Please help with the development of Peaberry CW

[W4MMP]

Hi,

I am more than willing to help. I am currently investigating applications to use on Linux. It is not a stretch to implement Linux based applications on Apple OS X.

Have you taken a look at Quisk? It is python based. Also have you taken a look at David's Peaberry CW application? It already runs on Apple.

[parthsane]

[W4MMP]

Hi Parth,

I have no idea what Swift 2 is

I'm confused regarding the Peaberry CW source code. Here is the link: https://github.com/AE9RB/peaberry-cw. Click on "download zip".
I am currently investigating Quisk as the potential basis of a project I am working on . It has a good following and support is pretty good.

[Paul NT7U]

Hey guys. I am a Mac user and have experience with the QT cross platform application framework that David used to write the PeaberryCW app. My first concern is with getting it to run on any of my machines. Currently it just sits there although when I change the frequency and it traverses bands I can hear the relays click in my Peaberry V2. So I'd be interested in hearing if anyone has operated the software on a Mac and seen any spectrum and heard audio coming from it? And if David is listening, it would be great to know what the status was of the app when the source code was last committed to github.

Like David, I'm spending most of my time trying to "put food on the family" but at the moment I'm vested in at least trying to coax the application into acting mostly as David intended. While waiting for comments I'll get back to trying to add some debug information that perhaps will tell me where things are going awry.

73, Paul NT7U

p.s. I'm aware of the new Swift programming language for the Mac (now Swift2 and OpenSourced!)... and I've written a little bit of Objective-C code. However, the C++ code used with QT should be more than adequate and makes it quite simple and elegant to cross platform the app. Really only the audio interfacing is different and the way that the USB library is handled.

[parthsane]

[Paul NT7U]

Hi Parth. I've been following Qt since version 2 and while it has changed hands a few time, those directly involved with the technology seem to recognize it's value and have done a lot more than just "keep it alive". Currently, Digia owns the company that they spun off just for the continuation of QT development. Qt is a robust framework that allows developers to make apps that run natively on more than just OSX, Linux, and Windows. I've written apps that also run on iOS and Android with it, as well as bare metal.! And it can be pared with true real time operating systems like FreeRTOS. The binaries don't have to be huge and those in the know will build against a dynamic library so that every Qt app doesn't need to carry along the big load of the entire framework.

http://www.qt.io/about-us/

I applaud your plan to make a native app just for OSX. I started learning Objective-C back before 1999 when Steve Jobs was directing a project code named "Yellow Box" that was based on the "NextStep" technology that he brought back to Apple upon his return. That is what we call OSX today and it was a mammoth improvement over Mac OS9 and it's predecessors, bringing Apple computers true multitasking. Over the years the memory management schemes (e.g. "garbage collection") were constantly changing as there are challenges with "dynamic binding" in object oriented programming. When is memory freed upon releasing objects, and the like.

After tiring of ways to manage object memory in Obj-C, I kind of gave up and went back to C++ programming. Unfortunately many OSX apps can suffer from memory leaks and it seems to me that the struggles with memory management schemes are the cause. C++ isn't perfect but at the cost of some functionality that 99% don't really need anyway, it seems a more straight forward language to do object oriented programming for me, personally. I haven't investigated Swift because as I get closer to retirement I think "why"? I'm not a "programmer" anyway (I am an inventor and scientific instrument designer). My hope is that you have a solid background in computer science and have been applying that to learning the nuances of Swift. It would be my fondest dream to have some OSX SDR programs that are well architected. I encourage you whole heartedly.

As for what I was proposing: I just didn't want David's four months of effort to be all for naught. I've only talked to him once at a HamFest in Seaside Oregon, and emailed a few times with him, but from all the finer points of what he has created it is clear that he puts some quality thought in all that he does. I have a half built SoftRock Ensemble RxTx here that I will finish when I feel like fighting the confusing instruction. In contrast, the instructions that David created for building the Peaberry V2 made it a joy even with the surface mount parts. I've already learned a bit from the source of his Peaberry CW app and regardless of what goes on in addition to it, my intent is to keep getting my mind wrapped around the strengths and weaknesses of his code.

I hope that you take my comments as constructive and encouraging. I've found that encouraging others brings out the best in people. There are so many good programming tools out there, and most are FREE (!!), that I sometimes think I am dreaming. Before Y2K my employers would pay tens of thousands of dollars for a cross compiler and more for a half-decent RTOS, things that made hobbyist projects not practical. When you have something to try on my Mac I'd be happy to provide feedback. I have a Peaberry V2 (30m-15m) and some basic rf test equipment, o-scope, etc. As well I have a bunch of Apple computers most with fast i7 multi-core processors and maxxed out on RAM. In the spirit of all the empowerment that OpenSource has given us, my hope is that you would "give back" by OpenSourcing your code as well. The truth is that few in the scope of hobby projects is able to make a living from their efforts. You have better chance of making money creating add-ons for high priced products like the Kenwood TS-990S or the Flex6300. Folks buying a $150 transceiver kit aren't going to pay a bunch of money for software especially when there are alternatives that are free.

Ok, that's my two cents worth (plus a few dollars). Sorry that you had a poor experience with Qt. And best wishes on your endeavors with Swift. 73, Paul NT7u