Difference between revisions of "Portsdown software"

Latest revision as of 10:12, 26 January 2019

Important note - the Portsdown transmitter has been designed to "work out of the box" - You do not need to do anything other than read this page and then follow the initial set up guide.

Do not connect a mouse, keyboard or monitor to the RPi
Do not load any device drivers including the Waveshare screen drivers
Do not update the RPi firmware or Linux - the installer takes care of this
Do not tinker with Linux commands

If you do, we don't have time to support you and will just advise you to reformat your SD card and start again!

The core software for the Portsdown transmitter has been written by Evariste, F5OEO. Other contributions have been made by numerous developers and it is a great example of an open-source project. Most of the source code is available on the BATC GitHub repository but some of the code is downloaded from other sources.

The potential capabilities of the hardware and software combination are very diverse and maintenance of the totality of the software is beyond the resources of the project team, so only a subset of capabilities will be actively supported. As most of us are TV enthusiasts rather than software enthusiasts, every effort has been made to make the configuration menu-driven.

The software will be supported by the BATC for as long as possible, as stated in the BATC Portsdown Transmitter Support Statement.

From late-2016 until-mid 2018 the Portsdown software was based on the Jessie Lite operating System. Since mid-2018 this has been superceded by the Stretch Lite operating system and all new builds and new features are based on the new system. Portsdowns based on Jessie Lite software will continue to operate but will not be capable of being updated with new capabilities.

This GitHub web page linked below describes how to program a blank SD card with the Portsdown software - the process is not difficult but there are a few operations that require the use of the Linux Command Line. Do not be alarmed – these are simple cut and paste exercises, and full instructions are provided.

Note - We DO NOT recommend using Samsung Evo cards as we have seen problems where they are not compatible with the Rpi 3 due to timing errors.

The detail is available on the BATC GitHub (Git Hub is an open-source software collaboration website) along with the latest version of software at https://github.com/BritishAmateurTelevisionClub/portsdown

Downloading and Installing the Latest Software

You will need a computer connected to the same network running to find the IP address of your RPi when it first boots up, such as Advanced IP Scanner

You will then need to run an SSH Terminal application such as Putty.

You will need a computer with a means of writing an image to a Micro-SD Card. The use of Win32DiskImager is recommended for writing to the card.

Then follow the instructions at https://github.com/BritishAmateurTelevisionClub/portsdown/blob/master/README.md . This will lead through the steps to install the software and when complete, you are now at the same stage as if you had purchased a Micro-SD card from the BATC Shop.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-The core software for the Raspberry Pi (RPi) TV transmitter has been written by Evariste, F5OEO.  Other contributions have been made by numerous developers and it is a great example of an open-source project.  Most of the source code is available on the BATC GitHub repository, but some of the code is downloaded from other sources.
+'''Important note - the Portsdown transmitter has been designed to "work out of the box" - You do not need to do anything other than read this page and then follow the [[Initial setup 2019|initial set up guide.]]
+*'''Do not''' connect a mouse, keyboard or monitor to the RPi
+*'''Do not''' load any device drivers including the Waveshare screen drivers
+*'''Do not''' update the RPi firmware or Linux - the installer takes care of this
+*'''Do not''' tinker with Linux commands
-The potential capabilities of the hardware and software combination are very diverse and maintenance of the totality of the software is beyond the resources of the project team, so only a subset of capabilities will be actively supported.  As most of us are TV enthusiasts rather than software enthusiasts, every effort has been made to make the configuration menu-driven.
+If you do, we don't have time to support you and will just advise you to reformat your SD card and start again!'''
-'''Micro-SD cards with the latest software will be made available from the BATC Shop, and if you buy one of the cards you can skip this step and go straight back to [[Portsdown Transmitter User guide|initial setup section of the user guide]].'''
+---------------------
+The core software for the [[Portsdown Transmitter User guide|Portsdown transmitter]] has been written by Evariste, F5OEO.  Other contributions have been made by numerous developers and it is a great example of an open-source project.  Most of the source code is available on the [https://github.com/BritishAmateurTelevisionClub BATC GitHub repository] but some of the code is downloaded from other sources.
+The potential capabilities of the hardware and software combination are very diverse and maintenance of the totality of the software is beyond the resources of the project team, so only a subset of capabilities will be actively supported.  As most of us are TV enthusiasts rather than software enthusiasts, every effort has been made to make the configuration menu-driven.
-However, a number of members may want to build their own and the process is not difficult.  There are a few operations that require the use of the Linux Command Line.  Do not be alarmed – these are simple cut and paste exercises, and full instructions will be provided.  The detail will be posted on the BATC GitHub (Git Hub is an open-source software collaboration website), with the latest software.  The BATC GitHub can be found at https://github.com/BritishAmateurTelevisionClub/rpidatv
+The software will be supported by the BATC for as long as possible, as stated in the [[BATC Portsdown Transmitter Support Statement]].
-You will require an application to check the IP address of your RPi when it first boots up, such as [http://www.advanced-ip-scanner.com/ Advanced IP Scanner] and an SSH Terminal application such as [http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/ Putty].
+From late-2016 until-mid 2018 the Portsdown software was based on the Jessie Lite operating System.  Since mid-2018 this has been superceded by the Stretch Lite operating system and all new builds and new features are based on the new system.  Portsdowns based on Jessie Lite software will continue to operate but will not be capable of being updated with new capabilities.
-'''Downloading and Installing the Latest Software'''
+This GitHub web page linked below describes how to program a blank SD card with the Portsdown software - the process is not difficult but there are a few operations that require the use of the Linux Command Line.  Do not be alarmed – these are simple cut and paste exercises, and full instructions are provided.
-*You will need another computer with a means of writing an image to a Micro-SD Card.  The use of Win32DiskImager is recommended for writing to the card.
+'' Note - We DO NOT recommend using Samsung Evo cards as we have seen problems where they are not compatible with the Rpi 3 due to timing errors.''
-*First download the supported Raspbian Jessie Lite (that’s the operating system) image from the raspberrypi.org website.  This may not always be the latest version, as each new version needs compatibility testing.  At the time of writing the required version is dated 2016-11-25.   You will then need to unzip the file, and you will end up with a file with a .img file extension.
+The detail is available on the BATC GitHub (Git Hub is an open-source software collaboration website) along with the latest version of software at https://github.com/BritishAmateurTelevisionClub/portsdown
-*Use Win32DiskImager, or a similar program, to write the file to your Micro-SD card.  To enable you to log-n when you first start your RPi, you need to create an empty file in the \boot directory.   To do this, open the Micro-SD card for viewing in Windows Explorer and open the \boot directory.  Create a new empty file called ssh by right-clicking, selecting New, Text Document, and then change the name to ssh (not ssh.txt). You should get a window warning about changing the filename extension. Click OK. If you do not get this warning, you have created a file called ssh.txt and you need to rename it ssh.
+'''Downloading and Installing the Latest Software'''
-*Now eject the Micro-SD card from your PC and put it into your RPi.  Connect the RPi to the same network as your PC, and turn it on.  After it has booted up, use the IP Scanner to find the IP address of your RPi.
-*Open Putty (or another ssh terminal application), enter the IP address of your RPi and open a connection.  At the logon prompt enter the default username of pi and the default password of raspberry.  You may be prompted to change the password at this stage – even if you are not prompted, now is a good time to do it by typing “passwd” and enter.
+* You will need a computer connected to the same network running to find the IP address of your RPi when it first boots up, such as [http://www.advanced-ip-scanner.com/ Advanced IP Scanner]
-*Now you need to download the rpidatv installer, modify it to be an executable program and then run it.  These 3 lines can be cut and pasted from the GitHub instructions.  The installation will take a few minutes and should offer you a reboot when it has finished.
+*You will then need to run an SSH Terminal application such as [http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/ Putty].
-*After the reboot, log-in again and the console menu will start automatically.
+*You will need a computer with a means of writing an image to a Micro-SD Card.  The use of [https://sourceforge.net/projects/win32diskimager/ Win32DiskImager] is recommended for writing to the card.
-You are now at the same stage as if you had purchased a Micro-SD card from the BATC Shop.
+*Then follow the instructions at https://github.com/BritishAmateurTelevisionClub/portsdown/blob/master/README.md .  This will lead through the steps to install the software and when complete, you are now at the same stage as if you had purchased a Micro-SD card from the BATC Shop.

Difference between revisions of "Portsdown software"

Latest revision as of 10:12, 26 January 2019

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