Database Driver Installation

Initial Remark: This installation instruction is also contained in the file README_IMPORTANT.txt, residing in the "Database" folder of the distribution. In this file also a German Version of this instruction can be found.

• Step 1: Get the "Microsoft Access Database Engine 2010 Redistributable" file AccessDatabaseEngine_X64.exe. You can either get it from the distribution (residing in the "Database" folder), or you can download it here from Microsoft.
  Important: Make sure you download the 64-bit version, showing the _X64 suffix. The 32-bit version - without the _X64 suffix - will NOT work.
• Step 2: Install the Driver by double-clicking on the exe and following the instructions. In case an error message pops up telling you that your Excel is out of date, ignore it and install by adding /passive as commandline parameter, like so:
  <your directory>\AccessDatabaseEngine_X64.exe /passive
  As an alternative, you might double-click on the provided install.bat file, doing the same. With the /passive parameter, the installer will not report success or failure.
• Step 3: Check the success of the installation.
  • Start the "Powershell" program. In case you don't know how to do it: Google is your friend.
  • On the Powershell command line, enter the following line (without the quotes):
  • "(New-Object system.data.oledb.oledbenumerator).GetElements() | select SOURCES_NAME, SOURCES_DESCRIPTION"
  • With a successful installation, the Powershell output should contain the following line:
  • Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0 Microsoft Office 12.0 Access Database Engine OLE DB Provider
  • If this line does not show up, the driver has NOT been installed, and the QIRX map integration will not work as intended.
• Step 4: After successful installation, copy the file qirxDAB.xlsx to the Database folder written in the qirx.config file (default is: C:\tmp\Database).

Startup Step-By-Step Version 2.x

• Step 1: Unpack the QIRX.zip of the download into an arbitrary - writeable - directory on your machine. "Writeable" is important because the qirx.config file is written during program run and on termination. In case you want to have the software in the usual protected "Program Files" directory structure, you must ensure that qirx.config can be written by the software, by applying suitable security properties. Other files are not modified.
• Step 2: In Windows Explorer, select the directory containing the qirx.exe of Version 2.x you are going to run. This directory should contain all files from QIRX.zip, and the subdirctory qirx_audio.
• Step 3: Make sure that your audio output (speakers or phone jack) is enabled.
• Step 4: Make sure that your RTL-SDR compatible dongle is plugged-in.
• Step 5: In Windows Explorer, start qirx.exe by double-clicking it. The following should happen:

  A message box, asking if the missing config file is to be created. Click Yes.
  
  
  In case you want to continue to work with your old qirx.config, this is possible, but not recommended. In this case you must check and ensure yourself that possible new entries are present in your old config file as well, to avoid errors and undefined behaviour.
  
  Next a Command-line window should show up, showing text similar like this, produced by qirx_audio.exe:
  
  
  And the QIRX window, looking similar like this:
  
  
  The small red dot indicates your own position (no GNSS) at some arbitarily selected point. You might catch it with the mouse and drag it to your real position on the map.
  Remark: For this to happen, you must have an active internet connection. The tiles of the map are automatically loaded from Openstreetmap, as you work with the map. Successively, the cache builds up, residing (per default) in the directory C:\tmp\MapCache\. After some time almost only the cache is used, and the internet almost never needed any more.

• Step 6: In QIRX, click the small blue triangle on the top row. The command-line window should show text similar to this (Important entry: "client accepted"):

  
  
  The QIRX window, looking similar like this (after some rearrangement of the different window parts):
  
  
  If the selected mux can be decoded, you should see the service list and be able to select a service. The audio should play.
  On the map, icons with the location of the received transmitters should show up, if they are recognized by the TII decoder and contained in the database.

• Finished

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In case you have difficulties performing the steps without errors, please consult the "Troubleshooting" section in the pdf-Version of this guide, contained in the documentation, or download it directly here.

Startup Step-By-Step Version 1.x

• Step 1: Download the Binary. Unpack into an arbitrary - writeable - directory on your machine. "Writeable" is important because the qirx.config file is written during program run and on termination. In case you want to have the software in the usual protected "Program Files" directory structure, you must ensure that qirx.config can be written by the software, by applying suitable security properties. Other files are not modified.
  
  Remark: The following paragraph about building the software is valid for QIRX versions 1.x. From Version 2 on, the sources are no longer distributed.
  
  In case you do NOT want to build from the sources, continue now directly with Step 2. Otherwise, continue with the rest of Step 1 here.
  To build one of the two possible versions, you should first build the qirx_Common Solution, to be found in the qirx_Common subdirectory. After having loaded the solution into Visual Studio 2015, first change in Visual Studio to Release Mode. Debug Mode might be not fast enough to run the software, and is not intended to build and run the software. However, debugging should be possible in Release mode as well. For the subsequent builds of the versions 0.9.5 or 1.0.0.4, the relative directory structure with respect to qirx_Common should be maintained. Otherwise, the dll references might not be resolved properly.
  To debug, please rename the dll dabTII.dll to e.g. dabTII.dll.sav or something similar. This dll will possibly inhibit the debugging when present during debugging, due to the applied obfuscation of this dll. Without debugger, it should work in the normal way. The software should run also without this dll.
• Step 2: In Windows Explorer, select the directory containing the qirx.exe of Version 0.9.5 you are going to run. You find it together with all necessary DLLs in [Your base directory]\V0.9.5_qirx\Release. Of course, the qirx.exe of the Version 1.0.0.4 can also be used, but it behaves slightly different (rtl_tcp.exe command line window showing up at a later time).
• Step 3: Make sure that your audio output (speakers or phone jack) is enabled.
• Step 4: Make sure that your RTL-SDR compatible dongle is plugged-in.
• Step 5: In Windows Explorer, start qirx.exe by double-clicking it. The following should happen:

  An "Error" message box, informing about a missing configuration file. At this point, this is normal behaviour, because the config file is - per default - not distributed. Click OK.
  
  
  Another message box, asking if the missing config file is to be created. Click Yes.
  
  
  In case you want to continue to work with your old qirx.config, this is well possible. You must ensure, however, that possible new entries are present in your old config file as well, to avoid errors and exceptions. To compare, you could use the excellent WinMerge software. Another possibility (xml human friendly) would be using the XMLNotepad editor.
  
  Next a Command-line window should show up, showing text similar like this, produced by rtl_tcp.exe:
  
  
  The QIRX window, looking similar like this:
  
  

• Step 6: In QIRX, select the menu item “Start”, “TCP/IP”. The command-line window should show text similar to this (Important entry: "client accepted"):

  
  
  The QIRX window, looking similar like this:
  
  

• Finished

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In case you have difficulties performing the steps without errors, please consult the "Troubleshooting" section in the pdf-Version of this guide, contained in the documentation, or download it directly here.