Are there simple line-powered MP3 recorders?

[Joerg]

Say Joerg,

Did you take a look a Kicad? If so, what did you think?

Forgot to mention, the other reason why I tried gEDA first was that I
read about KiCad netlist problems with the PADS format and my layouter
uses PADS. Don't want to take chances there, but it may have been fixed
by now.

 

[Joerg]

Hi Joerg,



No, I haven't, although I keep meaning to one of these days. From what I can
tell, although it might not be as powerful as gEDA overall, it's somewhat more
finished/polished at this point (although perhaps not with PADS netlists!).
Both definitely seem mature enough that people are making real boards with
them.

So, now I did try KiCad and I must say I like it a lot. It's like
driving a big old Chevy, all the time you discover a new button or
feature. Handles nicely from the GUI console, although it's a bit
overloaded with hard-to-remember pictograms or icons. Some menus are a
bit far down like that to change a part value but I guess keyoard
shortcuts are possible. So I'll check that CAD program out some more.

Someone even wrote a converter for Eagle schematics but that blew up on
me. Ok, it can't all be paradise and when switching CAD programs nothing
is usually going to cross that road along with you. But at least some
libraries could be converted. Needing heavy clean-up, but still. That's
why I really want to make this switch stick, don't want to do it again.

 

[Joerg]

Cool, thanks for the update/review.

Another upside is it's Windows-based so you don't have that dreaded "you
are not authorized to write to this folder" behavior of Linux. Meaning I
can place my libs where they belong, in the lib directory.

Schematic converters being 100% usable/correct seems notoroiously uncommon...
presumably due to the lack of documentation (of the file format to be
imported), in many cases, combined with the relatively small market demand.

I'll try that again if I have my custom libs converted. Problem is:
Every schematic editor names files *.sch. So it's hard to decipher which
file was from which CAD system. Only if you go by date, and even then
sometimes not because you may have to massage an old file with the old CAD.

 

[JosephKK]

Well, we just ordered a top-of-the-line Marantz recorder. Even easier:
Plug it in, turn it on, press "REC" -> works.

And i had thought that Marantz had gone out of business long ago.
Maybe this is a "logo / brand name" resurrection.

 

[JosephKK]

This is at church so we aren't after worldly recognition or self-pride

So where did the money come from for the top of the line Marantz?

 

[JosephKK]

Right now I don't need any more challenges

Besides a few client projects I am trying to migrate to gEDA. Got it
running but the symbol editing turns out to be a real bear. Plus
learning all the Linux-speak.

You are in exactly the right place to help me. I have yet to get gEDA
running enough to even begin schematic entry. How did you do it? On
what underlying variant? Oh hell, you can read headers, talk to me.

 

[JosephKK]

That looks interesting. However, there are things in a Windows system
that even the administrator can't touch. Try deleting a file called
'LPT1' for instance. Or creating a directory with Cygwin and trying to
delete it from the Windows command line.

I like computers that do what they're bloody well told.

Cheers,

Phil Hobbs

Me too. That is why i use Linux. Of course understanding how to set
up the permissions is part of the issue.

 

[Joerg]

So where did the money come from for the top of the line Marantz?

Like everything else there, free-will donations. Some items are bought
and then donated directly, such as a very nice grand piano. In that case
the donor wished to remain anonymous which is very common in Lutheran
congregations. Even after he or she passes away nobody will be told.

 

[Joerg]

I have much worse problems with Windows in this regard. In Linux, I can
always say 'sudo' and do whatever I need to, whereas the Windows
security model is complicated and (to me) almost entirely opaque.
Unix-style OSes are good at doing what they're told--they know that root
is The Boss.

I've learned about bash and sudo by now. But with CAD systems this
really gets in the way. Libraries whether supplied with the SW,
acquired, or self-created all ought to be under the same "Lib"
subdirectory. In Linux you cannot do that. You could theoretically copy
them all into /home/phil/geda/lib but then you cannot start the program
from the usual GUI interface anymore. Because it would then not see
those libraries. Honestly, that doesn't make much sense to me.

 

[Joerg]

Hey, go join a big company and you can have that problem on Windows too.

T'is one reason I never joined a big company

You probably know this, but the Linux philosophy is that you place all "your
own" stuff somewhere in your home directory (e.g., ~joerg) where you do have
full read/write/execute permissions by default... and they figure that if
you're trying to do something "system wide" (e.g., make a /lib), you should
spend the time to "chmod" the result to set the read/write permissions as the
the "system administrator" -- you! -- prefers.

As far as I found out so far (and I may be wrong here) that change does
not stick. A half hour later you open a file from the GUI and decide you
need a new model for a super gizmo mux chip. Then bam, "You do not have
permission to write ...".

The file system is something I seriously do not like about Linux. I just
do not like to be second-guessed by some software. Other than that it
seems a pretty nice OS so far.

Agreed, that is a bit of a pain. If you open up the files in a text editor
(possibly set to binary mode), is it readily obvious where each file came
from? If so, it wouldn't be too difficult to write a small script to loop
through the files, take a look inside, and then rename them as, e.g.,
*.eagle_sch or *.kicad_sch or whatever.

Oh, I can do that by hand. But many of those files are on customer
servers now and I often have to deal with them there. Else you could
just auto-open them all and mod according to where no error window pops up.

SI-Metrix names schematics something like *.sxsh (more-than-three-letters
extension), but unfortunately the old DOS three-letter limitation seems like
it's never going to go away with most software.

Yep, DOS has had the most profound effect on personal computing.

 

[Joerg]

You are in exactly the right place to help me. I have yet to get gEDA
running enough to even begin schematic entry. How did you do it? On
what underlying variant? Oh hell, you can read headers, talk to me.

Well, first I made the decision that I will absolutely not have a dual
boot system because that all but kills productivity. So I got Sun
VirtualBox. Then I downloaded Ubuntu, installed it as a virtual machine
on this new VirtualBox. Installing applications such as gschem and PCB
Designer is a breeze in Linux. You go to a package manager (I used
Synaptics) look around what's there and check the boxes of the stuff you
want. Then click install and have a coffee. After that I was in business.

Then, while drawing some mock schematics I found out the limitations in
gEDA and they are so serious for an analog guy like me that I will
probably select KiCad as my next CAD system. But that decision isn't
final just yet. Mostly the issues have to do with things like explicit
power symbols and designator re-numbering. Yeah, there are workarounds
for some of these issues but most require to close the schematic, go to
the terminal, do stuff on the command line, then re-open gschem, re-load
the schematic. So things that take five seconds with my current CAD now
take minutes. Other issues seem to only be fixable if I use what SW pros
call a "fork". I just learned that from the gEDA NG, it means you would
now be using a version that will not necessarily remain compatible with
the main program that almost everyone else is using. That isn't quite
what I had in mind for a new CAD system.

The plus side of gEDA is a stellar support and help, and friendly people
in the newsgroup. Also lots of helper applications. And when you look
for one in the package manager just scrolling through all that Linux SW
out there can make you drool. There is a ton of good stuff.

BTW, once you get it loaded open up someone elses schematic and play
around in it. For me that is usually the best way to learn the ropes.

 

[Joerg]

And i had thought that Marantz had gone out of business long ago.
Maybe this is a "logo / brand name" resurrection.

It could be, but a serious audio professional from Germany recommended
three models and this was one of them. For a church the fact that it can
be completely configured from remote and that you can download
recordings the same way is a huge upside. Certainly in our case because
our IT guru lives way out in the boonies.

 

[Joerg]

I am not sure, but I think that is not correct.
man chown

for example if there is a user joerg, then, as root you can do:

mkdir mylibs

ls -ld mylibs
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 48 2008-11-08 00:42 mylibs/

Change the owner, and group now you program should see it:
chown joerg:joerg mylibs
drwxr-xr-x 2 joerg joerg 48 2008-11-08 00:42 mylibs/

That directory can be anywhere.

Or
chown joerg:users
drwxr-xr-x 2 joerg users 48 2008-11-08 00:42 mylibs/

Anywhere, as in anywhere but root. At least that's what people told me.
This means you now need to start stuff like gschem from the new
directory where the libs are, by command line. Because it will otherwise
not see its gafrc and thus not load your libraries.

This is so much easier in Windows SW. You don't need to do anything,
just start to create your own libraries and remain disciplined enough
not to mess with original libraries. I've had that discipline for over
20 years now

 

[Joerg]

Script, put this in /usr/local/sbin/mygschem

cd whereveritis
gschem


make it executable:
chmod +x /usr/local/sbin/mygschem

now link your GUI or whatever so the icon starts
mygschem

Ok, yes, I could make a GUI icon. So far I've always started aps from
the "Applications" Pulldown Menu in Ubuntu.

That is how I run all the win stuff like swcad


grml: ~ # cat /usr/local/sbin/swcad
cd "/root/.wine/drive_c/Program Files/LTC/SwCADIII/"
wine scad3.exe
grml: ~ #


So all I have to to is type swcad.
You could add an icon too, but I mostly use rxvt (sort of an xterm).

You may need to add 'sudo' before those commands.

That's just the thing. Often Linux decides to not let me do stuff unless
sudo is issued. I like things to happen right now, pronto. Well, that's
how we are in America ;-)

Anyways I am always root
Some people are scared of that...

How can you make yourself "always root"? That would solve a lot of problems.

 

[Jasen Betts]

I've learned about bash and sudo by now. But with CAD systems this
really gets in the way. Libraries whether supplied with the SW,
acquired, or self-created all ought to be under the same "Lib"
subdirectory.

why? that seems like a really bad idea.

In Linux you cannot do that.

sure you can, I can think of atleast three different ways...

run the app with elevated permissions
change the ownership if the lib dir
use a unification filesystem (this works a little like addpath did in dos)

You could theoretically copy

them all into /home/phil/geda/lib but then you cannot start the program
from the usual GUI interface anymore.

most applications allow a personal configuration file where you can
specify that sort of stuff, most GUIs also allow you to make custom
launchers and/or custom menus

Because it would then not see

 

[Frank Buss]

How can you make yourself "always root"? That would solve a lot of problems.

You shouldn't do this. But I login as root, too, because I'm developing
Linux drivers, adjusting system files all the time etc., so it is easier
not to sudo all the time.

For KDE, which I like more than Gnome, because it feels more like Windows,
you can configure KDM: change AllowRootLogin in kdmrc. I think for Gnome it
is very easy, too: http://www.google.de/search?hl=de&q=gdm+root+login

 

[Joerg]

why? that seems like a really bad idea.

That is how most CAD systems work. I've done that for >20 years now,
with various CAD systems, works like a champ. To me it makes no sense to
have some library parts in the den and some others in a storage locker
at the other side of town.

sure you can, I can think of atleast three different ways...

run the app with elevated permissions
change the ownership if the lib dir
use a unification filesystem (this works a little like addpath did in dos)

Seems I still have to learn. And obviously also not believe all the
tutorials I've read because they said there is no other way but to store
under /home/..., add a gafrc there and start the app from there as well.
Meaning command line. But meantime I have come across several tutorials
in other areas of Linux and virtual machines that were plain wrong. So I
became careful.

You could theoretically copy

most applications allow a personal configuration file where you can
specify that sort of stuff, most GUIs also allow you to make custom
launchers and/or custom menus

Not gEDA. If you don't start it from the directory where the custom
library parts are it will not allow you to use such parts because it
fails to see your gafrc file in there.

This is one of the reasons I am testing KiCad now. It has IMHO a more
clear directory structure.

 

[Rich Grise]

This is so much easier in Windows SW. You don't need to do anything, just
start to create your own libraries and remain disciplined enough not to
mess with original libraries. I've had that discipline for over 20 years
now

"Discipline, comrades, iron discipline."
--- George Orwell, "Animal Farm".

But really. To install from source, run configure, then make, then log
out, log in as root, Chdir to the source, run install, then log out and
log in as yourself. It should work then - the installer should make it
available on your GUI menu(s).

And if it's a Redmond^H^H^H^HHat RPM or a Slack package, all you have to
do is run its installer. (in Slackware, that would be installpkg.)

Have Fun!
Rich

 

[Joerg]

"Discipline, comrades, iron discipline."
--- George Orwell, "Animal Farm".

But really. To install from source, run configure, then make, then log
out, log in as root, Chdir to the source, run install, then log out and
log in as yourself. It should work then - the installer should make it
available on your GUI menu(s).

Make? You mean re-compile it all? That wouldn't quite be my cuppa tea ;-)

And if it's a Redmond^H^H^H^HHat RPM or a Slack package, all you have to
do is run its installer. (in Slackware, that would be installpkg.)

It's Ubuntu.

 

[JosephKK]

Like everything else there, free-will donations. Some items are bought
and then donated directly, such as a very nice grand piano. In that case
the donor wished to remain anonymous which is very common in Lutheran
congregations. Even after he or she passes away nobody will be told.

OK.