DStarLet is a web-based text messaging application using D-Star digital
data technology. Features:
One "master/server" computer is connected to the radio via a serial port.
A web browser on the "server" computer (as well as optional multiple "client" computers
on a local network) is used to perform all functions:
Multiple browser windows on the same or multiple computers can be used to create,
send, receive, and manage multiple messages in parallel.
The status of all incoming and outgoing messages are displayed in any browser window
on any computer.
Messages can be printed on any computer using the browser's normal printing
function.
A communications log of all messages sent/received can be viewed on any browser.
D-Star communications are performed in a Java servlet running in the background on the
server, independent of any browser.
Communications are error-free due to the use of a 32-bit CRC and an acknowledge/retry
protocol.
Each incoming and outgoing message is automatically saved as an ordinary XML text file
on the server computer.
Web pages are written in standard HTML, and thus are easy to customize without the danger
of corrupting the Java servlet communication logic (which runs on the server). Each HTML
web page file contains a tiny amount of servlet interface code (clearly marked) to
communicate with the servlet.
"Master/server" computer requirements:
Hardware:
Pentium 233 or equivalent.
96MB RAM.
100MB available disk space (for Tomcat & the JDK).
An Ethernet network card, if client computers are also used.
An available serial port.
Software:
One of the following:
Windows 98 or higher, 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64).
Recent Linux/Unix, 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64).
Apple Mac OS 10.1 or later.
Apache's
Tomcat
web server (free), version 5.5.10 or later, installed.
Sun Microsystems'
Java,
version 1.5 or later, installed.
A "JavaComm/javax.comm"-compatible Java Communications (serial I/O) package
appropriate to your hardware and operating system. Sun Microsystem originally
developed the
JavaComm Java Communications package (free) for both
Windows and Solaris. Sun supported JavaComm on Windows up through version 2.0,
but when they upgraded the package to version 3.0, they dropped support for Windows.
However, other software vendors developed compatible versions. The package from
RxTx, as distributed by
Cloudhopper, version 2.2 or later (free),
is recommended.
"Client" computer requirements:
An Ethernet network card.
Any operating system (e.g., Windows, Linux, Mac OS) that supports network connections.
Any browser (e.g., Internet Explorer, Netscape, Firefox, Opera).
No other software (e.g., Java) needs to be installed on the client.
Advantages over other ARES/RACES messaging software:
The composition of multiple messages can be made in parallel in multiple browser windows,
eliminating the need to save one message being composed, in order to work on another one.
Messages can be created as a draft by one person, and then reviewed and sent by another
person on another computer.
Incoming messages require a separate step to mark them as "received". This feature
ensures that incoming messages are not forgotten.
Since the entire program is
open source,
maintenance and/or upgrades are not dependent on any relationship to the author.
If you are running Windows 98, 98SE, or ME, you must install the JDK (Java Development
Kit), v1.5.0 or later; all you need to install is the "Development Tools", and not
the included JRE.
If you are running Windows NT 4 or later, you can install just the Sun Java JRE
(Java Runtime Environment) v1.5.0 instead.
Download the
RxTx JavaComm package. Unzip the .ZIP file
into a separate directory. Copy the files appropriate for your computer, into the
the following folders in your Java JRE installation directory, as described in the
"Install.txt" file. For Windows users:
rxtxSerial.dll should be copied to: bin.
rxtxParallel.dll should be copied to: bin.
RXTXcomm.jar should be copied to: lib\ext.
RxTx binary builds are provided as a courtesy of Cloudhopper, Inc.
Download & install Apache's
Tomcat
web server, v5.5.10 or later (or another suitable web/servlet server) on the same
computer on which you installed Java. Configure Tomcat as follows (all directory
references are relative to the Tomcat base directory):
For those running Windows NT 4 or later, downloading & installing the "core"
version, using the "Windows Service Installer" (.exe file), is
recommended. Follow the installation instructions; the defaults should be OK for
most installations. You will start Tomcat with the "Monitor Tomcat" shortcut that
is installed (on Windows Vista & 7, you may have to start the shortcut as
administrator).
If you download & install the "core" version from the .ZIP file:
Read the RUNNING.txt file.
Open a command line window and change to the Tomcat bin directory.
Enter the following lines at the command prompt:
SET JAVA_HOME=the path where you installed Java
SET CATALINA_HOME=the path where you installed Tomcat
Type service install. This will install Tomcat as a service.
Create a shortcut on your desktop, start menu, or elsewhere to
bin\tomcat5w.exe.
You will use the above shortcut to start & stop Tomcat, or to configure it to
start automatically upon booting (if desired).
For those running Windows 98, 98SE, or ME, download & install the "core" version
from the .ZIP file:
Read the RUNNING.txt file.
Edit your \AUTOEXEC.BAT file to include:
SET JAVA_HOME=the path where you installed Java
SET CATALINA_HOME=the path where you installed Tomcat
Create shortcuts on your desktop, start menu, or elsewhere to
bin\startup.bat & bin\shutdown.bat.
Open the "Properties" of those shortcuts:
Select the "Memory" tab; set the "Initial Environment" to 4096.
Select the "Program" tab; check the "Close on exit" box.
You will use the above shortcuts to start & stop Tomcat.
Edit the conf\tomcat-users.xml file, replacing the
<rolename ... > & <user ... > with:
Start Tomcat using the shortcut you created above (it may take 10–15 seconds to
start).
Start your web browser and create a bookmark to
http://localhost:8080/manager/html; this is the web page for the Tomcat
"Manager" web page used to install Java Servlet applications.
Download the
DStarLet.war
file & deploy it into Tomcat using the "Manager" web page.
Start your web browser and create a bookmark to
http://localhost:8080/DStarLet/; this is the web page address for
DStarLet. The first time you browse to each DStarLet web
page after installing or replacing the DStarLet.war file, Tomcat has to
"compile" the web page (this may take 3–5 seconds), but subsequent accesses should
be quick. The first time you browse to the DStarLet main page, it will
take you to a configuration web page where you must enter at least the following
parameters:
StationId. This should be set to the callsign (and optional SSID) of
your station.
MessagePath. This is the name of the directory where you wish messages
to be stored.
You can change the other values if necessary. To protect against unwanted changes to
the configuration, the link to the configuration page is password-protected using the
username & password you set up in Tomcat for the "Manager" role.
On Tomcat, if you want DStarLet to be the main web server page
(instead of the Tomcat main web page), in the Tomcat installation directory, move
webapps/DStarLet/index.html to webapps/ROOT/; then you can start
DStarLet at: http://localhost:8080/. You can still get
to the Tomcat main web page at http://localhost:8080/index.jsp.
Note that the servlet logic is in a .jar (Java Archive) file and thus separated
from the .jsp (Java Server Page) files used for interfacing the web pages to the
servlet. The .jsp files contain normal HMTL interspersed with Java servlet
interface code. The Java servlet interface code in the .jsp files is enclosed
in <% & %>; avoid modifying the Java servlet interface
code. This separation of functions allows for users familiar with HTML to reformat or add
to the layout of the web pages without risking damage to the functioning of the program.
So you need additional fields on the message form? No problem; just edit the
Message.jsp file. Decide on an internal field name, add a default value for the
internal field name in the Java code near the top of the file, and then create an HTML
<input> field. Use the same pattern that is used for the rest of the
input fields.
Note that the servlet is designed to support multiple users composing and/or reading
messages at the same time in multiple windows, on the same or different computers, browsing
to the web server machine. Further, you do not need to leave a browser window open to
receive messages. Operation of the servlet and web pages should be obvious. If at any
time starting the servlet does not work (by clicking on the main page's Start
button), stop and restart D-StarLet.
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
the Free Software Foundation, version 2 of the License.
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
GNU General Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA
