Build instructions for GNU Radio + USRP2 + WBX on Fedora 12 64-bit VMware image

Elvis_D · July 13, 2010, 9:51am

Hi,
I just thought I’d share the build instructions for Fedora 12
64-bit VMware image.

While perform the installation, I noticed that the following links need
to be updated, especially with respect to the parts about updating the
SD card with new firmware images for the USRP2 + WBX combination:

http://gnuradio.org/redmine/wiki/1/USRP2UserFAQ

Although I registered on the gnuradio website, the admin didn’t approve
it yet, so I couldn’t edit the wiki contents directly.

Elvis D.

Technote GNU-Radio-3.3-001: How to install GNU Radio 3.3 on a Fedora-12
x86 64-bit VMware image

Overview

This document describes how to install GNU Radio 3.3 from the git
sources on a Fedora-12 x86 64-bit VMware image.

Procedure

Step 01.00: Install required packages.

$ su

yum install fftw-devel cppunit-devel wxPython-devel libusb-devel guile

boost-devel alsa-lib-devel numpy gsl-devel python-devel pygsl
python-cheetah python-lxml PyOpenGL

yum install PyQt4-devel qwt-devel qwtplot3d-qt4-devel

yum install sdcc xlmto graphviz qgit

yum install qt4-devel qwt-devel qwtplot3d-qt4-devel PyQt4-devel

Step 02.00: Checkout the latest GNU Radio sources from the git
repository.

$ git clone gnuradio.git - GNU Radio

Step 03.00: Configure and build GNU Radio.

$ cd gnuradio
$ ./bootstrap
$ ./configure
$ make -j 6
$ make check
$ sudo make install

Step 04.00: Allow access to the USRP2 by a non-root user.

$ sudo chmod u+s /usr/local/bin/usrp2_socket_opener

To enable real-time scheduling for non-root users, edit
/etc/security/limits.conf and add the following line:

@usrp - rtprio 50

Make sure that your user is a member of group usrp, then logout and log
back in.

Step 05.00: Add a second ethernet network adapter to connect the virtual
machine to the USRP2.

Click on Virtual Machine → Settings → Network Adapter.

Add a second network adapter, and choose “Connect directly to the
physical network (Bridged)” using Ethernet.

This should add a new eth2 network interface. You can list all the
installed network interfaces using the ifconfig command.

Step 06.00: Allow access to the USRP2 by a non-root user.

$ sudo chmod u+s /usr/local/bin/usrp2_socket_opener

Step 07.00: Check communications with the USRP2.

$ find_usrp -e eth2

Step 08.00: Update environment variables.

Add the following lines to your .bashrc file:

Environment setup for GNU Radio

export PYTHONPATH=“/usr/local/lib64/python2.6/site-packages”
export PATH=“/usr/libexec/sdcc:$PATH”

end GNU Radio setup

Step 09.00: Run a basic spectrum analyzer application to test the USRP2.

$ cd gnuradio/gr-utils/src/python
$ usrp2_fft.py

Step 10.00: Download the pre-built firmware images.

You can download the firmware images from

http://code.ettus.com/redmine/ettus/projects/public/wiki/U2binaries

For the USRP2 + WBX combination, use the following firmware image:

txrx_wbx_raw_eth_20100608.bin

Step11.00: Update the USRP2 firmware image on the SD card.

Locate the u2_flash_tool within the gnuradio folder:

$ cd gnuradio
$ find . -name u2_flash_tool
./usrp2/firmware/u2_flash_tool

Insert the SD card into the SD card reader slot of your computer.

Run gparted, the graphical disk partitioning utility to quickly
determine which device the SD card is connected. Usually /dev/sda would
be your primary hard disk, and /dev/sdb would be the SD card.

Write the new firmware image to the SD card;

$ sudo usrp2/firmware/u2_flash_tool --dev=/dev/sdb -t s/w
~/Downloads/usrp2-firmware/txrx_wbx_raw_eth_20100608.bin -w

Step 11.00: Test the GNU Radio installation.

Step 11.01: Probe the USRP2 + WBX hardware configuration.

Type the following command :

$ usrp2_probe

Enter Interface: eth2, select Type: Rx and click on the Probe button.

Step 11.02 : Run the spectrum analyzer application

$ cd gnuradio
$ gr-utils/src/python/usrp2_fft.py -e eth2