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This picture shows
the Liva computer (2"x3"x5") sitting on the HRI-200
which is on the FT-7800 control radio.
The 4 port USB 2.0
powered hub is seen in the upper left.
A powered hub is required as the Liva will
not source sufficient current to power the
HRI-200 directly.
The only other connections
to the Liva are Ethernet and and 5VDC power.
Teamviewer
(or VNC possibly) can be
used for WIRES-X and computer management remotely. |
TIPS
Winbook computers are being used with
success as well. The 7" model line starts at
$70 from Amazon and are being used for WX. I
don't have one but they can fill a niche as they
have the touch sensitive screen so they can be
deployed more easily than the Liva. Models
have 500MB and 1 GB RAM and SSD from 16-32GB, up to
a 1.33 Atom CPU and with a licensed copy of Windows
8.1 64 bit. This is a much easier and cheaper
method to dedicate for WX.
LIVA WINDOWS 8.1
64 bit Core Version
INSTALLATION:
Download Win8.1
directly
from Microsoft (if you don't already have a Win8.1
install DVD), use the "Create Media" button to create the DVD
or use a 4gig USB stick (must be a bootable
stick compliant with Liva), install windows onto the Liva (stock
"Core" version install works fine), install the Liva drivers via
included DVD, then
install the WIRES-X software and configure.
Win8.1 will install with a generic
key (if you
don't have your own) and activation can be done
later (or not at all). Read more on
Legal Downloading of Windows.
Some USB sticks
are not bootable on a LIVA. You will find this
out when you click on Create Media. So try a
different stick or create a Bootable DVD instead and
use a USB external DVD reader to install Win8.1.
Newer USB sticks are likely less of an issue.
I found that
copying the Driver's DVD files onto another stick or
USB HD and running setup would fail unless the the
set-up application was in the root directory.
Some drivers would install separately from their own
directories but not all. Once started from the
root directory, all drivers install perfectly.
You may use your
Win8.0 or Win8.1 key from you COLA sticker. I
am told that even Win7.x keys will install Win8.1
but I have not confirmed this. Once you have
the Window 8.1 64 bit Core version installed on the
Liva, you should back up the system image to save
having to do a scratch install down the road.
I did several images along the way setting up
WIRES-X as well as several other programs. I
use
Teamviewer to remotely operate the LIVA so I
don't have a display, keyboard or mouse plugged into
the Liva. Very clean and easy method run the
LIVA, especially if running it from a hilltop or in
your vehicle.
I have found that
with Teamviewer running as well as WIRES-X, the CPU
load when both are idling is around 9-10%.
With WIRES-X passing traffic in and out of a room
with 2 nodes, CPU load rose to 19%. A busy
room such as KJ4VO, idling with 10 members, loads
rise to only 12%. Physical memory shows about
47% used. All indications after running the
LIVA for 2 weeks now, is that the LIVA/WIRES-X combo
should a great combination.
Because this is
windoZe, I would suggest adding a CRON job to
restart the OS daily in the wee hours of the night.
Somewhat like what has been suggested for the
DR-1X's. Remember your mileage may vary if you
follow my lead. You get what you pay for, yada
yada. If you discover other or better
approaches, I would appreciate the
feedback. This will likely help the
next fellow ham who comes along to give a Liva box a
try.
As the Liva most
PC's have soft power switches, if the computer loses
power, then you will need to press the power button,
a fairly substantial issue if the computer is
located at a remote site. The Liva should be
run on a 12VDC battery backed system via a
12v-5v brick or other no-chance of loss
power system.
VOICE
MESSAGING (2-3-15): This is a cool
discovery but you can drop voice messages much like
SMS or Text message using the HT or mobile radio
into nodes privately or publically in rooms.
The messages can be routine (unannounced) or "Emer"
style where the message will repeat every 5 minutes
for 2 hours, then revert to a "normal" or
unannounced voice mesage. While this may be
annoying, it is still a nifty feature that deserves
to be explored more fully.
NODE NAMES:
It is handy to have your first name as part of the
node call sign. WIRES-X allows up to 10
digits. While overall, not enough characters,
it still is nice to be able to get a 3 and letter
names rather than the default of "-ND".
Experiment after looking at what others are using.
REPEATERBOOK:
Please consider listing your repeater in
RepeaterBook.com
IF USING
EXPORT/IMPORT: When using the Export
function and then Import functions, the Import side
fails in one area but it effectively breaks the
WIRES-X software installation. My workaround is not
elegant but short of uninstalling WIRES-X,
re-installing and then re-entering all the settings
again, what follows is my solution. I'm
hopeful that Yaesu will correct the hard path coding
and use a dynamic path on the new computer so that
the Export/Import works correctly.
The failure is that the Import function wants to see
the exact same directory path for the "User" from
the Exporting computer and then the Importing
computer. If it is different, WIRES-X can't
find the WiresWeb.dll file when the program is
executing.
My workaround is simply to create the same original
directory path and copy the WiresWeb.dll file into
it.
So for example:
My original path on the exporting computer was:
C:\Users\Mike\Documents\WIRESXA\Plugin\WiresWeb.dll
The new path on the Importing computer is:
C:\Users\NO7RF\Documents\WIRESXA\Plugin\WiresWeb.dll
In this example, the key is to create the new
directory from "Mike" to NO7RF. Do not touch
your current User directory, just create the new
directories and add only the one file. There
is no need to put all the other files from the old
WIRESXA directory as that is done when you install
WIRES-X on the new computer. Only the single
file fails to be carried over from old to new if the
user name is different. I pulled it from the old
computer as it is not in the WIRES-X program
directories.
While this may seem a lot of work...it is still
simpler than a full scratch install, especially if
you have populated all the set-up field, favorites
and other custom settings. Remember your
mileage may vary and there is some minor potential
to muck up your system. Maybe Yaesu will fix the
import script some day.
