1 2# Dire Wolf # 3 4### Decoded Information from Radio Emissions for Windows Or Linux Fans ### 5 6In the early days of Amateur Packet Radio, it was necessary to use an expensive "Terminal Node Controller" (TNC) with specialized hardware. Those days are gone. You can now get better results at lower cost by connecting your radio to the "soundcard" interface of a computer and using software to decode the signals. 7 8Why waste $200 and settle for mediocre receive performance from a 1980's technology TNC using an old modem chip? Dire Wolf decodes over 1000 error-free frames from Track 2 of the [WA8LMF TNC Test CD](https://github.com/wb2osz/direwolf/tree/dev/doc/WA8LMF-TNC-Test-CD-Results.pdf), leaving all the hardware TNCs, and first generation "soundcard" modems, behind in the dust. 9 10 11 12Dire Wolf now includes [FX.25](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FX.25_Forward_Error_Correction/) which adds Forward Error Correction (FEC) in a way that is completely compatible with existing systems. If both ends are capable of FX.25, your information will continue to get through under conditions where regular AX.25 is completely useless. 13 14 15 16Dire Wolf is a modern software replacement for the old 1980's style TNC built with special hardware. 17 18Without any additional software, it can perform as: 19 20 - APRS GPS Tracker 21 - Digipeater 22 - Internet Gateway (IGate) 23- [APRStt](http://www.aprs.org/aprstt.html) gateway 24 25 26It can also be used as a virtual TNC for other applications such as [APRSIS32](http://aprsisce.wikidot.com/), [Xastir](http://xastir.org/index.php/Main_Page), [APRS-TW](http://aprstw.blandranch.net/), [YAAC](http://www.ka2ddo.org/ka2ddo/YAAC.html), [PinPoint APRS](http://www.pinpointaprs.com/), [UI-View32](http://www.ui-view.net/),[UISS](http://users.belgacom.net/hamradio/uiss.htm), [Linux AX25](http://www.linux-ax25.org/wiki/Main_Page), [SARTrack](http://www.sartrack.co.nz/index.html), [Winlink Express (formerly known as RMS Express, formerly known as Winlink 2000 or WL2K)](http://www.winlink.org/RMSExpress), [BPQ32](http://www.cantab.net/users/john.wiseman/Documents/BPQ32.html), [Outpost PM](http://www.outpostpm.org/), [Ham Radio of Things](https://github.com/wb2osz/hrot), [Packet Compressed Sensing Imaging (PCSI)](https://maqifrnswa.github.io/PCSI/), and many others. 27 28 29## Features & Benefits ## 30 31 32 33### Dire Wolf includes: ### 34 35 36 37- **Beaconing, Tracker, Telemetry Toolkit.** 38 39 Send periodic beacons to provide information to others. For tracking the location is provided by a GPS receiver. 40 Build your own telemetry applications with the toolkit. 41 42 43- **APRStt Gateway.** 44 45 Very few hams have portable equipment for APRS but nearly everyone has a handheld radio that can send DTMF tones. APRStt allows a user, equipped with only DTMF (commonly known as Touch Tone) generation capability, to enter information into the global APRS data network. Responses can be sent by Morse Code or synthesized speech. 46 47- **Digipeaters for APRS and traditional Packet Radio.** 48 49 Extend the range of other stations by re-transmitting their signals. Unmatched flexibility for cross band repeating and filtering to limit what is retransmitted. 50 51- **Internet Gateway (IGate).** 52 53 IGate stations allow communication between disjoint radio networks by allowing some content to flow between them over the Internet. 54 55- **Ham Radio of Things (HRoT).** 56 57 There have been occasional mentions of merging Ham Radio with the Internet of Things but only ad hoc incompatible narrowly focused applications. Here is a proposal for a standardized more flexible method so different systems can communicate with each other. 58 59 [Ham Radio of Things - IoT over Ham Radio](https://github.com/wb2osz/hrot) 60 61- **AX.25 v2.2 Link Layer.** 62 63 Traditional connected mode packet radio where the TNC automatically retries transmissions and delivers data in the right order. 64 65- **KISS Interface (TCP/IP, serial port, Bluetooth) & AGW network Interface (TCP/IP).** 66 67 Dire Wolf can be used as a virtual TNC for applications such as [APRSIS32](http://aprsisce.wikidot.com/), [Xastir](http://xastir.org/index.php/Main_Page), [APRS-TW](http://aprstw.blandranch.net/), [YAAC](http://www.ka2ddo.org/ka2ddo/YAAC.html), [PinPoint APRS](http://www.pinpointaprs.com/), [UI-View32](http://www.ui-view.net/),[UISS](http://users.belgacom.net/hamradio/uiss.htm), [Linux AX25](http://www.linux-ax25.org/wiki/Main_Page), [SARTrack](http://www.sartrack.co.nz/index.html), [Winlink Express (formerly known as RMS Express, formerly known as Winlink 2000 or WL2K)](http://www.winlink.org/RMSExpress), [BPQ32](http://www.cantab.net/users/john.wiseman/Documents/BPQ32.html), [Outpost PM](http://www.outpostpm.org/), [Ham Radio of Things](https://github.com/wb2osz/hrot), [Packet Compressed Sensing Imaging (PCSI)](https://maqifrnswa.github.io/PCSI/), and many others. 68 69### Radio Interfaces: ### 70 71- **Uses computer's "soundcard" and digital signal processing.** 72 73 Lower cost and better performance than specialized hardware. 74 75 Compatible interfaces include [DRAWS](http://nwdigitalradio.com/draws/), [UDRC](https://nw-digital-radio.groups.io/g/udrc/wiki/UDRC%E2%84%A2-and-Direwolf-Packet-Modem), [SignaLink USB](http://www.tigertronics.com/slusbmain.htm), [DMK URI](http://www.dmkeng.com/URI_Order_Page.htm), [RB-USB RIM](http://www.repeater-builder.com/products/usb-rim-lite.html), [RA-35](http://www.masterscommunications.com/products/radio-adapter/ra35.html), [DINAH](https://hamprojects.info/dinah/), [SHARI](https://hamprojects.info/shari/), and many others. 76 77 78 79- **Standard 300, 1200 & 9600 bps modems and more.** 80 81- **DTMF ("Touch Tone") Decoding and Encoding.** 82 83- **Speech Synthesizer interface & Morse code generator.** 84 85 Transmit human understandable messages. 86 87- **Compatible with Software Defined Radios such as gqrx, rtl_fm, and SDR#.** 88 89- **Concurrent operation with up to 3 soundcards and 6 radios.** 90 91### Portable & Open Source: ### 92 93- **Runs on Windows, Linux (PC/laptop, Raspberry Pi, etc.), Mac OSX.** 94 95 96 97## Documentation ## 98 99[Stable Version](https://github.com/wb2osz/direwolf/tree/master/doc) 100 101[Latest Development Version](https://github.com/wb2osz/direwolf/tree/dev/doc) 102 103[Power Point presentation](https://github.com/wb2osz/direwolf-presentation) -- Why not give a talk at a local club meeting? 104 105 106## Installation ## 107 108### Windows ### 109 110Go to the [**releases** page](https://github.com/wb2osz/direwolf/releases). Download a zip file with "win" in its name, unzip it, and run direwolf.exe from a command window. 111 112You can also build it yourself from source. For more details see the **User Guide** in the [**doc** directory](https://github.com/wb2osz/direwolf/tree/master/doc). 113 114 115 116 117### Linux - Using git clone (recommended) ### 118 119***Note that this has changed for version 1.6. There are now a couple extra steps.*** 120 121 122First you will need to install some software development packages using different commands depending on your flavor of Linux. 123In most cases, the first few will already be there and the package installer will tell you that installation is not necessary. 124 125On Debian / Ubuntu / Raspbian / Raspberry Pi OS: 126 127 sudo apt-get install git 128 sudo apt-get install gcc 129 sudo apt-get install g++ 130 sudo apt-get install make 131 sudo apt-get install cmake 132 sudo apt-get install libasound2-dev 133 sudo apt-get install libudev-dev 134 135Or on Red Hat / Fedora / CentOS: 136 137 sudo yum install git 138 sudo yum install gcc 139 sudo yum install gcc-c++ 140 sudo yum install make 141 sudo yum install alsa-lib-devel 142 sudo yum install libudev-devel 143 144CentOS 6 & 7 currently have cmake 2.8 but we need 3.1 or later. 145First you need to enable the EPEL repository. Add a symlink if you don't already have the older version and want to type cmake rather than cmake3. 146 147 sudo yum install epel-release 148 sudo rpm -e cmake 149 sudo yum install cmake3 150 sudo ln -s /usr/bin/cmake3 /usr/bin/cmake 151 152Then on any flavor of Linux: 153 154 cd ~ 155 git clone https://www.github.com/wb2osz/direwolf 156 cd direwolf 157 git checkout dev 158 mkdir build && cd build 159 cmake .. 160 make -j4 161 sudo make install 162 make install-conf 163 164This gives you the latest development version. Leave out the "git checkout dev" to get the most recent stable release. 165 166For more details see the **User Guide** in the [**doc** directory](https://github.com/wb2osz/direwolf/tree/master/doc). Special considerations for the Raspberry Pi are found in **Raspberry-Pi-APRS.pdf** 167 168 169### Linux - Using apt-get (Debian flavor operating systems) ### 170 171Results will vary depending on your hardware platform and operating system version because it depends on various volunteers who perform the packaging. Expect the version to lag significantly behind development. 172 173 sudo apt-get update 174 apt-cache showpkg direwolf 175 sudo apt-get install direwolf 176 177 178### Linux - Using yum (Red Hat flavor operating systems) ### 179 180Results will vary depending on your hardware platform and operating system version because it depends on various volunteers who perform the packaging. Expect the version to lag significantly behind development. 181 182 sudo yum check-update 183 sudo yum list direwolf 184 sudo yum install direwolf 185 186 187### Macintosh OS X ### 188 189Read the **User Guide** in the [**doc** directory](https://github.com/wb2osz/direwolf/tree/master/doc). It is more complicated than Linux. 190 191If you have problems, post them to the [Dire Wolf packet TNC](https://groups.io/g/direwolf) discussion group. 192 193 194 195## Join the conversation ## 196 197Here are some good places to ask questions and share your experience: 198 199- [Dire Wolf Software TNC](https://groups.io/g/direwolf) 200 201- [Raspberry Pi 4 Ham Radio](https://groups.io/g/RaspberryPi-4-HamRadio) 202 203- [linuxham](https://groups.io/g/linuxham) 204 205- [TAPR aprssig](http://www.tapr.org/pipermail/aprssig/) 206 207 208The github "issues" section is for reporting software defects and enhancement requests. It is NOT a place to ask questions or have general discussions. Please use one of the locations above. 209
