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West Virginia University · Radio Astronomy Instrumentation Laboratory DSPIRA

Software Setup

Historical GNU Radio 3.8 Setup on Ubuntu 20.04

Recover the older combined package for an existing GNU Radio 3.8 environment.

Equipment and preparation · Optional activity
Equipment
An Ubuntu 20.04 computer with GNU Radio 3.8 and the listed build dependencies.
Before you start
Use this optional historical route only for the matching environment. Otherwise, follow the current DSPIRA installation guide.
Planning your time
Review the tasks before scheduling a class. A classroom duration has not been confirmed for this lesson.

Teaching guidance · Software compatibility

This historical guide uses the frozen gr38 tag. It preserves the older combined package and its application paths. For current software, use the DSPIRA software guide.

This installs spectrometer_w_cal.grc and other GNU Radio astronomy programs on Ubuntu 20.04.

Complete the following steps:

  1. Open a terminal window in Ubuntu.

  2. Install GNU Radio external python dependencies and SDR drivers by typing the following and hit enter: 
    sudo apt install gnuradio gr-osmosdr airspy python3-h5py python3-ephem git cmake liborc-0.4-dev -y

  3. To clone the repository: in the terminal, type and Enter: git clone --branch gr38 https://github.com/WVURAIL/radio-research-software.git gr-radio_astro

  4. Switch to the gr-radio_astro directory: cd gr-radio_astro

  5. Confirm the historical release by typing: git describe --tags --exact-match

  6. Make a build directory: mkdir build, and then move to it: cd build

  7. Then run the following in the build directory:

    cmake ..
sudo make
sudo make install

    Additional Steps for setting the proper Python environment:

  8. Open a terminal window.

  9. Make sure you are at the home directory (type and Enter cd ). Then type gedit .bashrc to open the .bashrc file in an editor.

  10. Scroll to the file’s bottom and add a blank line. Paste this code: export PYTHONPATH=/usr/local/lib/python3/dist-packages:/usr/local/lib/python3.8/dist-packages:$PYTHONPATH

  11. Save and close (x in upper right corner).

  12. Additionally you can create appropriate symbolic links
    1. Open gnuradio-companion in a terminal, then click Help --> About. Note the Python version in the dialog.
    2. For Python 3.8, type cd /usr/local/lib/python3.8/dist-packages. For Python 3.9, use cd /usr/local/lib/python3.9/dist-packages.
    3. Type ln -s /usr/local/lib/python3/dist-packages/radio_astro

Check that the Installation was Successful

  1. Restart your terminal window. Run the program in GNU Radio:
    • In a terminal window type gnuradio-companion

    • Open the spectrometer_w_cal.grc program as follows:

      File --> Open --> gr-radio_astro --> examples --> DSPIRA --> spectrometer_w_cal.grc

    • Plug an Airspy radio, with the LNA attached, into the USB port. Run the program by hitting the start triangle (“execute the flowgraph”) on the menu bar at top. If no errors occur, you are all set!

Updating an older installation

The gr38 tag is a frozen release, not an update branch. Keep existing receiver settings and customized flowgraphs before changing environments. For current development, use the DSPIRA installation guide with GNU Radio 3.10. Do not use git pull to update this historical tag.

All 11 lessons in Software Setup Published June 27, 2023