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Can't program the Flirc


JMC

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I'm trying to install my new Flirc on a Zotac AD03 running Mythbuntu 12.04. I got the sources list modified and the apt-get-update and apt-get install flirc work fine and the program shows up in Applications -> Accessoreis -> Flirc. When I click on it it does not launch. The wait icon is present for a few seconds before the normal mouse pointer returns. Just on a chance I installed ia32-libs, nothing.

 

I found a command line approach but I can't find a firmware version that doesn't return a 404 when I attempt a wget http://downloads.flirc.tv/fw/fw_x.x.bin.

 

How do I get firmware into the device?

 

mike

 

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If I could get to the GUI I would do as you suggest. When I said the program does not launch I meant the GUI. I click on Flirc in Accessories and nothing happens. I don't mind using command line if I knew how to find the firmware version. fw_1.0.bin is no longer available (404 error).

 

mike

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Entered sudo Flirc - got the following error messages:

QGtkStyle was unable to detect the current GTK+ theme.

Flirc: symbol lookup error

Flirc: undefined symbol: libusb_get_port_number

 

Tried while logged in as root, same result. I did notice a brief flash of apparent graphics in the upper left area of the screen immediately after I executed Flirc.

 

mike

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Hi jason,

 

I just tried installing again, failed again, this is the error message:

 

The following packages have unmet dependencies:
 flirc : Depends: libc6 (>= 2.17) but 2.15-0ubuntu10.9 is to be installed
E: Unable to correct problems, you have held broken packages.

 

mike

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Ah okay, I don't have a solution for you right now. I just checked your linux version. 12.04 is a few years old now and is end of life'd.

I'll need some time to resolve this. I'm really sorry. Best bet is the beta that I published. Just have to deal with the upgrade loop bug. Just upgrade every time you launch, should be fine even though it says it didn't upgrade or there is still a newer version.

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Jason,

 

Ubuntu 12.04 is an LTS and it's not even near its EOL. Every Ubuntu LTS (starting with 12.04) has a 5 year support, so 12.04 will still be supported for 2 years and a few months. I know that it is already outdated, but for sure it is still alive :). Of course the system being still supported doesn't mean that you need to still support it yourself - especially that you are doing it all alone and the software is only needed for actual programming, which can always be done on another machine.

 

To support new distros and still support 12.04 you would actually need to build multiple versions and discern them in your apt repository based on version name.

 

BTW I don't use Ubuntu on desktop any more because of it ageing very fast for each particular version. I'm using Arch Linux at work and at home for at least 2 or 3 years now with much success (rolling release distribution for the win :)) and I haven't thought even once of returning to Ubuntu.

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Jason,

 

Ubuntu 12.04 is an LTS and it's not even near its EOL. Every Ubuntu LTS (starting with 12.04) has a 5 year support, so 12.04 will still be supported for 2 years and a few months. I know that it is already outdated, but for sure it is still alive :). Of course the system being still supported doesn't mean that you need to still support it yourself - especially that you are doing it all alone and the software is only needed for actual programming, which can always be done on another machine.

 

To support new distros and still support 12.04 you would actually need to build multiple versions and discern them in your apt repository based on version name.

 

BTW I don't use Ubuntu on desktop any more because of it ageing very fast for each particular version. I'm using Arch Linux at work and at home for at least 2 or 3 years now with much success (rolling release distribution for the win :)) and I haven't thought even once of returning to Ubuntu.

I'm using mint, and based on debian. I can't stand what ubuntu is doing to linux. They aren't helping anymore.

Looks like you're right. I'm having trouble getting a system up and running. I don't want to manage multiple virtual machines or a machine with 100 distributions on it. So I'm using chroot on one system and it's working out nicely. But I'm going absolutely nuts because 12.04 isn't installing and everything I read is pointing to EOL. I'll just need some time to figure out why it's not working.

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I'm still using Ubuntu 12.04 rather than 14.04 simply because 14.04 broke some things in MythTV that I like to have work without having to invoke any magical incantations. At the same time I'm less than completely satisfied with Ubuntu; I chose it when I moved to Linux (a move brought on by Windows 8) because it seemed to be the most widely accepted and had a distro (Mythbuntu) specifically tailored to MythTV that made things very convenient.

 

If I am reading correctly. I can program a Flirc on one machine and then move it to another and it will work properly. If that is the case I may have a solution because I should be able to install the software on my regular workstation, program the Flircs and then deploy them to their lightweight front end machines. Is it necessary to have LIRC running on the machine which does the programming?

 

mike

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If I am reading correctly. I can program a Flirc on one machine and then move it to another and it will work properly. If that is the case I may have a solution because I should be able to install the software on my regular workstation, program the Flircs and then deploy them to their lightweight front end machines. Is it necessary to have LIRC running on the machine which does the programming?

 

mike

 

All you need to program Flirc is Flirc software and hardware on the same machine :). And yes, you are reading it correctly. You can program Flirc on one machine and then just plug it in on another and it will work. Flirc software is only needed for programming. It's not used in normal day to day operation.

 

I'm using mint, and based on debian. I can't stand what ubuntu is doing to linux. They aren't helping anymore.

Looks like you're right. I'm having trouble getting a system up and running. I don't want to manage multiple virtual machines or a machine with 100 distributions on it. So I'm using chroot on one system and it's working out nicely. But I'm going absolutely nuts because 12.04 isn't installing and everything I read is pointing to EOL. I'll just need some time to figure out why it's not working.

 

 

There is a nice solution for building on multiple distros but it is based on virtualization. It is called Vagrand. It supports multiple virtualization apps but Virtualbox is most popular. You create a config file (contains name of base system image for example) and you can add a bootstrap file which is called on first boot to install all that is needed for the task. After that you just call vagrant start in the directory where the config file is and it clones the base system image, starts the machine in headless mode (so no window with virtualized OS console) and if this is a first boot it runs bootstrap script. After that you have an SSH access to the machine (or multiple machines at the same time). When you end your work you just need to shutdown, suspend or even delete machines (if you delete then it will be created again if you want to start it).

 

On the other hand you should not have any problems with creating chrooted 12.04 environment using debootstrap.

 

---edit---

 

I've tested debootstraping Ubuntu 12.04 (precise) on Ubuntu 14.04:
 

mkdir precise_root
debootstrap precise precise_root
mount -o bind /dev precise_root/dev
mount -o bind /proc precise_root/dev
chroot precise_root /bin/bash

I've added /bin/bash to chroot because I have zsh on the machine as a default shell.

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I installed the GUI on my regular workstation (Ubuntu 14.04) and all is working fine. One Harmony 350 programs just fine and works great except that it repeats too quickly so I need to eliminate repeats on many keys. Also, if I save a configuration to disk and later load it back into the software, will it automatically transfer to a Flirc unit if there is one plugged in? If not, how do I get a set of commands from stored file to a Flirc? Since I have multiple Flirc units to manage and all will need the same program installed, this is important.

 

mike

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I installed the GUI on my regular workstation (Ubuntu 14.04) and all is working fine. One Harmony 350 programs just fine and works great except that it repeats too quickly so I need to eliminate repeats on many keys. Also, if I save a configuration to disk and later load it back into the software, will it automatically transfer to a Flirc unit if there is one plugged in? If not, how do I get a set of commands from stored file to a Flirc? Since I have multiple Flirc units to manage and all will need the same program installed, this is important.

 

mike

the configuration stays on the device.

 

You save the configuration with:

 

flirc_util saveconfig <filename>

 

It won't automatically load. You have to:

 

flirc_util loadconfig <filename>

 

Let me know if that answers your question.

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All you need to program Flirc is Flirc software and hardware on the same machine :). And yes, you are reading it correctly. You can program Flirc on one machine and then just plug it in on another and it will work. Flirc software is only needed for programming. It's not used in normal day to day operation.

 

 

 

There is a nice solution for building on multiple distros but it is based on virtualization. It is called Vagrand. It supports multiple virtualization apps but Virtualbox is most popular. You create a config file (contains name of base system image for example) and you can add a bootstrap file which is called on first boot to install all that is needed for the task. After that you just call vagrant start in the directory where the config file is and it clones the base system image, starts the machine in headless mode (so no window with virtualized OS console) and if this is a first boot it runs bootstrap script. After that you have an SSH access to the machine (or multiple machines at the same time). When you end your work you just need to shutdown, suspend or even delete machines (if you delete then it will be created again if you want to start it).

 

On the other hand you should not have any problems with creating chrooted 12.04 environment using debootstrap.

 

---edit---

 

I've tested debootstraping Ubuntu 12.04 (precise) on Ubuntu 14.04:

 

mkdir precise_root
debootstrap precise precise_root
mount -o bind /dev precise_root/dev
mount -o bind /proc precise_root/dev
chroot precise_root /bin/bash

I've added /bin/bash to chroot because I have zsh on the machine as a default shell.

 

I'm using schroot. I like the fact that it shares the home directory, and haven't figured out how to do that with just chroot.

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I'm using schroot. I like the fact that it shares the home directory, and haven't figured out how to do that with just chroot.

 

You just need to bind mount home dir to directory under chroot root:

mkdir -p chroot_root/home/user
mount -o bind /home/user chroot_root/home/user

or just:

mount -o bind /home chroot_root/home

if you want whole home mounted.

 

Please remember to umount all the binds after the work with chroot is finished. For example, if you will try to delete whole chroot dir with the mounts still on you will also delete content from source directories!!!

 

You could also write a script that bind mounts everything that's needed, calls chroot and then umounts all binds mounted earlier. Umounts will wait for chroot to exit.

 

I think that scrhoot actually does something like that in automated way so I don't see why wouldn't it work with 12.04 root.

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the configuration stays on the device.

 

You save the configuration with:

 

flirc_util saveconfig <filename>

 

It won't automatically load. You have to:

 

flirc_util loadconfig <filename>

 

Let me know if that answers your question.

Not quite.

 

After I finish programming a Flirc, tested the program to make sure it is what I want, and stored it in a file using the GUI or flirc_util, I now have two more Flircs I need to install the same program in and I don't want to go through all the button presses again. So, after I Ioad the program either with the GUI or flirc_util, how do I transfer it to the 2nd and 3rd Flirc?

 

Is there someplace where all of the available flirc_util commands are documented?

 

mike

 

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Not quite.

 

After I finish programming a Flirc, tested the program to make sure it is what I want, and stored it in a file using the GUI or flirc_util, I now have two more Flircs I need to install the same program in and I don't want to go through all the button presses again. So, after I Ioad the program either with the GUI or flirc_util, how do I transfer it to the 2nd and 3rd Flirc?

 

Is there someplace where all of the available flirc_util commands are documented?

 

mike

 

You don't load the config into GUI. It is loaded directly into Flirc. So you just need to connect next Flirc and select Load configuration from menu or use flirc_util loadconfig command and that's all. You don't need to do anything else.

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