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Installing the USRP and GNU Radio

I used the Mandriva 2006 Free Edition Linux distribution, which can be downloaded and burned onto three CDs from http://www.mandriva.com. I chose this distribution because of its emphasis on user-friendliness and the fact that its advanced installation tool allows it to share a hard drive with Microsoft Windows without mangling either operating system. When installing Mandriva, be sure to include the developer and network tools when the installation tool asks you what kind of packages you want to install.

Once Mandriva is installed, you have to set up its package management system so it can automatically download and install prebuilt binaries that will work with Mandriva. This can be done through the KDE graphical environment, which is installed by default with Mandriva and is similar to Windows. Under the System->Configuration menu, you'll find a program that allows you to update your software media. Use the "Add" button, and follow the prompts to choose an online repository, ideally one close by; because I live in New York City, I went with the repository hosted by Pennsylvania State University, identifiable by its "psu.edu" suffix. It will take a while for the full list of packages to download.

Once that's done, use the System->Configuration->Software menu to run the "Add Software" program. You'll have to enter the root password created when you first installed Linux. Search for "boost" in package names, and from the resulting short list, check off the box beside the following packages (the program will automatically offer to install supporting packages when some packages are selected, so you may not have to manually select some of these packages):

boost-jam-3.1.10-1mdk

(You probably don't need this, but I included it for completeness.)

libboost1-1.32.0-4mdk

libboost1-devel-1.32.0-4mdk

libboost1-examples-1.32.0-4mdk

libboost1-static-devel-1.32.0-4mdk

(Again, you probably don't need this, but just in case.)

Don't worry if the numbers don't match exactly, as updated versions are released all the time. Once everything has a check mark, click the "Install" button. Once these packages have finished downloading and installing, which won't take long on a fast connection, search for "cppunit" and install the following:

libcppunit-1.10.2-2mdk

libcppunit-devel-1.10.2-2mdk

Then search for "swig" and install:

swig-1.3.24-2mdk

swig-devel-1.3.24-2mdk

swig-doc-1.3.24-2mdk

Search for "fftw" and install:

libfftw3-3.0.1-6mdk

libfftw3-devel-3.0.1-6mdk

libfftw3-doc-3.0.1-6mdk

Search for "numeric" and install:

python-numeric-24.0-1mdk

python-numeric-devel-24.0-1mdk

Search for "sdcc" and install:

sdcc-2.5.0-1mdk

Search for "subversion" and install:

subversion-1.2.3-3mdk

subversion-server-1.2.3-3mdk

Search for "wxPython" and install:

libwxPythonGTK-2.6.1.0-1mdk

wxPythonGTK-2.6.1.0-1mdk

Search for "libusb" and install:

libusb0.1_4-devel-0.1.8.7mdk

libusb0.1_4-static-devel-0.1.8.7mdk

It's possible to check and install these packages all at once, instead of piece by piece as I've described here, by searching for each in turn, checking the appropriate packages, and clicking "Install" when you're finished.

Now it's time to work on the GNU Radio and USRP software itself. Open a console window, and at the command line enter:

mkdir gr

cd gr

This sets up the directory where we are going to install GNU Radio. To download the GNU Radio code directly from the developer's own repository, enter:

export CVS_RSH="ssh"

cvs –z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.savannah.gnu.org:/sources/gnuradio co gnuradio-core

cvs –z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.savannah.gnu.org:/sources/gnuradio co gr-usrp

cvs –z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.savannah.gnu.org:/sources/gnuradio co gr-wxgui

cvs –z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.savannah.gnu.org:/sources/gnuradio co gr-wxgui-examples

Before we go any further, we need to know how the Mandriva installation tool sets up sound on your particular computer. Using the System->Configuration->Hardware->HardDrake program, select your sound card and click "Configure driver." On the next screen, listed beside the currently active driver for your sound card, you'll see something in square brackets, most probably either [ALSA] or [OSS]. Then, returning to your terminal window, enter either:

cvs –z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.savannah.gnu.org:/sources/gnuradio co gr-audio-alsa

or

cvs –z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.savannah.gnu.org:/sources/gnuradio co gr-audio-oss

Now we need to get the code that handles the USRP hardware, which is located on a different repository. Enter:

svn co http://usrp.svnrepository.com/svn/usrp trunk

Now we can begin compiling the software. Enter:

cd gnuradio-core

./bootstrap

(ignore the scary warnings)

./configure

make

This will start the main chunk of GNU Radio code compiling. There's no progress indicator, but this took about 25 minutes on my system. When it's finished, type the following (enter your root password when prompted):

sudo make install

cd ..

Now we'll compile the USRP software and the other modules:

cd trunk

cd trunk (This is not a typo, you have to do it twice, or type "cd trunk/trunk/" once)

./bootstrap

./configure

make

sudo make install

cd ..

cd ..

cd gr-usrp

./bootstrap

./configure

make

sudo make install

cd ..

cd gr-audio-oss (Or whatever audio module you downloaded earlier)

./bootstrap

./configure

make

sudo make install

cd ..

cd gr-wxgui

./bootstrap

./configure

make

sudo make install

cd ..

cd gnu-radio-examples

./bootstrap

./configure

make

sudo make install

cd ..

Before running GNU Radio software, you need to set two environmental variables—you may find it handy to put these next lines into a text file called, for example, "gr-defs.txt," and then type "source gr-defs" whenever you want to use the software:

export PKG_CONFIG_PATH=/usr/local/lib/pkgconfig

export PYTHONPATH=/usr/local/lib/Python2.4/sitepackages

Make sure the USRP hardware is ready with an appropriate daughterboard and antenna, such as the TVRX. Power up the USRP and connect the USB cable. Everything should now be working. You can test it with:

cd gnu-radio-examples

cd python

cd usrp

./usrp_wfm_rcv.py

You should now get a graphical interface window on your screen and have static coming from your speakers. Tune the USRP by typing the frequency of a local FM station into the number box at the bottom of the application window, using the letter "M" to specify "MHz," such as 101.1M.

If something goes wrong when you try to run the program, it may be because normal users don't have permission to fully access the USB subsystem on your system. The ideal way to solve this is to add your user account to the USB group using a system administration tool, but the quick and dirty fix is just to run everything as root, such as:

sudo ./usrp_wfm_rcv.py

—S.A.C.