Allowing telnet connects from users
-From version 1.47 there is a new (more efficient) way of doing this
+>From version 1.47 there is a new (more efficient) way of doing this
(see next section) but, if you prefer, the method of doing it described
here will continue to work just fine.
@@ -939,7 +940,7 @@ You should now get the login prompt and be able to login as before.
Setting up telnet connects (from 1.47 onwards)
-From version 1.47 you can choose to allow the perl cluster.pl program to
+>From version 1.47 you can choose to allow the perl cluster.pl program to
allow connections directly (i.e. not via the /spider/src/client
interface program). If you are using Windows then this is the only method
available of allowing incoming telnet connections.
@@ -1356,12 +1357,9 @@ you should find everything running nicely.
IMPORTANT:
What you'll be left with once you've followed these instructions
-is (hopefully) a working DX Spider v1.47 system that is capable
+is (hopefully) a working DX Spider v1.50 system that is capable
of accepting or originating "internet" connections, plus inbound
-AX.25 and TCP/IP radio connections. If the absence of outbound
-radio connections is a serious limitation for you, it would be
-better for you to wait a couple more weeks until this support has
-been added.
+and outbound AX.25 and TCP/IP radio connections.
On the other hand, you may have an enquiring mind, or better yet,
may be looking for a useful way of connecting your current
@@ -1422,16 +1420,22 @@ and I have zero intention of trying to make them say otherwise.
Install your chosen Perl environment. Unless you have a very good
reason for not doing so, I strongly suggest that you use
ActivePerl v5.6. For my testing & development, I used build 623.
-You can get this from:-
-You will need to choose either the MSI or the AS package. My
-recommendation is that you choose the MSI package and deal with
-the consequences if your system isn't equipped with support for
-the latest MS Installer; you'll be better off in the long run.
-The build 623 download is 7,460 KB, so now is a really good time
-to have some tea if you're on a slow dial-up connection.
+The link takes you to an initial page of System Requirements and
+Software Prerequisites. If you do not have it already installed,
+you can download and install the Windows Installer 2.0 for a Win98
+installation. Be forewarned, you will have to reboot your PC at the
+completion of the installer's installation.
+
+If you already have the installer on your PC, simply click on the
+Next arrow at the bottom of the page. Two clicks will finally get
+you to the actual download page. The MSI version of Build 633 is
+now 8.6MB in size, so make that a big cup of tea or coffee if you're
+on a slow dial-up connection.
During installation, please ensure that you do choose the options
to "Add Perl to the PATH environment variable" and "Create Perl
@@ -1474,12 +1478,15 @@ Time-HiRes.zip
DB_File.zip
-Make yourself a convenient directory to unpack all of these zip
-files into (I put mine in "D:\ppm>") and do the following (the
-bits you type in are blue ). Note that where these files land
-will be directly related to where you chose to install your
-ActivePerl (mine, as you can probably guess from what follows,
-went into "D:\Perl"):-
+If this is a new installation, now would also be a good time to
+install a copy of WinZip on your PC. Make yourself a convenient
+directory to unpack all of these zip files into (I put mine in
+"D:\ppm>" but "C:\ppm" works just as well.) and do the following
+(the bits you type in are blue ). You can upzip all of the files into
+the same directory. When prompted, simply overwrite the Readme file
+from each zip package. Note that where these files land will be
+directly related to where you chose to install your ActivePerl
+(mine, as you can probably guess from what follows, went into "D:\Perl"):-
D:\ppm>ppm install Data-Dumper.ppd
@@ -1515,10 +1522,10 @@ do it that way because it suits me.
Get the current version of the DX Spider distribution. This needs
-to be v1.47 or later. You've got two ways (currently) of getting
+to be v1.50 or later. You've got two ways (currently) of getting
this; either get a CVS update from sourceforge (if you don't know
what this is, then it isn't for you) or get the latest "official"
-release from:-
+release from:
@@ -1532,28 +1539,34 @@ date. However, there is always the very slight chance that it might
unstable. Generally, there will be a note on the website if this is
the case.
-The only difference between "CVSlatest.tgz" and the latest
-"official" release version is that it is more up to date. Don't confuse
-this TGZ file with "Downloading from Sourceforge with CVS" - they are two
-quite different things.
-
-If you went down the CVS route (ie installed wincvs and downloaded from
-sourceforge), then everything will be nicely
-set out on your local disk. If you got the TGZ file, unpack it to
-somewhere convenient. The following examples assume that you put
-it on drive "C:\", for convenience.
+The only difference between "CVSlatest.tgz" and the latest
+"official" release version is that it is more up to date. Do not confuse
+the "CVSlatest.tgz" file with "Downloading from Sourceforge with CVS" - they
+are two quite different things. "Downloading from Sourceforge with CVS" is
+explained in a section within the Admin manual.
-
You will need to
-manipulate the TGZ files (they are bit like ZIP files) if you are not using CVS.
+
+If you go down the CVS route (ie installing WinCVS as explained in the Admin
+manual and downloaded from sourceforge), then everything will be nicely
+installed on your local disk. If you got the CVSlatest.tgz file, unzip
+() it to "C:\".
+This is an important point since paths are included within the .tgz
+file. Make sure you unzip to the root directory of whichever drive you use...
+"C:\" or "D:\" or .., not "C:\spider." If you double click on CVSlatest.tgz,
+WinZip should open with a dialogue box that says the Archive contains a single
+file (CVSlatest.tar) and asks whether WinZip should decompress it to a
+temporary fold and then open it. Say "Yes" and then you will get the typical
+Classical WinZip listing of files ready for extraction. Remember, extract
+them to your desired root directory ("C:\" or "D:\" or ...). The following
+examples assume that you put it on drive "C:\", for convenience.
Installing the software
-Ensure that your CVS session or your WINunZIPped file have left you with
-a directory "C:\spider\local" and C:\spider\local_cmd"; if not, go to
-"C:\spider\" and create them. If "C:\spider" is missing, go back and
-figure out why, because it shouldn't be.
+At this point you will need to create 2 additional directories under
+"C:\Spider." Make directories "C:\spider\local" and "C:\spider\local_cmd".
+If "C:\spider" is missing, go back and figure out why, because it shouldn't be.
Now create your own local copy of the DXVars.pm file by:-
@@ -1562,7 +1575,7 @@ copy c:\spider\perl\DXVars.pm.issue
c:\spider\local\DXVars.pm
-Now you'll need to edit this file using a text editor. If nothing
+Now you'll need to edit this file using a text editor like Notepad. If nothing
else, you can simply
@@ -1594,12 +1607,11 @@ should change nothing else in this file. Note that if you use an "@" or
a "$" character in one of the above strings (typically in $myemail) you must
write them as "\@" or "\$".
-
Incoming telnets
If you want to enable inbound "TELNET" connections (or you are running
-Windows NT, 2000 or XP), you've got a little more work to do. From a
+Windows 98, NT, 2000 or XP), you've got a little more work to do. From a
handy "DOS box" that's not doing anything else, do the following:-
@@ -1608,23 +1620,23 @@ cd \spider\local
notepad listeners.pm
-The following lines need attention:-
+The following line need attention:-
-["0.0.0.0", 7300],
+# ["0.0.0.0", 7300],
On my machine, I've simply uncommented the "0.0.0.0" entry by
removing the '#' from the front of the line.
You MUST carry out this step if you are
-running on a Windows NT, 2000 or XP based system
+running on a Windows 98, NT, 2000 or XP based system
If you don't have a static hostname for your machine, and you
intend to allow folk to connect to your machine across the
internet, then I'd suggest you pay a visit to www.dyndns.org and
create one for yourself. While it's free, it will take a modest
-an amount of effort on your part to read, understand and
+amount of effort on your part to read, understand and
implement what needs to be done to set this up.
If your machine is connected to the internet and you don't
@@ -1640,8 +1652,25 @@ addresses).
On the assumption that you'll be using the SV2AGW Packet Engine
-to interface your radios to the cluster, you should now create
-your own local copy of AGWConnect.pm by:-
+to interface your radios to the cluster, it would be a good idea to
+download the Packet Engine software! You can get this software from:
+
+
+
+Depending upon your TNCs, you may also need to get:
+
+
+
+A couple of the tools:
+
+
+
+
+
+will also help with troubleshooting of the RF links themselves.
+
+Install and configure AGWPE. You should now create your own local copy of
+AGWConnect.pm by:-
copy c:\spider\perl\AGWConnect.pm
@@ -1663,6 +1692,9 @@ consider adjusting the following items in AGWConnect.pm:-
- $passwd - password that matches $login
+The login ID and passwd only need to be set if you are accessing AGW separately
+via its web interface. This interface is normally not needed for use with DXSpider.
+
Setting up the initial user files
@@ -1689,8 +1721,8 @@ If you did everything you were told, your DOS window will now
hold a display which looks something like:-
-DXSpider DX Cluster Version 1.47
-Copyright (c) 1998-2001 Dirk Koopman G1TLH
+DXSpider DX Cluster Version 1.50
+Copyright (c) 1998-2002 Dirk Koopman G1TLH
loading prefixes ...
loading band data ...
loading user file system ...
@@ -1746,7 +1778,7 @@ name="PuTTY">).
Anyway, if you are rewarded with a display which looks something like:-
-Hello Iain, this is GB7SJP in Amersham, Bucks running DXSpider V1.47
+Hello Iain, this is GB7SJP in Amersham, Bucks running DXSpider V1.50
Cluster: 1 nodes, 1 local / 1 total users Max users 2 Uptime 0 00:00
M0ADI de GB7SJP 4-Mar-2001 1511Z >
@@ -1807,3 +1839,5 @@ If you want to know more about it, look at the
at the cron page where it is explained more fully.
+
+