Re: [gpsd-dev] Fwd: Re: gpsd for time sync on Ubuntu remix too hard for normals - how to improve?

[Gary E. Miller]

Yo Adam!

On Sun, 05 May 2019 18:21:46 -0400
Adam Serbinski <address@hidden> wrote:

> I accidentally sent this directly, when I would have replied to the
> list, so here it is again.
> 
> >
> > Certainly; I get it that you don't care for systemd, and it seems
> > pretty clear that the default situation I found is not good.  But
> > again, normal people install Ubuntu, and I'm trying to figure out a
> > good path for them.
> >  
> 
> The reality of the situation is that systemd is NOT itself the
> problem. While it can be a challenge to maintain and configure, it
> CAN be configured correctly. That's really just a matter of getting
> your configurations correct.

If a tool is hard to use, then does the tool not share some blame?

> Now does "distro X" supply gpsd with systemd configurations that
> work? To some extent, but not necessarily the way that you want them
> to. That isn't systemd's fault, that's the distro maintainer's fault.

Agreed.

> > So I really have to ask: why is gpsd's default behavior of waiting
> > until open useful, for who, compared to the harm it causes?
> >  
> 
> Whether or not it is default behavior doesn't really matter. You just
> need to set the configuration so that it uses the configuration that
> makes sense to you. Most distros do NOT assume that you have a GPS
> installed on your machine for time. In fact, the chance of that is so
> low that they really aren't interested in worrying about it. Does
> your distro even install gpsd by default? Probably not, you probably
> have to install it yourself.

Agreed.

> Now the problem with the -n parameter, is that it causes the gps
> device to activate, and activating it means increased power
> consumption. Setting the defaults to increase power consumption is
> probably not the ideal default configuration.

Agreed.

> Which is why its a nice thing that most distro packaged gpsd will
> have a file in which you can specify the parameters to use. Fedora,
> for example, has a configuration file at /etc/sysconfig/gpsd

Agreed.

> > I can believe there are devices where it's useful.  But I wonder if
> > anyone here actually has one?
> >  
> 
> Virtually *ALL* embedded GPS's will default to off or low power
> consumption. Many/most U-blox GPS's (many are available with USB
> interfaces) have low power modes. Whether a particular one is
> configured to default to a low power mode or not is something you
> will need to look at with that particular unit, but such
> configuration can be saved.

And we have had many users say here that they do change the GPS power modes.

> So the way that the distro default is going to work has it that
> gpsd.socket runs by default, but gpsd itself does not. So obviously
> that isn't going to work for ntp. But if, on the other hand, you
> start up xgps, then gpsd will start up on demand.

or use -n.

> Now I don't use Ubuntu. I use Fedora.
> In Fedora, getting to where you want to get can be done like this;
> 1) dnf install gpsd (which, BTW, comes in with 3.18.1)
> -- that will install gpsd, and enable gpsd.socket, BUT NOT
> gpsd.service. 2) systemctl enable gpsd.service
> -- you don't have to disable gpsd.socket, since it is meaningless if
> gpsd is actually running.
> 3) edit /etc/sysconfig/gpsd to add the specific parameters you need,
> like "-n /dev/ttyACM0".
> 4) Add this line to /etc/chronyd.conf:
> refclock SHM 0 refid GPS precision 1e-1 offset 0.9999 delay 0.2

Can I get you to expand that just a little, and I can add it,
somewhere, to the gpsd doc.

> And that's all that is needed to have chronyd fed by gpsd
> automatically on system boot.

Sounds very familiar, and correct.

> Anybody who needs to save power.
> Android... -n is probably a VERY BAD idea, since most Android devices
> run on battery.

We also know that some dive computers, with GPS, run gpsd.  How big
a battery can you put in a hockey puck sized device?

RGDS
GARY
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Gary E. Miller Rellim 109 NW Wilmington Ave., Suite E, Bend, OR 97703
        address@hidden  Tel:+1 541 382 8588

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