                  XASTIR Frequently Asked Questions

$Id: FAQ,v 1.34 2004/09/07 21:40:26 we7u Exp $

The latest version of this FAQ is always available from the Xastir web site, at
<http://www.xastir.org/docs/FAQ.html>, soon to be available also at:
<http://xastir.sourceforge.net> or at:
<http://sourceforge.net/projects/xastir/>

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 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?
    3.3 What's the best hardware/operating system/...
    4.4 Why isn't there a binary for my platform?

3.  Building Xastir

    3.1 Why won't Xastir compile with my system's cc?
    3.2 I'm using gcc and I get some compilation errors, what is wrong?
    3.3 The linking stage is failing because it isn't linking in the
        freetype library.  What to do?
    3.4 During the linking stage, it's giving me "undefined reference to
        `CompressImageColormap'".  What to do?
    3.5 Some of the text looks strange, writes over itself and other
        user interface weirdness occurs.  Why?
    3.6 Why isn't ImageMagick recognized and used during Xastir's
        "configure" stage?
    3.7 Why do I get an error now when trying to do a "cvs update"?

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 APX110 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 segfault 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?

5.  Features

    5.1  Why doesn't Xastir include <insert your feature here>?


The Answers
-----------

1. Background

    1.1 What is Xastir?


    Xastir is an APRS 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 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 beginings, 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 clients?

    Being actively developed by and for Hams, Xastir is constantly being
    improved upon to reflect the changing state of APRS.  Xastir has all
    the functionality you would find in any other APRS 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 rigours 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 website.  See the top of this document
    for the addresses.

    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.
    Another good place to document the request or bug in a more permanant
    manner is the sourceforge tracker. There are seperate bug and feature
    request trackers, both listed at the Xastir project page,
    http://sourceforge.net/projects/xastir/

    1.8 Is there any more information on Xastir?

    See the main Xastir website 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 website


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 website.  See the top of this document for the
            addresses.

        2.  Ask in the xastir@krypton.hscs.virginia.edu 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.

    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@krypton.hscs.virginia.edu 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 CVS tree. To submit your patch, send email to
    xastir-dev@krypton.hscs.virginia.edu 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 buildable 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 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.

    3.2 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.

    3.3 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.

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

    This is, yet again, an ImageMagick problem.  ImageMagic 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.

    3.5 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.

    3.6 Why isn't ImageMagick recognized and used during Xastir's
        "configure" stage?

    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.

    3.7 Why do I get an error now when trying to do a "cvs update"?

    SourceForge changed things around a bit on Apr 29th, 2004.  The changes
    they made broke CVS for everyone.  The error message you get may look like
    the following:

        "Unknown host: cvs.xastir.sf.org"

    Luckily the fix is simple.  Run these commands from the top directory where
    you have the Xastir sources:

    find -name Root -path \*CVS\* -exec perl -pi.bak -e's/cvs.xastir.sf.net/cvs.sf.net/' \{\} \;
    find -name Root -path \*CVS\* -exec perl -pi.bak -e's/cvs.xastir.sourceforge.net/cvs.sf.net/' \{\} \;


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 accidently 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 APX121 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, and recent Xastir releases
    decode this correctly.

    4.6 Who is this APX112 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, X=X Windowing System, 110=Version 1.10.
    RELAY, WIDE, and TRACE are aliases for generic digipeaters. Most base
    stations have (or should have!) their TNCs configured to digipeat with the
    call of RELAY. Very large stations should be set up as WIDEs. Newer
    digipeater software substitutes their own call for the "RELAY" and "WIDE",
    to enable people to see who digipeated them. TRACE was originally for this
    purpose, but is now quite often used to avoid "WIDE, WIDE, WIDE" paths,
    which would cause loops with older digipeaters. Some areas use special
    flooding protocols to aid packets to get farther, but reduce congestion
    on the network. Packets of that type will have digipeater paths of WIDEn-N.
    To talk to people, you send them messages from within Xastir, you don't
    "call" them like on typical packet. Most TNCs 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? Did you compile with shapefile support?

    Second, check that Map|Map WX Alert Counties is turned on.

    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 TNCs 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 segfault 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 segfault 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 segfaulting.

    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 backported 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?

    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.

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 alias?

    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 RELAY" is the command most TNC's accept for defining a
    RELAY alias.  That command or similar should be in the Setup file
    that you use.

    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.

----------------------------------------------------------------

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
web pages, which are listed at the top of this document.


Copyright (C) 2000-2004 The Xastir Group

