[Xastir] map problem on MEPIS

[Rob Neece]

I need a little help.

After reading the recent Linux Journal article, I decided it was time to 
check out APRS.  Xastir was available in the MEPIS repositories, so 
Synaptic was used to install it.  Getting it up and running was pretty 
easy, but the default map it displays is crude at best.

The overt problem is that the map chooser has no effect.  No online maps 
can be displayed.  Downloading and installing maps for local use didn't 
provide a solution, and the chooser didn't reflect the contents of the 
directory where the maps exist. (see additional info below)

Some research on the net indicated that nearly everyone compiles xastir, 
that there are a handful of support programs and libraries (e.g. 
Imagemagick) required for maps, and Debian systems may put xaster in a 
non-standard place.   While I have been using Linux for many years and 
MEPIS for about 5 years, I am not a Linux expert.  I like MEPIS because 
it installs with the minimum of fuss and is very reliable.  My motto for 
Linux is "if it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

In my opinion, xastir isn't very broken, so it would be preferable to 
fix it without resorting to compiling from source, etc.  In addition, 
while Imagemagick (for example) isn't installed on my machine, 
libmagick10 is.  Perhaps the xastir package I installed included 
Imagemagick, and having the library is sufficient?  These are questions 
I don't know the answer to.  In any case, I don't want to go adding 
packages willy-nilly to try to fix this problem.

MEPIS 8
2.6.27-1-mepis64-smp
Shuttle XPC SN68SG2
/usr/share/xastir (install directory)
/usr/share/xastir/maps (map directory)

rtn at hawk:~$ ls /usr/share/xastir/maps
GPS  NC  Online  VA  worldhi.map

Directories NC and VA are populated with .MAP files, but contents do not 
show up in the map chooser.  Everything else shows up in the chooser, 
but selecting items has no effect other than chosen items are 
highlighted.  Currently, online/tigermap.geo is selected.

The .xastir/config/xastir.conf file contains these entries:
AUTO_MAP_DIR:/usr/share/xastir/maps
ALERT_MAP_DIR:/usr/share/xastir/Counties
SELECTED_MAP_DIR:/usr/share/xastir/maps
SELECTED_MAP_DATA:config/selected_maps.sys

Any ideas?

Rob