Thread: Ubuntu and Ozi....help!

I would say its the USB drivers that are the problem, i can only suggest joining the Ubuntu forum and seeing if someone there can offer any suggestions .

This may or may not be of help. I run ozi in a parallels xp emulation on the mac. It has a usb passthrough button so you can select which devices you want to pass through to the emulation. Maybe you need to specify that you want that passed through?

FIXED IT!
I'll put up a solution here in the next day or so with my findings and solution for anyone else interested! Just don't have the time right now....

Ubuntu 9.04 (ver Jaunty Jackelope)
OziExplorer 3.95.4s
BU-353 USB GPS receiver
(the above keywords to help with future forum searches!)


Cheers,

..:: KIEREN ::..
2000 Disco II Auto V8
Object Of Mass Consumption
AussieAubs Disco Page

what made you switch from XP to ubuntu?

Thanks, and I'm looking forward to your solution. GPS & Ozi compatibility are the reasons why I'm holding off from running Umbuntu.

Originally Posted by HangOver

what made you switch from XP to ubuntu?

You need a reason ?

Okay, here goes! This looks far more long winded than it actually is.
A lot of this stuff has been copied from the OziEzplorer support site, and is a modified combined solution between the two options on that page, but combined to suit the current version of Ubuntu and my particular setup:

Ubuntu 9.04 "Jaunty Jackelope"
OziExplorer 3.95.4s
BU-353 USB GPS receiver
Because I'm using a Dell Mini 9, I decided to go with the "Netbook Remix" version of Ubuntu 9.04

I succeeded in making OziExplorer work, apparently with all features...

Full Procedure:

After (obviously!) installation of Ubuntu:
Step 1. Install "WINE":
First, in Synaptic, add the following repository

deb http://wine.budgetdedicated.com/apt dapper main

Then, reload, update, and install wine
When you first run wine, it will create a .wine directory in you home dir. Inside it, will be a "drive_c" that simulates the windows environment.

**If you're using another linux distribution, download the software from WineHQ - Run Windows applications on Linux, BSD, Solaris and Mac OS X and follow the instructions)

Step 2. copy the file "oziexp_setup. exe" to ~/.wine

Step 3. In the terminal, change to the "~/.wine" directory, where oziexp_setup.exe is.

Step 4. Run the OziExplorer installation file with wine. In the terminal, type:

wine oziexp_setup.exe

The setup will install OziExplorer under ~/.wine/drive_c/OziExplorer/
(if you have any trouble here with permissions, try running wine with "sudo". type: "sudo wine oziexp_setup.exe"
If you use another distribution without "sudo" run the command as "root")

---------------------------------------------------------------------
BIG NOTE::
Steps 1-4 can be made much easier by this process-

Step 1. After initial installation of Ubuntu, make sure to use the update function to get all the new "packages" for Ubuntu.

Step 2. Go to "Synaptec Package Manager" in the Administration section of Ubuntu, do a search for and install "WINE", then do the same for "GPSD"
(WINE is an app for running native Windows programs, GPSD is a set of files to read GPS in/out info natively in Linux. THESE ARE IMPORTANT!)

Step 3. Run the OziExplorer setup/install file by right clicking it and choosing "install with WINE" (or something like!)
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Now it works! (at least it should...)

We just have to setup the GPS... Apparently, serial communication works fine, but I can't guarantee it because my GPS connects through USB.
OziExplorer by default looks for COM connections, even though its a USB connection, but can't see them due to the Linux OS.

Step 5. (Additional step required for USB GPS's)
After connecting the GPS, run "dmesg" in TERMINAL to find out. You should see lines like these at the end:
.....
[ 1734.326557] usb 2-1: pl2303 converter now attached to ttyUSB0
[ 1734.326653] usbcore: registered new interface driver pl2303
[ 1734.326667] pl2303: Prolific PL2303 USB to serial adaptor driver
.....

The problem is OziExplorer, being a Windows app, doesn't recognize Linux commands, so we can get around the problem making a "sym link" from "COM to USB". I chose COM3 to avoid interference with other things (COM3=/dev/ttyS2).
In the terminal, type:

sudo ln -sb /dev/ttyUSB0 /dev/ttyS2

(the "b" option makes a backup copy of ttyS2 in case you want to "get back")
After that, you must start OziExplorer (found in the WINE section/directory)

In "Ozi", go to the menu "File" > "Configuration" > "GPS" and choose your GPS make and model.
Then, under "COM" choose COM3, leave the "Garmin USB" or other UNCHECKED (this way, the software "thinks" the GPS is under COM3...)
SAVE the configuration and exit.

Step 6. ITS DONE!!! By now, you should be able to communicate to and from the GPS, and have OziExplorer working just fine!

Now the clever bit!
Whilst the above works fine, it will not remember the new "COM to USB" connection next time you restart the machine.

In order to automate the process I created the following executable script named Ozie.txt and created a desktop link to it.
This is created by opening/creating a new text file (simple text file, not Word or similar) and put the following lines in it (copy and paste possible):

#!/bin/sh
gpsd dev/ttyS2
echo PASSWORD | sudo ln -sb /dev/ttyUSB0 /dev/ttyS2
env WINEPREFIX="/home/USER/.wine" wine "C:\OziExplorer\OziExp.exe"

PASSWORD needs to be replaced by your appropriate user password to have the sudo ln command executed and USER replaced by the appropriate folder name where .wine is located.

This new text file (wherever saved) now needs to be modded to become an executable file. Locate it on your machine, right click it, choose PROPERTIES, choose PERMISSIONS, and make sure the EXECUTE box is checked.
Once this is done, click the file and all should now be good! Use this file to open Ozi, NOT the original link created by the installation file - what it does is first tell Linux (Ubuntu) to read the USB GPS through a "ghost" COM port, then runs Ozi immediately afterwards, everytime.

With this setup, I have Ozi just fine every time I open it up - working with the setup as noted at the top of these instructions.
I can't guarantee this will work with other setups.
The BIG NOTE part I found out for myself, and seemed to work perfectly, even for me, a complete novice, and this would be my recommended way to go, rather than the many steps noted beforehand.

Love the statement on the bottom of that Ozi support page...
"Windows is not the answer, Windows is the question, the answer is NO."
Think that answers your question HangOver!

I hope this works for others and offers some help. Like I said, it seems long winded, but there are two installation options in there, and lots of explanation.
I'm very new to the whole Linux thing, but if you've got the same setup as mine, and I can help further, I'll try, but can't promise!!

Cheers,

..:: KIEREN ::..
2000 Disco II Auto V8
Object Of Mass Consumption
AussieAubs Disco Page

Originally Posted by HangOver

what made you switch from XP to ubuntu?

Hi Steve,
I find XP s-l-o-w compared with Ubuntu.
Ubuntu is also far more stable, secure, and has a much smaller footprint.
I also have it on good authority from some IT friends of mine, its far better to use a home OS for laptops.
And now I've found a way to run Windoze programs on it easily, why would I want to revert back.....?!?!

The other nice thing I have found with Ubuntu is that it "just works" straight out of the box. Not just the OS, but all the wireless and bluetooth connections, printers, etc, with no need for additional driver installation, Also, updates are free every 6 months. How much was the upgrade from XP to Vista? Ubuntu is free for life, and their promise is to stay as such.

I'll have the laptop with me at the August weekend trip if you fancy a gander?
Now, just need to find a good way to mount it....

Cheers,

..:: KIEREN ::..
2000 Disco II Auto V8
Object Of Mass Consumption
AussieAubs Disco Page