Re: [Discuss-gnuradio] Installation of GNU Radio/UHD on Windows

[Geof Nieboer]

1- The gqrx label button is a known problem.

2- To examine the path settings, open run_gr.bat in a text editor and it should be pretty apparent what it's doing.  Take a look at the paths it is settings and see if that matches with what you would expect with where you installed it.

And you can confirm you used the "all cpu" version of the installer, correct?

Geof

On Fri, Jul 15, 2016 at 2:38 PM, Dave <address@hidden> wrote:

Geof,

 

Thanks for the input.  Here is what I get when running gnuradio_companion for the bin directory after running run_gr.bat.  I’m not a programmer so I don’t know what all to look for.  I used the application rapid environment editor to see what my environment variables were.  I don’t see a PYTHONPATH variable nor do I see any entries in PATH related to GNURadio other than a path to the bin directory which I added manually. 

D:\Program Files\GNURadio-3.7\bin>gunradio_companion

'gunradio_companion' is not recognized as an internal or external command,

operable program or batch file.

 

D:\Program Files\GNURadio-3.7\bin>run_gr.bat

setting gnuradio environment

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7601]

Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation.  All rights reserved.

 

D:\Program Files\GNURadio-3.7\bin>gnuradio-companion.py

ImportError

 

Cannot import gnuradio.

 

Is the python path environment variable set correctly?

    All OS: PYTHONPATH

 

Is the library path environment variable set correctly?

    Linux: LD_LIBRARY_PATH

    Windows: PATH

    MacOSX: DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH

 

 

(DLL load failed: %1 is not a valid Win32 application.)

 

D:\Program Files\GNURadio-3.7\bin>

 

 

If I run gnuradio comanion from the start menu, it does seem to load correctly however the WBFM receive example does not execute.  I get “python.exe has stopped working” windows error and the following in the grc window.

 

Generating: 'D:\\Program Files\\GNURadio-3.7\\share\\gnuradio\\examples\\uhd\\uhd_wbfm_receive.py'

 

Executing: D:\Program Files\GNURadio-3.7\gr-python27\python.exe -u D:\Program Files\GNURadio-3.7\share\gnuradio\examples\uhd\uhd_wbfm_receive.py

 

Win32; Microsoft Visual C++ version 14.0; Boost_106000; UHD_003.009.003-0-unknown

 

-- USRP-B100 clock control: 10

--   r_counter: 2

--   a_counter: 0

--   b_counter: 20

--   prescaler: 8

--   vco_divider: 5

--   chan_divider: 5

--   vco_rate: 1600.000000MHz

--   chan_rate: 320.000000MHz

--   out_rate: 64.000000MHz

--

-- Loading FPGA image: D:\Program Files\GNURadio-3.7\share\uhd\images\usrp_b100_fpga.bin... done

Using Volk machine: avx

fft_impl_fftw: J[1]\Users\Dav1\AppData\Roaming\.gr_fftw_wisdom: Invalid argument

 

As a side note, I have installed the software to my D: drive rather than C: if that matters.

Also, when loading gqrx all of the buttons below the menu appear however none of them have labels (although you can see a description when you hover over the button).

 

Thanks for all you help.

 

Dave

 

From: Geof Nieboer [mailto:address@hidden]
Sent: Wednesday, July 13, 2016 2:04 PM
To: Derek Kozel
Cc: Dave; GNURadio Discussion List

Subject: Re: [Discuss-gnuradio] Installation of GNU Radio/UHD on Windows

 

Derek/Dave,

 

My development equipment is still in transit so I can't look at anything until Monday, but...

 

The UHD build should be 64-bit, so it is mostly likely a labelling issue.  But I will check to be sure.  

 

If you want to run -any- GNURadio utilities, I recommend doing so from the GNURadio Command Prompt (shortcut in start menu or run_gr.bat in the /bin subdir) ... that will set all the Python/etc environment variables up correctly.  Then you should not need to specify where the UHD images are.

 

Geof

 

 

On Tue, Jul 12, 2016 at 10:11 PM, Derek Kozel <address@hidden> wrote:

Hi Dave,

Yes, there is no state held in UHD so you will always need to include the --args "fw......" in your UHD commands. I should have also mentioned that this means you will need to add that exact "fw= D:\Program Files\GNURadio-3.7\share\uhd\images\usrp_b100_fw.ihx,fpga= D:\Program Files\GNURadio-3.7\share\uhd\images\usrp_b100_fpga.bin" string in the USRP Source or Sink block Device Arguments field for any GNU Radio flowgraph. You can try modifying the wbfm example for instance.

The ability to specify specific FPGA and firmware images is usually a development feature if you have multiple versions of UHD installed alongside each other or are building custom images. In this case we are using it to get around a path problem.

 

If you create the D:\Program Files\UHD\share\uhd\images\... folder with images UHD will hopefully pick them up automatically. I have not tried a Windows install where D is the system drive so I'm unsure of the exact behavior.

Ok, I had the wrong python command there, but python itself did run. Here's a line which certainly should work, but there's likely nothing additional to be gained by running it.
python -c "import gnuradio; print gnuradio"

Regards,

Derek

 

On Tue, Jul 12, 2016 at 7:02 PM, Dave <address@hidden> wrote:

Derek,

 

I ran rx_samles _to_file.  Although using the location arrguments you gave me for uhd_find_devices allows for the B100 to be found it does not look like the knowledge of where the images are located is retained.  Running the samles_to_file  command again results in a condition where firmware could not be found.

 

D:\Program Files\GNURadio-3.7\share\uhd\examples>rx_samples_to_file

Win32; Microsoft Visual C++ version 14.0; Boost_106000; UHD_003.009.003-0-unknown

 

 

Creating the usrp device with: ...

 

UHD Warning:

    Could not locate B100 firmware. As an Administrator, please run:

    "C:\Program Files\UHD\lib\uhd\utils\uhd_images_downloader.py"

Error: LookupError: KeyError: No devices found for ----->

Empty Device Address

 

I also ran the python command you gave me with the results to follow:

 

 

D:\Program Files\GNURadio-3.7>python.exe -c "from gruel import pmt; print pmt"

Traceback (most recent call last):

  File "<string>", line 1, in <module>

ImportError: No module named gruel

 

D:\Program Files\GNURadio-3.7>

 

If there is anything else you want me to run, I will do so.

 

Dave

 

From: Derek Kozel [mailto:address@hidden]
Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2016 6:29 PM

To: Dave
Cc: GNURadio Discussion List
Subject: Re: [Discuss-gnuradio] Installation of GNU Radio/UHD on Windows

 

Hi Dave,

I'm glad that the B100 was able to be detected. If you want to confirm that it is fully operating you could run any of the examples included with UHD, for instance uhd_benchmark_rate or rx_samples_to_file. These are standalone from GNU Radio so should avoid whatever Python issue may exist.

I've just noticed, the UHD version installed is Win32. I'm surprised at this as the GNU Radio binary builds are all 64 bit. If the developer of these Windows binary installers sees the thread hopefully he can comment.

GNU Radio is certainly easier to use on Linux or OS X, but there is a desire to see Windows support improve over time. This may not happen quickly, but it's a great sign that binary installers exist at all and I believe that most if not all of the changes which were needed to make that possible are now in the latest releases.

The binary installer at the moment includes it's own Python install in order to minimize external dependencies and possible conflicts. I haven't seen the "Stopped working" error before, it would be interesting to find out why. If you have the time and curiosity, could you try running a super simple flow graph such as a signal source into a null sink? This will have minimal complexity and test if GNU Radio runs on it's own without any hardware interactions. The gr_fftw_wisdom warning can be ignored.

Can you test the Python install? Here is a very simple command which should execute. I'm on Linux so cannot test it at the moment.
python.exe -c "from gruel import pmt; print pmt"

 

Regards,

Derek

 

On Tue, Jul 12, 2016 at 6:08 PM, Dave <address@hidden> wrote:

Derek,

 

More success and a new problem.  I used the example uhd_find_devices arguments you show below modified for my system and the device was correctly found.  Note the windows installer does not create a UHD folder in the Program Files folder but rather in the GnuRadio-3.7\share folder.

 

After finding the device I tested it using the uhd_wbfm_receive example and got and error “python.exe has stopped working”.  Below is the transcript.  I guess at this point, I’m not looking for solutions.  I’m guessing windows installs are just not prime time yet and if we solve this next problem another will install issues will take its place.  However, I will keep reporting problems if it means something to the developers.   Thank you very much for your help!

 

 

Generating: 'D:\\Program Files\\GNURadio-3.7\\share\\gnuradio\\examples\\uhd\\uhd_wbfm_receive.py'

 

Executing: D:\Program Files\GNURadio-3.7\gr-python27\python.exe -u D:\Program Files\GNURadio-3.7\share\gnuradio\examples\uhd\uhd_wbfm_receive.py

 

Win32; Microsoft Visual C++ version 14.0; Boost_106000; UHD_003.009.003-0-unknown

 

-- USRP-B100 clock control: 10

--   r_counter: 2

--   a_counter: 0

--   b_counter: 20

--   prescaler: 8

--   vco_divider: 5

--   chan_divider: 5

--   vco_rate: 1600.000000MHz

--   chan_rate: 320.000000MHz

--   out_rate: 64.000000MHz

--

Using Volk machine: avx

fft_impl_fftw: B[1]\Users\Dav1\AppData\Roaming\.gr_fftw_wisdom: Invalid argument

 

 

 

 

From: Derek Kozel [mailto:address@hidden]
Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2016 4:51 PM

To: Dave
Cc: GNURadio Discussion List
Subject: Re: [Discuss-gnuradio] Installation of GNU Radio/UHD on Windows

 

Hi Dave,

 

That's great news. This means the B100 is being found.

The images downloader is a Python script. Do you have a D:\Program Files\UHD folder? Can you look there to see if the uhd_images_downloader.py script is installed?

If, and I believe this is the case, the GNU Radio binary installer you are using has the release version of UHD 3.9.3 then you can manually download the images here:
http://files.ettus.com/binaries/images/uhd-images_003.009.003-release.zip

I'm not sure the exact folder they should be unzipped into for the UHD library to find them given the custom build (UHD isn't usually in the GNU Radio bin folder). However you can download the files, extract them somewhere (into D:\Program Files\UHD\share\uhd\images if the UHD folder already exists) and try manually specifying the fw and fpga paths.

For example but modify as needed:

uhd_find_devices --args "fw= D:\Program Files\UHD\share\uhd\images\usrp_b100_fw.ihx,fpga= D:\Program Files\UHD\share\uhd\images\usrp_b100_fpga.bin"

Regards,

Derek

 

On Tue, Jul 12, 2016 at 4:05 PM, Dave <address@hidden> wrote:

Thanks Derek,

 

I tried using Admin privileges and that did not make a difference.  I believe all the ports on my machine are USB3 however I’m not sure they use exactly the same hardware.  In any event I tried another one and it did make a difference.  I now get the message below regarding the need to run uhd_images_downloader.  I ran it (also below) and it indicates it needs me to specify a device however I have not figured out the correct way to do that.  Note:  All the images appear to be already on the machine in the share/uhd/images directory.  Also as you see below the message states to run C:\ProgramFiles\UHD\lib\utils\uhd_images_dowloader.py.  My installation is on the D: drive not the C: drive and the downloader appears to be an .exe file in the GNURadio-3.7\bin file.  I don’t know if something is looking for code in the wrong places or not.

 

D:\Program Files\GNURadio-3.7\bin>uhd_find_devices

Win32; Microsoft Visual C++ version 14.0; Boost_106000; UHD_003.009.003-0-unknown

 

 

UHD Warning:

    Could not locate B100 firmware. As an Administrator, please run:

    "C:\Program Files\UHD\lib\uhd\utils\uhd_images_downloader.py"

No UHD Devices Found

 

D:\Program Files\GNURadio-3.7\bin>uhd_image_loader.exe

Win32; Microsoft Visual C++ version 14.0; Boost_106000; UHD_003.009.003-0-unknown

 

Error: RuntimeError: You must specify a device type.

 

Thanks again,

 

Dave

 

 

From: Derek Kozel [mailto:address@hidden]
Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2016 3:06 PM
To: Dave
Cc: GNURadio Discussion List
Subject: Re: [Discuss-gnuradio] Installation of GNU Radio/UHD on Windows

 

Hello Dave,

Thanks for posting again. I don't know if anyone else has tried the B100 using the Windows UHD+GNU Radio binaries. Are you connected to a USB 2 only port or to a USB 3 port? I would try a dedicated USB 2 port if possible.

Also, I don't believe that permissions issues exist to the same degree on Windows, but can you try running uhd_find_devices in an administrator prompt?

Regards,

Derek

 

On Tue, Jul 12, 2016 at 2:58 PM, Dave <address@hidden> wrote:

I am trying to install GNURadio on a Windows 7,  64 bit  machine for use with a Ettus B100 usrp.   I used the gnuradio_3.7.9.2_win64 installer referenced on the GNURadio installation guide.

 

When I run uhd_find_devices I get the following:

 

D:\Program Files\GNURadio-3.7\bin>uhd_find_devices

Win32; Microsoft Visual C++ version 14.0; Boost_106000; UHD_003.009.003-0-unknown

 

No UHD Devices Found

 

When I look in my device manager I do see a USRPs device show as “Ettus Research LCC B100”

 

I posted this issue last week on the USRP discussion list and was advised to make sure I had only one instance of UHD.  I discovered I had incorrectly installed gnuradio using the installer mentioned above and also installed UHD using the installer on the ETTUS website not realizing the GNU radio installer took care of both.  I uninstalled GNU radio and uhd and removed everything I could find for both.  I then re-ran the gnuradio_3.7.9.2_win64 installer.  I still have exactly the same problem shown above with the inability to find the device.

 

Note:  I can successfully use gnuradio and the USRP device on this same computer using the LiveUSB image thus I don’t believe there are any hardware issues.

 

Can anyone provide me more tips on how to troubleshoot my installation?

 

Thanks,

 

Dave

 

 

 

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