JStation - Java Satellite Ground Station John Melton, N6LYT/G0ORX

NEW:

bug fixes on download page.

What is JStation?

JStation is a software application, written in Java, that implements a fully automated station for working the Digital Store and Forward Amateur Radio Satellites.

Why Java?

Java has been used to develope this software for three reasons.

• The first was just to prove to myself that Java could be used to implement a fairly complex application of this kind.
• The second was to see just how portable it would be to different platforms.
• The third was that I wanted to rewrite my Microsat Ground Station Software for Linux and X/Windows to make it fully automated.

Could Java be used to develope the software?

Well, the answer is - Here it is!

Is it portable?

98% of the the code is written in Java. The compiled class files have been run without change or recompile on Windows/95, Windows/NT (4.0 Client), Linux (Intel) and Solaris (SPARC).

Anyone want to offer to test on a Mac?

What about the other 2%

Currently, Java does not support a platform independent way of interfacing to serial ports, parallel ports or other non-standard devices.

However, Java does support a Java Native Interface that allows Java code to make calls on native methods written in C.

For communicating with a KISS TNC, TrakBox and direct connections to radio RS-232 interfaces, there is a C library that provides access to serial ports. This is very minimal. It only supports open, close, configure, read a character and write a character. This has currently been implemented as a Dynamic Link Library for Windows and as a shared library for Unix (Linux and Solaris).

For the Kansas City Tracker/Tuner running on Windows/95 there is a Dynamic Link Library written by Joe Holman (AD7D) that will control most radios and rotor controllers. There is a Dynamic Link Library that provides a Java Native Interface to interface to Joe's DLL.

I have developed a Linux device driver for the SASI Tracking Controller (parallel port connected), and a Linux shared library that provides a Java native Interface to it.

Is the source available?

Yes, the complete source is available for downloading. It is licensed under the GNU General Public License. This includes all the Java source code and the C code for the Native Methods.

It does NOT include the SASI device driver for Linux. If you are interested in this send me a mail message.

What Browsers does it work with?

NONE! This is a Java Application and is not run under a browser.

What kind of computer system do I need?

I have not tested this on enough systems to define what the bottom end system should be. What I have run this on is:

• Intel Pentium running at 100MHz with 32 MB of memory - running Windows/95, Windows/NT 4.0 and Linux.
• Sun SPARCStation 2 with 32 MB of memory - running Solaris 2.5.
• Sun SPARCServer 20 with dual processors and 128 MB of memory - running Solaris 2.5.

What else do I need to run this software?

You will need to have a Java Run Time environment that supports the JDK 1.1 specs. You can download the Java Development Kit for Windows and Solaris from Sun Microsystems and for Linux from Blackdown. These will include both the run time environment (Java Interpreter,system class files and native platform libraries) and also the Java development tools (compiler and other tools).

I have not tried to run this software using any other Java systems. If they fully support JDK1.1 including the Java Native Method interface, then they should work. Other operating systems will also need the Native Method C code ported to it. Let me know if you get it working on another system.

What documentation is available?

Follow this link to the contents page of the user documentation.

How do I get this software?

Follow this link to the download page.