[Xastir] Installing Xastir on Mint

Thu Oct 24 13:11:29 PDT 2019

On Thu, Oct 24, 2019 at 03:03:12PM -0500, we recorded a bogon-computron collision of the <kg4wsv at gmail.com> flavor, containing:
> On topic, would there be any sort of login process using the serial port?
> e.g. you can enable a serial port console on a raspberry pi.
> 
> Near topic, I don't see the big deal about making a serial port chmod 666
> if it isn't used by a system process like login.  I need to grant serial
> port access (actually USB/RS232 adapters) to a random subset of ~500 users
> on ~75 machines, and there's >50% user turnover every 6 months. I would
> lose my freakin' mind trying to do that with group membership, but a udev
> rule for chmod 666 is fire and forget.

'Struth.  On a machine that has only one user, setting a serial port to 
read/write by world isn't creating any problem that isn't the same problem of
having that user in a group that is allowed to read and write that port.

Still, group permissions are supposed to work.  That they don't here is
bizarre.

> On Thu, Oct 24, 2019 at 2:52 PM Tom Russo <russo at bogodyn.org> wrote:
> 
> > On Thu, Oct 24, 2019 at 12:45:31PM -0700, we recorded a bogon-computron
> > collision of the <wa7skg at wa7skg.com> flavor, containing:
> > > I wondered about the chmod command. I have changed it back to its
> > > previous setting. The user is me for both Xastir and minicom, and I
> > > belong to the 'dialout' group. I would have thought that if minicom
> > > could access the serial port, then Xastir should also.
> > >
> > > I agree that making it world readable/writeable is not a good plan,
> > > however, that is what got it working. I would love to change that, I
> > > just don't know what to change.
> >
> > You being in the dialout group should have been all that was necessary.
> > That
> > it wasn't enough is puzzling, especially since minicom works.  I, too,
> > would
> > have thought that if one worked the other should.
> >
> > Figuring out why it is not working would require more in depth
> > investigation
> > with hands on the machine.
> >
> > What are the permissions on /dev/ttyS0 normally?  Is it owned by user root
> > and group dialout?  Was it previously read/write for both owner and group?
> >
> > Does /usr/bin/minicom have any special permissions like
> > "set gid" or something (an "s" where the "x" would normally be in ls -l)?
> >
> > > Tom Russo wrote on 10/24/19 11:32 AM:
> > > > On Thu, Oct 24, 2019 at 10:51:03AM -0700, we recorded a
> > bogon-computron collision of the <wa7skg at wa7skg.com> flavor, containing:
> > > >> Progress is definitely being made. Using the
> > > >> https://xastir.org/index.php/HowTo:Debian_Stretch_or_Jessie went
> > through
> > > >> smoothly.
> > > >>
> > > >> My next problem was getting the interface to work. I could access my
> > TNC
> > > >> through minicom without difficulty, however Xastir could not access
> > it.
> > > >> I did the "chmod 4755 /usr/local/bin/xastir" I found recommended in
> > > >> several places with no joy. Finally, in desperation, I did "chmod 777
> > > >> /dev/ttyS0" and Xastir successfully connected to the TNC and I am
> > > >> displaying data. That probably is not the best option, but it is all I
> > > >> could get to work for now.
> > > >
> > > > The best bet is to add your user ID to whatever group owns the
> > /dev/ttyS0
> > > > device (probably "dialer" or something like that).
> > > >
> > > > Making the device world readable and writable is not the safest bet.
> > > >
> > > > Changing Xastir to 4755 only helps with accessing the AX.25 kernel
> > networking
> > > > stuff and wouldn't help with accessing regular serial ports.  If
> > you're testing
> > > > your tnc in minicom you're probably not using AX.25.
> > > >
> > > > In fact, making Xastir "suid root" is also not the safest approach,
> > > > although Xastir is pretty careful do drop its permissions except when
> > it needs
> > > > them.  But that's another story (some distros actually handle this in
> > their
> > > > xastir and ax25 packages by having an ax25 group that has permission
> > to access
> > > > the ax25 interfaces, and making Xastir sgid to that group.  Again,
> > that's
> > > > another story).
> > > >
> > > >> Tom Russo wrote on 10/24/19 8:15 AM:
> > > >>> On Thu, Oct 24, 2019 at 08:59:41AM -0600, we recorded a
> > bogon-computron collision of the <russo at bogodyn.org> flavor, containing:
> > > >>>> On Thu, Oct 24, 2019 at 08:57:17AM -0600, we recorded a
> > bogon-computron collision of the <russo at bogodyn.org> flavor, containing:
> > > >>>>>> Can somebody please point me in the right direction for current
> > > >>>>>> information on installing Xastir on a Mint system?
> > > >>>>>
> > > >>>>> Generally speaking, if you look at something like the Ubuntu
> > instructions
> > > >>>>> and try to find packages with the same base name as the ones
> > listed (modulo
> > > >>>>> version numbers which are very likely outdated), you should be on
> > the right
> > > >>>>> path.
> > > >>>>
> > > >>>> Jason's suggestion of looking at Debian's instructions is a good
> > one, since
> > > >>>> Mint is a Debian variant.
> > > >>>>
> > > >>>> Ignore all reference to GDAL.  Xastir no longer uses it and that
> > section of
> > > >>>> that wiki guide didn't get updated.
> > > >>>
> > > >>> Well, it is now.  Just went through this one page and cleaned it
> > up.  I also
> > > >>> removed a bunch of links to OS versions that are ridiculously old
> > (2009 and
> > > >>> thereabouts) and even one that appears no longer to exist (mepis).
> > > >>>
> > > >> _______________________________________________
> > > >> Xastir mailing list
> > > >> Xastir at lists.xastir.org
> > > >> http://xastir.org/mailman/listinfo/xastir
> > > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Xastir mailing list
> > > Xastir at lists.xastir.org
> > > http://xastir.org/mailman/listinfo/xastir
> >
> > --
> > Tom Russo    KM5VY
> > Tijeras, NM
> >
> >  echo "prpv_a'rfg_cnf_har_cvcr" | sed -e 's/_/ /g' | tr [a-m][n-z]
> > [n-z][a-m]
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Xastir mailing list
> > Xastir at lists.xastir.org
> > http://xastir.org/mailman/listinfo/xastir
> >
> 
> 
> -- 
> -Jason
> kg4wsv
> _______________________________________________
> Xastir mailing list
> Xastir at lists.xastir.org
> http://xastir.org/mailman/listinfo/xastir

-- 
Tom Russo    KM5VY
Tijeras, NM  

 echo "prpv_a'rfg_cnf_har_cvcr" | sed -e 's/_/ /g' | tr [a-m][n-z] [n-z][a-m]