summarize here. APRS(tm) is an unconnected protocol, where you
broadcast UI (unnumbered information) packets to the world. Since
these packets aren't directed toward a specific user, the TO
address of the packet is simply a summary of the software you're
running. AP=APRS(tm), X=X Windowing System, 224=Version 2.2.4.
RELAY, WIDE, TRACE, WIDEn-N, and TRACEn-N are aliases for generic
digipeaters, although all but the WIDEn-N variants are now deprecated
(should no longer be used). Some base stations have their TNC's configured
to digipeat with the call of "WIDE1-1" (we used to use "RELAY" for these,
but "WIDE1-1" has now taken its place). Newer digipeater software
substitutes their own call for "WIDEn-N" to enable people to see who
digipeated them. See the README.Getting-Started file for a bit more info
on paths, including recommended paths for different types of stations.
To talk to people, you send them messages from within Xastir, you don't
"call" them like on typical packet. Most TNC's are set up to ignore classic
packet "calls" so you won't get any response. When sending messages to
people in your area, do check in their comments that they are people and
not stand-alone digipeaters or similar. ;) Thanks to the worldwide APRSserv
Internet system, you can send messages to any APRS(tm) user anywhere in the
world, provided they're within range of an Igate. Most users are; if your
area isn't and you have a 24/7 Internet connection, Xastir can be your
area's Igate! (Please check your local laws, as Igating is illegal in some
countries!) There are also experimental systems for sending messages via
amateur radio satellites, but that is beyond the scope of this FAQ.
4.7 When weather alerts come in, the counties on my map don't highlight.
First of all, did you download and install the new shapefile weather maps
as described in the INSTALL file? (Running scripts/get-NWSdata automates
this somewhat for you now)
Did you compile with shapefile support?
Check that Map|Enable Weather Alerts is enabled, and "Map|Disable All Maps"
is _not_ selected .
4.8 I have GeoTIFF support compiled and working, but when I select a map,
it gives me a -38 error converting the datum, and it doesn't display in
the right place.
If you compiled libgeotiff yourself from source, did you install
libproj first? If you installed libgeotiff before libproj, go
back and recompile libgeotiff after installing libproj. If you
installed libgeotiff from a system package, this is probably not
the problem.
Check the datum of the GeoTIFF file, and make sure it is one of
the ones supported by Xastir. The listgeo program included with
libgeotiff can tell you the datum of a map. Xastir only supports
display of GeoTIFF files in NAD27 or NAD83 UTM coordinates, or in
WGS84 Geographic coordinates ("EPSG:4326"). If your file is in
some other coordinate system you must warp it into EPSG:4326 before you
can use it. See the Github Wiki on Advanced Mapping Topics.
4.9 Xastir runs slowly/loads maps slowly.
There are many things that can effect the speed of your Xastir software,
including the speed of the computer, the amount of memory available, the
number of active interfaces, the complexity/type/number of maps you use,
and the options you used to compile Xastir and helper libraries. The
developers aren't aware of any specific cases in which there would be
performance problems; generally these are limitations of your computer.
4.10 Why does Xastir seg-fault sometimes when indexing or loading
GeoTIFF images?
This is sometimes caused by a mismatch in versions of the GeoTIFF
and TIFF libraries, and that mostly happens when you compile the
libraries yourself from source code and don't keep the versions in
sync. If your system has a package for GeoTIFF libraries you
should probably just use it instead of building from source yourself.
However, if you insist...
The GeoTIFF code must use an API in the TIFF code that is non-public.
Unfortunately this means that the GeoTIFF code must know more about TIFF
than the normal application using the TIFF library. If the private TIFF
include file included with the GeoTIFF code doesn't match your installed
version of TIFF, you can run into seg-fault problems.
Solutions for this include: 1) Installing TIFF from sources, or
2) Grabbing the sources for your installed version of TIFF, copying one
include file from TIFF into the GeoTIFF sources and recompiling/installing
GeoTIFF. Either of these solutions will make the GeoTIFF code recognize
and use the proper structures in TIFF should prevent the seg-faulting.
In the future we hope that either the GeoTIFF code will become part of
the TIFF code, or that the private TIFF API will become public. Either
of these changes should fix this problem for good.
4.11 Why do I see "Character '\55' not supported in font"?
This message and similar have to do with localization and
OpenMotif. For most of us this is a benign message and can be
ignored. If you simply can't stand it any more set LANG="C" or
LANG="en_US". In RH 9 the default LANG is set to en_US.UTF-8 and
this is where the warnings are coming from.
A quick way to address this on RedHat 8 and 9 is to edit your
/etc/sysconfig/i18n config file. I believe the original file looks
like:
LANG="en_US.UTF-8"
SUPPORTED="en_US.UTF-8:en_US:en"
SYSFONT="latarcyrheb-sun16"
Change the "LANG=" line to:
LANG="en_US"
and reboot.
With the original setting you get some weird character mappings. For
example, running "man ls", all of the dashes (-) disappeared from my
screen until I changed the LANG setting.
4.12 Why do I see strong blue tinting for the maps?
Strong blue (or perhaps other color) tinting of the image may be
due to running the display over a Hummingbird eXceed session.
Try running it locally and you should see the proper colors.
Try changing the eXceed session to use more bits of color.
4.13 My config file got munged. How do I recover?
Xastir saves previous revisions of the config file as
"xastir.cnf.1" through "xastir.cnf.3". Look for them in the
~/.xastir/config directory. Kill Xastir, then copy one of the
backup files to "xastir.cnf" in order to recover your previous
settings. Xastir will use the "xastir.cnf" file the next time
it starts up.
Older Xastir versions saved only one copy of the config file as
"xastir.bak".
4.14 Why can't I set my position in Xastir correctly?
If your LC_NUMERIC environment variable is set to something other than
"C", it can cause commas and periods to be swapped when Xastir tries to
read/write files. We've tried to address this in the latest Xastir code,
forcing LC_NUMERIC="C" inside Xastir itself. Another solution is to type
this when starting Xastir (from a BASH shell. If you use another type of
shell, modify the syntax accordingly):
export LC_NUMERIC="C"; xastir &
4.15 Why do I get black map images when I use ImageMagick?
There was a bug in versions of Xastir prior to the Git version of
4 December 2009 that caused this problem if ImageMagick (or
GraphicsMagick) were compiled with QuantumDepth not equal to 16
(GraphicsMagick now defaults this parameter to 8). The bug was
fixed, and current versions of Xastir should not have this
problem. If you are running an older version than 4 December
2009, updating will likely solve this problem for you.
If you are running a version higher than 1.9.7 or a git version
checked out after 4 December 2009, then the problem lies
elsewhere. It may be due to bugs in your particular version of
ImageMagick, but more likely it's related to the color-depth of
your X-Server. If you are using 8-bit, 24-bit, or 32-bit
color-depth: Try 16-bit, which is the color-depth best supported
by the Xastir code.
4.16 Why does my MacOSX machine w/USB->Serial adapters hang?
Use ports such as /dev/cu.usbserial0 for USB to serial adapters
on MacOSX.
4.17 Why do NumLock/ScrollLock/CapsLock interfere with mouse/keyboard
operation?
Because they are treated as modifiers by Motif. Just make sure those
keys aren't active when interacting with Xastir. Xastir will warn you
if they are.
As an extreme measure, if you type these commands and then restart
your window manager it may take care of your problem, but then
those keys will be disabled and you won't be able to use in other
applications:
xmodmap -e "clear Lock"
xmodmap -e "clear Mod2"
xmodmap -e "clear Mod5"
4.18 How to I redirect serial ports from one computer to another?
The most modern answer to this question for Linux is to use "socat".
http://www.dest-unreach.org/socat/
Yet another is to use "netcat". "man nc" or "man netcat" should
tell you about it. It redirects tcpip data seamlessly under
Linux. On SuSE the docs for it are in
/usr/share/doc/packages/netcat. Try a command line like this:
cat /dev/ttyS0 | nc -l -p 3000
or
cat /dev/ttyS0 | netcat -l -p 3000
That should make a listening socket at port 3000 which listens
to the /dev/ttyS0 serial port. "telnet localhost 3000" should
show you any data coming in on that serial port. Connect Xastir
across the network to that listening socket to get the data.
If you want to put your GPS on a remote serial port, use the
gpsd daemon to do it.
if you wish to put your weather station on a remote serial port,
investigate using OWW (for Dallas weather stations), wx200d
daemon for some Radio Shack/Huger/Oregon Scientific weather
stations, or Meteo daemon for Davis weather stations.
You may also connect to a remote AGWPE instance for using remote
TNC's/soundcards. Note that AGWPE runs only on Windows.
4.19 I have Festival compiled in, but I can't get any speech, why?
a) You must start the Festival server daemon before starting Xastir.
Start it via this command :
festival_server &
or
festival --server &
b) If the server is running, but you get this: "festival_client:
connect to server failed", then you may have some tweaks to do
to your system files in order to allow Xastir (or anything else)
to connect to Festival. Try this first to see whether anything
can connect to Festival:
telnet localhost 1314
If the server is running properly it'll let you connect. If it
does, try typing:
(SayText "Hello, World")
If that doesn't work, check your audio mixer settings first, then
proceed to c) below:
c) Some people have an "/etc/hosts" file that has an incorrect
line for localhost. You should have a line which has 127.0.0.1
at the start, and has "localhost" somewhere on that line as well.
Like this:
127.0.0.1 localhost localhost.localdomain
d) On one Debian box, it was an issue with "/etc/hosts.allow".
See "man 8 tcpd" or "man 5 hosts_access" for detailed info about
how to configure /etc/hosts.allow and /etc/hosts.deny. It's
part of the tcpwrappers stuff that allows you to configure which
hosts have access to which services on your system.
4.20 ImageMagick gives me: "no decode delegate", why?
README.CYGWIN has a bit of info about this one, as it most often happens
on Win32 systems. It has been seen on other systems as well though.
The short answer is that you may have to set the environment variable
"MAGICK_HOME" to the location where the ImageMagick modules reside.
This is only necessary if ImageMagick doesn't have the location
pre-compiled into it. The example for Win32 systems is:
export MAGICK_HOME=/usr
Added to the ~/.profile file, so that the BASH shell gets this defined
each time you log in. The location "/usr" will probably be different
on a non-Windows machine, so change the line above as required for your
system.
4.21 How do I get through an http proxy server with Xastir in
order to fetch maps?
*) Install libcurl and/or wget.
*) Set the HTTP_PROXY and FTP_PROXY environment variables in
your ~/.profile file. Libcurl has additional options that
can be set: HTTPS_PROXY, GOPHER_PROXY, and ALL_PROXY.
*) Create and fill in the ~/.netrc and/or .wgetrc files with
proper values. Set the permissions on it so that only you
can read/write the file: "chmod 600 .netrc". Typical
contents of the file are shown below:
http_proxy = http://proxy.yoyodyne.com:18023/
ftp_proxy = http://proxy.yoyodyne.com:18023/
4.22 Can I run multiple copies of Xastir at once?
Yes, but you must keep the configuration directories separate for
each copy by using a command-line flag. Xastir will create the new
config directory and fill it with defaults if it doesn't already
exist. Here's the method. Substitute your user name where it says
"<user>":
xastir & # starts up first Xastir copy against ".xastir" directory
xastir -c /home/<user>/.xastir2 & # starts up 2nd Xastir copy against ".xastir2" directory
xastir -c /home/<user>/.xastir3 & # starts up 3rd Xastir copy against ".xastir3" directory
To make the process easier if you use this method a lot, create
aliases by editing your .profile (This assumes you're running BASH
or Bourne shells):
alias xastir2='xastir -c /home/<user>/.xastir2 &'
alias xastir3='xastir -c /home/<user>/.xastir3 &'
After sourcing your new .profile (The command is ". .profile" from
your home directory) or logging out and back in again, you can type
"xastir2" or "xastir3" as a command to start up the additional
copies of Xastir.
Older methods, may still be useful at times:
Do this to allow more than one user to access your X display and to
create additional users, each capable of running one Xastir session:
xhost localhost
This lets other users on your machine use the X11 display.
Create another user (or two or three) using whatever facilities
your system uses to do this.
xterm & # Start up an xterm window in the background
su 2nduser. # su to one of your new usernames
xastir & # Start up Xastir as that user, in the background
Optional:
Set up your 1st Xastir instance with the server port enabled.
Connect the 2nd instance to localhost:2023. This way one Xastir
will get its feed from the other.
You can start up a third Xastir in the same manner, starting
with the "xterm &" command and then doing "su 3rduser" instead,
then "xastir &" as that third username.
Many Xastir sessions can all get their feed from one Xastir
session, or they can be connected to different TNC's or server
ports.
4.23 Some station or config settings are not getting saved, why?
A few of the menu settings do not get saved. This is on purpose.
If you are having more serious troubles, like for instance your
station location setting isn't getting saved between Xastir runs,
check your LANG setting (see question 4.13 above).
4.24 Why are my colors messed up when running via VNC?
VNC may have a different colormap or colordepth than the system Xastir is
running on. Here is one invocation that a user used which worked.
Substitute the appropriate parameters for your system of course:
vncserver :5 -name melecom -depth 24 -geometry 800x600 -pixelformat rgb565
4.25 Xastir can't find "xastir.rgb" or some other file. What's wrong?
This could be one of several things. We'll check them in order:
a) If you get this exact message:
"Error! can not find color file: /xastir/config/xastir.rgb"
Then it could be that you're not getting a variable defined on
the compile line. This text or similar should appear for each
file compiled:
-DXASTIR_DATA_BASE=\"/usr/local/share/xastir\"
If you're not seeing this, or the variable is defined to an
empty string or is otherwise incorrect, you may need to
upgrade/downgrade your autoconf or automake packages and rerun
the Xastir install starting at the "./bootstrap.sh" stage.
b) Did you run the "make install" stage as root or using "sudo"
after you compiled Xastir? If not, Xastir couldn't install
files it needs to run.
c) Another possible problem is a corrupt or very old
~/.xastir/config/xastir.cnf file. Check for this by typing:
cd
mv .xastir .xastir.save
xastir
If it comes up ok this time, then either paths in your config
file are incorrect or the config file is corrupt. If there's no
change, go back to your original configuration by typing:
cd
rm -rf .xastir # NOTE: this will delete ~/.xastir and all contents!
mv .xastir.save .xastir
d) Yet another thing to check is the value in your LANG variable.
It should be either "en_US" or "C" for Xastir to read/write
config files correctly:
echo $LANG
If it is something else, start Xastir like this:
export LANG=en_US; xastir -geometry -0-0 &
You can create an alias in your shell for this so that you don't
have to remember to type it each time.
e) Perhaps you're trying to run an old Xastir executable that was
compiled with different paths. Type this to see where the
executable is trying to run from:
which xastir
-or-
whereis xastir
f) It's possible that your autoconf/automake packages need to be
upgraded or downgraded. These packages are somewhat version
dependent on each other, so it's likely that you'll have to do
this upgrade or downgrade as a pair for things to work correctly.
After the upgrade or downgrade, recompile Xastir starting at the
"./bootstrap.sh" stage so that the configure and Makefile
scripts are re-created.
./bootstrap.sh
cd ../build
../Xastir/configure
make
Make sure that you now see a reasonable path for the
XASTIR_DATA_BASE variable on each compile line.
4.26 Why can't I see station trails as stations move around?
Enable Station->Filter Display->Display Trail
File->Configure->Timing->"New Track Time" and "New Track Interval
should be set above zero. Defaults for these are 45 and 1
respectively.
If this problem and others occur, such as your latitude/longitude
getting lost between runs, this might indicate a problem with
your LANG variable. See question #4.26 above.
4.27 Why don't the maps I installed show up in the Map Chooser?
Install the maps in the correct place, normally
"/usr/local/share/xastir/maps/" or subdirectories below there.
Make sure the map directories and files have read permissions
for the user.
Select "Map->Configure->Index: Add New Maps", then check in Map
Chooser to see if the map is listed. If not, try the "Reindex
ALL Maps" option.
Verify that you have installed the map libraries necessary to
handle the types of maps you're wishing to use: "Help->About".
Also you can check the messages written to STDERR in the shell
you start Xastir from.
Check this file to see if map indexing found the file at all.
It's the same file that Map Chooser reads to display the map
selections:
~/.xastir/config/map_index.sys
If the map is a raster map, you can check whether your installed
ImageMagick or GraphicsMagick can display the image.
For IM: display <filename>
For GM: gm display <filename>
If it's an internet-based map you're trying to download/display,
verify in the Xterm that you have internet maps enabled using
either libcurl or wget. Check manually whether curl or wget
(whichever Xastir is using) can fetch a remote file. Check
whether a file like ~/.xastir/tmp/map.gif or map.jpg shows up
after you try to fetch a file, even if Xastir doesn't display
it. See if one of the above "display" commands will display it
if so. Check the File->Configure->Timing dialog for the
"Internet Map Timeout" setting: Adjust it upwards if Xastir is
timing out fetching the remove map.
If all else fails, try removing the ~/.xastir directory and all
contents. Warning: This will cause you to lose all of your
personal Xastir configuration, including callsign, location,
bookmarks, map levels and other map settings, etc. Once you've
done this, verify that your LANG setting is either "C" or
"en_US", with no additional characters in there, then start
Xastir from that same shell with the correct LANG setting.
Xastir should index all of your maps on startup. After it is
complete, bring up the Map Chooser and all available maps should
be listed.
4.28 Dialogs are tiny bullet-shaped windows with no handles. Why?
This is caused by an interaction between "Motif" and "compiz".
"compiz" is enabled in some versions of Ubuntu Linux with a
"Desktop Effects" menu item. They changed the default to *ON*
several releases ago. "compiz" is a window manager which
enables eye-candy effects such as animated window
opening/closing, 3-D effects, and so forth. To fix this
problem, turn *OFF* "Desktop Effects" which will disable
"compiz" and re-enable the default window manager.
4.29 What about using Xastir with a TNC-X with built-in USB on a Mac?
You will need the device drivers from FTDI, downloadable from their website at
http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm
Note: the TNC-X packet datarate is fixed at 1200 baud, however the serial
communication with the computer is configurable via internal jumpers. It's
been observed that setting the com port to 1200 baud results in a deaf TNC-X.
Setting the com port to 9600 baud works well, however.
4.30 Why do I get "Bitmap not found? /usr/share/xastir/symbols/2x2.xbm"
The problem is that you probably have previously installed a binary version
of Xastir from your system's repository --- and Linux packages are set up
to install files in /usr (e.g. binaries to /usr/bin, libraries to /usr/lib/,
and supporting files to /usr/share). But Git xastir, like almost all source
packages, installs to /usr/local (/usr/local/bin, /usr/local/lib,
/usr/local/share). When you de-installed your binary package and installed
the source version, it removed the /usr/ stuff and installed the files in
/usr/local/.
Your configuration files for Xastir still point to the old locations, and
Xastir is confused because files it's expecting aren't there.
You have two approaches to fix this:
1) If you have not used Xastir a lot and don't have a whole lot of
custom configurations (map selections, interface properties, etc.) then
you can just move your ~/.xastir/config/xastir.cnf file and let Xastir
regenerate a default set-up. Many people here recommend that approach
because it's just a matter of one command:
mv .xastir/config/xastir.cnf .xastir/config/xastir.cnf_old
But this will blow away all your customizations, so it might not be the
best choice. Note that you can still glean information from the old
copy of the config file to help set up the new.
2) Change all references to "/usr/" in your configuration files to "/usr/local".
Most of these will be in ~/.xastir/config/xastir.cnf so it's just a matter
of editing that one file and changing them all.
It is always an issue when you switch from a pre-compiled linux package to
a source build.
5. Features
5.1 Why doesn't Xastir include <insert your feature here>?
Probably because someone hasn't taken the time to write the feature or
enough people have complained loud enough that it wasn't there. The
feature set of Xastir is user/developer driven. So get busy!
5.2 Why doesn't Xastir digipeat packets sent to the RELAY or
WIDE1-1 aliases?
If you're running serial-port connected TNC's, the "tnc-startup.*"
files that get installed in /usr/local/share/xastir/config should set up
your TNC to respond to these packets. Select Interfaces->Properties,
then select the interface, click Properties, then select the Setup
and Shutdown files at the bottom of that dialog. When an interface
is brought up the Setup file will be downloaded to the TNC.
"myalias WIDE1-1" is the command most TNC's accept for defining a
digipeating alias. That command or similar should be in the Setup file
that you use.
Use "myalias WIDE1-1" with the new path scheme discussed on
APRSSIG during early April, 2005: RELAY/WIDE/TRACE/TRACEn-n are
deprecated (should not be used).
If you're running kernel AX.25 interfaces, then you'll need to run
another package to handle digipeating on these interfaces, perhaps
digi_ned.
5.3 How do I take a snapshot of my current view?
You can cause a snapshot to occur by enabling Snapshot in the File menu.
It takes a snapshot every five minutes starting immediately when the
togglebutton is first enabled. This means you can change views and
disable/enable to take an immediate snapshot each time as well.
You can also send a "SIGUSR1" signal from another process and Xastir
will take a snapshot. The feature was added so that someone could
press a button on a web page and cause Xastir to make a new snapshot.
For Example, from the shell you can do:
kill -SIGUSR1 `cat ~/.xastir/xastir.pid`
Snapshots will are stored under ~/.xastir/tmp/
5.4 What is that yellow circle on my map?
Somewhere around a half-hour or an hour after you start Xastir with
a connected TNC, you will begin to see a yellow circle surrounding your
station at some zoom levels. This is your "ALOHA Circle,"
the circle containing approximately the number of stations that should
saturate your local APRS channel. See
https://www.aprs.org/aloha/ALOHAcir.txt for details.
The short story is you should set your path so your packets don't
travel farther than this circle's radius.
This circle is shown when your station is in view and you are
zoomed out far enough to contain the circle in the viewport. Its
radius is recalculated once every half an hour from the stations
you've heard on RF. Stations you hear from internet servers or
other non-RF sources are not included in the calculation. The
circle can be turned off from the Station->Filter Display menu
but it will be enabled again each time you restart Xastir.
5.5 How can I restart Xastir remotely/from a script/command-line?
Send a SIGHUP to the process. This will cause Xastir to save
its configs, exit, then restart with the same environment and
command-line parameters as it initially had.
For Example, from the shell you can do:
kill -SIGHUP `cat ~/.xastir/xastir.pid`
NOTE: This SIGHUP trick doesn't work if you've configured
Xastir with profiling ( "../Xastir/configure --with-profiling" ).
----------------------------------------------------------------
APRS(tm) is a Trademark of Bob Bruninga
If you find other problems, or would like to point out other caveats to add to
this FAQ, please point them out to the developers on the Xastir-dev mailing
list. The addresses for the mailing lists may be found on the main Xastir
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