MLOST. Import List of Sites in XML Format

I have added a new feature to the MLOST tool at http://members.chello.at/stephen.joung/indexDistanceElevation.html

You can now import a list of sites in XML format and then check the LOS between these site. To use this feature first copy a list of sites in XML format, I will discuss how to convert you list to XML later, and click on the enter button. The sites will appear as markers on the map and as a list of names to the right of the map. Moving the mouse over a marker will open an information window showing the name of the site and clicking the mouse whilst over a marker will make that marker Site-A, select another site as Site-B by clicking on a marker and the tool will do the usual super fast Line of sight check. Clicking on a name in the list to the right of the map will open the info window for that site on the map. This is very useful for finding where a site is located when you only know the name.

Converting lists to XML is not too difficult and I have found this website very useful.The list should have this format:

<markers>
<marker>
<name>Site10_SILO</name>
<lng>16.930489</lng>
<lat>47.784239</lat>
</marker>
<marker>
<name>Site11_SILO</name>
<lng>16.585914</lng>
<lat>48.009983</lat>
</marker>
<marker>
<name>Site12_SILO</name>
<lng>15.256436</lng>
<lat>48.702892</lat>
</marker>
</markers>

Copy a PHPBB3 forum to a new server

I am moving all of my services from an old server to a new one. Moving the PHPBB3 forum was easy once I figured it out. Here’s how to do it.

1) On the old server make a copy of the forum database, for instance using phpMyAdmin-Export. Also make a copy of config.php from YOUR_WEBPAGE/phpbb3 (usually /var/www/phpbb3).
2) On the new server install PHPBB3 via synaptic or apt.
3) Make the forum available to the webserver by entering sudo ln -s /usr/share/phpbb3/www /var/www/phpbb and restarting Apache with sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart.
4) Check that PHPBB3 is installed correctly by opening a browser and going to /localhost/phpbb3. To login use “admin” for both username and password.
5) Using phpMyAdmin or command line import the database that you saved in step 1).
6) In /var/www/phpbb3 rename the file config.php to configOrig.php and copy the config.php from the old server into the directory.
7) Reload /localhost/phpbb3 and your old forum should be there.

Working Mailserver. Postfix, Fetchmail, Procmail, Dovecot with Ubuntu 9.10

Today I set up the mail server on my new server running Ubuntu 9.10. The Original mail server was running on Ubuntu 7.04 for many years, the configuration blog is here

The first difference I noticed was that Ubuntu have been working on a mail server stack that should work out of the box. You can download this with the package dovecot-postfix. I am sure this is the best bet for anyone starting from scratch and I will try it out when I get time but for now I wanted to install the stack and configuration I knew worked for me.

So I downloaded Postfix, Fetchmail, Procmail, Dovecot.Postfix and copied my configuration files from the old server. The only differences were in the file /etc/dovecot/dovecot.conf and were:

mail_extra_groups has been deprecated and you should now use mail_access_groups or mail_privileged_group instead if you need this. As it happens I commented it out and haven’t had a problem. I think it is only relevant when you use mboxes and I don’t.

default_mail_env = maildir:/home/%u/Maildir/ has also been deprecated and you should use
mail-location = maildir:/home/%u/Maildir/ instead.

IMPORTANT the configuration file /etc/dovecot/dovecot-postfix.conf has precedence over /etc/dovecot/dovecot.conf so if you want to use /etc/dovecot/dovecot.conf you have to rename /etc/dovecot/dovecot-postfix.conf.

Remote Desktop Without A Monitor

After the initial installation of Ubuntu 9.1 I did not want to have a monitor connected to the server but wanted to be able to reach the servers X session remotely. This is easy to do with xvncviewer on my controlling PC and on the server I set System – Preferences – “Gnome Remote Desktop” to “Allow other users to control your desktop”

The first problem came after rebooting the server which refused to login because it hadn’t detected a monitor. I tried to use the trick I used with Ubuntu 7.04, see here but there is no /etx/X11/xorg.conf in Ubuntu 9.10. I created one anyway and lo and behold it works.

New Server

I have bought a really small (250mm x 170mm x 25mm) PC for use as a new server. It has an Intel Diamondville 1.6GHz CPU wit 2GB memory and a 250GB harddrive. I have installed Ubuntu Desktop 9.10 and will add comments here as I install the various servers that I have working on my old server running Ubuntu 7.04. Where there is a difference to how I set up the old server I will also add a comment to the old entry in this blog.

So here goes…………

WiFi Radio and BBC Overseas

I received a WiFi radio for Christmas and looked forward to listening to Radio 4. However when I set the radio up I found I could receive signals from all over the world but the BBC stations gave the message “Network Timeout” whenever I tried to load them. I am not sure why this is so as the BBC allow people located overseas to listen to BBC radio from several sources, including iPlayer, via a browser. The only way I found to receive BBC stations on my WiFi Radio was as follows:

1) Sign up to the Frontier Silicon Radio Portal at http://www.wifiradio-frontier.com
2) Go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/mobile/radio/listen/ and download the RM link, ie right click on RM for the station you want and select “save link as”
3) Open the saved link with an editor and copy the contents. For instance for Radio 4 it is
rtsp://rmlegacy.bbc.co.uk/bbc-rbs/rmlegacy/farm/live24/bbc_ami/radio4/radio4_nb_int_live.ra?BBC-UID=246a5dd7272e77929d47f441c17b061b4aa29ce3e0d011e464ff249618a00eca&SSO2-UID=
4) Login to Frontier Silicon Radio Portal and select “My added stations” and then “Add another station”.
5) Paste the link into the box “Station URL and fill in the rest of the form. The selection box “Type” should be set to “Realaudio”.
On your WiFi radio you will now find the station under “My added stations”.

If anyone has a simpler method I would be pleased to hear about.

Happy listening!

Faster Version of MLOS

I have re.written the code for MLOS and it now collects the height data much faster. I hope that I haven’t upset any other features with this upgrade but if I have please make a comment below and I will rectify it straight away. If you are happy with the improved MLOS I would also appreciate a comment to that effect.

Thanks, Steve.

Configuring tftp in Ubuntu

I am trying to upgrade an old FNS1000 NAS to be a LAMP server, which I will describe here if I am successful. One thing I needed was to be able to communicate with the NAS via tftp and I had a real hard time setting up the tftp server on my Ubuntu system. I have finally got it working and so I will explain how I did it here.

First you need to download and install tftp tftpd and xinetd using Synaptic or with

sudo apt-get install tftp tftpd xinetd

Using your favourite editor write the following text file and save it as /etc/xinetd.d/tftp

service tftp
{
protocol = udp
port = 69
socket_type = dgram
wait = yes
user = nobody
server = /usr/sbin/in.tftpd
server_args = -s var/lib/tftpboot
disable = no
}

I found that the directory /var/lib/tftpboot was already in my /var/lib folder. I’m not sure where it came from but if you have it use it and if not make it with

sudo mkdir /var/lib/tftpboot

Then change it’s permissions and ownership with

sudo chmod -R 777 /var/lib/tftpboot
sudo chown -R nobody /var/lib/tftpboot

Then start tftpd through xinetd. You have to use re-start and not start

sudo /etc/init.d/xinetd restart

That’s the configuration. Now to test the server.

Place a test file test.txt in the /var/lib/tftpboot and then give it 777 permissions with

chmod 777 /var/lib/tftpboot/test.txt

cd into the /var/lib/tftpboot directory and start tftp with the ip address of your PC. On the tftp> type “put test.txt” and if everything works you will get the Sent message like below.

cd /var/lib/tftpboot
tftp 192.168.0.10
tftp> put test.txt
Sent 722 bytes in 0.0 seconds
tftp> quit

Good luck

Microwave Link Engineering Tool proving popular in Poland

This is a special welcome to all of the new MLET users from Poland, I hope that you are happy with the tool. You can leave any comments or suggestions for improvement below.

There has been a big increase of MLET users from Poland over the last few weeks and I was wondering what the reason for this increase is. Was there an article written about the tool or was it word of mouth? I would appreciate any feedback on this.

One more thing, please click on any interesting Google Ads links on the page. This is the only way I get anything for my efforts.

Do widzenia

Forum for General Microwave Discussions

Because of the general queries I have received in response to my online microwave tools I have decided to initiate a general microwave communications engineering discussion forum. I am hoping that this forum will enable the many knowledgeable microwave engineers out there and myself (with more than 25 years microwave planning experience) to answer any questions regarding microwave communications engineering you might have and at the same time build up a useful knowledge base.

By the way the tools can be found here:
Microwave Link Engineering Tool, MLET
Microwave Line-of-Sight Tool, MLOST