Benchmark scripts sending erroneous packets

Hello all, I’ve got a GNURadio install on two laptops, both of which
have
version 3.3.0 on them. They are both Dell Latitudes E5500 with Ubuntu
9.10
x86 on them. I have two USRP2s with the correct firmware installed on
the SD
cards to operate the WBX daughter card (txrx_wbx_raw_eth_20100608.bin).
I
have been trying to run the out-of-the-box benchmark_tx/rx.py scripts to
just get correct packet transfer between the two. At first I found that
having the radios too close together was causing the issue but even
after
moving them apart it still has an unacceptable BER. I followed the
install
instructions as follows:

  1. Install dependencies in the blip of code given for the “sudo apt-get
    …”
    command for Ubuntu 9.10.
  2. Download gnuradio-3.3.0, unpack.
  3. cd; ./configure; make; sudo make install; sudo ldconfig;

On a another note using a separate computer, a Sony Vaio with GNURadio
3.3.0
installed on Ubuntu 10.04 x86_64 seems to transmit to either of the Dell
laptops just fine using the benchmark scripts with no errors at all.

The output on the receive is as follows (Ctrl+c’ed because nothing else
was
transmitting):

~/Desktop/gnuradio-3.2.2/gnuradio-examples/python/digital: sudo

./benchmark_rx.py -f 910M

gr_fir_fff: using SSE

Requested RX Bitrate: 100k

Actual Bitrate: 100k

ok = False pktno = 0 n_rcvd = 1 n_right = 0

ok = False pktno = 85 n_rcvd = 2 n_right = 0

ok = False pktno = 173 n_rcvd = 3 n_right = 0

ok = False pktno = 6617 n_rcvd = 4 n_right = 0

ok = False pktno = 320 n_rcvd = 5 n_right = 0

ok = False pktno = 401 n_rcvd = 6 n_right = 0

ok = False pktno = 548 n_rcvd = 7 n_right = 0

ok = False pktno = 703 n_rcvd = 8 n_right = 0

^C~/Desktop/gnuradio-3.2.2/gnuradio-examples/python/digital:

The output on the transmit (which seems to runs all at once instead of
dot
by dot as the Vaio does) is as follows:

~/Desktop/gnuradio-3.2.2/gnuradio-examples/python/digital: sudo

./benchmark_tx.py -f 910M

gr_fir_fff: using SSE

Requested TX Bitrate: 100k Actual Bitrate: 100k

Does anyone have any suggestions, comments, etc,? Thanks.

Update: After trying quite a few different things in terms of package
version and ubuntu installs, I looked at a Wireshark capture of what was
going out through the laptop’s ethernet port to the radio for both good
transmissions and for “high BER” transmissions. In the good packet
captures
there was a MAC pause packet that would be displayed on the line because
the
actual data packets must not have been getting processed fast enough. An
example of the wireshark capture of this pause packet is attached. The
bad
transmission capture did not contain any of these MAC pause packets,
which
I’m guessing is either flooding or corrupting the data being sent from
the
laptop to the USRP 2. I’ve attached a screenshot to show how wireshark
displays these packets pause packets in the good transmissions. I’m not
sure
if this is a flaw in GNURadio or Ubuntu, but the Dell Latitude E5500
does
not like generating these PAUSE packets for the data being sent to the
radio. If anyone has any information on this please let me know. Thanks.

I have installed GNU radio and UHD as per instruction of Marc E.
(3Aug). I am running UBUNTU 10.04. When running GNU Radio Companion and
trying to run the dial tone example I get the following output on the
terminal with failure of the program to run. When using the 3.2.2
version of GNU Radio and invoking GRC the program ran fine. I am
“GNUbee” and would appreciate help with this problem.

Thank you,
Al Vinegar
al@ubuntu:~$ gnuradio-companion

<<< Welcome to GNU Radio Companion v3.3.1git-196-g2aef0484 >>>

Loading:
“/home/al/gnuradio-uhd/gnuradio/gnuradio-examples/grc/audio/dial_tone.grc”

Done

Showing:
“/home/al/gnuradio-uhd/gnuradio/gnuradio-examples/grc/audio/dial_tone.grc”

** (gnuradio-companion:22602): CRITICAL **: murrine_style_draw_box:
assertion `height >= -1’ failed

** (gnuradio-companion:22602): CRITICAL **: murrine_style_draw_box:
assertion `height >= -1’ failed

Generating:
“/home/al/gnuradio-uhd/gnuradio/gnuradio-examples/grc/audio/dial_tone.py”

** (gnuradio-companion:22602): CRITICAL **: murrine_style_draw_box:
assertion `height >= -1’ failed

Executing:
“/home/al/gnuradio-uhd/gnuradio/gnuradio-examples/grc/audio/dial_tone.py”

** (gnuradio-companion:22602): CRITICAL **: murrine_style_draw_box:
assertion `height >= -1’ failed

** (gnuradio-companion:22602): CRITICAL **: murrine_style_draw_box:
assertion `height >= -1’ failed

audio_alsa_sink[hw:0,0]: unable to support sampling rate 32000

card requested 44100 instead.

** (gnuradio-companion:22602): CRITICAL **: murrine_style_draw_box:
assertion `height >= -1’ failed

audio_alsa_sink[hw:0,0]: set_period_time_near failed: Invalid argument

** (gnuradio-companion:22602): CRITICAL **: murrine_style_draw_box:
assertion `height >= -1’ failed

Traceback (most recent call last):

File
“/home/al/gnuradio-uhd/gnuradio/gnuradio-examples/grc/audio/dial_tone.py”,
line 120, in

tb = dial_tone()

File
“/home/al/gnuradio-uhd/gnuradio/gnuradio-examples/grc/audio/dial_tone.py”,
line 85, in init

self.audio_sink = audio.sink(32000, “”, True)

File “/usr/local/lib/python2.6/dist-packages/gnuradio/audio_alsa.py”,
line 321, in sink

** (gnuradio-companion:22602): CRITICAL **: murrine_style_draw_box:
assertion `height >= -1’ failed

** (gnuradio-companion:22602): CRITICAL **: murrine_style_draw_box:
assertion `height >= -1’ failed

return _audio_alsa.sink(*args, **kwargs)

RuntimeError: audio_alsa_sink

** (gnuradio-companion:22602): CRITICAL **: murrine_style_draw_box:
assertion `height >= -1’ failed

Done

** (gnuradio-companion:22602): CRITICAL **: murrine_style_draw_box:
assertion `height >= -1’ failed

** (gnuradio-companion:22602): CRITICAL **: murrine_style_draw_box:
assertion `height >= -1’ failed

al@ubuntu:~$

On 11/07/2010 10:02 PM, Josh B. wrote:

Maybe the underlying implementation of the alsa sink changed from
3.2.2 to next? Anybody aware of this?

Take a look at the docs in the Audio sink block, I think there is a
note to enable the resampler, or just pick a sample rate that your
sound card agrees with.

-josh
When I use alsa audio, I generally use the “plughw” device, which does
resampling.

This didn’t work for a while on some Fedora distributions a couple of
releases back, but I recall
that a system update corrected it.


Discuss-gnuradio mailing list
[email protected]
Discuss-gnuradio Info Page


Principal Investigator
Shirleys Bay Radio Astronomy Consortium

So, from what I gather, you build and ran 3.2.2 and dial tone worked
fine. However, building and running dial done on the next branch gives
you the following error?

audio_alsa_sink[hw:0,0]: unable to support sampling rate 32000

card requested 44100 instead.

Maybe the underlying implementation of the alsa sink changed from 3.2.2
to next? Anybody aware of this?

Take a look at the docs in the Audio sink block, I think there is a note
to enable the resampler, or just pick a sample rate that your sound card
agrees with.

-josh

48000 did the trick. The program now works.

Many thanks.

Al Vinegar

----- Original Message -----
From: “Scott S.” [email protected]
To: “Allen Vinegar” [email protected]
Sent: Monday, November 08, 2010 7:58 PM
Subject: Re: [Discuss-gnuradio] Dial tone under GNU Radio Companion
fails

I tried changing the sampling rate to 44100 and tried using plughw and I
get
the following results:

The following is with plughw:

audio_alsa_sink[plughw:0,0]: set_period_time_near failed: Invalid
argument

Traceback (most recent call last):

File
“/home/al/gnuradio-uhd/gnuradio/gnuradio-examples/grc/audio/dial_tone.py”,
line 120, in

tb = dial_tone()

File
“/home/al/gnuradio-uhd/gnuradio/gnuradio-examples/grc/audio/dial_tone.py”,
line 85, in init

self.audio_sink = audio.sink(44100, “plughw:0,0”, True)

File “/usr/local/lib/python2.6/dist-packages/gnuradio/audio_alsa.py”,
line
321, in sink

return _audio_alsa.sink(*args, **kwargs)

RuntimeError: audio_alsa_sink

The following is without plugw:

audio_alsa_sink[hw:0,0]: set_period_time_near failed: Invalid argument

Traceback (most recent call last):

File
“/home/al/gnuradio-uhd/gnuradio/gnuradio-examples/grc/audio/dial_tone.py”,
line 120, in

tb = dial_tone()

File
“/home/al/gnuradio-uhd/gnuradio/gnuradio-examples/grc/audio/dial_tone.py”,
line 85, in init

self.audio_sink = audio.sink(44100, “”, True)

File “/usr/local/lib/python2.6/dist-packages/gnuradio/audio_alsa.py”,
line
321, in sink

return _audio_alsa.sink(*args, **kwargs)

RuntimeError: audio_alsa_sink

What do I try next?

Many thanks,

Al Vinegar

----- Original Message -----
From: “Marcus D. Leech” [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Sent: Sunday, November 07, 2010 10:15 PM
Subject: Re: [Discuss-gnuradio] Dial tone under GNU Radio Companion
fails