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>

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 The linking stage is failing because it isn't linking in the
        freetype library.  What to do?
    3.5 During the linking stage, it's giving me "undefined reference to
        `CompressImageColormap'".  What to do?
    3.6 Some of the text looks strange, writes over itself and other
        user interface weirdness occurs.  Why?
    3.7 Why isn't ImageMagick recognized and used during Xastir's
        "configure" stage?
    3.8 Why does compilation of map_geo or map_WMS fail with "invalid operands to binary <<" errors?

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 I installed a new version of lesstif, but the help menu shows the old
         version.
    4.11 Why does Xastir seg-fault sometimes when indexing or loading
         geoTIFF images?
    4.12 Why doesn't Xastir run on RedHat 9.0 properly?
    4.13 Why do I see "Character '\55' not supported in font"?
    4.14 Why do I see strong blue tinting for the maps?
    4.15 My config file got munged.  How do I recover?
    4.16 Why can't I set my position in Xastir correctly?
    4.17 Why do I get black map images when I use ImageMagick?
    4.18 Why does my MacOSX machine w/USB->Serial adapters hang?
    4.19 Why do NumLock/ScrollLock/CapsLock interfere with mouse/keyboard operation?
    4.20 How to I redirect serial ports from one computer to another?
    4.21 I have Festival compiled in, but I can't get any speech, why?
    4.22 ImageMagick gives me: "no decode delegate", why?
    4.23 How do I get through an http proxy server with Xastir in
         order to fetch maps?
    4.24 Can I run multiple copies of Xastir at once?
    4.25 Why doesn't Terraserver work for some locations?
    4.26 Some station or config settings are not getting saved, why?
    4.27 Why are my colors messed up when running via VNC?
    4.28 Why are the labels missing in the Configure->Timing dialog?
    4.29 Xastir can't find "xastir.rgb" or some other file.  What's wrong?
    4.30 Why can't I see station trails as stations move around?
    4.31 Why don't the maps I installed show up in the Map Chooser?
    4.32 Dialogs are tiny bullet-shaped windows with no handles.  Why?
    4.33 Fedora 12 right-click menus don't work.
    4.34 What about using Xastir with a TNC-X with built-in USB on a Mac?
    4.35 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/LessTiff 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 first course of action is to be a member of the
    "xastir-dev" mailing list. This indicates to the Group that you are
    closely following the latest developments. Your patch file should be
    generated using either 'diff -c' or 'diff -u' against the latest Git
    tree. To submit your patch, send email to the "xastir-dev" mailing list
    with a Subject: line that starts with [PATCH] and includes a general
    description of the patch. In the body of the message, the patch should be
    clearly described and then included at the end of the message. If the
    patch-file is long, you can note a URL to file itself. Use of MIME
    enclosures/attachments should be avoided.

    Be prepared to respond to any questions about your patches and possibly
    defend your code. If your patch results in a lot of discussion, you
    may be asked to submit an updated patch that incorporates all changes and
    suggestions.

    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; 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 1.6.3 or later and 
    autoconf 2.53 or later.  Using anything older than those will 
    not work.  

    To be very sure of what version of autoconf and automake you're using
    please examine the output of "automake --version" and "autoconf --version"
    Do not trust your system's package management software to tell you what
    version is installed.  Some systems install more than one different 
    version of autoconf/automake and you can't be sure which one you're using
    unless you look at the actual version number reported by the tools
    themselves.

    Worse still, some systems install multiple versions of autoconf
    and automake and name them in ways that confuses everything 
    (e.g. "automake19" or "autoconf253").  If that's the case on your system,
    you could either edit bootstrap.sh by hand to force it to find the right
    ones (adding paths or suffixes or whatever it takes), or you could just
    end-run the process and download the source code for a suitable version
    of automake and autoconf from www.gnu.org, use "--prefix=" options when 
    configuring both of them, build them, and install them into
    someplace your system won't care about.  For example, assuming you've 
    untar'ed, say automake-1.6.3 and autoconf-2.57 into the current
    directory, and that xastir lives in your directory as /home/me/src/xastir:

       cd automake-1.6.3
       ./configure --prefix=/home/me/src/xastir
       make install
       cd ../autoconf-2.57        
       ./configure --prefix=/home/me/src/xastir
       make install
       cd /home/me/src/xastir
       export PATH=/home/me/src/xastir/bin:$PATH
       ./bootstrap.sh

    This will completely bypass any odd version of automake and autoconf that
    your system might use, and will insulate you from incompatible changes
    in those installed tools if you upgrade your OS.

    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 1.6.3
    and autoconf 2.53.  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.  Since then, non-autoconf stuff like generation of
    "pirate english" and "pig latin" language files got stuffed into
    bootstrap and was maintained there for years.  So bootstrap.sh was still
    required and did more than "autoreconf" did.

    The non-autoconf stuff has since been removed from bootstrap.sh
    and moved into the build step where it belonged, and now
    bootstrap.sh and "autoreconf -i" do basically the same thing and
    either is acceptable.

    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 or LessTif include files.
      Be sure these are installed before trying to compile the application.
      Many Linux distributions name these packages <packagename>-dev or
      <packagename>-devel.
      NOTE: If you installed ImageMagick from a binary distribution, it will be
      dependent on the shared libraries for the various graphics formats
      installed on system on which it was compiled. Be sure you have these same
      libraries installed, or you'll get a link error.
      NOTE: The ImageMagick-devel package included with RedHat 8 is missing
      some files needed for Xastir. The version in the beta directory on
      RedHat's ftp site works.

      A message like "*** Cannot find Motif include files" either means that 
      you are missing the development package for Motif/OpenMotif/Lesstif, or 
      that it is installed in a place where configure can't find it.  It is
      recommended that you use Motif or OpenMotif instead of Lesstif, as you'll
      have few problems with those libraries.  For SuSE 9.0, install the
      "openmotif-libs", "openmotif-devel", and "openmotif" packages.  Other
      distributions have similar naming.  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 The linking stage is failing because it isn't linking in the
        freetype library.  What to do?

    This is, yet again, an ImageMagick problem.  ImageMagick as
    installed on some systems needs this library linked in.  The
    "Magick-config" script is supposed to supply a list of all of the
    libraries that ImageMagick needs, but evidently they forgot one.
    To get around this problem, you can add "-lfreetype" to the link
    line to get the compile to complete.

    3.5 During the linking stage, it's giving me "undefined reference to
        `CompressImageColormap'".  What to do?

    This is, yet again, an ImageMagick problem.  ImageMagick decided to change
    their API on us again.  Newer releases of Xastir work around this problem
    by checking the version of ImageMagick you have and changing the function
    call to match.

    3.6 Some of the text looks strange, writes over itself and other
        user interface weirdness occurs.  Why?

    This has been seen to occur due to bugs in some versions of LessTif.
    You may want to try OpenMotif instead if it is available for your
    distribution.  One caveat that was found on Slackware 8.1 is the need
    to delete all the text in the /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/config/host.def file
    otherwise it still refers to the LessTif installation.

    3.7 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.

   3.8 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.

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 lesstif, and perhaps 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.
    This is most applicable to lesstif which installs its libraries in
    non-standard locations. Read the lesstif installation instructions for
    more information on this. (Very recent versions create symlinks in
    /usr/local/lib, so you probably won't need to do anything aside from
    running ldconfig.)
    * If you had a libc5 system and hand upgraded it to libc6, and are
    attempting to link against both libc5 and libc6 built libraries at once,
    stop now and recompile all your libraries against libc6. The dynamic
    linkers are different for libc5 and libc6 programs, and linking against
    libraries built with both versions is bound to cause trouble. This setup
    has caused many people lots of headaches. Just upgrade your distribution.

    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.

    If you are using an older version of Xastir, Qxx packets are considered
    invalid. This is a newer addition to APRS(tm), and recent Xastir releases
    decode this correctly.

    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!!!

    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, 110=Version 1.10.

    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.

    Did you install libgeotiff before libproj? This error you'll see if you
    ignored the note in the INSTALL file about this. Recompile libgeotiff and
    the problem should vanish.
    If this is not the case, 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.

    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.
    Xastir, when using only basic maps, runs reasonably on a Pentium 60. If
    you use higher detail maps, such as the tiger line maps suggested in
    README.MAPS, you'll need a faster computer to be able to load the maps
    quickly. Also be sure you have a few Megabytes of memory available for
    Xastir, because paging to disk decreases speed rapidly. If you have the
    Internet interface, as well as TNC's and weather stations all active
    at the same time, you'll see a slowdown on a slower computer. Also, if you
    compiled Xastir or libax25/libtiff/libgeotiff/etc with debugging (-g),
    recompile these software without debugging and with optimization ON (-O2).

    4.10 I installed a new version of lesstif, but the help menu shows the old
         version.

    The help menu shows the version of lesstif that Xastir was compiled with,
    not necessarily the version you're running now. Assuming you compiled it
    with the new version, check that the new version is the only copy
    installed. If you install in /usr/local/LessTif/, the default location,
    be sure you remove any older version from /usr/LessTif/ or
    /usr/X11R6/LessTif/, as some distributions use those locations.

    4.11 Why does Xastir seg-fault sometimes when indexing or loading
         geoTIFF images?

    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.

    4.12 Why doesn't Xastir run on RedHat 9.0 properly?

    The RH kernels have implemented the new(er) New Posix Threading Library
    (NPTL) as well as back-ported many of the new bells and whistles set to
    appear in the 2.6.x kernels.  You might experience a great improvement
    for apps that are heavily threaded.  NPTL is supposed to be backward
    compatible but we have seen apps that have had problems.  You can revert
    back to the older LinuxThreads implementation by setting the environment
    variable: 

    LD_ASSUME_KERNEL=<kernel-version>

    in a shell before starting the app The following versions are available:

       - 2.4.1 - Linuxthreads with floating stacks

       - 2.2.5 - Linuxthreads without floating stacks

    or, you can disable NPTL altogether for dynamically linked
    applications by using 'nosysinfo' as a boot time option.

    4.13 Why do I see "Character '\55' not supported in font"?

    This message and similar have to do with localization and OpenMotif/
    Lesstif.  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.

    4.14 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.

    4.15 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".

    4.16 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 &

    4.17 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.

    4.18 Why does my MacOSX machine w/USB->Serial adapters hang?

    Use ports such as /dev/cu.usbserial0 for USB to serial adapters
    on MacOSX.

    4.19 Why do NumLock/ScrollLock/CapsLock interfere with mouse/keyboard
         operation?

    Because they are treated as modifiers by Motif.  Here's an FVWM2 document
    (FVWM2 is a window manager) that talks about it:

    http://www.fvwm.org/documentation/faq/index.php?theme=navigate

    See section 5.5 of that document which talks about these keys.  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"

    4.20 How to I redirect serial ports from one computer to another?

    For Linux, try a program called "remserial". It works as a
    client/server pair to do exactly what you want.  Google should
    find it for you.  One user was able to use a spare serial port
    on his windows box using "remserial" on the Linux computer and a
    program called "serproxy" on the windows machine. Another one I
    have to try for windows is comfoolery.  See links below.

    Another option is to use a Perl script on each end to do the
    conversion.

    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.

    Yet another which looks to be netcat recoded/extended:  socat
    
    Comfoolery:     http://www.brianpoe.com/comfoolery/
    Serproxy:       http://freshmeat.net/projects/serproxy/
    Serproxy:       http://www.lspace.nildram.co.uk/freeware.html
    Remserial:      http://lpccomp.bc.ca/remserial/
    Socat:          http://www.dest-unreach.org/socat/
 

    4.21 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 &

    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.

    4.22 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.

    4.23 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/

    4.24 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.

    4.25 Why doesn't Terraserver work for some locations?

    Terraserver is based on the UTM coordinate system.  If you're trying
    to request map images that cross a UTM zone boundary, Terraserver
    may not work at that location.  Zoom in closer or pan left/right
    in order to avoid this problem.

    4.26 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).

    4.27 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

    4.28 Why are the labels missing in the Configure->Timing dialog?

    Some versions of the Lesstif widget set have this bug.  Try
    switching to a different version of Lesstif or switch to
    OpenMotif and you should see the labels again.  So that you can
    actually operate Xastir, here's what you _should_ have seen:

        On the left:
        ------------
        Posit TX Interval (min)
        Object/Item TX Interval (min)
        GPS Check Interval (sec)
        Dead-Reckoning Timeout (min)
        New Track Time (min)
        RINO -> Objects Interval (min), 0=Disabled
        Snapshot Interval (min)

        On the right:
        -------------
        Station Ghosting Time (min)
        Station Clear Time (hours)
        Station Delete Time (days)
        Serial Inter-Char Delay (ms)
        New Track Interval (degrees)
        Internet Map Timeout (sec)

    A screenshot on the Wiki of this dialog:
    <https://xastir.org/index.php/Notes:Timing_Slider_Dialog_Screenshot>

    4.29 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, or you have an LSB-Xastir
    installed and have compiled or installed Xastir in the normal
    fashion as well.  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.

    4.30 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.

    4.31 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. If
    running LSB-Xastir it's "/opt/Xastir/share/xastir/maps/".

    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.

    4.32 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.

    4.33 Fedora 12 right-click menus don't work.

    This was a Fedora X11 bug and has been fixed.  Do a "yum
    update" on your system to get the latest Fedora fixes.

    If you're having troubles with another OS, read this thread to
    get some insight into the problem:
      https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=543647

    It appears to be a bug in the X11 server and can affect OpenMotif
    and Lesstif apps.  I didn't read every comment though.  There were
    definitely many dead-ends as they went along discussing it.

    4.34 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. 

    4.35 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 
    http://web.usna.navy.mil/~bruninga/aprs/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
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