Thank you for doing this! The audio works very well.

My System- Ubuntu 20.04

I do have only one issue I see right now and it's this

Mar 27 17:22:02 : Error: Unable to load station logo database
Mar 27 17:22:02 : Error: Unable to load config
Mar 27 17:22:43 : Error: Unable to save config

Not sure if this is a WIP still but I cannot save favorites or save the station logos. The album art works fine though. Do you know any fixes? besides that it works awesome!

Hi, I use an SDRplay RSPdx device instead of the RTL ones and was able to build and use a forked version of nrsc5 that supports it no problem. A few of the command-line arguments are a little different than the RTL ones though and I wondered if you might be able to add a few tweaks so that nrsc5-dui can spit out the right flags for device id and allow you to tweak the gain settings? I don't know if you are still actively working on the project, but just figured i'd ask! nrsc5-dui is an awesome program!

Creating this as a thread for RTL-SDR Users on Microsoft Windows Operating Systems. Since neither myself or Mark use Windows, we will be relying on other users to test and give issues. Based on what I know, you just need to install python 3.8 or 3.9 and install the required modules from Pip, then install nrsc5 for Windows and try and run the application. You might have to change the /usr/local/bin/nrsc5 hard-coded path to the nrsc5.exe file installed on Windows or the one in the nrsc5-dui folder. We could really use some Windows testers, so if you are using that OS and are skilled enough with how python works then feel free to help out!

I found a very simple fix to get your app running under Windows/WSL2 without any issues. No need for pulseaudio or complicated USB pass-through solutions. WSL2 accesses the Windows file system from the /mnt folder. I.e., to access files on the Windows C: drive, provide the following path: /mnt/c and to access the D: drive, /mnt/d/ and so on.

By editing line 74 of nrsc5-dui.py and adding the path for the nrsc5.exe and libnrsc5.dll, the app runs fine. The edited line reads: self.nrsc5Path = arg1+"/mnt/d/nrsc5/nrsc5.exe"

My EXE and DLL are in my D: drive in a folder named nrsc5. For users who have their nrsc5 files in another location, simply edit line 74 to reflect where your files are stored.

I have to invoke the app as root using sudo, like so: sudo python3 ./nrsc5-dui.py Not sure why, but without sudo, python will throw an error.

Here are some screenshots:

Looking for help! Running MacOS Monterey Beta 10. nrsc5 compiles and runs like a champ. No issues here.

nrsc5-dui will not run. I carefully followed the steps given in the Read Me install section. Get this message and a Black Screen with a Title Bar upon launch. Here are the first two error messages. I'm lost!

(nrsc5-dui.py:75486): Gtk-WARNING **: 01:57:37.670: Could not load a pixbuf from /org/gtk/libgtk/theme/Adwaita/assets/check-symbolic.svg. This may indicate that pixbuf loaders or the mime database could not be found.

(nrsc5-dui.py:75486): Gtk-WARNING **: 01:57:37.690: Error loading theme icon 'media-playback-start' for stock:

Any help would be appreciated.

73 de Dale - K0HYD

Hey Mark,

As I mentioned in a past issue at Nrsc5 DUI is getting harder to use on Lower resolution displays such as on my old laptop.

I think there's a redesign or second layout option needed that supports wider window with shorter window height instead of this vertical style alone.

Obviously this is an edge case so it's up to you if you think it's worth implementing. Maybe having a short and wide layout that can be enabled with a command line switch would be a good option.

I run a personal rtl_tcp server to get my antenna in a better reception spot in my house, while still using RTL-SDR anywhere around the house, and i would like to know if this supports it.

Hi, I understand that at this point of time, there isn't an official .exe version of nrsc5-dui for Windows computers, so yesterday I tried to compile the source code for nrsc5-dui in MSYS2 MinGWx64 and MSYS2 MinGWx86. I keep running into this problem where the setup.py file can't find a module called gtk+ and I know that I have gtk2 and gtk3 installed in MSYS2 MinGWx64, so I'm not sure how to fix this error message.

I get the error 21:16:15 Unable to open audio device. when using it

Also isn't able to connect to my RTL, whilst the regular nrsc5-gui doesn't have any issues connecting.

Using Kubuntu 20.04

Would it be possible to implement a dark mode? The white window background can be particularly eye-searing in dim settings. Maybe a black background with light gray text. Thanks for all the work you've put into this app. I've enjoyed it immensely. I set aside an entire mini-HTPC as my HD Radio infotainment center and placed it in my kitchen.

Something I'd like to see fixed or suppressed is the constant console spam from the Gtk libraries.

I usually leave the console open in the background in order to see and determine if there's any errors, but when this is constantly spamming me it would be nice to fix it.

I love this app. Got it working great on an Ubuntu VM on my Windows 11 box using VMWare. Since running this app natively on Windows is problematic at best, would it be possible to create a Docker app to preclude running this on a VM?

I'd like to capture to files, and the dusty machine nearest to where I can plug in the antenna doesn't have an audio device. Is there a way to configure the app to only dump to audio files?

I did get it to compile and run in Ubuntu, and got as far as

$ more nrsc5.log 
15:32:17 Unable to open audio device.

Starting this issue in case someone starts working or wants to start working on implementing the following features and want's a good place to document problems and progress. This is somewhat extended from the original goal but not by much.

• [ ] Broadcast FM Support with RDS
• [ ] Broadcast AM Support with C-QUAM
• [ ] SW Radio support (would just require a change of frequency range of AM)
• [ ] DRM Support for AM/SW (I'm assuming)
• [ ] NOAA Weather Radio (Narrow Band FM, 162-164Mhz)
• [ ] Scanning functionality

I think building it off of something like rtl_fm might be a good starting point. Since Nrsc5-DUI is just a frontend, it's better to have a way to do the demodulation and audio processing outside of the python program.

• [ ] 1. Code Cleanup. I've been fooling around with the app on Linux as well and seems like it's doing what it's supposed to do. I'd really like to start cleaning up the code style and make it look closer to 2.0... given time.
• [x] 2.a. Stream Names: I'm a little disappointed in some of these stations' sloppy implementation. Naming a stream MPS/SPS1/SPS2 is pretty lazy. Think I'll write something that looks in the bookmarks and uses the name in there as an alternative.
• [x] 2.b. Stream buttons or labels should not change the stream if they have no text. No point in selecting a stream that is not used.
• [x] 3.a. Logos: Right now, the stations broadcast logos for each stream, but the app only applies it to the logo list if you're tuned to it when it's received. I understand the reasoning for that, but think it should be applied when received whether you're turned to the stream or not.
• [x] 3.b. Investigate why new logos aren't showing unless already cached in stationLogos.json, requiring a restart.
• [x] 3.c. Added quick capability to change the station logo of the playing station.
• [ ] 4.a. Covers: Modify the way the album art works as a repository to move and consolidate the images out of the main aas directory that can be recalled later when the ID3 info changes. Hierarchy should be set up as: Artist, album, and song (the latter solely for image reference purposes).
• [x] 4.b. Also provide a means for the user to correct an image using an online database such as Discogs.
• [x] 4.c. Investigate why/how Discogs is now 403-ing automated searches and/or find another source - Now coming from MusicBrainz via the musicbrainzngs pip3 module.
• [x] 4.d. Need to fix downloading of cover images using musicbrainzngs.
• [x] 4.e. Add ability to display or not display any station-generated cover art when downloading from MusicBrainz.
• [ ] 4.f. Add facility to manually import cover art in case automated download fails: Add a magifying glass button on the toolbar. When clicked, it displays a dialog with the Title and Artist. Button on dialog spawns a web browser with the appropriate MusicBrainz query. Copy/Paste the URL for the image you want, as well as the applicable Album and Genre metadata, and click Ok (or Cancel). Image would then be downloaded to the repository and metadata is cached in the database as if it was an automated download.
• [ ] 5. Album Art Tab Redesign: Also thinking about redesigning the Album Art tab to look more like how a car radio might actually look. Maybe split the area into a line at the top that shows the station call and small image of the logo in the upper right (or to the right of where I have the call showing now), ~~a couple of small lines at the bottom that show the slogan and message~~, and then flash the covers as they come in the center between them. Some don't have covers, so that would be a larger static version of the logo. ~~If I find a way to do it, I'll put the slogan and message on one line, and make it crawl across the bottom.~~
• [ ] 6. Alternate Nav Data: I want to research how Navteq/HERE works and see what can be done with it. Seems like another source of info in case an iHeart station isn't available. There are other digital services that are used that can also be taken advantage of.
• [x] 7. Traffic Timestamps: I have no idea why they left the timestamp off the traffic maps. That thing could be five days old and you'd never know it. At the least I'll add the timestamp, or have something on there that displays the dtg that the file was saved so it doesn't obscure part of the map.
• [ ] 8. Use With Other Radios: I'd like to modify nrsc5 to work with my AirSpy HF Discovery, maybe my first priority. The RTL-SDR is a nice toy, and it does a lot of things, but there are a lot of problems trying to use it for something like this. There are a lot of other stations that I'm sure an AirSpy would be able to pick up that are otherwise getting washed out on an RTL-SDR. I put a feeler out to see if anything's being done to use other receivers, but that kind of fell flat.
• [ ] 8.a. AirSpy HF+ Discovery
• [x] 8.b. SDRPlay (various models)
• [ ] 9. Long-term goal: Expand operation past nrsc5 into other modes for broadcast and utility listening.
• [ ] 9.a. Add Other Modes: Add standard FM Stereo with RDS, AM with C-QUAM, SW with DRM.
• [ ] 9.b. Add VHF utility support: Weather band radio, scanning, decoding of trunked transmissions, etc.
• [x] 10. NRSC5 Path: Automate finding the absolute path to nrsc5. Hardcoding line 68 of nrsc5-dui.py won't work for everyone.
• [x] 11. Redundant Files: Remove redundant files in the repository to reduce clutter and confusion. No need to have images and glade files in root, when the app looks for them in res
• [x] 12. Ellipcize and add tooltips to ID3 info (title, artist, album, genre) in case text exceeds display limitations.
• [x] 13. Eliminate threading and stock icon deprication warnings.
• [x] 14. Detect if RTL-SDR is actually connected before starting nrsc5.
• [x] 15. Add feature to run nrsc5 remote via rtl_tcp (-H <IP>). Save setting and IP to cfg for next run.
• [ ] 16. Convert for Win11 operation.
• [x] 17. Add an alternate layout with eight buttons in one row at the top, with the body underneath consisting of the tabbed section on the left and the id3 details on the right.
• [ ] 18. Add a Docker container for Linux installations.
• [ ] 19. Add a capability to read/write IQ files as well as to save audio to wav files in lieu of a PC sound system.