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

grig [OPTION]...

Grig is a simple graphical user interface for the Ham Radio Control Libraries. It is intended to be highly generic presenting the user to the same interface regardless of which radio is being controled.

The way grig interacts with hamlib is controlled via command line options. Mandatory arguments to long options are mandatory for short options too.

-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)

-D, --nothread

use timeout calls instead of thread (see below)

-l, --list

list supported radios and exit

-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.

0 No debug, keep quiet.

1 Serious bug.

2 Error case (e.g. protocol, memory allocation).

3 Warnings.

4 Verbose information.

5 Trace.

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 --debug 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.

Written by Alexandru Csete, OZ9AEC.

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 © 2001-2005 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.

rigctl(1)