Need Help With Error Message

[KJ4FEL]

First off... I know nothing about Linux; however, yesterday I was able to install Linux Mint 15 on an old Dell netbook and it's working really well for accessing the Internet.

Today I figured out how to install Chirp and it will run but when I try and download from my HT which is connected by a USB cable to the netbook I get the following error message...

Screenshot from 2013-09-17 15:01:23.png

I did a search on the error message but haven't been able to figure out what I need to do to correct the issue.

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!

Edited to add....

It would appear that the computer/Linux sees the USB Cable based on this...

stephen@stephen-Inspiron-1011 ~ $ dmesg | grep FTDI
[ 965.901651] usb 2-1: Manufacturer: FTDI
[ 966.301585] usbserial: USB Serial support registered for FTDI USB Serial Device
[ 966.301920] ftdi_sio 2-1:1.0: FTDI USB Serial Device converter detected
[ 966.306882] usb 2-1: FTDI USB Serial Device converter now attached to ttyUSB0

[WX7P]

First of all, I nothing about Linux or very much about computers.

I have used Chirp to program my Baofengs. I found that I had to change the com port setting on Chirp from Com3 to Com4 or Com7 to Com8, depending on which Baofeng I was programming.

The error message I got was different than the one you posted, but similar. I am using Win 7.

[ad4mg]

First off... I know nothing about Linux; however, yesterday I was able to install Linux Mint 15 on an old Dell netbook and it's working really well for accessing the Internet.

Today I figured out how to install Chirp and it will run but when I try and download from my HT which is connected by a USB cable to the netbook I get the following error message...

Screenshot from 2013-09-17 15:01:23.png

I did a search on the error message but haven't been able to figure out what I need to do to correct the issue.

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!

Edited to add....

It would appear that the computer/Linux sees the USB Cable based on this...

stephen@stephen-Inspiron-1011 ~ $ dmesg | grep FTDI
[ 965.901651] usb 2-1: Manufacturer: FTDI
[ 966.301585] usbserial: USB Serial support registered for FTDI USB Serial Device
[ 966.301920] ftdi_sio 2-1:1.0: FTDI USB Serial Device converter detected
[ 966.306882] usb 2-1: FTDI USB Serial Device converter now attached to ttyUSB0

Try running the command to start the program as 'super user'. In a terminal, type 'gksu chirp' or 'su chirp'. Starting it as super user may give you the needed access to the USB port.

BTW - gksu is usually used to run programs with a GUI as super user. I'm also assuming the name of the executable is 'chirp'... substitute the correct program name if it isn't.

[N2CHX]

Try running the command to start the program as 'super user'. In a terminal, type 'gksu chirp' or 'su chirp'. Starting it as super user may give you the needed access to the USB port.

BTW - gksu is usually used to run programs with a GUI as super user. I'm also assuming the name of the executable is 'chirp'... substitute the correct program name if it isn't.

Yup, that should fix it. sudo chirp should also work just fine on Linux Mint.

[n2ize]

Try running the command to start the program as 'super user'. In a terminal, type 'gksu chirp' or 'su chirp'. Starting it as super user may give you the needed access to the USB port.

BTW - gksu is usually used to run programs with a GUI as super user. I'm also assuming the name of the executable is 'chirp'... substitute the correct program name if it isn't.

No No No !! Never run user space programs as root !!!!!!!!! Set the appropriate permissions for the devices/files that the specific application requires. If you are running seLinux set appropriate rules, etc. NHever simply run an app as root. If need be set up a specific user or group with the required permissions. Never give an app full root access.

[KJ4FEL]

DING DING DING.... We have a winner :)

Thank You Kelli... sudo chirpw worked perfectly!

Thank you Luke...although for some reason Mint 15 must not recognize "su" or "super user" because when I tried that in Terminal I kept getting "No passwd entry for user "chirp".

Thank you Janet...I have no trouble with Chirp on my Windows machine and you are correct about the com ports changing and needing to make sure you have the correct one. That's what I couldn't figure out in Linux.

I really appreciate the help!!! Now to find a good book on learning Linux :)

Saw John's post after I wrote the reply so I wanted to add that what he said is all Greek (or Linux) to me and I have no idea what that means but I will do my best to learn.

Thanks Everyone!
Steve

[n6hcm]

No No No !! Never run user space programs as root !!!!!!!!! Set the appropriate permissions for the devices/files that the specific application requires. If you are running seLinux set appropriate rules, etc. NHever simply run an app as root. If need be set up a specific user or group with the required permissions. Never give an app full root access.

and now for the English-language summary: "su" and "sudo" elevate privileges so the program you're using can access pretty much whatever they want. If you know a program inside and out then this is an ok thing to do. Since most people don't have this knowledge, it's a bad thing.

what you should do instead:

sudo chown yourUserName /dev/ttyUSB0

where yourUserName is your Linux login name.

This will change the ownership ("chown") of the USB device (/dev/ttyUSB0) to you. The chown program comes with Linux and is safe to use with sudo.

Once this is done you should be able to run chirp regularly without sudo.

[KC2UGV]

and now for the English-language summary: "su" and "sudo" elevate privileges so the program you're using can access pretty much whatever they want. If you know a program inside and out then this is an ok thing to do. Since most people don't have this knowledge, it's a bad thing.

what you should do instead:

sudo chown yourUserName /dev/ttyUSB0

where yourUserName is your Linux login name.

This will change the ownership ("chown") of the USB device (/dev/ttyUSB0) to you. The chown program comes with Linux and is safe to use with sudo.

Once this is done you should be able to run chirp regularly without sudo.

You can just add your user account to the proper group, instead of chowning the serial port to a particular user:

sudo useradd -G tty {This is generally the serial group in Debian} {login name}

So, in this case:
sudo userad -G tty stephen

You shouldn't have to sudo the gui command, or change the perms on your serial devices.

[KC2UGV]

No No No !! Never run user space programs as root !!!!!!!!! Set the appropriate permissions for the devices/files that the specific application requires. If you are running seLinux set appropriate rules, etc. NHever simply run an app as root. If need be set up a specific user or group with the required permissions. Never give an app full root access.

I would hazard this is generally good advice, however, there are many userspace programs that need to be ran with sudo (Or, super user perms) in order to function properly. Soundmodem is a perfect example. It's a userspace tool to manage the AX25 stack. Synchronet BBS needs to as well, to use ports under 1024.

[n6hcm]

You can just add your user account to the proper group, instead of chowning the serial port to a particular user ...

this is better than what i proposed (i haven't had to deal with serial devices in ... a very long time).